File 6.0 - Air Defense Headquarters (a.k.a Air Defense Command Headquarters)

13 drawings : 8 ink on mylar, 2 ink and dry transfer on mylar, 3 optinegatives
2 presentation boards
35 photographs

File includes 13 drawings (1 site plan, 7 plans, 2 sections, 2 elevations; 1 combination drawing: 1 section/elevation), 2 presentation boards (1 site plan, 1 plan I perspective), and 35 prints of model. The Air Defense Headquarters houses the Office of the Commander of the Air Defense Forces and his assistants, Research and Development, the Directorate of Planning Projects, Public Relations, the Finance, Military and Civilian Personnel Departments, to name a few. In addition, the Headquarters incorporates a mosque, barracks and a mess hall into its scheme. The site is approximately 4 hectares with walls bermed on all sides. This prevents water drainage into the Headquarters, as well as acting as a security wall. The site is divided into three zones: a service zone; a transitional zone, formally landscaped to create an appropriate entry for the Headquarter Building; and the platform zone, on which the building sits. A central spine divides the site in a north-south orientation, which also acts as an artery for all the shared facilities. The 20 250 m2 building is a limestone-clad stepped pyramid, taking full advantage of the desert light. Its height was restricted by the flight path of a nearby airport and consequently the gardens and entrance are below grade level. The roof is also stepped in form, a concrete shield sheltering an inner landscaped garden, which all administrative offices face.