Riyadh Transit Station Concepts

In an oil rich country, convincing commuters to leave their cars at home can be a challenge – particularly in a climate as hot as Saudi Arabia’s. As such, the concept design for the Riyadh Metro Station and canopy design was a direct response to the local climate and context.

When complete the line is anticipated to be the largest transit system built to date, with high-quality stations easily recognizable by their signature canopy design and cutting-edge sustainable technology. The canopy not only harvests the sun’s energy using photovoltaics, but also provide shade for the platforms below.

A  prototypical station was developed with roof-mounted photovoltaic solar panels on a dynamic structural form, to be constructed with curved, hollow structural steel sections. The elegant steel structure is in-filled with solid and translucent panels, creating a modern interpretation of traditional Islamic tile work.

The diagrid structure of the canopy was broken into replicable structural bays, allowing it to respond to the various platform lengths of each metro line and be expandable in the future. The station extends well into the public and pedestrian sphere, with streetscape improvements along all metro lines to beckon passengers in the stations.