0

Sustainability in a rapid urban development Sustainable building practices in terms of energy consumption: the case of Dubai’s mega- projects. Osama Abu-Safat

Stockholm 2007 KTH, Department of Urban Planning and Environment Division of Urban and Regional Studies Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan

Master of Science Thesis SoM EX 07-14 www.infra.kth.se/sp

1

Table of Contents Abstract -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 Acknowledgement-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3

C h a p t e r I: I n t r o d u c t i o n 1.1 Problem formulation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4

1.1.1 General problem field ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 1.1.2 Specific problem area ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 1.1.3 Researchable questions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 1.1.4 Delimitations and Limitations of the Study ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 5

1.2 Aim & Objectives ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 1.3 Theoretical frameworks --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 1.4 Methodological approach ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 1.5 Summary of results--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 1.6 Organisation of the thesis ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7

C h a p t e r II: Co n t e x t 2.1 Background of Dubai’s urban development ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 2.2 The impact of rapid urbanization on ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11

2.2.1 The urban environment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 2.2.2 The energy consumption------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13

C h a p t e r III: T h e o r i e s & I m p l i c a t i o n s3.1 The concept of sustainable development -------------------------------------------------------------------------------15

3.1.1 The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development 1992 ----------------------------------------------- 17 3.1.2 Agenda 21 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 3.1.3 Habitat II------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19

3.2 Sustainable building (Green architecture)------------------------------------------------------------------------------20 3.2.1 Introduction & Definition ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 3.2.2 Principles of sustainable building (Green Architecture)------------------------------------------------------- 21 3.2.3 Examples of sustainable building--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24

3.3 Sustainable use of energy in buildings sector--------------------------------------------------------------------------26 3.4 Tool for Assessing Sustainability ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------28

C h a p t e r IV: Me t h o d o l o g i c a l Ap p r o a c h 4.1 A case study research -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------30 4.2 The qualitative dimension------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------30 4.3 The quantitative dimension ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------31

C h a p t e r V: An a l y s i s & Re s u l t s 5.1 Exploring The Palm Jumeirah -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------32 5.2 The Trump International Hotel and Tower-----------------------------------------------------------------------------35

5.2.1 The project features ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 35 5.2.2 Attempts for sustainability ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 36 5.2.3 An interview--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 37

5.2.3.1 Presenting the findings (sustainable features)------------------------------------------------------------- 37 5.2.4 Questionnaire ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 44

C h a p t e r VI: Di s c u s s i o n & Co n c l u s i o n 6.1 Sustainability in a rapid urban development---------------------------------------------------------------------------45 6.2 Awareness for sustainability in terms of energy consumption ------------------------------------------------------46 6.3 Conclusion -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------47 6.4 Scientific and practical significance ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------48 6.5 Recommendations---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------48 6.6 Future research ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------48 References...............................................................................................................................................................49 List of figures..........................................................................................................................................................51 List of tables............................................................................................................................................................51 Appendices..............................................................................................................................................................52

2

Abstract The approach of this study is to investigate Dubai’s current building practices- mainly the mega-projects- and its relation to sustainability issues. Since Dubai and the whole region are experiencing rapid urbanization trend, there is a need to cope with sustainability dimensions to mitigate the negative impacts of such urbanization trend on the environment. The study has been narrowed down to examine such practices in respect to the building energy consumption and its effect on the environment. The study covers theories of sustainable development, principles of green architecture, sustainable use of energy by building sector and a tool for assessing sustainability. Those approaches have be linked and tested in parallel to a deep investigation of a case study – The Trump International Hotel and Tower- which is taken place in Dubai’s context. On the other hand, interviews with key- persons from Atkins Global Consultancy Company which is responsible of developing The Trump International Hotel and Tower have been carried out and aimed to obtain qualitative data concerning the development and its performance in terms of sustainability. Meanwhile, questionnaires have also been distributed targeted building practitioners in Dubai context. The study findings show that sustainable building practices in terms of energy consumption have been acknowledged in the Trump International Hotel and Tower. Other buildings practices demonstrate a lack of clear understanding of both the concept of sustainable development and sustainable building (green architecture). It has also been noticed that the lack of practical experience in adapting innovative systems is observed due to the shortage of comprehensive educational programmes to enrich practitioners in the building sector with knowledge for more sustainable building practices – for instance- practical knowledge about different innovative systems and their properties of conserving energy. Finally, the study presents general recommendations aimed to improve the current building performances in term of reducing the energy consumption, improve the knowledge capacity of sustainable building and increase the overall awareness for sustainable building practices.

