RKD was appointed, under Jubail Royal Commission, to design a new university campus as a major component of social infrastructure supporting the development of Jubail Industrial City 2, valued at SAR14 billion over a 22-year development period
Working with CCH Architects, RKD’s role was that of lead consultant to Kentz-subsidiary RGCK, one of the world’s leading engineering firms. RKD provided expert advice on current trends in educational design.
One-third (250,000 sq. m.) of the total area of the masterplan is given to academic facilities including the school of engineering, architecture, business administration, computer science, English language, general studies, and materials testing laboratory.
The masterplan for the student areas was divided into male and female sectors catering for 10,000 male students and 8,000 female students. Phase I of the development, delivering 110,000 sq. m. of academic buildings and 8,300 student places, will be completed in 2014. Phase II delivers the remaining 140,000 sq. m. and 9,700 student places due for completion in 2017
The masterplan design, premised on the “Pedestrian Street” principle, focuses on the provision of primary and secondary pedestrian routes for the students and staff. The design approach was to view the university campus as a city with way-finding throughout the academic buildings sector is created in the same way as a city, based on nodes, focal points, vistas and landmarks. Taking inspiration from the climate and traditional local urban forms, these designed streetscapes through the academic buildings sectors are shaped, both formal and informal to create a protective traditional urban grain but in a modern and contemporary idiom appropriate to a 21st century university campus. The intention is to create a traditional environment in a contemporary language.
The masterplan also provides for 102,000 sq. m. of staff accommodation and 380,000 sq. m. of student accommodation in the form of 6,000 male dorms, 4,800 female dorms, 400 single male and female staff apartments, 450 apartments and houses for family-based staff, town centre facilities, admissions and registrations buildings, dining halls, a female recreation centre and a Friday Mosque in the male sector.
For more information visit our Jubail University College project page and browse our portfolio.
