The City Council of Vigo, Spain, first unanimously chose HALO, the project to which we dedicate this space, as the winner of the competition for the pedestrian connection between Serafín Avedaño and Vía Norte streets in Vigo. Shortly afterwards, it was one of two to be awarded the prestigious LOOP Design Awards 2021 in the category of “Unbuilt Architecture”. The design is the result of a collaboration between the architecture studios Arenas & Asociados, from Santander, AM2 Arquitectos, from Vigo, and the Portuguese firm NOARQ. The project consists of a structure that сonnects pedestrians vertically, provides continuity and bridges the difference in level between Vía Norte and García Barbón Street in the city.
HALO takes the form of a semicircle raised on a tower. The tower, which is about 45 m high, houses two lifts. The arms of the semicircle, on the other hand, support two walkways, one open, suitable for strolling and leisure and with views over the city, and the other closed in on itself. With the second walkway, the architects protect the privacy of the inhabitants of the adjacent residential towers (otherwise they would have a constant flow of people at the height of their windows). At the same time, in the event of bad weather, this arm provides an alternative route for pedestrians.
By walking along the structure, pedestrians gain access from Via Nord to the central part of the future train station building. “More than an elevator, [HALO] is praise to the horizon”, in the words of its designers and architects, “an elevated walkway as an extension of the public square”, “a single gesture, a greeting to the visitor passing beneath it”. The planned lighting will make the structure “a beacon at night, a ring of light visible from multiple points in the city, an invitation and a lure”.
The project, which will take two years to complete, will cost an estimated €7.2 million. In our view, HALO is a design of remarkable elegance, an iconic element that seems both natural and supernatural. We could not agree more with its creators when they say that it is a sculptural ensemble of pure lines, “simultaneously light and forceful”, a unique symbiosis between “engineering, art and architecture“. Well-deserved awards.
