Airport and TGV Station Satolas

The complex, with an area of 5600 m², is owned by the French railways SNCF. It serves to connect Lyon's airport in Satolas with the TGV high-speed train station. The main TGV building was designed by Calatrava in the shape of a prehistoric bird. One can see inspiration in Calatrava's design from the TWA terminal at Kennedy Airport by Eero Saarinen from 1957-62. However, in terms of functionality, design, arrangement, and the 500-meter-long platform, it definitely differs from Kennedy Airport. The complex was built in three phases, with total costs amounting to 600 million francs. The station is designed as six tracks, with the middle two tracks being structurally separated and located in a separate section, serving high-speed trains that do not stop here. A 180-meter-long bridge further connects the station building and the airport.
The dominant feature remains the main building in the shape of a prehistoric bird or manta ray, measuring between 100 and 120 m in diameter, 40 m in height, and with a roof structure weight of 1300 tons.

Eva Kosíková and Matěj Kosík, 2008

In the competition for the TGV station on the northern edge of Lyon, announced in 1987, Calatrava narrowly beat Richard Rogers. Calatrava's project emerged from the philosophy of the 19th-century station as a symbol of that era and envisioned the creation of a 450-meter station hall with connecting tunnels between the station and the airport. Above this hall, he placed a massive organic sculpture representing a giant elegant bird. It is meant to evoke ideas associated with travel, primarily speed, vitality, lightness, and optimism.
The construction took place relatively long (01.1990 – 07.1994), and financial costs rose by 50% during its course.