An interchange linking three metro lines and connected by a bridge to a monorail station will appear in the King Abdullah Financial District. There are 6 platforms on four above-ground levels, and two underground levels are occupied by parking. But, along with functionality, the building has the qualities of a full-fledged public space, which corresponds to the prestige of its location.
The architects studied the location of roads and the direction of pedestrian flows in the surrounding area, which made it possible to optimize passenger traffic routes within the station and avoid possible congestion. Based on the data on human flows, a three-dimensional grid of out-of-phase sinusoids was created, which form the circulation zones in the station, and are also reflected in the contours of the building.
The composition of the building is similar to the organic patterns that desert winds leave on the dunes. The perforation of the facades protects the interior from the heat of the sun, at the same time reminding of the carved lattices and geometric ornaments of Islamic architecture.
The construction of the Riyadh metro has not yet begun, but in 2012 4 consortia were selected to take on this task and a metropolitan transport commission was established. It is planned to create a full-fledged metro network of 6 lines by 2017. For example, there will be 39 stations on line No. 1, 44 km long. Among those invited to design these structures -
Snøhetta bureau and German studio Gerber Architekten.
The creation of a metro system has become necessary due to the rapid growth of the city: since 1990 its population has more than doubled and now exceeds 5 million people.
N. F.
