Friday, December 16, 2011

Foster Competition Win: Business as Usual?

News brief
Foster & Partners has won a limited competition to build a high speed train station in Ourense, a provincial capital in Galicia, located in northwest Spain.

The adjudication is one of the last made by the Ministry of Development under the Socialist government in Madrid, and is likely to be reviewed by the incoming government. While the Socialist Mayor of Ourense supports the project, Galicia's regional government, headed by the Popular Party, opposes it, calling for the future high speed train line to be buried in its course through the city. The incoming central government, also controlled by the Popular Party, has asked for other adjudications  on the Galician high speed train line to be suspended for review. 

The other six finalists were not mentioned in press reports on the competition. Financing for the 67 million euro project is to come in part from European union development funds.

Note on the news 
I wish I could see something in these renderings that would make the project seem worth the trouble. Foster's name on a blueprint these days simply isn't enough. How much longer is it going to take for politicians to catch on?

See the story in the following newspapers (selection):
El País 
Faro de Vigo
El Mundo

Renderings from the blog edgargonzalez.com

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