KFAS Headquarter and Conference Center
TYPE City Master Plan, Transportation, Infrastructure, Headquarter, Conference Center
STATUS Competition
LOCATION Kuwait City, Kuwait
YEAR 2018
CLIENT KFAS
DESIGN TEAM Harshdeep Arora, Eva Castro, Rossella Corica, Micol Fronza, Dinghao Gao, Kai Gao, Ulla Hell, Holger Kehne, Sung-Ching Lo, Sprite Mau, Giulia Mariotti, Filippo Ogliani, Shail Paragkumur Patel, Chuan Wang, Ting Xu
Landscape: Dinghao Gao, Xiaoyi Teng, Lingwei Wan, Murong Xu, Keying Zhu
The urban design concept is based on recomposing and connecting, whilst fostering key moments from within which future growth can occur. Plasma Studio conceptualizes this urban fabric as a tissue in need of further material definition to generate a strong identity; its own character informed by both, the architectural instances (de)marking places on the one hand and the movement of pedestrians, which in due time will lend itself to additional activities and further intensification of the area.
The KFAS Headquarters is formed by three basic elements; a plinth, a vertical block/tower and a 0 level plaza.
The plinth forms by decreasing its height and giving space to the neighboring building, whilst lifting its northeast corner to mark its presence more fully in the plot. Instead, toward the southeast it folds down to gently welcome users, inviting to ascend toward its top surface and reach the viewing plaza, where an unobstructed vista opens toward the entire gulf area.
The two volumes of the tower are sharp edged and connected by a central void that runs throughout the entire building providing ventilation, light and a variety of spaces for social gathering and relaxation within the offices setup.
This plaza is one of the larger open space instances Plasma Studio proposes with the urban proposal to generate a system of shaded spaces able to invite pedestrian movement within the area.
The Conference Centre likewise the headquarters, is composed also of a plinth – acting as an urban plaza, an overhanging volume and the floating auditorium.
Plasma Studio has purposely played the auditorium’s duality by being formally a very articulated volume, yet austere in the choice of its rendered surfaces; heavy in its all around concrete presence, yet (and even the more) magical in its floaty appearance; single, self-standing and defining singularity, yet malleable in its connective capacity throughout the building.
