The Riyadh Metro network commenced passenger operations on Sunday, December 1st 2024 with the opening of its Blue, Yellow and Purple lines (Lines 1, 4 and 6), alleviating traffic congestion, shortening travel times and improving quality of life for Riyadh’s growing population.
Project Name: King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station
Studio Name: Zaha Hadid Architects
Photography: Hufton + Crow
As the world’s longest driverless transit system, the transformative network spans over 176
kilometres across 6 lines and 85 stations, connecting key districts, business centres, and cultural landmarks in Saudi Arabia’s capital city.
An automated rapid transport system planned by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC), Riyadh Metro meets the needs of residents and visitors alike. With a capacity of 3.6 million daily passengers, the network will reduce the number of car journeys throughout the city and encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport.
The King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) Metro Station, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), serves as the key interchange on the new network, connecting the KAFD terminus, King Khalid International Airport, and providing access to the skybridge for the local KAFD monorail.
The station’s six rail platforms over four levels connect with bus and park-and-ride services to create an important multi-modal transport hub for the city, as well as new indoor and outdoor public plazas for the financial district.
Contributing to the identity of Riyadh’s new metro system, the KAFD Metro Station’s design prioritizes connectivity. The station’s predicted rail, car and pedestrian traffic has been modelled, mapped and structured to optimize internal circulation and avoid congestion. The resulting configuration is a three-dimensional lattice defined by a sequence of opposing sinewaves (generated from the repetition and frequency variation of the station’s daily traffic flows), which act as the spine for the building’s circulation.
These sinewaves extend to the station’s exterior clad in ultra-high-performance concrete panels. The façade’s geometric perforations reduce solar gain as a contemporary reinterpretation of traditional environmental sheltering within the region’s vernacular architecture. The composition of the station’s façade echoes the patterns generated by desert winds in sand, where multiple frequencies and reverberation generate the complex repetition of patterns evident in the natural world.
The KAFD Metro Station is composed as a set of elements that are highly correlated through repetition, symmetry and scale. The design was continually optimized by ZHA throughout its development to increase structural efficiencies and environmental performance while also simplifying the construction process without compromising spatial quality; seamlessly integrating the self-supporting structure of its external envelope with the station’s internal structure which supports the train platforms and viaducts.
Providing optimal comfort at minimum energy demand, the station combines effective passive design features with a high-efficiency cooling system that is powered by renewables and automatically adjusts to differing passenger levels throughout the day, while sliding door panels on each platform retain cool air within the station. The KAFD Metro Station has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification by the US Green Building Council.
