A short presentation on the architecture of the Masdar Inst. of Tech in Abu Dhabi. The presentation was done as a case study for a college project of desgining a residential block for the students. The focus therefore is on the residetial block of the Inst. here rather than its other numerous feat.s.

1. MASDAR INSTITUTE
OF TECHNOLOGY
Done by – 061, 062, 063, 064 & 072

2. Basics
 Established – February, 2007
 Architects – Foster & Partners
 Theme – Flexibility, traditional Arabic design
combined with modern materials
 No. of students - ~ 100
 Apartments
 1A apartments 102
 1B apartments 221

3. Location – Masdar City
Masdar Institute

4. Introduction
 Foster + Partners have
completed the first of a
cluster of buildings entirely
powered by solar energy
at Masdar City, a
sustainable urban quarter
in Abu Dhabi in the United
Arab Emirates.
 The Masdar Institute, a
facility devoted to
sustainable research, is
the first of four buildings
planned for the site, and
will generate more solar
energy than it consumes.

5. Aerial view – Masdar City

6. Masterplan

7. Intro… Features
 The building features a perforated
façade made of glass-reinforced
concrete coloured with local sand and
detailed with patterns commonly found
in traditional Islamic architecture.
 The development borrows from
traditional Arabian urban design, with
shaded courtyards and narrow,
pedestrian streets.
 A solar field within the masterplan
provides energy for the building and
feeds back what is left to the Abu
Dhabi grid.
 The Masdar Institute, devoted to
researching sustainability, is the first
building to be fully operational within
Masdar City.

8. Roof plan

9. Floor plan

10. Sections

11. Architecture
 The masterplan, by Foster +
Partners, incorporates
lessons which have evolved
over centuries of traditional
Arabian architecture.
 Emphasis is placed on
flexibility, use of traditional
architectural elements and
modern materials to provide
for an optimized combination
of natural lighting and
cooling that minimize energy
needs both indoors and
outdoors.
 The façade of campus
buildings is highly-sealed
and insulated, and wrapped
in 90 percent recycled
aluminum sheeting.

12. Arch… Residential
 The residential concept for the Masdar
Institute campus focuses on the
creation of lively energetic
neighborhoods.
 The Institute campus is formed around
a hierarchy of streets and squares that
make up the backdrop to an
environment of integration,
communication and cooperation.
 High-density low-rise living is a major
component of this low impact
development and is vital in achieving a
balanced socially and commercially
sustainable campus.
 The marriage of traditional Arabic
building practice and modern
technologies satisfies demands for
style, adaptability and flexibility, while
keeping a sustainable footprint.

13. Residential…
 The interior hallways of the residential buildings
are distinguished by their central atrium, which is
naturally ventilated for as much of the year as
possible.
 During the evening, cool air flows from openings
on the podium level, cooling the interior walls and
flowing out through open louvers at the top of the
buildings.
 In warm weather, these openings are closed
during the day to keep cool air in, while the
thermal cooling of the walls keeps the interior
hallways pleasant.

14. Residential…
 Apartments are accessed via a fully
shaded atrium space that exploits thermal
mass and natural ventilation to provide
free cooling while atrium roof lights allow
diffuse daylight, blocking direct sunlight.
The apartment units themselves have
screen-shielded windows and windows
located near the ceilings to maximize
natural light, both from the outside and
from the interior atrium, while maintaining
privacy.
 Waste separation compartments in the
apartments reflect the separate waste
chutes for glass, aluminum, plastic, paper
and other waste found in each floor’s
waste room.
 The first phase of the Institute campus has
102 residential apartments spread
between four residential blocks, one of
which is a female block.

15. Arch… Student rooms

16. Arch… Room interior

17. Arch… Windows
 Windows in the residential
buildings are protected by a
contemporary reinterpretation of
mashrabiya, a type of latticed
projecting oriel window,
constructed with sustainably
developed, glass-reinforced
concrete, coloured with local
sand to integrate with its desert
context and to minimise
maintenance.
 The perforations for light and
shade are based on the patterns
found in the traditional
architecture of Islam.

18. Arch…
 Cooling air currents are
channelled through the
public spaces using a
contemporary interpretation
of the region’s traditional
windtowers.
 The public spaces are
further cooled by green
landscaping and water to
provide evaporative cooling.

19. Arch… Wind tower

20. Awards
 British Expertise International
Awards, Outstanding
International Architecture
Project – Masdar Institute
 RIBA International Award –
Masdar Institute

21. Thank you