Ⓢ LUFAPO HUB

The Midnight Train ("theme-hour" of the Coimbra Contemporary Art Biennial 2022) remains in our memory, linked to the image of the old Coimbra B station and the long night journeys between Portugal and the center of Europe. Now that the transformation of the Porto-Lisbon line is in view, associated with the introduction of a High-Speed track, the future Coimbra Station (under study by the national and municipal authorities) will generate a new urban interface, not only for those who travel but also for those who live in the city.

The Department of Architecture of the University of Coimbra (DARQ) challenged three groups of Master students to imagine three proposals for the future Coimbra Railway Station, locating it in different places: in the area of ​​the current Coimbra B Station; on the urban edge of Loreto; or in Campos do Mondego.

The results of this research, open to citizen’s debate, are now exhibited between May and June 2022 as part of the program of the Coimbra Contemporary Art Biennial, Anozero. From the place of this exhibition - the Lufapo Hub, in Loreto, overlooking the railway line -, perhaps we will have a glimpse of the future Midnight Train, which will once again link Coimbra to the center of Europe, now at high speed.