The University's goals for this project include: a strong, individual identity for the College within the multi-college master plan; a student-centered learning environment that fosters a vibrant academic community; and a highly sustainable design. Kuwait’s extreme climate conditions, with temperatures ranging from 40ºF to 140ºF and relative humidity from 5 to 85 percent, challenged us to find innovative ways to balance community and comfort with low energy use and environmental sensitivity.
Our design solution is grounded in the belief that classroom-based learning must, in the 21st Century, be complemented by an equally vital learning environment which continues beyond the doors of the classroom. Two five-story rectangular classroom buildings containing labs, classrooms and offices, rest on an undulating "boardwalk" which is carved through the length and height of the structures, linking all floors and functions. The interplay between the mass of the buildings and the meandering Boardwalk defines the architectural identity of the College. This platform is a place for community, informal learning, socializing and academic support: lounges, group study niches, student organization offices, exhibition areas and computer stations. A series of large garden courtyards are accessed from the Boardwalk. They are central nodes of student activity, housing a cafeteria, library, lobby and auditorium. Filled with daylight and sheathed in greenery, they are highly visible from the learning spaces that surround and overlook them.
The building's self-shading skin has been calibrated to its specific solar exposure; it maximizes indirect daylight penetration but minimizes both solar heat gain and glare. The addition of a diffusing fin at each window captures and disperses daylight deep into each learning space, while contributing to the solar protection. The College's three-dimensional enclosure is inspired by regional and traditionally-patterned screens, whose dual function is to shade the interior while providing screened views outward. A variety of computer programs were used to generate the geometry of the exterior skin to maximize protected views from within the building, while minimizing the sun’s adverse effect on the building's energy performance. This approach to the environment and sunlight allowed all classrooms, offices and main circulation spaces to be daylight. The project is expected to earn a LEED-NC Gold rating.
