Valencia unveils wall-less Central Station with park roof

Valencia is set for a new Central Station with no walls, a sweeping canopy roof and a park running across its top.

The plans were drawn up by British practice RSHP with Valencian firm ERRE and engineering company Sener, and reported by Dezeen on 16 September. The station will become the Spanish city's key rail hub, with a direct connection to the existing North Station in Valencia.

All the trains go underneath. High-speed, commuter and metro services will run below ground. That leaves the ground level free for public space.

That space is organised as a linear park. The designers call it a "green axis". It runs at street level above the platforms, with planting and paths for walking and cycling.

The station itself is designed without walls. It is sheltered by broad roof canopies that curve and lift over the site. The frame is left open to let light and air filter down to the platforms below.

The curves nod to the neighbour. The canopies reference the arched roofs of the historic North Station, the early 20th-century terminus next door. A new public square will join the two buildings. The older station is set to be refurbished as part of the same project.

Look closer at the roof and the engineering shows. The structure is formed from four interconnected counter-vaults, meaning four curved sections that brace against each other, punctured by skylights to bring natural daylight underground, according to Trenvista. The project was commissioned by Adif AV, Spain's high-speed rail infrastructure manager, which awarded the design work to Sener Mobility.

Construction is planned to use a modular system, in which repeated sections are made off-site and assembled quickly on-site. No completion date has been disclosed.

RSHP describes the scheme as a reimagining of the railway station as a state-of-the-art multimodal hub, meaning one interchange where long-distance trains, local trains and metro meet, according to RSHP. RSHP director Simon Smithson is listed by the practice as leading the work.

What makes this stand out is the flip. The tracks disappear. The roof becomes a park. For travellers, that means stepping off a high-speed train into daylight and greenery rather than a dark concourse.