August 2012 – April 2013

KAU E-Learning Center and Deanship is the first facility of its kind in Saudi Arabia. Located at a prominent corner on campus at the intersection of two main roads and next to one of the main entrances, this building will form one of the gateways to the university campus. The building houses examination halls for 4,000 students as well as various offices, lans, studios, four auditoriums, a small museum and cafeteria. On the top floor, the building houses deanship and academic offices. The design calls for sliding stacked slabs breaking the mass and allowing the light and wind to filter through the building while providing shading. The southern stack of slabs is cantilevered over the corner of the site where an elevated landscaped plaza is situated inviting students to enjoy the outdoor space shaded from the sun. The plaza then connects to a linear park bifurcating the exam halls wing heading towards the north. The design attempts to engage the urban fabric of the campus and create a campus and urban landscaped setting that does not exist at the moment. The building is 48,500 square meters. The project budget is not yet defined by owner but expected to be in the range of 342,000,000 SAR. Project is still under design and is expected to go into construction in 2013