Acknowledgement Acknowledgement is given to: Tigran Hass for his supervision, Göran Cars and Bosse Bergman for their examination and my fellow Grammati Triantafyllidou for her opposition on my thesis work. Further acknowledgement goes to the Associate Director at Atkins Middle East Miss Lee Morris who has feed me back with significant information about The Trupm International Hotel and Tower and with whom i have done the main inetrview. I would also like to acknowledge the main senior directors of Atkins Middle East who are very busy on their day to day commerial work specially Mr. Edwina Askew – Associate Director, Communications- for his participation in this thesis work. I would like to thank all persons who support me with any kind of information that enrich the quality of my thesis work. Stockholm, May 2007 Osama Abu Safat

3

4

C h a p t e r I: I n t r o d u c t i o n

1.1 Problem formulation

1.1.1 General problem field

Sustainability in a rapid urban development: The concept of sustainability states that there is a need to improve the living conditions of the present generation without harming the ability of the future generation to reach their needs. Thus, a balance between social, economical and environmental aspects is crucial in implementing any urban development (UN-ESCWA. 2001). Since cities of Gulf States have experienced rapid urban development, the region appears to be one of the most rapid developing areas in the world. This development is mostly occurred in cities (UN-ESCWA. 2001). Such urbanization trend has many negative impacts on life aspects mainly on the environmental and the social aspects. Addressing those impacts is endless which could be mentioned here some of these serious problems such as the environmental deterioration, which negatively affect living conditions at both local and global scale, high consumption levels of non-renewable resources e.g. water consumption, elevated pollution rates especially air which are mainly caused by the increased reliance on private motorized transportation systems and increasing social inequality that exhaust cities’ environmental support capacities and worsen insecurity (UN-ESCWA. 2001).

1.1.2 Specific problem area

Sustainable building practices in terms of energy consumption: buildings have a major impact on the environment both during the construction phase and its use (operation). In Europe, Buildings consume 50% of material resources, generate 50% of the national waste production and consume 40% of the energy consumption, while these figures are even higher in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) (AboulNaga, 2001). Thus, sustainable building practices are –indeed- significant concern in order to adapt environmentally friendly buildings. Such concern has been introduced in the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 on sustainable building practices and management of human settlements. Issues of energy-efficient design principles, recycling/reuse of buildings materials and other issues have been presented in that summit (AboulNaga, 2001). Choosing Dubai’s development as a case study comes from the notion that Dubai city is still practicing rapidly upward urban development. These developments are accompanying with Dubai’s stakeholders’ vision of a global competing city especially after adopting a comprehensive plan to diversify its economy rather than depending on the oil revenues. Therefore, many requirements of reaching such vision have been taken place in Dubai’s urban development. Today, Dubai city is demonstrating mega-projects started from the one billion Burj al Arab hotel, a man –made palm tree-shaped, the Burj Dubai which is aiming to be the world’s tallest

5

tower to the indoor ski slope…and so forth. Real state consulters estimated some 45 billion dollars in projects under construction. Since Dubai’s stakeholders have the ambition of creating a status where Dubai will become a top tourist destination, the number of tourists grew 50 percent to 5.5 million between 2001 and 2004 and the population is expected to be doubled by 2010 than the currently population of 1.4 million(The United Arab Emirates’ Yearbook,2006). Such mega-urban development trend has a major consequence on level of energy consumption and its impact on the urban environment. Therefore, Dubai’s building practices should be analyzed and evaluated in terms of sustainability.

1.1.3 Researchable questions

How could cities which are practicing a rapid urban development sustain its building practices in terms of energy consumption? To what extend those cities are willing to adopt strategies of sustainable use of energy during the designing phase of the developments?

