KAUST: 2011 R&D Magazine
Lab of the Year
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
“The [Lab of the Year] judges were impressed with KAUST on multiple fronts. The total flexibility, high hat areas for research, ability to attract world-class talent, LEED Platinum status, livability, and sustainability all contributed to its selection as a winner.”
R&D Magazine
This new campus along the coast of the Red Sea houses the world’s most advanced collection of laboratories, equipment and instrumentation across the entire spectrum of science.
The mission of KAUST’s internationally renowned scientists is to address humanity’s most urgent scientific challenges related to energy and the environment. Interdisciplinary research being conducted at KAUST includes pursuing sustainable solutions for water, energy and food.
The project team had less than 30 months to design and construct 5.5 million square feet of complex space across 27 buildings. The campus features 2 million square feet of laboratory space spread across four interconnected, 500,000-sq.-ft. buildings. Exceptionally flexible building shells and universal floor plates accommodate virtually every lab type.
R&D Magazine reported that “KAUST contains just about every modern lab concept known today. Just a few of the notable features include interchangeable lab neighborhoods, changeable lab support zones, grid planning, kit-of-parts lab furniture, walkable interstitial space, overhead lab services, MEP systems integrated with lab grid, heat recovery wheels, lab visibility/transparency, collaboration spaces, simple and large circulation spines, high-height pilot areas and lab daylighting.”
The campus is Saudi Arabia’s first LEED certified project and, at the time of its certification, was the world’s largest LEED Platinum project.
LEED CERTIFICATION
LEED-NC Platinum
SIZE
5.5 million sq. ft. / 511,000 sq. m.
27 buildings
SERVICES
Architecture
Construction Services
Graphics
Facility Programming
Interior Design
Laboratory Planning
Landscape Architecture
Lighting Design
Master Planning
Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing
Engineering
Structural Engineering
AWARDS
Lab of the Year – R&D Magazine
Emerging Research and Science Park – Association of University Research Parks
Library Building Award – AIA/ALA
International Project of the Year – Sustain Magazine
Excellence in Architecture Merit Award (KAUST Library) – AIA San Francisco
Energy + Sustainability Merit Award (KAUST Library) – AIA San Francisco
Design Award (KAUST Library) – AIA Houston
IIDA Award (KAUST Library) – IIDA Northern California
Top 10 Green Projects – AIA Committee on the Environment
Top 10 LEED Projects (#1 Ranking) – Interiors & Sources
Honor Award – AIA St. Louis
Green GOOD DESIGN Award – European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies
International Architectural Award – Chicago Athenaeum
Charter Award – Congress for the New Urbanism
Honor Award – ASLA Georgia
100%
Amount of wastewater that is reused
42%
Reduction in water use
27.1%
Annual energy cost savings
7.8%
Amount of on-site renewable energy
80%
Amount of glazing that is shaded year-round
NEWS
December 2011
“Interview: HOK’s Bill Odell on the Design of Saudi Arabia’s KAUST University, the World’s Largest LEED Platinum Project”
Inhabitat
9 June 2011
“Rising from the Desert: 2011 Lab of the Year”
R&D Magazine
November 2010
“KAUST”
Architectural Record
1 October 2010
“King Abdullah University of Science and Technology”
Interiors & Sources
July 2010
“King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)”
GreenSource
30 September 2009
“King Abdullah University of Science and Technology / HOK”
ArchDaily
Design
Architectural Record profiles HOK’s integrated design of the 5.5-million-sq.-ft. KAUST campus in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. Read the story online or download a PDF of the print version.