KAFD Metro Station

Project details

• Project: King Abdullah Financial District Metro Station

• Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

• Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects

• Structural, MEP, Lighting & Sustainability Consultant: Buro Happold

• Façade Engineering: Newtecnic

• Design Management: AECOM

• Main Contractor: BACS Consortium

• Interiors & Landscape Contractor: DEPA

• Façade Contractor: Permasteelisa Gartner Saudi Arabia

• Completion: 2025

KAFD Metro Station in Riyadh, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, is shaped by movement, light, and climate. It operates as a continuous system of movement rather than a static object. Its flowing geometry translates passenger circulation into built form, allowing the routes, transitions, and vertical connections of the station to shape the architectural expression.

The building’s flowing form translates passenger movement into built form, while the repeated façade pattern echoes desert wind ripples across the sand. Its white, self-shading skin helps reduce solar gain, turning climate response into architectural expression.

As daylight fades, the station’s white skin shifts from solar shelter to illuminated urban presence.