Success Stories

Kuwait Airport

AECOM design of Kuwait International Airport with FenestraPro

“FenestraPro Premium is versatile, fast, and can provide a continuous feedback loop, thus optimising the environmental response during the design process.

In design stage of this project, FenestraPro gave us a high-level overview of the implications of the use of excessive glazing in such a sunny climate, and a great understanding of the overall building performance.”

Yifan Zhang,

Façade Engineer, AECOM

STAGE: Schematic Design

Key Features

Revit add-in and model support

Real-time analysis of thermal, solar and daylighting performance in extreme climate

Intuitive use of glazing and frit specifications to immediately understand implications.

AECOM were engaged to design a support airport terminal at Ghazali Street, Airport District, Farwaniyah, Kuwait.

With a footprint of over 40,000m2, the design itself included an undulating roof extending from a low level on landside to a higher level on airside. The terminal was proposed to consist of 11,000m2 of façade, over 63% of which was glazed, predominantly to the main elevations on landside and airside. Of this, almost 7,000m2 of glazing, 2600m2 of glazing was oreintated East-North-East (landside), while the substantial 4,400m2 of glazing was orientated to the West-South-West.

FenestraPro Premium was used to examine the implication of the substantial glazing to these orientations and examine the impact it would have in this hot sunny climate in terms of thermal performance and a measure of the passive solar heat-gain and natural daylight.

In the first instance, considering the use of a standard double glazed unit with a g-value of 0.23 and a diffuse transmittance of 0.5. FenestraPro calculated a solar heat gain of 68.4W/m2 to the East-North-East orientation based on a solar load of 141W/m2 over 270% higher than the maximum recommended 25W/m2. The average design daylight factor (ADDF) of 22.2%, more than the 5% recommended. With even more glazing to Airside, and higher a solar load of almost 310W/m2 FenestraPro calculated heat gains in excess of 95W/m2 and ADDF of almost 23%, 380% and 450% higher that the recommended respectively.

Although additional shading could be used to reduce the excessive solar heat gains, this compromised the design. FenestraPro gave dynamic feedback that the use of a solar control glazing, with some low-level fritting ensured that the building, would not overheat and would maintain a high level of daylight.