Western Station
Western Station is one of the four iconic stations of the new Riyadh Metro. Located in the Dhahrat Al Badi’ah district, in the south-west of the city, it is conceived as a new multifunctional urban hub capable of integrating mobility, services and public spaces, contributing to the transformation and regeneration of the area.
With a surface area of over 110,000 m², the complex brings together an elevated metro station, a bus terminal, an underground Park & Ride facility, retail spaces, a mosque and a large public plaza. The station is not conceived merely as a transport infrastructure, but as a place of connection and interaction, designed to activate new urban flows and support the development of the surrounding neighbourhood.
The project interprets local culture and landscape through a contemporary architectural language, inspired by the desert dunes, oases and palm groves of the Kingdom. The large free-form roofs emerge from the ground as earth-toned sculptural elements, defining the station entrances, filtering natural light and providing shade for pedestrian areas. The alternation of open and enclosed spaces, solids and voids, natural and artificial elements creates an integrated system between architecture, infrastructure and landscape.
The project was developed in joint venture with One Works and Omrania, from preliminary design through to detailed design, covering architectural, structural and MEP disciplines. CREW was specifically responsible for the structural design, with a particular focus on the large-span steel roofs, conceived as free-form three-dimensional trusses. The geometry of the dunes is translated into an arched structural principle: two main steel arches, spanning 115 metres and reaching a maximum height of 24 metres, support each roof, integrating steel ties positioned at the base of the ground-floor slab.
The structural system combines different solutions in response to the architectural and performance requirements of the complex. The underground car park is built in cast-in-place concrete, with a continuous foundation slab and columns connected to the main roof arches. The viaduct consists of post-tensioned precast concrete elements, while the elevated metro platform is supported by two main cast-in-place concrete columns with a fork-shaped configuration. The integration of precast elements, cast-in-place structures and post-tensioned systems makes it possible to respond to the formal and functional complexity of the work.
Delivered by Webuild as part of the 176 km automated Riyadh Metro network, Western Station represents an infrastructure capable of going beyond the dimension of a simple transit place, becoming an active part of the urban space and its evolution.
