Kuwait’s cultural center wins ENR Award of Merit
Kuwait’s Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Cultural Centre (JACC) has been recognized with the Award of Merit at Engineering News Record (ENR)’s Global Best Projects Awards. The Amiri Diwan’s complex will be honored at a gala ceremony on 23 October, at the Sheraton hotel, Times Square, New York. The Engineering News Record (ENR) Global Best Projects Awards focus on the challenges, risks and rewards of designing and constructing in other countries.
Last month, Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center (JACC) was announced by International Property Award winner of the Arabia and Africa for best project and best interior design. Inaugurated by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on October 31, 2016, the JACC was designed as a venue to organize and hold cultural events aimed at spreading arts appreciation amongst the local masses and help attract visitors from abroad.
The exterior of the JACC’s headquarters constructed on an area of 52,000 square meters - was built from titanium and reinforced concrete. Some 10,000 workers were involved in the construction. The JACC consists of four buildings, with one housing the main stage that accommodates some 2,000 attendees. The drama theater and rehearsals’ spaces could house some 900 people. The second, third, and fourth buildings consist of a 1,800-capacity musical facility, a 1,072-capacity cinema and multi-purpose space, and a 354-seats conference hall.
It is surrounded by water fountains and other facilities that are very attractive to visitors. The State of Kuwait, represented by Amiri Diwan, had won MEED’s Building Project of the Year through the country’s Jahra and Farwaniya Courts Complexes. Engineering News-Record is an American weekly magazine that provides the engineering and construction news, analysis, commentary and data that construction industry professionals need to do their jobs more effectively. ENR reports on the top design firms, both architects and engineers, and the top construction companies as well as projects in the United States and around the world.