KAUST Library

HOK

A portion of the KAUST library, showing a broad expanse of illuminated glass. In front of it, a pond or other water feature.

About

91´«Ã½

Situated as the focal point of the new campus, the library crystallizes the architectural ambitions of this university as a contemporary global center for scientific thinking that is rooted in local cultural and place. The planning of the library challenges normative library science by de-emphasizing the library as a repository of books while emphasizing the social dimensions of learning and the access to knowledge through technology. While it is constructed in modern building language, this library makes poetic allusions to Arabic architecture recalling the traditional House of Knowledge.

.

Awards Won

Title Year
AIA/91´«Ã½ Library Building Awards

91´«Ã½

To encourage excellence in the architectural design and planning of libraries. Awards for distinguished accomplishment in library architecture by an architect licensed in the United States will be made for any library in the United States or abroad.

2011 - Winner(s)