1.1.4 Delimitations and Limitations of the Study

Delimitations are the restrictions imposed intentionally by the researcher on the research process. (Hasic, 2004; Rudestam and Newton, 2001) Sustainability concept covers many integrated issues and aspects regarding social, environmental, economical and institutional perspectives. Thus, this thesis work deals with one dimension of the sustainability (the environmental aspect). Other delimitation is the scale of the study area which covers the building practices in Dubai context. This allows understanding deeply those practices in terms of sustainability Limitations, on the other hand, are the restrictions away from the researcher control and management. (Hasic, 2004; Rudestam and Newton, 2001). The main limitation here is the time span of investigating the thesis area. This affects covering issues such as energy efficiency policies in Dubai context. Meanwhile, there were difficulties of obtaining the environmental impact assessment of The Palm Jumeirah which could give a wider understanding of the current practices in Dubai context regarding sustainability. On the hand, the case-study is an ongoing project and unique that affects creating a comparison study between similar projects in Dubai due to the lack of investigated research. It has to be mentioned here that the difficulties which faced carrying out interviews with key persons from the study area could has limited generating results.

1.2 Aim & Objectives The main objectives of this thesis are: a) evaluating the performance of Dubai’s mega-projects in terms of sustainability, b) developing Dubai’s building practices in terms of reducing the energy consumption and c) illustrating the awareness of sustainable practices in Dubai’s developments. Answering those concerns is the core of this thesis. Meanwhile, the aim of this thesis is to add a contribution on the current studies and debates on sustainability issues in Dubai development.

6

1.3 Theoretical frameworks The main concern in this thesis is sustainability issues in contexts where developments are occurred in a rapid pattern, particularly in Dubai’s recent developments. Therefore, sustainability theories have been presented in terms of; defining the concept of sustainable development linked to events in which such concept and its concerns were highlighted; demonstrating principles of environmentally-friendly architecture and its applications in form of two examples of such approach; narrowing down the scale of sustainability investigation to concentrate on sustainable use of energy in terms of building practices; and ending with illustrating a tool for measuring sustainable development which may contribute in enhancing sustainability.

1.4 Methodological approach To investigate the concerns of the thesis’s dilemma, a main method which is an illustration of a case study from Dubai’s recent developments has been provided and enforced with an interview targeted key- persons who are in charged of these developments. Current opinions of architects who are also in charged of Dubai’s building practices have been surveyed though carrying out a questionnaire. On the other hand, literature reviews from books, international reports and articles have also been presented as qualitative approach linked deeply with the case study in the discussion part.

1.5 Summary of results Sustainable building practices in terms of energy consumption have been acknowledged in the Trump International Hotel and Tower. The building reduces its impact on the environment and the energy consumption through adapting innovative systems into the design process. Thus, the use of innovative systems integrated to the design of the building’s facades, mechanical systems, electrical services, solar hot water, material selection and management has great effect of reducing the energy consumption and consequently the impact on environment.On the hand, findings from carrying out questionnaires which reflect the awareness of building practitioners for sustainability in Dubai context show a lack of clear understanding of both the concept of sustainable development and sustainable building (green architecture). But, the findings also demonstrate attempts for sustainable features integrated into the building design- for instance- the use of insulation and the direction of the building. Those attempts are constrained by the economical aspects of the projects – for instance- by the limited investment budget of the project which restricts adapting more innovative systems into the design process. The findings show the lack of realizing the long term benefits of adapting innovative systems for reducing the energy consumption into the design process. The lack of practical experience in adapting innovative systems is observed due to the shortage of comprehensive educational programmes to enrich practitioners in the building sector with knowledge for more sustainable building practices – for instance- practical knowledge about different innovative systems and their properties of conserving energy.

7

1.6 Organisation of the thesis The organisation of this thesis work is based on IMRAD style (Introduction, Method, Results and Discussion). The thesis consists of six chapters; chapter one presents the introduction part which covers the problem formulation of the study area split into general and specific problem areas, Researchable questions, delimitations and limitations of the study, aim and objectives, theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches. The chapter, meanwhile, has been ended with a summary of results followed by presenting the organization of the thesis. Chapter two covers the context of the study area; the back ground of Dubai’s urban development and the impact of this rapid urbanisation on both environment and energy consumption. This chapter provides the reader with a wider view of the study area. Chapter three presents the theoretical part and its implications in the building current practices. Theories of sustainable development, sustainable building (green architecture enclosed with examples of its implications), and sustainable use of energy in building sector and tool of assessing sustainability are offered in this chapter. Chapter four presents the methodological approach covers a case study research concept enforced with the qualitative and the quantitative dimensions of such approach all linked to the study area of this thesis. Chapter five analyzes the main study area (one of Dubai’s mega- projects).Exploring The Palm Jumeirah is general information to bring the reader into the context of the study area. The study area has been narrowed down to investigate one of the main land marks of the Palm Jumeirah – The Trump International Hotel and Tower-. The chapter also investigates Atkins Global Company- which designed the Trump – attempts for promoting sustainability in Dubai context. The chapter has followed with presentation of the outcomes of the study area illustrated in interview’s and questionnaires’ findings which aimed to highlight the current building practices in Dubai. Chapter six includes the discussion part of the thesis. The chapter discusses relation of findings to important aspects of the thesis problem formulation and delimitations, theoretical framework and methodological approach. This discussion has been built up in respect of two main issues; sustainability in a rapid urban development and awareness for sustainability in terms of energy consumption. The chapter also includes the conclusion out of this discussion, Scientific significant of the thesis work, illustration of the recommendations and further research. The thesis is also followed up with the references of the collected data, lists of figures- diagrams, matrices, photographs and tables, and appendices.

