MIMAR 40
54
SAUDI ARABIA· KING KHALED
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, RIYADH
Project Data
Location: 22 miles north of Riyadh.
Architects: Hellmuth, Obata and
Kassabaum Inc., St. Louis, USA.
Client: International Airports
Projects (lAP) , Ministry of
Defence and Aviation, Jedda.
Structural, mechanical, electrical design,
project management and construction:
Bechtel Civil & Minerals, Inc., San
Francisco, USA.
Site area: 55,680 acres.
Cost: US$3.2 billion.
Started: 1975.
Completion: 1984.
T
he King Khaled International Airport was
built to replace the
older and congested
Riyadh Airport which could not
be extended because of the city's
growth. The 243 square kilometre
site lies some 35 kilometres north
of Riyadh, on flat desert land.
The airport is capable of
handling 900 passengers per hour
in each direction in each terminal,
i.e. some 20 million passengers per
year. By the year 2000 it will
handle around 15 million
passengers a year.
The project comprises:
• two parallel runways of 4,200
by 60 metres each;
• two international and two
domestic terminals with a total
of 32 gates (eight per terminal)
equipped with air bridges;
• a Royal Pavilion for use by the
royal family, heads of state and
other dignitaries private use and
royal guests;
• a 135,000 square feet mosque
with capacity for 5,000
worshippers;
• a central administration
complex;
• a general aviation complex;
• a public safety complex;
• a covered car park for 7,400
cars;
• a residential area with 171
villas, 219 flats, 248 town
houses, four schools, a mosque
and a recreational centre.
The overall design is based on
an equilateral triangle module
repeated throughout the strucrures. The mosque, surrounded by
a garden, occupies a central
position and its impressive dome
(33 metres diameter and 40 metres
high) is the first sight visitors
encounter upon their arrival.
A system of prefabricated
structural steel is set on cast-inplace concrete spread footings. All
floors are cast-in-place concrete on
metal decking. The terminal roofs
are composed of triangular-shaped
spherically-arched sections joined
by truss-flamed clerestorey lights.
Each shell climbs up in tiers
between arched lattice windows.
The geodisic dome of the mosque
is supported by six columns and
trusses braced by the triangulated
steel beams of the lower roof.
Most materials were imported.
1. Aerial view and roof detail.
2. Site plan.
3. Passenger terminal from the
land side.
4. Royal terminal.
5., 6. Interior of terminal.
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