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Architects: Killa Design
- Area: 250 m²
- Year: 2016
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Photographs:WAM, Tommaso Calistri, Nedal Machou
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Manufacturers: BASF, ITSERVE, Progress Profiles SpA, WINSUN
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Lead Architects: Ben Piper, Nedal Machou, Hatem AlKhafaji
Text description provided by the architects. Killa Design has developed the world’s first fully functional and permanently occupied 3D printed office in Dubai. Office of the Future building is currently the home for the Dubai Future Foundation as well as an exhibition space and incubator for future emerging technologies in the region. The initiative comes as part of a Dubai 3-D printing strategy launched in the same year, which focuses on the development of 3D printing to improve people’s lives in the construction and medical sectors.
The entire structure of the building was manufactured using an additive concrete ‘printing’ technique using a 3D printer 20 feet high, 120 feet long and 40 feet wide. The printer features an automated robotic arm to implement the printing process which lasted 17 days and was installed on site in two days. Subsequent work on the building services, interiors, and landscape took approximately three months.As a result of this innovative construction technique, the labor cost was cut by more than 50% compared to conventional buildings of similar size, and wastage on site was minimized which helped to reduce the overall environmental footprint of the project.
The office complex radiates around a tree-shaded cafe courtyard. It comprises a partnership lounge & gallery for exhibitions, events, and workshops, a flexible space for team brainstorming and design work and private meeting rooms for quiet work. A series of openings throughout the project bring natural daylight deep into space while allowing occupants to remain connected to the outside environment. The building layout has been designed to facilitate a mix of creative interactions, quite reflective work, and serendipitous meetings.
As part of our wider initiative to be involved in the most cutting edge and innovative projects, we made use of a super insulated cladding system, fabricated using computer controlled manufacturing techniques, to form the unique and complex geometry of the building envelope.
Ben Piper, a partner at Killa Design and the architect behind the master plan and cladding design says: ‘The progressive design of the office conveys a shift from the traditional form of work environments thus paving the way for stimulating innovation and communication within teams.”
Unique in its design and modularity, the Office of the Future is being hailed as a first major initiative and ground breaking example of computer controlled fabrication in building construction.
The project is a precursor to the Museum of the Future (also designed by Killa Design). It is part of the Dubai Future Agenda strategy, launched by the UAE to become a major incubator of innovation and future technology in the world.
