Doha Metro’s Rapid Construction Guided by Branding Manual Doha Metro’s Rapid Construction Guided by Branding Manual
News - 8 September 2020

Doha Metro’s Rapid Construction Guided by Branding Manual

Qatar Rail opened Doha’s first-ever metro network in 2019, having enlisted UNStudio to work on the concept design and branding manual that helped see the first phase of the project completed in rapid time.

When Qatar Rail completed the first phase of the Doha Metro Network last year, it had created one of the most advanced and fastest driverless metro systems in the world, capable of reaching speeds of 100km/h.

The network, which when opened included three lines and 37 stations, is intended to stimulate the use of public transport and keep the city moving as efficiently and conveniently as possible. This is particularly pertinent ahead of the Qatari capital’s role as host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The design of the stations, set around UNStudio’s vision, play a key role in this endeavour.

“In order to encourage the use of more sustainable forms of transport, these stations not only have to ensure smooth passenger flows, but they need to truly appeal to the public; to be places they want to visit and return to,” said UNStudio’s Founder and Principal Architect Ben van Berkel.

“For the Doha Metro Network we devised an adaptive parametric system which creates open, light and welcoming interiors for each of the individual stations. Traditional Qatari architectural features are reinterpreted to incorporate new, transformative qualities which capture daylight and direct this into the interiors, creating uplifting and luminous atmospheres,” he explained.

The design and construction of the individual stations was guided by an ‘Architectural Branding Manual’, which was developed in collaboration with the Qatar Rail Architecture Department. This document is an extensive set of design guidelines, architectural details and material outlines to assure the spatial quality and identity of the network. It serves as a set of guidelines to enable the efficient design and construction of the different station types.

The manual was used by the appointed D&B contractors to deliver the different station types for the first phase of the project, which was completed in a rapid seven-year timeframe from the initial reference designs to the network’s opening.

To read more about the concept design and Branding Manual, click here.

To find out more about the second phase of the project, click here (Qatar Rail).

Photo: ©Hufton+Crow