Prolific starchitect Zaha Hadid has been chosen to create the metro station and transportation hub at the financial district of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Hadid, the world's leading expert in white amorphic swoops and futuristic ship-inspired buildings, has in the works a—surprise!—curvy, streamlined structure that looks a bit like a beached cruise ship from the year 2180. Inside, the 220,000-square-foot building is a mesh of skybridges, pathways, and slanted, curving supports, and a "three-dimensional lattice defined by a sequence of opposing sine-waves" to optimize pedestrian traffic flow, according to the project description. As of now, the King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station is slated for a 2017 completion. See more, below.
The design boasts four stories and six platforms, plus two floors of underground parking and internal braids of pedestrian pathways.
Ah, but is it enough to land the station in the elite list of the world's most beautiful metros? Only time will tell.
· ZHA to Build King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [official site]
· Zaha Hadid wins competition for Saudi Arabian metro station [Dezeen]
· All Zaha Hadid posts [Curbed National]
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