How Green is the Desert?
Posted : August 19, 2009 by Mark, Category: Building Regulations
Further to Roger’s blog which provided an overview of green building regulatory schemes and current developments in the Australian market I thought I’d provide a similar update from a Middle East perspective.
Historically the Middle East has lagged the Western world in terms of green building initiatives and it has been normal practice for design teams based in the region to simply adopt established Western schemes such as LEED & BREEAM in order to comply with local regulatory requirements. These local regulatory building code requirements themselves are often very vague and open to manipulation, as are the green building rating schemes themselves since they were never written with the Middle East climate and it’s unique economy in mind.
Given the constraints involved in trying to make Western designed schemes fit a unique and very different climate and economy it is exciting to see the recent developments in LEED 2009, BREEAM Gulf and Estidama, all of which aim to address the challenges involved when using the more dated and rigid rating schemes.
The LEED 2009 requirements have changed significantly with an increased emphasis on sustainable sites, water and energy efficiency - all of which spell good news for the Middle East region by increasing a project’s LEED potential. BREEAM Gulf differs from it’s UK counterpart in that it places more emphasis on mixed-use developments and treats the building as a whole rather than separate use entities. This approach reflects the unique construction market in the Gulf region where mixed-use developments are standard practice.
One of the most exciting developments in the Middle East region to date is the introduction of a new initiative called Estidama (‘sustainability’ in Arabic) in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE. Currently in development by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council the Estidama initiative is the first of it’s kind in the region and aims to assist in the creation of more sustainable communities and cities.
What is interesting to see is Estidama’s unique approach in addressing the challenges faced in sustainable construction and development and just how much the scheme differs from it’s US and UK counterparts, LEED and BREEAM. The main difference with the Estidama initiative is that in essence it is not really a program or a rating system at all, but a high-level aspiration to achieve a more sustainable way of living by striking a balance between environmental, economic, cultural and social issues.
The ‘Pearl Rating Method’ is embedded within the Estidama initiative and this has more in common with the standard US and UK green building rating schemes. The Pearl Rating Method forms part of the local regulatory building code requirements and rates a building on a scale of 1-5 Pearls, but it is important to note that the Estidama scheme itself is much more than a simple building rating tool.
Due to the current economic crisis across the globe the construction sector in the Middle East has been hit hard and things have certainly slowed down somewhat in the last eight or months or so. But given the recent and ongoing developments in the three main rating schemes in use across the region one thing looks certain, whenever the market does pick up again it will be an exciting time with sustainability higher on developer’s agendas than it ever was before.
Comments
No Comments
Leave a reply