“We set out to create a showcase design that was both multifunctional on the inside and eye-catching from the exterior,” explains DJ Armin, Managing Partner of the Zas Group of Companies, who developed the design. The final design was established by our team of designers, master planners, and technicians after considering a number of choices centered on the fundamental idea of innovation. This design was then developed as the building took shape. We are thrilled with the outcome and honored that the design has received such praise internationally.
An American publication, Newsweek, recently listed the ten quirkiest college campus designs, and one of them was a university in Dubai.
The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Dubai Innovation Centre, the focal point of the university’s new campus in Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), has won awards for its innovative, creative design alongside buildings from all over the world.
The Innovation Center was envisioned as the glass component that keeps the entire grid working on the DSO campus, which was conceptualized as a bitboard with an overriding theme of interactive learning.
The campus is founded on four pillars: innovation, smartness, sustainability, and connectivity, and we needed a hallmark structure with a unique design to help integrate these ideas, according to RIT Dubai President Dr. Yousef Al-Assaf. All of our activities revolve around innovation thanks to the Innovation Center’s central location on campus, which is made clear to visitors by the distinctive architectural design.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, officially opened the new 129,000 square meter campus development in November of last year, which included the opening of the Innovation Center.
No matter where they are on campus, Assaf continues, “All of our students, faculty, and industry partners are continually revolving about the Innovation Centre, making it the focal point for all of our activities, anchored by sustainability, which is embedded in our fabric as RIT.
The Newsweek article quotes Frank Gehry, an architect and designer who created the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, saying that the Innovation Centre is one of the developments that exemplifies how “architecture should speak of its time and location but strive for timelessness.”
The article explains how unorthodox campus layouts might give students new insights into their educational experience.
The Innovation Centre has rooms for testing, analysis, and project creation that can hold about 200 people.
It serves as the hub for ongoing robotics and autonomous vehicle research projects at the university and is home to a number of regional technology firms, including Johnson Controls, a world leader in sustainable architecture.