Pace's Kuwait school project wins gold at WAN awards
Pace, one of the region's leading architecture and engineering practices based in Kuwait, said its Future Schools of Kuwait project has earned the (Gold) design award at this year's World Architecture News (WAN 2020 Awards).
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Pace, one of the region's leading architecture and engineering practices based in Kuwait, said its Future Schools of Kuwait project has won top honors at this year's World Architecture News (WAN 2020 Awards).
The project in Kuwait earned the (Gold) design award at WAN 2020 Awards in recognition of its progressive, innovative and adaptive design approach.
One of the largest and most diverse global award programmes for architecture and interior design, WAN 2020 Awards were announced at a virtual ceremony held recently.
Now in its twelfth year, the WAN Awards continue to present an opportunity for architects from around the world to showcase their projects, while offering a worldwide stage to support and celebrate excellence in architecture with other leading professionals.
The Future Schools of Kuwait project was shortlisted in the ‘Future Projects – Education’ category, at WAN.
CEO Tarek Shuaib, expressing pride at his firm's global recognition, said: "As a home-bred leading architectural firm in the region, we’re delighted to represent Kuwait in this internationally recognised awards programme, and see our project make it to the top and winning the Gold title amongst an impressive array of projects submitted from more than 30 countries.
The Future Schools design by Pace, which had previously won a regional accolade, was developed for The Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW), following a design competition launched by them, which the firm eventually won," stated Shuaib, also the main architect at Pace.
PAHW is keen on developing schools that properly address the needs of a new generation of students, and transition Kuwait from an outdated schooling model into a more progressive and modern type of education, which offers more student-centred, technological and experiential forms of learning.
Shuaib noted that Pace’s new and adaptive design concept succeeded in breaking down the boundaries of conventional learning by extending the functionality of the building spaces with more flexibility to house multiple additional activities.
"The award-winning design is also centred on creating open and more transparent spaces, that are also secured and climate controlled, to foster a more creative, playful and sustainable environment," explained the top official.
On the Pace's winning project, WAN’s judging panel said the design "was rich and compelling, especially for a building that looks modest from the outside and holds very pleasing inside."
The judges also commended Pace’s concept of indoor-outdoor spaces which brings playful landscape inside the building with passive cooling and tree shading, demonstrating respect to the climatic conditions.
"The design is simple yet thoughtful. Encouraging outdoor activities, for formal learning as well, is especially important during the days of pandemic” they said.
The “Future Schools of Kuwait” project had previously won the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Merit Award in the ‘Architecture Unbuilt’ category.
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