Saudi Arabia, Riyadh Metro Special Reports and Interviews
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Saudi Arabia, Riyadh Metro Special Reports and Interviews

HALA ABUKHODAIR
Architectural Engineer, Bechtel


HALA ABUKHODAIR
Architectural Engineer, Bechtel



5 JUNE 2018: Thirty metres underground, a career pinnacle is unfolding. As an architectural engineer with Bechtel, Hala Abukhodair is responsible for some of the finer aesthetic touches the travelling public will experience in the deep underground stations of Lines 1 and 2.

“I work mostly on architectural finishes, which is the part which will last for 100 years. ADA have put a lot of thought into the design, from both a practical and luxury perspective. It’s a perfect combination,” says Abukhodair, an architectural engineering graduate from Prince Sultan University in Riyadh.

“I fell in love with transit system architecture because it matters to people and affects a lot of people. In architecture, you need to know who your users are. Every detail in the underground stations is thought through. I work on the smallest of details, for example choosing the grout colours, or selecting the durable porcelain tiles we import from Italy. But even though the details are fine, the scale is huge - our tile warehouse in Riyadh alone could accommodate 1,000 cars, and the BACS consortium stations will have 220,000 square metres of porcelain tile in total, along with 10,000 doors. Every single piece of this project is part of me, and will always be part of me.”

Abukhodair believes the Riyadh Metro will become an integral part of the city’s socio-economic fabric going forward.

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