We’ve all been there: rushing through an unfamiliar metro station laden with heavy bags and only a few minutes to work out where you’re meant to be. It’s a stressful experience and one that Zaha Hadid Architects’ (ZHA) new Moscow metro aims to address with an intuitive layout and navigation aids.
Moscow’s metro stations are world famous, and for good reason. Envisioned as “Palaces of the People” under Stalin’s rule, many still impress with their ornate marble and mosaics.
ZHA sensibly doesn’t attempt to replicate the grandeur of the Soviet-era stations with its Klenoviy Boulevard Station 2 design, but instead has conceived an understated example of the firm’s signature style, with a simple entrance wrapped in glass and a minimalist decor and curving walls inside. The lighting is designed in collaboration with Arup Lighting and is an important part of the project.
“Providing intuitive navigation throughout, the design incorporates new innovations in lighting and passenger information systems to define the next generation of stations on Moscow’s renowned metro system,” explains the firm. “The columns are developed as ‘arrows’ that direct passengers and also integrate lines of light on the ceiling and the floors to provide way-finding, functional lighting and signify platform edges. The station’s lighting has been developed to enrich the environment and orientate travelers as they navigate through its spaces. Platform lighting conditions adjust to inform waiting passengers of a train’s impending arrival, while a dynamic lighting system further enhances passenger orientation throughout the station.”
The metro station design won an international architecture competition, though we’ve no word yet on when it’s expected to begin construction. It’s slated for Moscow’s Bolshaya Koltsevaya Line, which has been used by around 58 million passengers since opening in 2018. The station will also offer easy access to a nearby park.
ZHA has a lot of experience when it comes to designing rail stations and previously created the eye-catching Napoli Afragola in Italy, a pair of metro stations in Norway, and another in Estonia.
Zaha Hadid Architects’ metro station helps travelers find their way [New Atlas]
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