Kuwait University Administrative Complex

Unbuilt Design Award Submission

This competition entry for Kuwait University’s central administrative facilities complex, a subdistrict of the main campus, includes an administration building, a conference center, a convocation hall, a cultural center, a library, a visitor center and a grand mosque. The scheme is an integrated complex of buildings that promotes accessibility, creates a strong dialogue between the buildings and the landscape, allows for unparalleled views of the campus and takes full advantage of passive sustainable strategies, in particular the benefits of self-shading. The design focused on the creation of a lushly planted Grand Courtyard that would serve as the campus’s focal point and a lively, interactive public space that engages in a strong dialogue with the designs of the ensemble of buildings that flank it. These include a new central administration building, a conference center, a convocation hall, a cultural center, a library, a visitor center and a grand mosque, all integrated into a clear ensemble. The design team’s other primary goals were to reinforce the major elements of the university’s existing master plan and create a complex of high-performance, sustainable facilities that respond in particular to solar orientation, wind direction and dust and sandstorm activity at the site.

Architect

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

Associate Architect

Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc.

Client

Kuwait University

Location

Shadadiyah, Kuwait

Category

Institutional