8

C h a p t e r II: Co n t e x t

2.1 Background of Dubai’s urban development

Different urban development has taken place in Dubai’s history. The city with more than 300 years old has started its urbanization process in 1799 with small fishing and trading village in the Arabian Gulf. In that time a building called Al Fahidi Fort is considered the city’s first attempt towards urbanization (The United Arab Emirates’ Yearbook, 2006). The second important period in Dubai’s urbanization history was the British colony in the nineteenth century. A general treaty of peace has been signed with the British in 1820 until 1833, in this period Dubai was ruled by Abu Dhabi state, then a group of people called Al Bu Falasah clansmen moved from Abu Dhabi to reside in Dubai and start Dubai’s own identity of urban development . In that time Al Maktoum family - the current ruling family – settled and ruled Dubai. Thus, the urban development has been directed and organized according to the ruling family’s wishes (The United Arab Emirates’ Yearbook, 2006). The city of Dubai was divided into three district areas: Deira (the main commercial centre), Shindagha (the main residential area) and Bur Dubai. People of Dubai lived in huts made from palm fronds and they used to live together in families and relatives. In 1892, Dubai signed an agreement with the British, giving them an urban presence in Dubai until 1971, where Dubai gained its independence and started a new phase of the city’s urban history. The discovery of oil in 1966 accelerated Dubai’s urban development gradually. In the twentieth century, Dubai started to attract foreign investment by means of knowing the importance of its natural harbour on the Arabian Gulf connecting the oldest trading routes between the Far East and Western Europe and become a trading city. Recently, since the economic diversification strategy has influenced Dubai’s urban performance, a massive investment in the physical infrastructure is occurring in the city to meet the increasingly population and tourism demands. At the beginning of 2005, duabi’s population is estimated about 1.086 million and expected to reach 3 million in 2020 therefore, a wide range of infrastructure provision is prioritized in Dubai’s urban development (The United Arab Emirates’ Yearbook, 2006). Starting with the seven-star Burj Al-Arab hotel which has taken the shape of a sail one of the important symbols of Dubai’s history, the city is currently constructing superlative imaginative tourism, residential, industrial, commercial and transportation projects. Three first massive man-made residential islands called the palms (the palm Jumeirah, the palm Jabel Ali and the palm Deira) shown in figure (1 -A,B,C)are being constructed in the coast of Dubai, expanding the ratio of ground to water (seashore) for further coastal development. These palms projects are attracting world- class hotels, unique retail and exclusive leisure (www.nakheel.com). Other imaginary project is the World project, consists of 300 artificial islands in the shape of the world as shown in figure (1 - D) (www.theworld.ae).Up to 750,000 people will live in Dubai’s new project called Dubai Water Front. An area with more than 81-million-square

Metre development and will include diversified zones incorporating 250 master-planned communities and a down town area, Madinat Al- Arab shown in figure (1 - E) (www.dubaiwaterfront.ae). The Arabian Canal, a man – made canal will contain hundreds of communities, districts and neighbourhoods all provide with entertainment, retail and other facilities shown in figure (1 - F)(www.nakheel.com).

