Academic · 2021 · Dongola, Northern State, Sudan
Desert Studies Research Center
Thinking of employee wellbeing
A research centre on the University of Dongola campus: three long, slim strips for three departments, linked by a tilted circulation route that frames the Nile and drives stack ventilation.
Project facts
- Location
- Dongola, Northern State, Sudan
- Coordinates
- 19.17° N · 30.46° E
- Period
- Jun – Oct 2021 · 10th semester graduation thesis
- Type
- Academic · Research centre · climate-responsive design
- Programme
- BSc Graduation Thesis · University of Khartoum
- Status
- BSc graduation thesis project
- Team
- Individual work
- Tools
- Archicad · Lumion · Photoshop · Illustrator · InDesign
01The brief
Inspired by the UNEP 2002 report — “Desertification is one of the major environmental problems in our time” — the thesis proposed a Desert Studies Research Center on the University of Dongola campus, in an area of northern Sudan affected by desert sprawl. The aim: a healthy, attractive research environment with wide collaborative areas that bring students and researchers together.
02The idea
Three slim strips hold the three departments — Agriculture & Reclamation, Water Studies and Social Studies — and keep east and west façades short against the sun. A tilted circulation route frames the Nile and drives stack ventilation, linking a researchers’ block, shared lounges, atriums and courtyards.
03The outcome
A canopy of 80 × 80 cm cubes, opened at 1.6 × 1.6 m for palm trees, shades the circulation. Sandstone — traditional in desert areas, with a high thermal mass for cold nights and hot afternoons — and double-skin façades answer the climate, while the inner elevations facing the courtyards are coloured per department — green, blue and yellow — for the users’ comfort and wellbeing. The design rests on two concepts: the seven principles of human wellbeing and desert-environment architecture.
10 sheets
Drawing set
From the first sketch to the last detail.
SheetA-01AnalysisDesign concept diagram2021Desert Studies Research CenterScaleScale NTSPortfolioEI SheetA-02DiagramZoning — three departments, three strips2021Desert Studies Research CenterScaleScale NTSPortfolioEI SheetA-03DiagramBasement plan2021Desert Studies Research CenterScaleScale NTSPortfolioEI SheetA-04PlanGround floor plan2021Desert Studies Research CenterScaleScale NTSPortfolioEI SheetA-05PlanPart plan — 1:4002021Desert Studies Research CenterScaleScale NTSPortfolioEI SheetA-06PlanUpper floors2021Desert Studies Research CenterScaleScale NTSPortfolioEI SheetA-07SectionSection A — stack ventilation2021Desert Studies Research CenterScaleScale NTSPortfolioEI SheetA-08SectionSection B2021Desert Studies Research CenterScaleScale NTSPortfolioEI SheetA-09DetailShading canopy — 80 × 80 cm cubes2021Desert Studies Research CenterScaleScale NTSPortfolioEI SheetA-10ModelWhite model render2021Desert Studies Research CenterScaleScale NTSPortfolioEI
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