MASDAR INSTITUTE

OF TECHNOLOGY

Done by – 061, 062, 063, 064 & 072

Basics

Established – February, 2007

Architects – Foster & Partners

Theme – Flexibility, traditional Arabic design

combined with modern materials

No. of students - ~ 100

Apartments

1A apartments 102

1B apartments 221

Location – Masdar City

Masdar Institute

Introduction

Foster + Partners have completed the first of a cluster of buildings entirely powered by solar energy at Masdar City, a sustainable urban quarter in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

The Masdar Institute, a facility devoted to sustainable research, is the first of four buildings planned for the site, and will generate more solar energy than it consumes.

Aerial view – Masdar City

Masterplan

Intro… Features

The building features a perforated façade made of glass-reinforced concrete coloured with local sand and detailed with patterns commonly found in traditional Islamic architecture.

The development borrows from traditional Arabian urban design, with shaded courtyards and narrow, pedestrian streets.

A solar field within the masterplanprovides energy for the building and feeds back what is left to the Abu Dhabi grid.

The Masdar Institute, devoted to researching sustainability, is the first building to be fully operational within Masdar City.

Roof plan

Floor plan

Sections

Architecture

The masterplan, by Foster + Partners, incorporates lessons which have evolved over centuries of traditional Arabian architecture.

Emphasis is placed on flexibility, use of traditional architectural elements and modern materials to provide for an optimized combination of natural lighting and cooling that minimize energy needs both indoors and outdoors.

The façade of campus buildings is highly-sealed and insulated, and wrapped in 90 percent recycled aluminum sheeting.

Arch… Residential

The residential concept for the MasdarInstitute campus focuses on the creation of lively energetic neighborhoods.

The Institute campus is formed around a hierarchy of streets and squares that make up the backdrop to an environment of integration, communication and cooperation.

High-density low-rise living is a major component of this low impact development and is vital in achieving a balanced socially and commercially sustainable campus.

The marriage of traditional Arabic building practice and modern technologies satisfies demands for style, adaptability and flexibility, while keeping a sustainable footprint.

Residential…

The interior hallways of the residential buildings

are distinguished by their central atrium, which is

naturally ventilated for as much of the year as

possible.

During the evening, cool air flows from openings

on the podium level, cooling the interior walls and

flowing out through open louvers at the top of the

buildings.

In warm weather, these openings are closed

during the day to keep cool air in, while the

thermal cooling of the walls keeps the interior

hallways pleasant.

Residential…

Apartments are accessed via a fully shaded atrium space that exploits thermal mass and natural ventilation to provide free cooling while atrium roof lights allow diffuse daylight, blocking direct sunlight. The apartment units themselves have screen-shielded windows and windows located near the ceilings to maximize natural light, both from the outside and from the interior atrium, while maintaining privacy.

Waste separation compartments in the apartments reflect the separate waste chutes for glass, aluminum, plastic, paper and other waste found in each floor’s waste room.

The first phase of the Institute campus has 102 residential apartments spread between four residential blocks, one of which is a female block.

Arch… Student rooms

Arch… Room interior

Arch… Windows

Windows in the residential buildings are protected by a contemporary reinterpretation of mashrabiya, a type of latticed projecting oriel window, constructed with sustainably developed, glass-reinforced concrete, coloured with local sand to integrate with its desert context and to minimisemaintenance.

The perforations for light and shade are based on the patterns found in the traditional architecture of Islam.

Arch…

Cooling air currents are

channelled through the

public spaces using a

contemporary interpretation

of the region’s traditional

windtowers.

The public spaces are

further cooled by green

landscaping and water to

provide evaporative cooling.

Arch… Wind tower

Awards

British Expertise International

Awards, Outstanding

International Architecture

Project – Masdar Institute

RIBA International Award –

Masdar Institute

Thank you