Reform work on Paseo del Óvalo and its environs in Teruel city has generated a route that links the station to Paseo de la Glorieta, using lifts to span the 17 m height difference to the historic district level. The project also contemplates the restoration of the neo-Mudejar steps that link these two levels.
The station square is structured by a path that rises along a constant angle. Towards the end of the route, a collection of benches acts as a foyer to the monumental gateway in the city wall that provides access to the lifts. At the top level, Paseo de la Glorieta recovers its original spirit as a balcony and a route for citizen promenades. In the central zone, benches are installed amongst the trees, forming a boundary line for the rest of the space.
This sense of landscape zoning is intensified at night by the indirect light projected from the benches themselves. The benches are in black reinforced cast stone with a polished waterproof finish. The seat and their supports are manufactured in a single piece. The seats slabs fold back25 cm towards the ground to house the recessed lamps that project indirect light. The electrical equipment is camouflaged by pipes embedded in the cast stone. These benches are encrusted in the pavement, and seem to levitate above the shadow cast by the sunken plinth by day, while at night they seem to float above this light. The Paseo del Óvalo renovation work was done in 2002 by architect David Chipperfield and b720 Arquitectos in conjunction with Escofet.
