The infrastructure required to house the Knowledge Village in Dubai is close to completion. Gulf Construction looks at some of the key players who raced against the clock to ensure the timely completion of this state-of-the-art learning and innovation centre.

01 June 2003

Contractors are now putting the finishing touches to a one million sq ft centre for excellence in learning and innovation, which has sprouted along a one-kilometre stretch of Dubai within a span of one year.

The Knowledge Village project is the third arm of the Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone (Tecom) and is being built next to its 400-hectare Dubai Internet City (DIC) and Dubai Media City (DMC). The project aims to provide infrastructure for developing, sharing and applying knowledge, and position Dubai as a hub of excellence for learning and innovation. It is also aimed at supplying the 1,000-odd companies in DIC and DMC with the right kind of professionals to work for them.

"Silicon Valley was built around Stanford University. Our approach is the other way around," Dr Abdulla M Al Karam, director of the project, told the local press.

Work on the two-phased project started in June last year. Phase one was completed in April while the second phase is due for completion next month (July).

Though the official launch of the project is scheduled for September, almost 40 per cent of the Village's space is reported to have been taken up. Business partners have already started doing their fit-outs and will be moving in shortly.

A majority of companies joining Knowledge Village are from the professional training and e-learning sectors offering courses in a range of fields including IT, media, finance, healthcare and language, to name a few. Knowledge Village provides a 'brick-and-click' infrastructure for these companies to offer both classroom and Internet-based courses.

Around five internationally reputed universities, including a British university, the University of Wollongong, Australia, and one each from North America, Far East and the Asian subcontinent, offering a variety of undergraduate and graduate programmes, are slated to open their overseas campuses at the Knowledge Village soon.

"The purpose of the project is to create a steady pool of knowledge workers through a student-centric learning model to set a new standard for an industry-oriented learning method," says Bassam Adi, resident engineer with Design & Architecture Bureau (DAR), the consultant on the project.

Knowledge Village will include a media academy, an innovation centre, e-Learning institutions, institutions providing graduate and post-graduate education, research and development organisations, a multimedia library, corporate training institutions, scientific and technology institutes, certification and testing organisations and incubators.

It will have an infrastructure that supports both traditional and modern modes of learning. Members of the learning community will have access to a host of shared facilities including classrooms and computer laboratories, a multimedia library, auditorium and conference facilities, information technology and media laboratories, a food-court, retail area and dormitory.

Describing the project, Adi says the Knowledge Village comprises 13 buildings, each with a basement, ground plus one storey. The buildings, which have Andalusian architectural features, will house 40 computer laboratories and classrooms.

The project is divided into two parts, which are aimed at providing facilities to DIC and DMC.

The DIC area has seven blocks (Blocks 1 - 7) with a common basement providing 476 parking spaces. The second part, DMC, has six blocks (Blocks 8 -13) with a common basement offering 340 car-parking spaces.

Phase one of the project, which was completed early this year, actually includes nine buildings as Block 2 comprises two buildings. This phase included Blocks 1, 2A, 2B, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12 and 13. The second phase, which includes five buildings (Blocks 4, 6, 9, 10 and 11), is scheduled for completion by mid-July.

DIC

Block 1 is named as the conference centre. The ground floor has a pre-function area, four meeting rooms with a total area of 1,605 sq ft, a 570 sq ft VIP room and a circular-shaped auditorium with a floor area of 5,000 sq ft. The first floor has a pre-function area, six conference rooms with a total area of 5,152 sq ft and a 547 sq ft office.

Block 2 known as E-Academy is divided into two buildings. 2A has corporate school zones (with a total floor area of 14,235 sq ft), classrooms (7,945 sq ft) and a multi-media library (5,310 sq ft) located on the ground floor. Block 2B has corporate school zones (covering a total area of 16,509 sq ft), classrooms (5,200 sq ft) and a training area (4,109 sq ft) on the ground floor. The first floors of each building accommodate office spaces covering 22,936 sq ft and 25,207 sq ft, respectively.

Blocks 3, 4 and 5 offer 43,033 sq ft, 39,398 sq ft and 24,996 sq ft respectively of office space on the ground and first floors.

The ground floor of Block 6 has been developed as a commercial centre including 14 shops with a total area of 9,716 sq ft. All shop spaces are connected through a large atrium surmounted by a 16 m diameter dome. The first floor offers 10,508 sq ft of office space.

Block 7 is developed as a food court with a seating space of 15,000 sq ft on the ground level and 6,135 sq ft of seating area on the first floor. The food court has a clear height of approximately 5.3 m. The kitchen covers an area of 3,777 sq ft.

DMC

The DMC area accommodates the following:

Block 8 is developed as an innovative centre with office spaces on both the ground floor (area is 13,973 sq ft) as well as the first level (14,606 sq ft).

Block 9 comprises a business centre with 12,100 sq ft of office space on the ground level.

Block 10 has a retail area on the ground level (17,772 sq ft) and 40 dormitories on the first floor (19,424 sq ft).

Block 11, allocated for future use, has 20,130 sq ft of space on the ground level and 19,270 sq ft on the first floor.

Block 12 has been developed for media corporate schools with 13,136 sq ft of office space on the ground level and 12,451 sq ft on the first floor.

Block 13 has been designed to be a media academy with 26,357 sq ft of office space on the ground level and 20,952 sq ft on the first floor.

MEP

The MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) works at Knowledge Village demanded the latest engineering skills and technology. It includes sophisticated and high-tech systems such as an advanced building management system (BMS) as well as surveillance and security systems and entire infrastructure works for more than 22,000 IT outlets spread over the 13 buildings.

The buildings are provided with an efficient cooling system, which can be felt as soon as one enters the complex.

Ravi Mohan, project manager with Al Basti & Muktha, the main contractor on the project, comments: "A cool breeze greets visitors at the entrance of each building. It is produced by the meticulously-designed air-cooled chillers located on the roof. These chillers provide 2,280 TR (tonnes of refrigeration) and are supported by a fresh air supply and extract system. Each unit is provided with fan coil units and a ducting system and heaters as designed."

The DIC and DMC wings are supplied by a combined central cooling plant, through underground pre-insulated pipelines. Each block has independent fresh air handling units, which meet the specifications of international and local authorities.

Each block has a fire protection sprinkler and riser system. The pumping system is centrally located in the basement and catering to all blocks.

There are four substations to tackle 13.8 MVA load to cater to the power supply requirements of the complex. The network of power supply cables is routed through the basement to individual buildings.

The M&E systems in the DIC and DMC wings systems are monitored by building management systems (BMS) meeting international standards. The building entrances are controlled by an access system, which is again totally supervised through the BMS.

The basement car park is ventilated and a CO monitoring system is in place to evacuate the vehicle emissions.

The infrastructure and irrigation works are carefully selected to suit the region's flora and blend with the architecture and educational theme of the surroundings.

Statistics

Concrete - 48,000 cu m

Steel - 8,183 tonnes

Hollowcore slab of 150 mm, 200 mm, 265 mm, 320 mm, 400 mm and 500 mm thickness - 65,512 sq m

Substructure waterproofing - 51,656 sq m

Roof waterproofing - 29,646 sq m.

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