PROJECT

Student Housing Complex

Our team, in collaboration with Treanor (design architects), provided architectural design, multidisciplinary engineering, cost control services and construction-phase technical advisory services for two energy-independent, six-building student housing developments in Education City, Doha, Qatar.

At the time of completion, the buildings were the first LEED Platinum certified buildings in the country and the largest collection of platinum-certified buildings in one area in the world.

One complex is designated for male students and the other for female students, each with two 150-bed residence halls, three 100-bed apartment buildings and a residential community center.

The 850,500-square-foot design incorporates local culture and modern technology to create a unique, world-class facility for the students. A traditional Islamic village — consisting of five neighborhoods joined by a village street leading to a central plaza — inspired the architectural design.

Client

Qatar Foundation

Location

Education City, Doha, Qatar

Services

Architecture

Buildings

Higher Education Facilities

Green Buildings

Industry

Commercial, Retail & Institutional

Enhanced Learning Through Technology

Smart-room technology saves energy while allowing students to set custom temperature, lighting and other settings. A wall-mounted LCD panel in each room gives students the capability to work anywhere in the room from a wireless keyboard and mouse. Full-building security is controlled by remote Internet access and requires card readers equipped with chips for access into each building.

Renewable Power Sources

Photovoltaic panels on the roofs of all 12 buildings tap into the region’s abundant natural solar resource, as do panels that shade the car park. Solar thermal water preheat panels are incorporated into the plumbing systems and helical wind turbines provide supplemental power for the main energy systems.

Water Conservation

The area topography, combined with placement of the buildings on podiums, created natural micro-detention basins. Planted with native and adapted species, they serve the dual purpose of stormwater control and provision of green space. Greywater and stormwater are collected and filtered to be reused for lavatories, landscaping and water features.

Construction Innovation

Through innovative construction methodology — like fabricating the complete ready-to-use bathroom pods off-site and installing them in the buildings during construction, as well as using precast concrete to construct the structures — the design team met an aggressive schedule while enhancing the quality of construction and cutting waste in half.

Awards

2013 Cityscape Award for Emerging Markets in the Residential (Built) Project Category; the Cityscape awards recognize innovators behind some of the world’s most high-profile projects

2013 Big Project Middle East’s Construction and Sustainability Award of Excellence in the Sustainable Solution of the Year Category

2014 National Winner for Qatar in the Building Project of the Year and Sustainable Project of the Year categories of the MEED Quality Awards for Projects