Qatar Integrated Railway Project
Grasping local identity
Network identity
Network identity reflects the overall Qatar Rail brand. Recurring design elements create consistency in the architecture of the stations throughout the network and offer brand recognition within Doha’s urban fabric.
Line Identity
Each of the metro lines (Historic line, Coastal line, City line and Education line) has a specific atmosphere and identity. Distinct wall and floor finishes and material applications orient and guide travellers through their journey.
Station identity
Recognisable elements are displayed at strategic points in each station to create individual station identity. Specific to each station the content of these features relates to the local context.
Preservation meets modernisation
Traditional Qatari architectural features are reinterpreted to incorporate new, transformative qualities in the stations. Daylight is captured and directed into the interiors, creating uplifting and luminous atmospheres.
Vaulted spaces establish a referential bridge between Qatar’s historic architecture and its future as a beacon of innovation and prosperity. A system of interconnected triangular bases adapts and transforms programmatic functions and connects interior spaces with exterior urban infrastructure.
‘Slow spaces’ generate opportunities for rest and gathering. This concept is inspired by the historic caravanserais, roadside inns with enclosed courts that served as key gathering places along ancient trade routes.
“The celebration of arriving and departing has always been found in the design of stations. For the Qatar Integrated Railway Project, a system was designed that creates open, light and welcoming interiors for each individual station.”
Ben van Berkel
Mobility+
Providing a valid alternative to private transportation
Building a new network from scratch provides the opportunity to create a service that encourages the use of public transportation as a valid and clean alternative to private transportation. At a local level, Qatar Rail’s network aims to provide safe passage across busy traffic intersections that serve not only metro users but the population at large.With Mobility+ as its mission, Qatar Rail’s Metro Network will positively impact the lives of Doha’s citizens by providing a convenient and practical transport service, acting as an educational tool on environmental issues and improving road safety and living standards for the community. Read about our ongoing explorations of this theme in the Mobility+ workfield.
Mobility+
In the Mobility+ workfield we explore how people and matter move in relation to the built environment on every level from individual travellers to citywide transport systems. Our teams examine every noteworthy development in the field of mobility, in topics as diverse as the second life of existing infrastructure, post-pedestrianisation, invisible networks and waste, food and electricity management. By combining this knowledge with analysis of changing transport needs and behaviours, we develop scenarios that will harmonise the future relationships between infrastructure and vehicles.
Read moreSelected Projects
Selected Articles
Concept and Design
- Varying Scales
- Materiality
- Adaptability
Varying Scales
Utilising varying scales of identity for the user is a key concept within the design: network identity, line identity and station identity.Network identity reflects the overall Qatar Rail brand through recurring design elements that create consistency in the architecture of the stations across the network and offer brand recognition with Doha’s urban fabric.
Line identity is achieved by creating different thematic atmospheres within the stations for each metro line (Historic line, Coastal line, City line and Education line). Distinct wall and floor finishes, and material applications, orient and guide travellers through their journey.
To attain individual station identity, display features will be positioned strategically in different areas of each station. Their content is specific to each station and reflects the local context and/or line theme.
Materiality
The contrast of solid sandstone exteriors and rich, illuminated interiors with a mother-of-pearl iridescence, exemplify Qatari traditions. The atmospheric exterior references the monolithic strength of ancient Qatari architecture, while interior spaces reveal themselves like oyster pearls, capturing a sense of movement. Amplifying the overall experience, integrated light lines function as natural wayfinding elements.
Adaptability
A comprehensive catalogue of architectural ‘branding’ elements was produced for the project. It represents a new, flexible design system that adapts itself to the scalar challenges set within the metro network.
