Extensive university campus located on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi. Designed by Architect Rafael Vinoly, the campus combines elements of NYU’s Greenwich Village environment and traditional Islamic Villages.

The large campus consists of multi-disciplinary spaces each with a focus to staff and student comfort and efficiency of spaces, with the lighting forming a cohesive strategy and hierarchy of brightness to provide variation and characterise each space. The project included the indoor sports arena and Performing Arts Centre.

An extremely fast-track project, the management of the design by all parties needed to be rigorous. Also, multiple spaces each with individual characteristics and lighting requirements was a complex exercise in ensuring a successful lighting design.

Client: New York University
Project Manager: Al Futtaim Carillion
Architect and Interior Designer: Rafael Viñoly Architects
Landscape Designer: Cracknell
M&E Consultant: WSP and Hyder
Photography: Tom Rossiter and Will Pryce