Late Zaha’s Honeycombed KAPSARC Contending at WAF Awards, November 2017

Giving the intricate latticed screens of Arabia and other desert forms a signature Zaha Hadid twist has resulted in the evolution of a fascinating built form and its details. Five units, irregular hexagons in plan, prismatic in section, and irregular in most other aspects including the heights of their sides, are woven into a stunning honeycombed mass that allows for easy future expansion. The 70,000 square metre Research Centre Complex is located on a 17 acre plot with equally fascinating landscaping. 

These five units host a knowledge centre, a computer centre, a conference centre with an exhibition hall and a 300 seat auditorium, a research library, and a prayer hall called the Musalla. KAPSARC is a non-profit organisation that works in the field of efficient use of energy, its alternative sources and applications in the Saudi Arabian region as well as the world over. It fosters independent research into energy use and impact, formulating policies and economic frameworks that can be adopted to encourage efficient use of energy, reduce its environmental impact and develop technology to enable the same.

The crystallisation of these very working principles of the institute can be perceived in the architecture of KAPSARC, which lends itself just as well to the internal programmatic requirements as to adapting itself to the specific climatic environment.  As the variously faceted units merge into the honeycomb, lattices of differing scales are created whereby some cut-outs are formed to let in shaded sunlight and naturally cooled breeze, and others are detailed into intricate latticed screens. This frequent interspersing of voids within the solids also results in reduction of construction material, while 30% of that used are recycled building materials. As the structure’s white exterior reflects away the harsh desert sun, the organic interlinking of units results in shaded semi-open spaces for interaction between the using researchers as well as the visiting public. 

Exterior courtyards get carefully canopied by the subtle overhangs to keep external walls shaded and incidentally result in more informal open spaces usable for community building interactions. The internal spaces which are oriented to catch only indirect sunlight are further cooled by the effect of wind-catchers inserted into the southern roofs. Systems have been installed to ensure the recycling and reuse of all the potable water in the complex and solar panels produce 5,000 megawatts of electricity per year. 

Talking purely about the spatial qualities of this piece of architecture, it boasts of exceptional layering of interiors such that the various levels interact visually across courts and foyers. An ideal balance seems to have been achieved, between intimate and grand in terms of scale, and between formal and casual in terms of aura. And as the structural as well as decorative lattices and honeycombs get woven into this spectacular contemporary paraphrase, they appear to create kaleidoscopic visuals throughout the interior ceilings, climaxing in the prayer hall where their intricate geometry is sure to lift every spirit in inspired prayer.

Even as every aspect of the building design embodies the institute’s ethos of sustainability and energy efficiency, it is its visual flamboyance that arrests one’s senses as only a Zaha Hadid design can. Sparkling as a polished gem in its faceted veil of brilliant white under the Saudi sun, the building has the eyes riveted, and yet merges seamlessly into its sandy background, akin to an elusive mirage in the desert. The ability to create such lyrical poetry in a built form of equally high functional efficiency is an achievement of exceptional calibre, but to be able to sustain the accomplishment posthumously speaks of the passion and commitment invested in ensuring the legacy. Salutations, Zaha Hadid, and many thanks for leaving behind so much for us to admire and be inspired!