Gulf Construction Online - Bonyan busy with major projects

Kuwait Review

The College of Health Sciences ...KD6 million project.

Bonyan busy with major projects

01 December 2002

Bonyan Design, a Kuwait-based consulting, planning and engineering firm, is currently working on several major projects including colleges, hospitals, research and health centres for both the government and the private sector in the emirate.

Among the latest projects on its drawing boards are the United Nations (UN) House - a regional office for the UN - and the Centre for Veterinary Laboratories and Agricultural Services. Bonyan is also supervising the construction of the College of Health Sciences for boys, a new water and agricultural research laboratory for the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), and the new headquarters and retail/commercial complex project for Kuwait Oxygen & Acetylene Company (KOAC).

United Nations House

Bonyan's design for the United Nations House is inspired by themes from the liberation of the country from Iraq after the Gulf War. The symbolic building was commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a goodwill gift to the UN for its role in the liberation of Kuwait.

The design uses themes of war, hope and peace. The massing of the building starts with two masses representing the chaos of war and a simple circular building representing peace, linked to a hall of hope.

The building has a basement, ground, first and second floors. The basement has private car-parking with some storage and mechanical rooms and an electrical substation.

The ground floor has the main entrance and spaces allocated for the main hall while the first and second floors comprise facilities for training, VIP rooms, library, offices and common facilities . The project, with a total built-up area of 9,975 sq m, is expected to be tendered by early next year.

Veterinary labs

Final designs and tender documents have been prepared for the construction of the Centre for Veterinary Laboratories and Agricultural Services at Amgara. The client is the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR). The project involves the construction of a complex of building wings to house the centre's administrative, treatment, research and training facilities.

The complex, which will have a total built-up area of 28,000 sq m, will include a library, a dining hall, meeting rooms and exhibition areas. Outdoor research facilities will include about 3,000 sq m of glasshouses and farms.

The master plan for the complex allows for a 50 per cent expansion of facilities with the glasshouses provided with the option to double in space.

The veterinary and agricultural departments will each occupy two levels of laboratory wings on either side of the two-storey research facilities and central service wing.

The project is estimated to cost KD7 million ($23.5 million) and will have a construction contract period of about two-and-a-half years.

College of Health Sciences

Bonyan is supervising the construction of the College of Health Sciences for boys which is scheduled for completion in August 2003.

The KD6 million project is a major component of the Technological Campus for the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET).

The campus at Shuwaikh is located between Al Sabah Hospital to the west and Shuwaikh Industrial Area to the east. The main contractor is Real Estate Construction and Fabrication Company (Recafco).

The multilevel facility includes the college's central administration, medical and general department offices and six science department sections. Other facilities include laboratories and support rooms, a learning resource centre, lecture halls and classrooms, and common support services. The total built-up area is 28,236 sq m.

The project comprises of two buildings: a main building and an administration building. The main building comprises three levels and sits on a plot area of about 7,000 sq m while the two-level administration building occupies a footprint of 600 sq m.

The development includes a 340-slot car-park and an amphitheatre covering a 3,300 sq m.

Research lab

Construction is also in progress on the new water and agricultural research laboratory for the KISR. Bonyan Design was commissioned to prepare the study, design and tender documents for the two-storey building, which will have several specialised laboratories and support facilities.

The building will have four different facade types, each having individual aesthetic, technical and performance characteristics that reflecting the nature of the new laboratory. Aluminum, glass and precast concrete have been employed simply and consistently in conjunction with crafted and refined component design, creating a building which celebrates the process of regeneration, according to a spokesman for Bonyan.

The project, which will have a total build-up area of 8,000 sq m, is expected to be completed by August 2003.

KOAC complex

Bonyan is also involved on KOAC's new headquarters and retail/commercial complex at Shuwaikh. Construction work is currently under way on the multi-use commercial complex while designs and tender documents have been completed for the new KOAC headquarters.

The commercial complex, being built at a cost of KD2.5 million, will have retail outlets aimed at the middle-income families. It has a basement floor for car-parking, a ground floor and a mezzanine floor covering a total built up area of 19,800 sq m.

Bonyan's scope of works includes the design, construction and management of the project. The design allows for unimpeded views of the entire mall area while being visually stimulating, the spokesman says. The project is slated to be ready by end-2003

The new KOAC headquarters will be built at a later stage. The two buildings will function independently but will have the same architectural concept.