On November 20 starts the World Cup 2022 in qatar and thousands of people from all over the world are already beginning to reach Doha, capital of the country and main seat of the parties. A key piece to mobilize the wave of visitors through the city is the Qatar Subwaywhose design is the result of mexican talent.
Daniel Rodriguez Escobar is a graduate of Industrial design by the Ibeoamerican University. Twenty years ago she obtained a scholarship to study Master’s in Product Design on the Kyoto Art Universityin Japan, and never came back.
Currently, the mexican designer it lies in Osaka and performs as Industrial Design Office Manager in the Japanese company Kinki Sharyo, rail vehicle manufacturer. It is a highly competitive sector worldwide, since the demand for new units is low, explains the magazine Iberian. Train design firms will wait up to five years to have a project.
Due to the scarce job opportunities, there are few who specialize in this branch, and even fewer who manage to work in it. In Japan there are barely 20 train designers and only one of them is foreign: the Mexican Daniel Rodríguez Escobar.
He was entrusted with developing the Metro design for the city of Doha, the capital of Qatar. His project was recognized with international awards Red Dot Design Award and the iF Design Award in 2017.
The challenge of pleasing Qatar, one of the richest countries in the world
On October 27, Daniel participated in the 2nd Forum The Value of Design, a series of conferences organized by the Universidad Iberoamericana. There he talked about how he developed the project, which fuses high technology, ancient traditions, luxury and a touch of Mexican inspiration.
Rodríguez Escobar explained that every project must start from “know the place well”. His first challenge was to decipher the local culture, to design something according to the needs of his society and the daily life of Qataris.
Qatar is a small country in the desert, whose only big city is Doha, points out the magazine AD. But as same as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other cities in the Middle East, in recent years it has experienced rapid urban growth as a result of its accelerated economic development.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Qatari society is one of the wealthiest in the world. It ranks ninth among the 25 countries with the highest per capita income globally. It also has the third largest natural gas reserves in the world and a lot of oil, collects BG Consulting Group.
Despite the high purchasing power of the inhabitants, the Quatar Metro had to be designed to transport people of all social classes. At the same time, they are an Islamic country that is very careful about its traditions. For this reason, the company QatarRail He specifically asked to include details of his culture and identity in the creation of the capital’s Metro.
Being Mexican was key to understanding the Middle East market
The designer stressed that each project must adapt to the tastes of the market and design style in each place.
“Being Mexican helps me a lot. and all the cultural influences that we have because you understand other legacies,” he told Iberian in 2018. “For example, if you ask an Arab and a Japanese what elegance is, you see totally different points of view. But as a Mexican you understand one thing and the other,” she added.
“A lot of my inspiration comes from Mexicoof its history, culture and colors, which influenced my performance with the Arabs with whom I feel close due to the influence they had in Spain for eight centuries. […] That’s when I bring out the Mexican: very bright, striking colors that express the culture of the place“, he expressed.
This is the Qatar Metro designed by Daniel Rodriguez Escobar
during the talk The value of design in transportationthe graduate of ‘La Ibero’ explained that the Doha metro it only has 3 wagons. These correspond to the zones or ‘classes’ into which the train is divided, depending on the cost of the ticket. Also, It does not have a cabin nor will it have a driversince it is a self-driving vehicle.
The Mexican explained that Qatar Rail chose the ‘Al Faras’ concept for exterior design. This one is inspired by very fast, intelligent and valuable Arabian horses. “It is going to be the fastest automated train in the world and so smart that it doesn’t need a driver. […] From where you look, you will know that this is the Doha metro,” customers told him.
Daniel Rodríguez stressed that in that city people of any socioeconomic status travel by subway. Thus, the interior design of the wagons must be of the highest quality.
The seats were placed so that all people face each other “to strengthen the sense of community.” This also prevents users from having to ‘ask permission’ to pass if they are, for example, in a window seat; something that “causes tension” in their culture.
The distribution also allows to see the outside from any seat, offering a beautiful panorama of the city. The railings are designed so that anyone can hold on well regardless of her height and have spaces to place luggage, strollers or shopping bags.
Mexican pride!
The Ibero-American University details that Daniel Rodríguez Escobar has extensive experience in train design and has taken his projects around the world. In his history is the development of the Green Mover from Hiroshima, Japanwhich was the first light rail in the Asian country.
The Mexican designer also worked on several projects in Osaka, including the city subwaythe express Super Hitachi and the Kinotorijust like him 223 Loop Line. In addition, he designed lines 2 and 3 of the Cairo Metro, Egypt; the Dubai Metroin the United Arab Emirates, and the P3010 model for the Los Angeles SubwayCalifornia, in the United States.
Daniel assures that “he would love” to work in Mexico. “Unfortunately, if I want to design for my country I have to be abroad, because in Mexico we don’t design for Mexicans.”
However, he stressed that “If Mexico asked for (trains) again, I would be delighted to do a project for my country”.
We leave you the video of the 2nd Forum The Value of Design, organized by the Iberoamerican University. the talk of Daniel Rodriguez Escobar It is from minute 6:00 to 34:30.
Editorial Team The editorial team of EMPRENDEDOR.com, which for more than 27 years has worked to promote entrepreneurship.