The interior design of São Bento station can hardly be described as geometric, however. Long after the Moors left what became Spain and Portugal, the local inhabitants continued using ceramic tiles on their buildings, and they still do to this day. Some can still be seen on historic buildings in both Portugal and Spain. The Moors had something approaching a fear of bare interiors (it’s a good job Sir Terence Conran and Habitat weren’t around at the time, then) and decorated the walls of their buildings with coloured ceramic tiles featuring intricate geometric patterns. The use of tiling in the region dates back to the Moors, who invaded the Iberian peninsula in the eighth century. Apparently the tiles have helpful thermal properties, keeping rooms cool in the hot climate. It is frequently used both on the inside and outside of buildings, especially towards the south. The use of ceramic tiling has been popular in the Iberian peninsula for centuries. You’ll want a closer view of course: Detail of frieze at the top of the main hall’s south wall. If you look really closely in the corner of the main hall in the first photograph you can see a train. The frieze around the top of the main hall depicts a history of transport. The real fun at São Bento station, however, is all on the inside. Photo by rilo 2006 (Portugal), via Wikimedia Commons
It is an early work by architect José Marques da Silva (1869-1947), and it opened for business in 1916. It’s a perfectly pleasant Beaux Arts building, though nothing obviously special. Photo by Concierge.2C (Own work), via Wikimedia Commonsįrom the outside, São Bento station belies little of its extraordinary internal decoration. Ready? The main hall at São Bento station, looking towards the south-east corner. Though we’ve already looked at some British examples of tiled railway maps at stations in this earlier blog entry, São Bento station takes things to another level completely. It is carried out in the medium of ceramic tiling. São Bento railway station in Porto has one of the most unexpected interior decoration schemes of any twentieth century station.
0 kommentar(er)
