The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Dubai Innovation Center has been named among the ten Quirkiest College Campus designs in a recent listing by the American magazine, Newsweek. The building, which is the centrepiece of the University’s new campus in Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), has been recognized alongside structures across the globe for its creative, avant-garde design.
Built with an overarching theme of interactive learning, the DSO campus was conceptualized as a bitboard, with the Innovation Center representing the glass piece that makes the whole grid operational. It is intended to act as a magnet to attract and connect the different functions of the University in a central space.
Explaining the concept, RIT Dubai President, Dr. Yousef Al-Assaf, said, “The campus is built on four pillars – innovation, smartness, sustainability and connectivity – and we needed a signature building with a unique design to help connect these principles. The Innovation Center has been positioned at the heart of the campus such that all our activities rotate around innovation and this is demonstrated to visitors through the unique building design.”
He added, “No matter where they are on campus, all students, faculty, and industry partners are constantly rotating around the Innovation Center, making it the focal point for all of our operations, underpinned by sustainability, which is embedded in our fabric as RIT.”
Quoting architect and designer, Frank Gehry, who developed the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the Newsweek article credits the Innovation Center among those developments that reflect how “Architecture should speak of its time and place but yearn for timelessness.” It discusses how unconventional camp designs can offer students different perspectives in their educational experience.
DJ Armin, Managing Partner of Zas Group of companies who developed the design revealed, “We set out to create a showcase design that was both multi-functional on the inside and striking from the outside. Our team of designers, master-planners, and technician explored several options centered on the core theme of innovation in order to establish the final design, which was evolved and refined as the building took shape. We are very happy with the final results and proud to see this international recognition for the design.”
Featuring project development, analysis, and testing space, the Innovation Center can accommodate around 200 people. It is the base for the University’s on-going research initiatives involving robotics and autonomous vehicles, and also hosts local technology companies, including global leaders in sustainable buildings, Johnson Controls.
The Innovation Center was inaugurated in November last year by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, as part of the official opening of the new 129,000 meters square campus development.
