Project 01
Central Transport Station
A transit hub conceived as a clay tablet at the heart of the urban fabric — a gateway for knowledge transfer.
- Location
- Al-Alawi, Baghdad
- Area
- 81,540 m²
- Year
- 2026
A Journey into the City's Core
Transportation is not limited to the physical movement of the body between two points; it encompasses the transfer of ideas and knowledge across time. Just as the clay tablet was the first medium to document and transmit human thought, today's transit hub serves as a gateway for temporal and intellectual exchange. Both record human movement — the former within the memory, the latter across geography.
The Clay Tablet in the Urban Fabric
The massing composition is rooted in the concept of Temporal Dialogue. The base derives its vocabulary from the organic fabric of the old city, mimicking the spontaneity and density of historical urban forms. At the heart of this composition stands a dominant central mass embodying the Clay Tablet — the design's pulsating core and its visual and cultural anchor. Moving upwards, the masses transition into continuous horizontal lines that reflect the language of modern architecture, merging the authenticity of the past with the aspirations of the present.
Facade Articulation & Sustainability
The Clay Tablet stands out as the dominant visual element on the facade. To transform this historical symbol into a functional feature, it is integrated into the building's eco-system as a field of cuneiform-perforated sun-shading — a climatic treatment that protects the station's main concourse from direct solar radiation while ensuring natural light permeability and ventilation.
Program
The 81,540 m² master plan gathers a metro station, main terminal, and bus terminal alongside commercial buildings, a motel, and service facilities — organised so the surrounding streets project directly into the site's pedestrian axes.
