AECOM Designs Kuwait International Airport

FenestraPro was used to examine the implications of substantial glazing on specific orientations and the impact it would have in terms of thermal performance.

Stage: Schematic Design

Real-Time Analysis

Advanced analysis of thermal, solar and daylighting performance in any extreme climate.

Key Benefits

Intuitive Glazing Selection Per Project Specifications

Use of glazing and frit specifications to immediately understand implications.

Seamlessly Integrates Into Revit

Import and Export Revit model data directly into FenestraPro for analysis.

Overview

AECOM UK were engaged to design a support airport terminal, which was subsequently upgraded to a full terminal in the Airport District of Farwaniyah, Kuwait. With a footprint of over 40,000m2, the design itself included an undulating roof extending from a low level on the Landside to a higher level on the Airside. The terminal was proposed to consist of 11,000m2 of façade, of which over 63% was glazed, predominantly in the two main elevations on Landside (to the east) and Airside (to the west). Given the solar exposure in a desert climate, controlling the internal overheating whilst protecting a good quality natural daylight was identified as a challenge to the design.

FenestraPro was used to examine the implications of substantial glazing use on these orientations and the impact it would have in an extreme climate on thermal performance, passive solar heat gain and natural daylight. Even with the use of a relatively high performing double-glazed unit, the designers understood when using FenestraPro that internal heat gains were far higher than acceptable, and that this would result in the overheating of the building.

With additional glazing to the Airside and a higher solar exposure, FenestraPro calculated an increase in extreme heat gains to spaces in that orientation. Although additional vertical shading could be used as a solution to reduce the excessive solar heat gains, it would also compromise the overall aesthetic of the original design proposals.

Understanding Design Implications In Real-Time

The designers were able to quickly prototype various solutions within the BIM environment using FenestraPro and receive feedback with solutions around various mitigation measures. To ensure that the building would not overheat and maintain a high level of daylight, FenestraPro provided a solution using an alternative glazing specification of a solar control glazing paired with suitable daylight transmittance and low-level fritting.

FenestraPro equipped designers with the ability to quickly optimize passive energy use in Kuwait Airport, resulting in the reduction of required energy loads on cooling and artificial lighting systems.

Keys Featured Used

Glazing
Analysis
Tool

Facade
Manager

Solar Heat
Loads

Download This Case Study

FenestraPro is versatile and fast when providing detailed feedback and solutions. In the design stage of this project, FenestaPro gave us a high-level overview of the implications of excessive glazing use in a sunny climate and an accurate understanding of the overall building performance.

Yifan ZhangFaçade Engineer at AECOM

Gallery