Saudi Arabia’s biggest city, the capital Riyadh, has experienced a rapid growth since 1990, its population is now more than 5 million residents, two times higher than before, so current transport system maybe faces this situation with difficulty because at the end of 2012 the government announced to build a metro system in Riyadh and constituted a new Public Transport Commission in order to set out public transport services and private investment in the sector. The project is progressing and ArRiyadh Development Authority revealed already details of the city’s public transport plans and said that the new King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) Metro Station in Riyadh will be designed by the renowned and awarded Zaha Hadid Architects studio.
Planned to be completed in four years, the ambitious project will be not only an intermediate place perceived through quick transitions which serves to city’s fast-growing population, but a powerful landmark, a dynamic and multi-functional public space highly anchored in the urban context of the financial district and responding to the Riyadh’s future vision. Six metro platforms featuring over four public floors and two levels of underground car parking will be of vital importance for the future public transport there.
The new KAFD Metro Station seems that will act as a key interchange for three lines ( Line 1, Line 4 -for passengers to the airport) and Line 6). The station will also allow passengers to access the local monorail through a skybridge. The KAFD master plan and the astounding design shows the metro station will be at the meeting point of a network of pathways, sky bridges and metro lines. To improve internal circulation and prevent congestion, they mapped its internal structure with all pedestrian and metro routes very clearly delimited.
Its futuristic architectural concept is impressive and high-aimed seeing these images. The exterior building design resembling sand dunes generated by desert winds places the new KAFD Metro Station within its cultural environment. To generate the patterned façade with interesting geometric perforations, Zaha Hadid Architects will apply distinct subset of elements through symmetry, repetition and scaling. The outstanding design will be optimized by simplifying technical challenges but preserving its spatial quality. Take a look!
Photos © Zaha Hadid Architects
Project details:
Project: King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station
Location: Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Date: 2012 – 2017
Client: ArRiyadh Development Authority
Design: Zaha Hadid Architects
Project Director: Gianluca Racana, Filippo Innocenti
Project Architect: Fulvio Wirz, Gian Luca Barone
Design Team: Alexandre Kuroda, Fei Wang, Lisa Kinnerud, Jorge Mendez-Caceres
Structural Engineer: Buro Happold
Services: Buro Happold
Transport and Civil Engineering: Buro Happold
Fire Engineering: Buro Happold
Façade Consultant: NewTecnic
Cost Consultant: Davis Langdon
Size: 20,434 m2
Levels: 4 above ground, 2 below ground (car parking)
Metro Lines served: Line 1, Line 4, Line 6
Skybridge access to monorail: (6 train plattforms)
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