PMDC Headquarters: A Sustainable Office Building in Jeddah

Applying Traditional Mashrabiya Designs for Shade and Ventilation

The PMDC Headquarters, located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is an office building that stands out for its sustainable design strategies and techniques. Designed by Maan Bajnaid and Guillaume Credoz, this project incorporates traditional Mashrabiya designs to provide shade, privacy, and ventilation, while reducing solar heat.

The design inspiration for the PMDC HQ came from the need to project a prestigious architectural identity that is in harmony with the contextual parameters of Jeddah. The city's famous architectural identity and the demand for sustainability were balanced by using a modified and contemporary version of traditional Mashrabiya designs.

Mashrabiya, an important element of Arabic and Islamic architecture, is an enclosed lattice-work window projection that offers shade, privacy, and wind ventilation. In the PMDC HQ, the modified Mashrabiya design is applied in the front (East) elevation, integrating the outside (sunlight, acoustics, form) and the inside (function, hierarchy, ergonomics). Each Mashrabiya panel responds to the sun through an orthogonal and diagonal projection, creating an illusion of movement and a play of light while providing shade and maintaining privacy.

Another notable feature of the PMDC HQ is the South elevation, which is clad with large porcelain panels resembling fish scales. These panels are fastened with an innovative jointing technique that allows air to pass through, providing ventilation to the building's exterior walls. This jointing technique has been applied for a patent to the Saudi Intellectual Property Office.

To optimize shading while allowing an adequate amount of light into the workspaces, glazed reflective insulating silk-screened glass with decorated warm yellow dotted patterns is added to the East, North, and South elevations. This addition not only provides optimal shading but also enhances the aesthetics of the building.

The PMDC HQ project, completed over a span of three years, showcases the successful integration of sustainable design strategies with traditional architectural elements. By applying Mashrabiya designs, the building not only reduces solar heat but also creates a visually striking facade that reflects the cultural heritage of the region.

The PMDC Headquarters has received recognition for its innovative design. It was awarded the Bronze A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building, and Structure Design category in 2018. This award acknowledges the project's outstanding and creatively ingenious design, which incorporates best practices in art, science, design, and technology. The PMDC HQ contributes to quality of life improvements, making the world a better place.