PORTO METRO

Project for the execution of external supports intended for identifying the entrances to underground stations and providing guidance to the Porto Metro stations. The external signage supports are characterised as a whole by a steel box that forms their resistant base and a transparent glass box that holds the Porto Metro logo inside – and, in the case of the orientation support, also an arrow indicating the direction of the station to be identified. At night, with reduced visibility conditions, a light source, of hidden origin, illuminates exclusively the logo (and the arrow), making the transparent glass box almost imperceptible. The station identification support, which will be installed next to the entrances to the underground and cut & cover stations, has approximately the dimensions of 4.90 x 0.70 x 0.20 m. The station orientation support, which will be placed in locations that facilitate location/orientation to some stations, measures approximately 2.80 x 0.35 x 0.12 m. It is also expected that the stainless steel surface will be used to place information on the Porto Metro lines, using long-lasting vinyl or, permanently, laser engraving. The supports will be made in the same way, differing only in their dimensions. They will be made with a metal structure, composed of bent profiles, square-section tubes, angles and flat bars, joined by welding and galvanized to 80 microns. This structure will be covered with 2 mm stainless steel sheet with an emery finish (AISI 316), which will be fixed to the structure, laterally by snapping, on the smaller surfaces of the supports and with the possibility of removal with suction cups through the opening of its "U" shape. The stainless steel sheet cladding will have a polyurethane filling on the underside to increase its resistance to impact and prevent deformations caused by possible acts of vandalism. A parallelepiped box made of 12 mm tempered glass, glued with ultraviolet-curing glue, will be fixed to the upper part by screws; inside it, on an extra-clear 6 mm glass, also tempered, the Metro do Porto logo will be engraved using laser beams, with horizontal lines parallel to each other, but with a spacing inversely proportional to the distance from the artificial light source, which will be described in the speciality report (in the case of the orientation support, an arrow indicating the direction of the station to be identified will also be engraved using the same process). The aforementioned engravings (logo and arrow) will be covered with long-lasting translucent blue vinyl (Pantone 280), which will be illuminated by a blue LED array, with the characteristics indicated in the specialty project and through the reflection of light on the horizontal lines engraved on the extra-clear glass; the LEDs will be fixed using a system of steel cables, which simultaneously serve to conduct low-voltage energy.