News Detail

ACI Presents “Excellence” Award to King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, Saudi Arabia.

10/22/2019

The fifth annual American Concrete Institute Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards and Gala event showcased dozens of innovative concrete projects from around the world.

The highest “Excellence” award was presented to King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (ITHRA), located in Dhahran, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. projects were recognized during the packed event at The Concrete Convention and Exposition, in Cincinnati, OH, USA, on Monday, October 21, 2019.

Also known as Ithra, the Arabic word for “enrichment,” the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture is an 85,000 m2 (914,930 ft2) building surrounded by a 220,000 m2 (2,368,000 ft2) Knowledge Park that creates a space to inspire the imagination. Features of the structure include post-tensioned slabs spanning 15.9 m (52 ft), sloped concrete walls and ramps, and twisted and inclined reinforced concrete columns with decorative concrete finish. The building is 90 m (295 ft) tall and is supported on a 3 m (10 ft) thick raft foundation. Stability is provided through a reinforced concrete core acting as a propped cantilever. The columns supporting the elevated slabs are inclined and result in horizontal thrust forces at the head and base of each column lift. The post-tensioned slabs act as structural diaphragms to carry these forces back to the core. Construction was completed in the fall of 2017.

King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (ITHRA), Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.

Tom Sawyer, one of the esteemed judges, stated: “This is an impressive, world-class, tour-de-force example of a mix of ancient and very modern materials and methods of construction to create a temperate and sheltering "world within" in a very challenging environment. The achievement is well-explained and supported by the application materials.”

The awards were created to honor the visions of the most creative projects in the concrete industry, while providing a platform to recognize concrete innovation, technology, and excellence across the globe. To be eligible for participation in the Excellence Awards, projects needed to be winners at a local Chapter level and submitted by that Chapter, or chosen by one of ACI’s International Partners.

King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (ITHRA), Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.

In addition to the highest honor, the “Excellence Award,” which was presented to King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, additional global projects recognized during the Gala include:

• Decorative Concrete
• 1st Place: Qatar National Library, Doha, Qatar.
• 2nd Place: Metro State University of Denver–Aerospace & Engineering Building: Denver, Colorado, United States.

• High-Rise Buildings
• 1st Place: Generali Tower, Milano, Italy.
• 2nd Place: Statue of Unity, Gujarat, India.

• Infrastructure
• 1st Place: I-91 Brattleboro Bridge–Concrete Bridges to Nature: Brattleboro, Vermont, United States.
• 2nd Place: Goethals Bridge Replacement Project: Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States.

• Low-Rise Buildings
• 1st Place: Hamad Port Project–Design and Build of Visitors Centre, Doha Port, Doha, Qatar.
• 2nd Place: Anastasis Church, Ille-et-Vilaine, France.

• Mid-Rise Buildings
• 1st Place: King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (ITHRA), Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.
• 2nd Place: MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, United States.

• Repair & Restoration
• 1st Place: Palais d’Iéna (Restoration of the Façades), Paris, France.
• 2nd Place: Lake Peachtree Spillway Replacement: Peachtree, Georgia, United States.

The winning project details can be found at ACIExcellence.org. Entries for the 2020 Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards are being accepted now through April 6, 2020. 

Visit ACIExcellence.org for more information.