Stations' unique designs to reflect nature

Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority, recently inspected work at several stations that will be opened later. He said he was satisfied with the progress being made towards finishing work on the floors, escalators and lifts and interior lighting.

The Metro offers tailor-made features for people with special needs such as tactile floors designed to guide visually-impaired passengers to their destinations, as well as audio-visual public address systems.

The stations have designs that reflect the four elements of nature – water, air, fire and earth, while the heritage design of Al Ras and Al Ghubaiba Stations on the Red Line is inspired by the history and civilisation of the UAE. The core concept of the heritage-inspired design is based on the architectural elements used in antique buildings such as wind towers (brajeel), oriel windows (mashrabia), alleyways (sukaik) and internal arches.

"These stations, with their unique designs, will appear as natural extensions of the heritage icons in the vicinity such as the antique shops, Heritage Village and both the old and existing control towers," said a spokesman.

The pedestrian crossings linking with Metro stations consist of 19 footbridges across Sheikh Zayed Road. These footbridges, which are spacious and air-conditioned, provide public thoroughfares across the highway and feature moving walkways and high quality finishes.

"The footbridges will revolutionise pedestrian accessibility in the city and support the broader objective of promoting reduced dependence on private car usage.

Keep up with the latest business news from the region with the Emirates Business 24|7 daily newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.