European best practices in mega-projects are key for the GCC to deliver on its $2 trillion project pipeline, industry experts announced today (September 5) in the build-up to Cityscape Global.

The GCC is witnessing a surge in mega-projects tied to Expo 2020 in Dubai, the 2022 Fifa World Cup Qatar, and Saudi Vision 2030 such as the King Abdullah Financial District, according to a recent survey by consultancy Deloitte.

“Increasingly, GCC planners and developers are localising best practices from Europe to enhance the worker and visitor experience,” said Santhosh Vallil for the Middle East at Hunter Douglas, a mega-project consultancy based in The Netherlands.

“GCC mega-projects need to make a signature statement. But they should also place user needs at the centre, with a pedestrian scale of construction, open-plan interiors that can re-arranged for different stakeholders, and links to nature and sustainability,” remarked Vallil.

In the GCC, Hunter Douglas has advised on large-scale projects such as Masdar Institute and Zayed Sports City in the UAE, and the Qatar National Convention Centre.

Now, GCC planners are looking at the success of the recently-opened International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague in The Netherlands. The 56,000-sq-m complex employs 1,200 staff from 124 countries who prosecute people allegedly involved in war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.

The six-building ICC complex maintains safety, but is also open and transparent, grand but with a sense of human dimensions.

In particular, the project has a small footprint that integrates the dune area on the edge of the city.
A “bite” was taken out of the dunes, giving the project a “dug-in” effect to ensure extra protection and a location that gives visitors, victims and suspects a feeling of rest, trust, and hope, said a statement from the Dutch consultancy.

Inside, the ICC delivers a strong design statement with a sophisticated, crisp, and functional finish.

Hunter Douglas aluminium ceiling panels, which are perforated and inlaid with acoustic mats, cover 29,000 sq m of offices, courtrooms, and public areas, which can be partitioned for extra room, it added.

Bjarne Hammer of Denmark’s Schmidt, Hammer, Lassen Architects, said the ceiling connects spaces and creates a sense of sameness throughout the building, because the same ceiling is suspended everywhere: where the suspects’ reside, where the lawyers work, and in the office spaces.

"All of the trials are broadcast live and the media and camera teams providing these broadcasts require a neutral background," explained Hammer.

Supporting sustainability, ICC offices are lit with 100,000 LED (light emitting diode) lamps that are integrated into the ceiling panels. The panels also provide a place for air quality and fire safety installations to be tucked away, he added.

Hunter Douglas is a market leader both globally and in the Netherlands for innovative, aesthetic, high-quality window coverings, sun control systems and architectural ceiling and façade panels.

For almost 50 years, Hunter Douglas products have contributed to the sustainable thermal, acoustic and visual appeal of buildings across a wide range of branches and sectors, from trade to industry and from the catering business to government.

Headquartered in Rotterdam, the company boasts more than 60 factories, 100 assembly plants and marketing offices in over 100 countries.-TradeArabia News Service