A

D

B

C

E

E

F

Figure 1: Maps of Dubai's mega- projects Source: (nakheel.com) Dubai city is not only searching for promoting its imaginary projects which expanded it’s boundaries but also, adding a new dimension to its expansion. Burj Dubai Tower soon will be the world’s tallest building, consists of residential and leisure projects and will be the centrepiece of a large area of developments such as ’Downtown Dubai’. As shown in figure (2) (www.burjdubai.com). Figure 2: Burj Dubai Tower Source: (burjdubai.com)

9

One of the most significant mega-project is Dubai land - shown in figure (3) - An area with 279 million square metres of facilities has been designed to include 50 themed entertainment, retail and sports facilities and double the size of Disneyland. It will also reside more than 300,000 people and attract almost 200.000 visitors daily. The first phase of the project will be opened in 2008 and completed in 2020 with a budget of US13.62 billion dollars (www.dubailand.ae). Figure 3: Dubai Land Source: (dubailand.ae) ‘Falcon City of Wonders’ is a falcon-shaped project will contain commercial, residential, educational, entertainment and leisure facilities over an area of 4 million square metres. These facilities will take the shape of replicas of Pyramids, the hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal and Learning Tower of Pisa as shown in figure (4) (www.falconcity.com).

10

Figure 4: Falcon City of Wonders Source: (falconcity.com) Such mega-projects reflect the urbanization trend in Dubai city which could be described as a prototypical world city’s developments. And also much more developments are occurring in the city future expansion.

11

2.2 The impact of rapid urbanization on

2.2.1 The urban environment

The recent on going developments in Dubai have consequences on the urban environment of the city and the United Arab Emirates as a whole.

At present, United Arab Emirates has become among the biggest per capita air polluters. Level of air pollution has increased gradually. It has been listed among the other four nations in per capita fossil fuel consumption and carbon dioxide generation. As a result of increasing the number of tourists and the average population growth, the public demands on natural resources have also increased (Walters, 2006).

The level of water consumption per capita in the county is considered as the world’s largest consumers. On the other hand, a prediction of governmental agencies assumed that the level of water consumption will increase by 44% by 2025. Ground water levels have been dropping in a rate of one meter every year in the last 30 years. United Arab Emirates are ranked the world’s second largest producer of desalinated water after Saudi Arabia which is economically expensive technology (Walters, 2006).

This growing demand on the natural resources has a consequence on the level of waste generation in the United Arab Emirates. 1,250 kg per capita waste generation is the today’s figure comparing with 725 kg just before eight hears ago. Therefore, the country is considered one of the highest per capita generators of trash in the world (Walters, 2006).

Mainly, poor management of urban growth causes environmental damages. Recent evidence shows the negative impacts on the environment caused by Nakheel, the government-controlled development agency which is responsible of Dubai’s offshore developments. The director-general of environment and protected areas of Sharjah (one of the emirates) says,” the fish died because of construction work on sea where they are building Palm Islands.” (Walters, 2006)

Congestion on the highways at peak hours seems to be familiar in Dubai which is caused by traffic jams and regular accidents.

In the recent report on the living planet which is published by WWF( World Wildlife Fund) on environment in 2003 shows the ecological footprint which measures people’s demands on natural resources that are produced by the area of biologically productive land and sea and also required to absorb our waste, shows that the United Arab Emirates is ranked number one as a country which has the highest ecological foot print. Figure (5) shows the ecological foot print per person by country in 2003 which includes the cropland, grazing land, forest, and fishing grounds required to produce the food, fibre, and timber it consumes, to absorb the wastes emitted in generating the energy it uses, and to provide space for its infrastructure (WWF, The living planet report 2006)

Figure 5: Ecological footprint per person, by country, 2003 Source: (WWF, The living planet report, 2006)

12

2.2.2 The energy consumption

13

The rapid urbanization trend in the U.A.E increases the demands on energy production. Oil and gas are the main energy sources in the country. Meanwhile, generating energy from other sources is almost rare such as from nuclear power, coal, solar power….etc as shown in figure (6). Figure 6: Energy Consumption by source, United Arab Emirates, 1971- 1999 Source: (earthtrends.wri.org) Oil and gas are used to generate electric power. 65% of energy consumption is for electricity for demotic uses, 21% for industry and 14% for transportation. The consumption of electricity increased from 24,306 GW/hour in 1996 to 38,406 GW/ hour in 2001(Federal Environmental Agency, 2002). Figure (7) shows the energy consumption trend in the U.A.E caused by the increasing demands on transportation, industry, commercial and public services, residential and agriculture.

