UN Studio Unveils 35 Vaulted Rail Stations for Qatar’s Doha Metro

One thought on “UN Studio Unveils 35 Vaulted Rail Stations for Qatar’s Doha Metro”

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  iconnito December 30, 2014 at 6:41 pm

  "The geometry adapts and transforms to provide optimal connection between the interior spaces and urban infrastructure." How so? Did I not just see a picture of a metro station standing in the middle of an obligatory plaza fancifully filled with pedestrians despite being nowhere near any urban density that would pressurize the masses into it? Most of the wealthy on the Arabian peninsula are automobile-centric, thus they'll pass right through the plaza and it will become nothing more than a momentary annoyance on the way to the station- I am to assume that the target audiences depicted in the renderings are supposed to be the wealthy, considering that they're mostly slick businessmen conducting sweet deals with Wahhabi dudes. The triangular geometry seems futuristic by virtue of "being really neat," but it forces itself to require setbacks and (destined to be unused) plazas, considering that buildings that conspire to make an urban space are overwhelmingly rectangular. I think this architectural form pays lip-service to the local architectural history, but only to validate cheaply-replicated modernist shortcuts. The reference to intricate Islamic geometric design of the glory-days is appreciable in the gratings on the interior, but in this incarnation, they are such a throwaway embellishment that the lack of passion, artistry, and human dedication is glaringly obvious. All this adds up to a space which is designed to be thrown away.