ElKhor Subway Station | Environmental Approach

ElKhor Subway Station | Environmental Approach A-LIVE design studio 2020-21 Tutors: Bruno Peeters, Frank Theyssen KU Leuven MSc Architecture Mostafa Abuahmed mostafa95khamis.abuahmed@student.kuleuven.be

Project Type: Academic Situation: Elkhor City in Qatar is preparing to host the FIFA 22 World Cup. The city is known for its harsh weather, low density and high dependence on car-based transportation!

Project: Environmental approach by Looking to Qatar’s harsh weather as a special opportunity to make an interesting architectural design. Especially, considering solar radiation and wind analysis.

Role: Entire project

Early Design brainstorming sketches

Making the inner plaza the centroid of the building. Therefore it’s obligatory to pass by it, creating some “free“ experience for the misfortune/mistreated working class. While adding more profitable recreations for the ones who can afford them.

- Summer in El-Khor can reach 48 C. Forming a critical problem for outdoor activities. Therefore the Subway station works as a shelter from the heat at hour mornings.

- Wind is stable all around the year. With 14.4 m/s coming from the North. The wind has interesting potential for the building’s natural ventilation.

Exploring solar radiation effect on basic geometries in the site to better understand the heat gain of different geometries. Flat surfaces will lead to much more heat gain, in sequence much more cooling energy and costs.

Domes -as inspiration from Islamic architecture - can have much less heat gain.

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The selected shape (Elongated Dome) is an interesting result as it is the combination of a Normal box ( giving the simplest architectural form for the spatial program ) + The Islamic/Arabic dome which is the traditional cooling method!

“The construction sector has also emerged as the biggest job creator in Qatar. According to a report of the Planning and Statistics Authority, Qatar’s population at the end of 2019 reached about 2.8 million, of which the number of workforce in the country was about 2.1 million. The expatriate workforce accounts for about 94.9 percent of the total workforce.The construction sector is playing a significant role in powering Qatar’s economy. In the run-up to FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Qatari cities have undergone a massive change. With massive investment to build airport, road network, Doha Metro, Qatar now has world-class infrastructure....” business-humanrights.org

Yet, many reports question the conditions of these workers. Over 6,000 South Asian migrant workers have died preparing Qatar for the 2022 World Cup. Other reports are precarious about workers’ shelters, being described as cages without any social life luxury! On the other hand, Qatar gov’t promised to address these problems!

Image by Harry Markham

One of the project aims was to provide public space with social activities for the construction workers class who is not able to afford these experiments!

Therefore It was important to design a form that can capture natural wind, creating an enjoyable public square experience around the station, especially after sunset as the temperature get lower! Therefore, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis was investigated to reach that form. In addition, capturing natural wind and can help in reducing the power needed for artificial ventilation by partially depending on natural ventilation!

Second form variation was to subtract straight cut out of the main shape! + Wind Catching Form + Good Air circulation at the southern facade for public users experience.

Third form variation was to subtract curved cut out of the main shape! + More wind catching and self shaded form at northern Facad for better public users experience. + Good Air circulation at the southern facade!

Environmental Analysis Videos!

Considering the environmental factors, The new shape aims to reduce heat gain, artificial cooling, and ventilation energy.

In addition to offering social infrastructure for the workers.

Plan:

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Circulation analysis:

Isometric section: The subway station is on the underground Floor. Can easily be reached by escalators and elevators.

Structure System: Space truss is the best solution for the massive span (48 m) The space truss depth will be 4 meters. Steel was chosen as it works better than concrete in high temperatures.

Shell Materiality: translucent polycarbonate panels. As it is easy to fabricate according to the design. Installed onsite. Its translucency will allow more natural light inside. The 4m depth between two layers of cladding will reduce the heat gain.

Reference: Free University’s Philology Library / Foster + Partners