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