Metrobus Brescia

This work is a turning point in the city’s urban transport system. The Metrobus project is a transportation system based on small, driverless electric vehicles. The global length of the line is equal to 13.7km, where 5.9km are in tunnel, 4.8km are in cut & cover, 1.3km are at grade and 1.7km in viaduct. 
The 17 stations are divided as follow: 8 deep, 5 shallow, 2 at grade and 2 elevated. 

The stations are designed with the idea of the outside-inside continuity, that makes this underground place a cozy, safe and well-lit public space. To do so the station box has been open in order to bring natural light into the station, creating a modern, clean and bright  interior: this permits easy orientation and legible, visible circulation pathways. The interior  is also characterized by the volume of the sloped wall, clad by a stainless steel sheet that reflects the light coming in from the skylights. The volume contains most of the MEP equipments and also has a structural function. The areas accessible by users, the floor and some surfaces and items are in diorite, a natural stone halfway in the family of granite and gabbro. It has excellent characteristics of strength, durability and serviceability and is specifically indicated in city contexts and infrastructures where critical conditions occur from the point of wear and safety. This project combines in a very good way technology, structure and architectural plasticity, trough elegant solutions, that well represents the poetics of the studio.

The TBM that worked for making the deep tunnel of the city underground fell within the type of cutters called EPB (Earth pressure balance), generally used for excavation of land with no self-supporting features as in the case of the alluvial soils in Brescia.
Its task involved digging the ground causing, through a balance of the excavation volume, a pressure of soil capable of supporting the area itself, and installing the walls consisting of seven prefabricated elements fitted by making a closure ring.

The TBM used in Brescia a, German technology, built by Herrenknecht in Schwanau and owned by Astaldi, was about 130 meters long, with a weight of 1300 tons and consisting of a cylindrical shield being 9 meters in diameter and 9 meters in length, followed by a series of service cars, the so-called backup.

Stations:

• 5 about-ground level stations (Prealpino, Casazza, Mompiano, Europa, San Polo), 
• 8 underground stations (Ospedale, Marconi, San Faustino, Vittoria, Stazione FS, Bresciadue, Lamarmora, Volta)
• 2 ground stations (Poliambulanza, San Polo Parco) 
• 2 elevated stations  (Sanpolino and Sant’Eufemia – Buffalora)