The Command and Control Center is located in the Al-Sabah Medical Area, where several hospitals of different specialties are gathered in one district. This building serves as a central server repository and emergency command and control center for all of them. All information regarding both patient care and building operations is stored on servers and can be monitored live. Accordingly, the project called for sophisticated building operation and security systems to control temperature and humidity, maintain selective personnel access, and provide a high degree of blast protection. The facility provides a secure site for administrators to convene to monitor all patients and buildings in the region in any emergency.
Capitalizing on QAs early and ongoing expertise in engineering and associated building technologies, this was the first building in Kuwait to be designed entirely using BIM. The technology facilitated the coordination of contractors and numerous specialized subconsultants in a project that relies on the flawless synthesis of complex mechanical and IT systems.
The building is enclosed in red and beige shades of Indian slate, which suggest the desert landscape. Building screens, which are familiar contemporary design elements, also, importantly, serve as blast resistant security devices. Building organization is well-illustrated in section, which BIM documents easily illustrate. Servers at the rear of the building on the bottom two floors are indicated by thick, blast-proof walls. A secure committee meeting room on the second floor cantilevers in a similarly blast-proof enclosure at the front of the building. Administrative spaces continue on the upper floors, while circulation is clustered at the buildings central core.
Since its completion in 2010, this building has served as a template for the use of BIM in subsequent mega-hospitals currently under design and construction.
