Beijing Metro Line 14 Lize Shangwuqu Station is the first station to open as part of the “five-line interchange station” in the Lize Business District and will connect to the future Daxing Airport Lize City Terminal in the north. As part of the iconic transit hub, the station serves as a gateway to not only the district but also the city of Beijing. Therefore, it should reflect the characteristic of “urban living room”. 

The project allows natural light to be introduced into the station hall through two skylights, changing the experience of dull and closed underground space and has successfully created an open and bright atmosphere based on the original thinking. At the same time, the skylights help reduce lighting costs, which makes station operation more eco-friendly. 

The main load-bearing components in the station hall are all Y-shaped columns. The use of cumbersome decorations is abandoned and plain cement is utilised as a means of highlighting the structural beauty of the columns. 

The design of the ceiling primarily involves the use of aluminium panels with ambient GRG dome lights and LED stripes arranged in lines. The grouping of the lights creates a feeling of depth and makes the station hall uniform in colour, harmonious in language and rich in texture. In addition, the circular chandeliers that are above the core areas create a visual illusion of floating from a distance, which imparts a futuristic and ethereal feeling within the space. 

The Y-shaped columns, the dome lights, the circular chandeliers and the skylights——just like abstracted clouds and trees, the combination of these elements gives people a yearning for the sky, making the station more like an open space on the ground rather than a traffic passageway buried deep underground. 

In addition, to realise the “underground urban living room” , a subtractive strategy is used, which strives for the maximisation of conciseness and functionality of the architecture. By closely cooperating with other teams of professionals, the structural heights, MEP space requirements and pipeline layouts have been optimised and clearance in the core area of the hall is 6.4m. It is important to note that there are several different floor openings on the floor of the station hall, forming several double-height spaces of approximately 11.5m. In combination with the island platform layout, passengers will be able to see metro trains from the hall level and the natural light from the skylights will directly reach the platform and help illuminate the waiting area.