UNStudio appointed as principal architect for Qatar Integrated Railway Project

Qatar Rail has selected Dutch architectural firm UNStudio as principal architect for its Qatar Integrated Railway Project (QIRP).

The first phase of the project will see the development of approximately 35 stations, while close to 60 stations will be built in the second phase.

The stations will serve as the backbone of the public transport system in the Greater Doha Area (GDA), Qatar Rail has said.

Each of the stations were designed by UNStudio, keeping in mind Qatar’s past architecture, while presenting a vision of modernisation and preservation.

The company said in a statement: "The full network is planned to comprise four lines connecting the GDA as well as the Al Khor and Al Wakrah-Mesaieed communities, located north and south of Doha, respectively."

Under the contract, UNStudio has also developed a set of design guidelines, the Architectural Branding Manual, which can be used by design and build contractors during the construction and delivery of the 35 stations during phase one.

UNStudio co-founder and principal architect Ben van Berkel said: "Through the production of a design manual and with the use of adaptive parametric design, it has been possible for us to create a design with many variants, yet one which maintains a coherent identity throughout all of the stations.

"In this way, we can combine local contextual differences within an overall identity and parametrically adapt physical factors such as wayfinding, daylight penetration, passenger flows, constructive elements etc. in a complex but extremely disciplined system."

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Image: UNStudio designs over 30 stations for Doha Metro Network. Photo: courtesy of UNStudio / PRNewswire.