- Photo credit: ADA (Ar-Riyadh Development Authority) and Snøhetta; renderings produced by MIR.
Riyadh’s new downtown metro station will include a cool, shimmering, day-lit public garden 35 meters underground, thanks to Snohetta’s cutting-edge green design. Envisioned as a modern oasis, the station will combine the oldest and newest techniques for conserving energy.
Shade cast by the wide metal canopy flaring around the palm-lined entrance will reduce the need for chilling, as will the re-use of cool air from the station interior in its exterior atrium. Riyadh’s intense sunlight will also be converted to electricity by photovoltaic cells in the canopy top, then channeled by fiberoptic technology down into the garden as a bright dappling of natural light. This garden at the station’s heart embodies the preciousness of natural resources, epitomized by the light funneled from the gleaming, basin-like canopy to the interior to illuminate the circulation of travelers through the subterranean system. For its green elements, the design ranks silver on the Leeds evaluation system.
For more info – www.snohetta.com