The London-headquartered studio was named as the winner of an international contest to redevelop an area immediately south of Naples main station, Napoli Centrale, and the nearby Garibaldi underground station, earlier this month (7 February).The scheme is backed by the Campania Region and FS Sistemi Urbani, a regeneration arm of the Italian national railways.ZHA proposes two swooping towers one of which will become headquarters to the region of Campania, and another office tower, according to visuals made public last week. The cost of the development has been estimated at 700 million euros.AdvertisementThe planned towers will reach heights of roughly 100m and 80m. Below ground, a new transport hub will connect Napoli Centrale, Napoli Garidabali, the Port of Naples and Naples airport.One tower will feature a roof garden that illuminates at night, giving the proposal its name, The Lighthouse.Planned major landscaping works include the creation of an urban park with pedestrian routes connecting the main station to surrounding areas such as Porta Nolana and Piazza Garibaldi to the east, and the Centro Direzionale business district to the north-west, where a future metro extension is proposed.Campania Region president Vincenzo De Luca said in a statement (translated): The ambition we have with this work is to deliver in Naples, Campania and also all of Italy a symbol of modern identity. Italy is a mummified country from the point of view of urban redevelopment.He continued: We do not have a Guggenheim [like] in Bilbao. A young person, to see works of great contemporary architecture, must go to London, Berlin, Paris [and our ambition is] to create in Naples a symbol of modern Italy [and to send a message to young people] of a country that does not remain blocked but manages to project itself into the world.AdvertisementThe development is part of the major regeneration project Napoli Porta Est, which will see railway sidings removed and rail tracks buried as part of the scheme.The practice was among five competition finalists named in January. The others were: RPA; Mario Cucinella Architects; Ben Van Berkel/UN Studio; and Arup Italia. The contest, run in conjunction with the Municipality of Naples, attracted 30 expressions of interest.ZHA has previously worked on Napoli Afragola Station a 30,000m station seven miles north of Naples, which is raised above eight railway tracks. The projects first phase completed in 2017, 14 years after the studio won the job.ZHA has been contacted for comment.Current site view