A new carbon-free transport system and economic hub connecting the regions of Île-de-France and bypassing the capital, the Grand Paris Express metro is creating four new metro lines and extending line 14 towards the south.
An iconic structure in the metropolitan network, the Institut Gustave Roussy station in Villejuif connects lines 14 and 15 south to accommodate up to 100,000 passengers per day. This multimodal hub, one of the deepest in France, offers vast public spaces above ground connected to the city’s urban fabric, the Hautes Bruyères park and the Gustave Roussy Institute, Europe’s leading cancer research centre.
Leading this architectural endeavour, setec and Dominique Perrault Architecte combined their expertise to overcome the site’s challenges. The station is built around a vast shaft 63 metres in diameter and 50 metres deep, and four traditional vaulted tunnels that accommodate the platforms for lines 14 and 15, which are respectively 122 metres and 110 metres long.
To ensure the technical and economic feasibility of this extraordinary station, we designed innovative solutions such as an aerial tunnel boring machine, audacious retaining structures, unique supports for the monumental escalators and a cable roof.
The civil engineering works are being carried out by the Vinci-Spie-Botte consortium and the facilities by Bouygues. Finally, the methodology and construction phase ensured that Orly Airport would be served by Line 14 before the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Photo credit: Anne-Claude Barbier
