Central Bank of Kuwait HQ Kuwait

The new Central Bank of Kuwait headquarters is destined to become one of the major landmarks in Kuwait City and, both aesthetically and technically, is one of the most sophisticated buildings in the Middle East.

The 240m, 40-storey triangular-shaped tower contains 130,000m² of floor space and the building design is composed of shapes which echo the geometry and order of traditional Kuwaiti architecture

The two south walls are used as a heat-sink to absorb the blistering Kuwaiti sun during the day while harnessing that stored heat to ward off the cold of the desert nights: the transparent north-façade is fully glazed and offers occupants panoramic views across the Gulf while at the same time conserving energy.  Topping the building is an all-glass viewing platform lit internally and externally to form a distinctive beacon at night, thus reflecting Kuwait's seafaring and trading history.

A Delmatic Dali system controls lighting throughout the building including office areas, core areas, reception and banking halls, conference facilities, dining and banquet rooms, as well as museum and specialist financial areas.

The system is designed to maximise energy efficiency through integrated control of lighting and window blinds, presence-detection (which relates lighting to occupation) and daylight-linking which dims lighting to take into account the extent of natural lighting. 

The system uses an innovative feature called balanced lighting: this acknowledges that high levels of daylight in perimeter areas do not benefit inner areas and so the system counters the effects of the bright windows by increasing lighting in inner areas.