A leading female architect has been chosen to be the lead architect of the forthcoming metro station in the brand-new King Abdullah Financial District, Arabian Business reports.
Zaha Hadid is known “for her eccentric and experimental concepts” and designed the London Aquatic Center, which played host to the 2012 Summer Olympics last year.
Click here to view a slideshow of the metro station as designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.
Zaha Hadid’s design has been chosen for the KAFD metro station in Riyadh. Image via Zaha-Hadid.com
According to the Zaha Hadid website, the architect “has grown to become one of the most influential architects in the world. With her firm, Zaha Hadid Architects, she has designed many of the most renowned buildings around the globe such as the MAXXI Museum in Rome and the Guangzhou Opera House in China. Her critically acclaimed works in the UK include the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympics and the Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton, the Riverside Museum in Glasgow and the Maggie’s Centre in Kirkcaldy. As well as shaping the language of architecture, she has also been a role model for female businesswomen in male dominated industries.”
Hadid was born in Iraq but lives in the United Kingdom. In April 2013, she won the 41st Veuve Clicqot Business Woman Award. The architect’s firm also designed KAPSARC in Riyadh, which is currently under construction.
According to Arabian Business:
“The project extends beyond the simple station typology to emphasise the building’s importance as a dynamic, multi-functional public space; not only an intermediate place perceived through quick transitions, but also a dramatic public space for the city…The design places the station at the centre of a network of pathways, skybridges and metro lines. Connectivity diagrams and traffic across the site have been mapped and structured to clearly delineate the pedestrian routes within the building, optimise internal circulation and avoid congestion.”
Images show a futuristic but clean design for the Riyadh KAFD station.
The planned metro station in Riyadh’s KAFD. Image via Zaha Hadid Architects, zaha-hadid.com.
