A new educational hub in the heart of Kuwait, the College of Business is known for its impeccable design and breathtaking facade. A part of Kuwait’s much larger Sabah Al Salem University complex, the college building is an interactive teaching and research space where students hone their business skills. The building’s unique architecture, with vertical louvre shades and expansive rooflines, was created to maximise the natural airflow while minimising solar penetration
The building had a roof of approx 4,000 sq. m., which would allow a large amount of heat to enter through the skylight. This posed a big challenge to the architects in order to manage the cooling loads for the building. Our brief was to make the building as energy-efficient as possible, which called for us to find a way to keep heat transmission to a minimum while also maximising light transmission. Finding the appropriate build-up for the skylight was key for the success of the project completion in the short term and for the operation of the building in the long term to ensure sufficient light disbursement and reduction of solar heat gain. The glass make up had to protect the interiors from the harsh sunlight while also ensuring that the sun’s movement did not leave parts of the building in darkness. The idea was to ensure uniform dispersion of sunlight so as to reduce the occurrence of shadows and contrasts within the space.
To meet the customer’s needs, we decided to use SOLERA panels for the skylight. Unlike other translucent panels like white laminated glass and frosted glass, which only disperse light at narrow angles and do not allow uniform light dispersion, SOLERA is a wide-angle light distributor that evenly disperses the entire spectrum of light entering the space without compromising on the quantum of light. SOLERA also provides thermal insulation that is almost equivalent to the insulation provided by a wall thanks to the use of a specialised material within its cavity known as Aerogel. Aerogel is a light-weight substance that was invented for the aerospace industry in order to achieve excellent thermal insulation while keeping the weight impact to a minimum.
The panels we used were of adequate thickness to match the customer’s acoustic rating requirements. With a low U-value of 0.31(w/m2k) and a G-value of just 0.25, we were able to maximise the building’s energy efficiency while keeping the heat out. The SOLERA panels that were used for this project were custom-designed to ensure durability under the hot desert sun while handling extreme temperatures with ease. We also introduced special vents into the unit to pump out the moisture equalised pressure differences created due to the extreme weather conditions.
With the use of SOLERA panels, we have been able to bring the architect’s vision to life. The panels, which are hydrophobic, provide 100% moisture resistance, while the colour used in the application is US-resistant, even under the harsh Kuwaiti sun. With glare-free light diffusion and maximum utilisation of natural light, we are proud to have been part of the project team to create a safe and comfortable learning environment for Kuwait’s next generation of business leaders.
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Future Architectural Glass, LLC (Future Glass) is a joint venture between a multinational & diversified Singapore corporation and a leading Indian glass conglomerate. The company has positioned itself to establish itself as UAE's premium glass processor having the entire gamut of European machinery and systems to process any type of interior and exterior glass.
Since 1976, the group has been serving the needs of the architectural glass market by providing the latest products suiting the dynamic needs of architects/consultants. We started operations as a glass trading and distribution firm and ever since have expanded our products and services to include safety glass manufacturing and providing specialty glass solutions.