Zaragoza Tram

PROJECT:  Architectural integration of the Zaragoza tramway

The city of Zaragoza received the 2012 Light Rail Award for Best Project on October 3rd for Tram Line 1. The jury highlighted the overall merits of the tram line, including its project development, business model, economic implementation, contribution to the city's public transport system, sustainability, modern design, and innovative technology.

The planned tramway for Zaragoza will run through a heterogeneous urban environment, with roads of varying widths and layouts, crossing the old town and the newer district. It will be surrounded by emblematic architecture and spaces, such as the Roman archaeological remains near the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar.

From this perspective, the urban integration project seeks to establish a coherent image to give this new mode of transport its own presence in the city.

• Appropriate integration of the tram into the urban fabric using aesthetic and landscape criteria compatible with economic and functional ones.
• Segregation of the tram from road traffic
• Promoting pedestrian use in areas that allow it.
• Planting of trees and green areas.
• Intervention that highlights and protects areas of special interest.

For all sections of the tram line, a unified solution is being sought that emphasizes the image of the new transport system. It should be easily recognizable and identifiable both by its specific elements (stops, tracks, and curb) and by those other elements that indirectly contribute to the overall image: paving, street furniture, and other components of the urban fabric.

In specific cases, such as the presence of Roman archaeological remains in Plaza de Cesar Augusto, the space is completely redesigned, eliminating superfluous and questionable elements. Furthermore, the intervention extends to the neighboring Plaza del Pilar, thus connecting the two spaces via a pedestrian walkway.

The circulation adopts different approaches depending on the area: segregated from road traffic by means of edge elements or compatible with pedestrian traffic in those sections where the tram platform is located on the edges.