The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia is a state-of-the-art facility commissioned by Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest integrated oil and gas company.

Situated on a seam between the Arabian Desert and the marine climate of the Persian Gulf, Ithra’s location presented several challenges from exposure to both blistering desert heat and wilting humidity. Ithra houses various facilities requiring special ventilation such as a document archive, history museum, and library.

Maintaining proper airflow within the buildings also contributes to the overall wellbeing of the occupants, which is especially important for an environment meant to foster learning and innovation. Paragon Airflow Measurement Systems were installed in the fresh air, supply, and exhaust ducts of the HVAC system to control the pressure within the various buildings, using volumetric tracking/offset of the fresh air and exhaust airflow rates. This ensures a positive pressure is maintained to prevent unconditioned air from entering through the building envelope that could lead to humidity problems.

Ithra’s massive use of sustainable building materials granted it a LEED Gold certification the year it opened. It was also named TIME Magazine's “100 Greatest Places in the World to Visit” and won the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) award.

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