Commercial and GovernmentRiyadh, Saudi Arabia / 2012 / Testing and modeling

King Abdullah Financial District

The King Abdullah Financial District, Riyadh, at dusk, with the KAFD Conference Centre in the foreground.
KSA · 2012 · Commercial and Government

King Abdullah Financial District

KAFD Client: KAFD
Fig. 01The King Abdullah Financial District, Riyadh, with the KAFD Conference Centre in the foreground and the district's towers behind. The photograph shows the district as built and does not document G Universe's acoustic work. Beneath it, the project reference plate: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia / 2012 / Commercial and government, client KAFD.
Comm. / Gov.Sector
KSACountry
2012Delivered
Year 2Of the practice

The challenge

A financial district on this scale inherits severe traffic noise across its facades and concentrates mechanical plant above premium space. Both risks needed quantifying and controlling early, with test evidence rather than assumptions, because remediation across a development of this size is not a realistic fallback.

The objective

Verify facade and partition performance against their criteria and control structure-borne noise from air handling plant before it could reach occupied space.

Our role

Acoustic testing and 3D noise modeling.

The solution

We tested facade elements and demising partitions in situ, assessed impact sound insulation, and validated vibration isolation for the air handling units. In parallel, a 3D traffic noise propagation model characterized exposure across the development, giving the design team a floor-by-floor picture of what each facade had to achieve rather than a single assumed level.

Why it matters

KAFD was delivered in 2012, in the firm's second year, and remains one of the region's reference developments. The combination it required, in-situ measurement plus large-scale propagation modeling, is the same pairing we now bring to giga-project work.

Scope delivered

In-situ testing of facade elements and demising partitions, impact sound insulation assessment, and validation of vibration isolation on the air handling units. Alongside the testing, a 3D traffic noise propagation model characterized exposure across the development, floor by floor and facade by facade. The work was delivered in 2012.

Commissioning measurements for this project are held under client confidentiality and can be discussed under NDA.

Services delivered: Acoustic Testing and Commissioning Noise Mapping and 3D Simulation

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