AGi Architects was awarded Sustainable Project of the Year at the 2017 Middle East Architect Awards for its work on the Wind Tower. Read more about the project here.
Located in Salmiya, Kuwait, the residential project reinterprets local environmental techniques. The services core of the building is located on the southern wing in order to minimise sun exposure and reduce energy consumption, acting as a thermal barrier for the rest of the building.
Wind Tower is a residential complex in Kuwait.
Minimum openings are placed on the façade, while the building opens to the north, facing the sea.
The designers created optimal opportunities for natural lighting and cross ventilation, via the internal courtyard that tunnels light and ventilation from the façade and funnels it through the pool area.
The judges praised the project for its successful incorporation of sustainable solutions, drawn from traditional regional architecture, and updated to create a new language for single-family dwellings.
They also praised the project’s response to the changing dynamics and needs of regional families without losing the sustainable design philosophy of past generations.
“It is an interesting award to get,” said Nasser Bader Abulhasan, principal partner, upon receiving the award. “It’s not only exciting for me but for the entire team and for our clients. It is a very unique project that we have tried to develop to reinterpret the traditional courtyard house into a vertical high rise.
“This award will help us to increase the number of projects we are doing and to increase the profile of our clients’ projects.”
Speaking of the challenges of the project, he said: “I think the biggest challenge is trying to build the project itself because from a conception point of view it is not straightforward to build. And to try to execute it with the type of environment we are in is probably the biggest challenge.”
Highly commended in this category was Sheltainer for “giving flexibility to create a social, sustainable community”. The judges also added that “the project is pragmatic and tangible, and its architecture works on a human scale.”
The award was presented by David Booth, Senior Technical Sales Manager, SAS International MENA region from SAS International.
View all the winners of the Middle East Architect Awards 2017 here.