Dopamine Gaming Center

Nowadays the concept of gaming has been completely changed, when we think about gaming we think about the digital and virtual world. A world that is intangible and can’t be physically felt. As a group of youths who enjoy video games and had enough knowledge about this field, we decided to design a building suitable for all kinds of gamers. 

When you think about the world of digital gaming the first thing that comes through your mind is the intangible aspect of it, a world that is totally untouchable and can’t be felt physically. The car you drive, the new world you explore, or the sword you have is all intangible and can’t be actually felt. However, there is a tangible aspect to the gaming world too. When you feel the mouse and keyboard while having an intense fight or when you find new friends in the virtual world and meet them in the real world, these can be all labeled as the tangible or touchable aspect of the gaming world. 

Based on this ideology we developed our concept as the tangible and intangible. Where the tangible aspect of the projects goes back to the feeling of a physical form, something that can be felt and touched such as the solid and rock-hard feeling of earth specially the subterranean spaces; and the intangible aspect of the project would be the feeling of something that is not physically there yet can be sensed, such as elevated spaces. So, we decided to divide the project into 2 different spaces, an underground or subterranean space and an elevated or floating space. 

To come across the final outcome several different designs had been approached, the main idea was to have a building with an underground space but reaching to the final design wasn’t as easy as it sounded. In the beginning we went for a normal building with a normal underground but there was nothing special to that, and it didn’t have enough connection to our concept. So, we did some brainstorming and some more research. Finally, we had a perfect design idea, an idea that fulfils the concept and the needs of the gamers in addition to bringing out the beauty of a challenging project. We decided to have a cantilever building that connects in a way to the underground, after several sketches and 3D models we reached to the final outcome, in simple words the project is two horizontal rectangular blocks randomly located on top of each other, where the lower block is smaller than the block on top. Moreover, this idea shows different aspect of the building in different perspective, whether you are standing at the back side of the building or at the front side, each of the views and elevations has its unique features even though the façade of the building is similar all around but the way that the two blocks are positioned and located on top of each other, brings out different viewpoints of the building. 

The site is located in United Arab Emirates which has a hot climate throughout the year, we did a site analysis and based on the location of the site we carefully chose the materials. Both the lower block and the upper block were enclosed by low-emissivity glass in order to minimize the ultraviolet and infrared light that passes through the glass. These types of glasses have a coating that reflects the heat which are suitable for hot climates such as UAE. Moreover, to give the building the look of a gaming center we added thin vertical aluminum louvers in different colors all around the upper block, hanging to the glass façade, and some neon lightings to give this immaculate gaming vibes throughout the night.  

The project is divided into two spaces, the underground, and the above ground part. Based on the needs and comfort of the gamers we decided to locate the whole gaming area which includes the Private rooms, tournament rooms, and the huge gaming station, which is an open space, in the underground so that we could discriminate and separate gamers and normal people from one another and avoid crowds. The ground floor is basically the entry where the reception, retail store, and the coffee shop are located and people could use the elevators to go to the underground or the upper floor. The upper block of the project is divided into two floors again, the first floor has several functions, the most important function is the arena which important tournaments and competition could be performed there with a capability of more than 150 audience. Other functions such as VR room, beginners room (a room for those who want to learn gaming and be coached), lounging area, and many other functions can be found in the first floor. Last but not least is the second floor that is especially dedicated to offices and conference room, which makes the whole area a private sector. In addition, we figured out that there is no connection between the underground space and the cantilevered space, so we decided to have two different oval voids in the upper block, which the bigger void connects in a visionary way to the underground which forms a courtyard that can be used for allowing ventilation and natural light into the space. 

Overall, the goal behind approaching the project in such way was mainly to focus on the players and the world of virtual gaming. The requirements and the needs of every specific type of gamer has been achieved by providing different functions and amenities. You could find different spaces such as arenas, food courts, private rooms, offices, and many other things.