Zaha Hadid’s King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station incorporates futuristic façade
By David Malone, Associate Editor
Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, the new King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) Metro Station in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will serve as a key interchange on the new Riyadh Metro network for Line 1 and the terminus of Line 4 and Line 6.
The 45,000-sm complex will include four above ground levels and two below ground (car parking) and will be integrated within the urban context of the financial district. The most striking feature of the new metro station is the façade, meant to represent patterns generated by desert winds.
Courtesy ZHA.
The façade is design-engineered by Newtecnic to reduce solar gain and produce air currents that help cool the building. The firm’s research team had to develop new algorithms to achieve this level of performance. Additionally, Newtecnic had to invent new adjustable building components and fixing methods for the structure’s self-supporting, 650-foot-long concrete-composite walls and roof.
The result of this world-first-façade and the new techniques used to create it is an undulating, futuristic building that will be delivered for the price of a more traditional structure and last twice as long.
The KAFD Metro Hub is designed to support Riyadh’s expected 50% growth over the coming years and is part of a new citywide transport system that comprises six metro line, 85 stations, and more than 100 miles of track.
BACS Consortium is the general contractor for the project, which is slated for completion in 2018.
