Paphos, Cyprus
Brisbane, Australia
London, United Kingdom
Sydney, Australia
Shenzhen, China
Melbourne, Australia
New York, New York
Tokyo, Japan
Masdar City, Abu Dhabi
Beijing, China
Umbria, Italy
Innovative Design Prospers in Middle East Desert
Built among the sand dunes on the outskirts of the city, this sustainable environment is a key initiative led by the Qatar Foundation in its drive to amplify highly skilled jobs and establish the metropolitan area as a knowledge economy in the Middle East. Located within Education City, the project is integrated within the client’s facilities, which includes its new teaching hospital, convention center and retail amenities. The Incubator Building acts as the central focal point, which marks the establishment of the interconnected, structural spine linking this campus with the others of the foundation. The winged, undulating come off of the centralized space provides shelter from the hot desert sun, connecting the new and existing buildings and encouraging people to move between areas.
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Clustered around atria, an array of activity hubs forms the heart of the campus, offering informal places along the vertical and horizontal circulation routes where tenants can interact and exchange ideas. The public-facing podium provides banking, travel, dining and retail outlets. Anchored on the vision of creating a robust, adaptable site able to accommodate potential restaurant and dining needs, this layout provides maximum flexibility in plot sizes and arrangements while emulating the locality’s pedestrian-friendly culture.
Different microclimatic environments, developed through the careful selection of finishes and the introduction of landscaped areas, generate a range of outdoor spaces that can host activities by day and night. Public comfort is enhanced through shade control, landscape furniture and exterior lighting. Focal artworks and water features combine with the framing of important landscape design elements to create visual diversity. All the building façades incorporate a double-skin metal and glass external wall zone to assist the control of heat gain and reflect light through the interior spaces, reducing the loading of artificial lighting required. Double-glazed high-performance window systems further reduce the heat load on the structure.
The structural skeleton of the main building within masterplan.