Case study · Madrid

A mosaic that speaks from the platform floor.

At Mar de Cristal station, an interchange of lines 4 and 8 on Metro de Madrid, the NaviLens codes are embedded as a ceramic mosaic in the paving alongside the tactile strip, and as diamonds on the outside glass cube, the concourse bridge and the exit signs.

Mar de Cristal platform on Metro de Madrid: in the foreground a square mosaic of colourful ceramic tiles —red, yellow, blue, white, black— embedded in the tactile paving, reproducing the NaviLens code; in the background, the characteristic red walls, metal columns and the blue «Mar de Cristal» line sign

Line 8 · «pink line»

Mar de Cristal — between Pinar del Rey and Colombia

L4 ↔ L8 interchange

Connects the pink line with the urban network

On the way to the airport

Intermediate station towards Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas

ES · EN · 42+

Multilingual voice readout in the phone's language

The client

Community of Madrid
Metro de Madrid · L4 · L8

Mar de Cristal is an interchange station between line 4 (Argüelles ↔ Pinar de Chamartín) and line 8 —the pink line linking Nuevos Ministerios with Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport. It serves the north of the Hortaleza district, the Bernabéu-Hispanoamérica neighbourhood and facilities such as the ORCAM Foundation.

It is part of the voice-guidance rollout for blind people that the Community of Madrid and Metro de Madrid launched in 2023 on line 8 and that has since been extended to key interchange stations.

On top of Metro's iconic identity —red diamond, L8 pink stripe, red walls, yellow tactile paving and braille in lifts—, NaviLens adds a spoken information layer the traveller hears in their phone's language without having to aim at a precise spot.

§ The challenge

Telling which platform goes to the airport.

01
An interchange between two lines
Mar de Cristal is an interchange node between lines 4 and 8. For a blind person, telling apart the pink-line platform to the airport from the line-4 platform was the first obstacle of the journey, especially when moving between levels through the concourse bridge.
02
Outdoor access from Mar Adriático and the ORCAM Foundation
The station serves the Bernabéu-Hispanoamérica neighbourhood and the headquarters of the ORCAM Foundation. The exit towards C. Mar Adriático is the natural access for many visually impaired professionals and residents, and needed a spoken information layer from the very door of the glass cube.
03
Identifying the right L8 platform
On a platform with columns, tactile paving, characteristic red walls and a lot of train noise, a spoken information point was needed that the traveller could detect with a sweep of the phone without having to stick to a specific sign.

Ground-level detail of the Mar de Cristal platform: a square of ceramic tiles —red, yellow, blue, white and black— reproduces the NaviLens code pattern and sits next to the grey grooved tactile paving; in the background, a white and blue Metro de Madrid train stopped on the opposite platform

§ The solution

A ceramic code, built to last.

What makes Mar de Cristal special is that the platform's NaviLens code is not a vinyl: it is a ceramic mosaic of coloured tiles embedded in the floor, executed with the same craft as Metro's own tactile guide. The code is part of the paving — it doesn't peel, doesn't stain and withstands intensive use from travellers with luggage.

The traveller opens NaviLens GO and, with a sweep of the phone from several metres away and without aiming, hears aloud —in the language of their phone— which station they are in, which platform and which exit corresponds. Codes are placed at the decision-making points: outer glass cube, concourse bridge, edges above the green Exit signs and, most importantly, the mosaic on the platform itself.

The NaviLens layer coexists with Metro de Madrid's usual signage —red diamond, L8 pink stripe, tactile paving, braille—: it replaces nothing, it adds spoken information on top of what is already there.

§ Inside Mar de Cristal

From the glass cube to the pink-line platform.

Outdoor access at Mar de Cristal: the station's glass and stainless-steel cube, with a white-framed NaviLens code on the metal lintel and, below, the sliding doors with green «Exit» stripes, a green defibrillator sign and the exit to the tree-lined avenue with a florist in the background

Mar de Cristal concourse: on the upper edge, above the blue and pink line-8 stripe, a framed NaviLens code next to the red Metro diamond; below, a green «Exit — C. Mar Adriático · ORCAM Foundation» panel, emergency pictogram, Metro map and an advertising MUPI on the right

Concourse bridge of Mar de Cristal with escalators on the left, steel columns with red stripe, dark walls and shiny granite flooring; in the background the platforms with the line's red walls, and on the floor of the central walkway a small square NaviLens code mosaic made of coloured ceramic tiles integrated into the tactile paving

Mar de Cristal platform with a white and blue Metro de Madrid train stopped in the background; in the foreground, embedded in the grey grooved tactile paving, a square of yellow, red, blue and black ceramic tiles reproduces the NaviLens code

Ground-level view of the Mar de Cristal platform: the grey tactile paving crosses the shiny granite floor up to the yellow safety line, and at its intersection a square mosaic of coloured ceramic tiles reproduces the NaviLens code; in the background, travellers wait by the steel columns and the station's characteristic red walls

The ceramic mosaic sits at the crossing of the tactile paving, right where the traveller turns to approach the platform edge: a sweep of the phone is enough to detect it from several metres away, even with luggage and at rush hour.

§ Why it matters

A code that is part of the station.

Permanent

The ceramic mosaic embedded in the floor doesn't peel off, doesn't get dirty and withstands millions of travellers: the NaviLens code is built as part of the station, not as a sticker.

Interchange

At an interchange between L4 and L8, hearing aloud which platform you are on —and where the next train is heading— is the difference between catching your flight on time and taking the wrong line.

Neighbourhood

Mar de Cristal serves the Bernabéu-Hispanoamérica neighbourhood and facilities such as the ORCAM Foundation: residents and visually impaired professionals gain autonomy from the very door of the glass cube.

§ And your network?