Aerial view of the grand canopy over the project's public space, from the south of the new district’s development.
View of the main concourse of the underground metro station, filled with natural light and visually integrated to the gardens and the grand central plaza.
View of the outdoor grand central plaza, under the translucent steel & fabric canopy and the proposed passive climate control system.
Aerial view of the grand canopy over the project's public space, from the south of the new district’s development.
Jeddah, SAUDI ARABIA (KSA)
al muntalaq
Client:
MJC – The Metro Jeddah Company / SYSTRA
Area:
160,000m2
Services:
Architectural design / Design & Build Tender Documents.
Design team:
AREP Group: Urban Master Plan and Architecture
proArchitecture (Gerardo Pérez): Project director / Architectural design
In the context of the very ambitious project of the new metro network for Jeddah, our client has the intention of creating a large urban mixed use project with the company headquarters, a luxury shopping center with an exclusive hotel, and notably the main metro station called to become a new city icon and the symbol of the entire network. AREP was appointed to develop the project and I was responsible for the design and the direction of the team that delivered the design&build tender documents.
From an urban standpoint, our proposal consists in creating a network of open public circulations, protected from the extreme weather by an impressive undulated roof, under which all the buildings are organised around a grand public plaza. For these open spaces, we integrated an innovative passive climate control system, that combines solar protection from the translucent roof with the cooling from the extraction of the HVAC systems of the individual buildings.
The other key feature of the project is the main metro station, located underground to allow continuity for the public circulations above, but open towards a remarkable garden and entirely glazed to create a real connection between the grand plaza and the trains that are finally the symbol of this notable urban landmark.