Foster + Partners has completed stations in Mecca, Medina, Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City, connected by the 280-mile Haramain high-speed rail line.
All of them can handle up to 20,000 passengers an hour.
The stations are all covered by flexible vaulted roofs supported by grids of steel columns – structural trees and for all of them was used the same modular system.
“The stations are based on a common 27-metre-square module containing the roof, concourse and platform, which is flexible enough to be reconfigured for both through and terminus stations, while also making it possible to extend the stations in response to changing passenger requirements,” said Angus Campbell, senior partner at Foster + Partners.
Designed with small openings within the building’s roof and its walls, the buildings are shaded areas.
They have also been designed so that they maintain low ambient temperatures without using mechanical cooling.
Luke Fox, head of studio at Foster + Partners said, “The designs of the new stations focus on passenger comfort, while building on the sense of excitement and wonder that is inextricably linked to the idea of travel”
Photography by Nigel Young
https://www.dezeen.com/2019/06/14/foster-partners-haramain-high-speed-stations-saudi-arabia/