Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 08 | Page 41

COUNTRY FOCUS: KUWAIT K uwait’s Ministry of Education headquarters is a 12-floor state-of-the- art facility that comprises a plethora of outstanding features. Communications is central to its effective operation, so when it needed a cutting edge network infrastructure solution, it turned to Brand-Rex. Due to be completed in 2016, the Kuwait Ministry of Education’s new headquarters in Kuwait City is one of the county’s most awe- inspiring constructions. The design inspiration comes from the rich maritime history of Kuwait shipbuilders and two curved office buildings overlap to form an interior atrium, reminiscent of dhows passing each other at sea. The building’s northeast face is smooth and shimmering, while the southwest facade has a protective screen. Grand designs Designed by Cambridge Seven Associates with Gulf Consult, this impressive 12-storey building in South Surra meets all the requirements of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification and serves more than 3,600 ministry employees. It houses administrative offices, a 600-seat auditorium, conference rooms, a central library, food service facilities, lounges, prayer rooms, exhibition space, and generous function areas. The move to these new headquarters represented an opportunity to install a high quality IT network infrastructure to enable both internal and external communications to be fast and reliable. IT plays a vital role in the Ministry of Education’s operation and as the main electromechanical infrastructure contractor, Kharafi National was tasked with finding a services provider that could specify, design and install the most appropriate solution. Kharafi National’s Abdalla Musleh acted as construction manager for EPC and MEP services for the project, and comments, ‘We contacted Alamiah Technology Group (ATG), as it is one of the leading suppliers and installers of structured cabling in Kuwait, and after describing what was required we felt confident that it could fulfil the brief. We needed a cutting edge cabling system that could offer the ultimate in future proofing and would be capable of supporting network speeds of 10 Gigabit Ethernet. This would not only support voice and data requirements, but would also permit other IP based building services to be networked as necessary.’ www.intelligentcio.com INTELLIGENTCIO 41