A place for research and study, the Knowledge Centre has more than 900 square meters of space for students and researchers, and primarily offers a wide range of electronic information resources, as well as a limited number of paper books, magazines and journals.

The interior of the Knowledge Center is divided into a vertical hierarchy of spaces, with social gathering on the ground floor, group study and technology-driven research in the central level, and private, quieter research areas dedicated to individual use on the upper level away from the noise and activity of the active ground floor.

The slightly flattened spherical shape of the Institute’s Knowledge Center reflects the designers’ efforts to optimize the building’s photovoltaic (PV) energy harvesting on its roof. Although the glulam (glued laminated) timber roof is graceful, the reason it was chosen over steel was because by using FSC*- and PEFC**-certified timber, it has a lower embodied energy coefficient.

On the northeast section of the building’s exterior roof, the eye-catching flat and folded zinc cladding provides ventilated shading to parts of the building and the Family Square. Zinc was chosen as the material for the roof cladding because it had the lowest overall environmental footprint.

A large self-shading overhang allows for a full wall of glass. (Generally, in order to reduce building cooling loads, all windows in Masdar City must be shaded to prevent direct sunlight from reaching inside.) This window not only provides a large amount of natural light to enter the study areas of the center, but it also offers views on to one of the city’s “green finger” linear parks that passes close by.

* FSC - Forest Stewardship Council 
** PEFC - Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification