Architect Zaha Hadid and her firm have won a competition to build the King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, according to an announcement made by the ArRiyadh Development Authority.
The design was conceived by Zaha Hadid Architects. However, a team including Burro Happold and Davis Langdon, two global constructions and engineering consultancies and Newtecnic, a design service firm, have been chosen to commission the project.
The 20,434 meter square KAFD Metro will have six platforms spread over four floors and two underground parking levels. Located on the side of the financial district, the metro station will serve as an interchange between three of the six major metro lines planned, according to Dezeen.
A collection of pedestrian pathways will be built inside the station in order to avoid congestion. Travelers will be able to access the monorail via a sky bridge.
As seen in the renderings of the design, the building is in the shape of undulating waves with curved mesh-screens.
A feature at the Construction Index reads:
"The design places the station at the centre of a network of pathways, sky bridges and metro lines envisaged by the KAFD master plan.
The resulting configuration is a three-dimensional lattice defined by a sequence of opposing sine-waves which act as the spine for circulation around the building. These sine-waves are extended to the station's envelope so that the concept is also visible externally."
A total of six metro lines will be built to serve the public of Riyadh and are named after colors; yellow, blue, Orange, purple, red and green. The project is expected to be completed by 2017.
Read more on each line, here.
Zaha Hadid was recently named the businesswoman of the year 2013 by Veuve Clicquot's annual Business Woman Awards. A panel of judges from the famous champagne house, Veuve Clicquot, chose Hadid as the deserving winner because of her immense contribution to the industry of art and architecture.
Check out some Zaha Hadid coverage, here.
