STC Metro Station

Project details

• Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

• Architecture: Gerber Architekten 

• Owner: Royal Commission For Riyadh City (RCRC)

• Project: King Abdulaziz Project for Riyadh Public Transport

• Project Management & Construction Supervision: Riyadh Metro Transit Consultants (RMTC):  Parsons, Egis, SYSTRA

• Line 1 (Blue Line): Bechtel, Almabani General Contractors, Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC), Siemens

• Line 2 (Red Line): FCC Construcción, Samsung C&T, Alstom, Strukton, Freyssinet, Atkins, TYPSA, Setec

• Façade System: Schüco (FWS 50 Curtain Wall System)

• Façade Fabricator: National Aluminum Factory Company (NAFCO)

• GRC / GRG Cladding: Arabian Tile Company (ARTIC)

• Completion: 2025

Designed by Gerber Architekten, the STC Metro Station in Riyadh draws inspiration from the surrounding landscape’s geological formations. While observing the station, I was particularly interested in analyzing the relationship between the monumental upper mass and the transparent base below through photography.

The layered GRC façade recalls the cliff layers of the nearby Tuwaiq Mountains west of Riyadh, a major geological landmark that stretches nearly 800 km across central Saudi Arabia. Suspended above a continuous glass enclosure, the heavy volume creates a sense of weightlessness, as if a massive rock has been lifted from the ground on a lightweight structure.

Through architectural photography, the building shifts between two readings: a geological mass inspired by the landscape, and a technological structure expressed through layered lines that resemble bundles of cables, reflecting STC’s technological identity.

How do you read the building — as a geological form inspired by the landscape, or as a technological structure?