QU’s new building wins prestigious international award

The College of Education building, which was completed in April 2021, spans 59,000 square metres and is a model of sustainable development

THE new building of Qatar University’s (QU) College of Education has won the Award of Merit in the Education/Research category at the Engineering News-Record (ENR) 2021 Global Best Projects Awards. This is a prestigious competition dedicated to honouring the best international construction projects from 21 different countries on six continents.

The new building, which was completed in April 2021, was designed as a student-centred environment in which life-long learning, teaching and community partnerships are fostered. It can accommodate up to 2,500 students, as well as 200 academic and administrative staff. The new building fulfils QU’s ambition to improve the education system in Qatar and become one of the leading educational institutions in the region.

Spanning 59,000 m² of built-up area, the building, located in the centre of QU’s campus, is a model of sustainable development, having been built to 4-Star Design and Construction Standards by Qatar’s Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS). QU appointed Khatib & Alami (K&A) as the main consultant of the design and construction supervision of the project and Boom General Contractors as main contractor.

The building brought together a multidisciplinary and multicultural team working remotely across different time zones with a shared vision to create an inspirational learning environment. Key components include basement for staff parking, services, building utilities and training and support rooms. The basement floor is dedicated for staff parking and accommodate all building services. The ground floor comprises features student lounges, eateries, clinic, and multipurpose halls & administration staff offices. Floors one and two house conference halls, 36 classrooms, computer training/science laboratories, virtual I-cube, and e-learning, in addition to media amenities, a media broadcasting studio, and technical support facilities, art labs, as well as an auditorium with a capacity of 356 standard seats, plus provision for people with disabilities. Third floor comprises two libraries (one for males and one for females) in addition to a dean’s office and his/ her assistants, research facilities, post-graduation cubicles and libraries with several meeting/group rooms, computer stations, and comfortable reading areas. The fourth floor caters to administrative and over 200 academic staff offices and support amenities, designed with a continuous terrace over the building perimeter.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic during the time of its construction, the project was able to be completed on schedule. Thanks to stringent preventive measures onsite and a fast-track vaccination program, the project was among the first in Qatar to restart site activities following the lockdown and was able to

creatively overcome import delays by using locally available materials with similar specifications.