Figure 7: Energy Consumption, United Arab Emirates, 1971-1999 Source: (earthtrends.wri.org)

Comparing the U.A.E with other countries, the country is listed on the top in consuming energy per capita as shown in table (1)

14

Source: (earthtrends.wri.org)

Table 1: Energy production and consumption (in thousands metric tons of oil equivalent)

Although the U.A.E has an advantage of intensive sunlight supply most of the year, the use of solar energy technology is limited. Considering building practices in terms of its contribution on energy consumption in the U.A.E, a study has been carried out to examine the state of energy performance of existing buildings in the U.A.E. The study showed that the average total annual energy use is between 38,232 and 90,494 kWh with an average electrical energy used of 622,314 kWh/year. Thus, the annual total energy use per m2 is between 120 and 312 kWh. Meanwhile, the average total annual energy use for domestic buildings in the U.A.E is (212kWh/m2) which is relatively high as showed in that study (AboulNaga, 2001). By comparing the total energy use per square meter in a year for buildings in the U.A.E with buildings from Europe and Asia, the total energy use is between 0.1 and 186 kWh/m2 for those buildings in Europe and Asia with an average less than (100 kWh/m2).this study illustrates that the average energy use per area in domestic buildings in the U.A.E is high, and public buildings in U.A.E show less sustainable measures in terms of energy features, energy performance and environmental features too (AboulNaga, 2001).

15

C h a p t e r III: Th e o r i e s & Im p l i c a t i o n s

3.1 The concept of sustainable development In the past, the word sustainable has been introduced in parallel with environmental issues, linked with the damages caused by human activities. Thus, the discussion regarding sustainability was concerning protecting animals and nature’s species, ensuring the availability of natural sources, in particular, water and energy sources and the consequences of our human activities on the environment. The concept is widened to include other urban disciplines such as transportation, planning, architecture, management, agriculture which all are taking into consideration sustainable goals and practices. So sustainability is no longer limited to the field of ecology (Botta, 2005). The definition of “sustainable development” was widely accepted in 1987 in the Brundtland Report as: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED, 1987; Botta, 2005: p 39). The Brunndtland Commission report helped to set up a common formulation of sustainable development definition. The report assisted to establishing the first foundation for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio De Janeiro in 1992 and also for other global conferences and events (Wheeler, 2004). The definition contains the concept of “needs” that linked with the essential needs of the less advantage- nations and the concept of limitations on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs which affected by the economic and social development (WCED, 1987; Wheeler, 2004).Therefore, the economic and social goals must be integrated with sustainability principles to reach a suitable degree of balanced interaction between environmental, social and economic development. The definition also implies a general aim to be achieved but without identifying the means of achieving the sustainability goals. Rogers and Gumuchdjian (1997) identify seven basic attributes or policy objectives of sustainable urban development: a just city; a city of easy contact; a compact and polycentric city; beautiful; creative; ecological and diverse (Gumuchdjian, 1997; Romaya, 2002) To achieve those attributes, planning approaches at both city and local levels and means for assessing the sustainability of proposed development are needed (Romaya,2002). Sustainable development concept has been further widened in 1999 by the Wuppertal Institute in Germany in a model called” the prism of sustainability”. This model presented the forth dimension of sustainable development components; in additional to the environmental, social and economic aspects, the institutional aspect has been included in the model of sustainable development. The institutional aspect includes management, regulations and democratic processes. Therefore, any actions aimed to be sustainable must be taken under consideration the equal importance of these four components of sustainable development (Botta, 2005).

16

The sustainable development requires: 1- Meeting the basic needs of all human beings and including all opportunities to satisfy their ambitions for a better life. Such thing will contribute in tackling poverty and inequality which are main factors in the ecological and other crises in this world. 2- Promoting values that encourage consumption standards that are within the limits of the ecologically possible and to which all can reasonably hope. Simply because many nations are living beyond the world’s ecological limits due to the increasing living standards, for instance patterns of energy use. 3- Economic growth in places where the essential needs are not being met yet. Since economic growth reflects some principles of sustainability. 4- Increasing productive potential and ensuring equitable opportunities for all to meet human needs. 5- Demographic developments should be in harmony with the changing productive potential of the ecosystem. Since the increasing number of people will increase the pressure on resources and affect negatively on the rise in living standards especially in less available -resource areas. 6- Not to endanger the natural systems that support life on earth: the atmosphere, the water, the soil and the living beings. Since the intervention in today’s actions are more extreme in scale and impact on the environment and more threatening the life-support systems. 7- Ensuring equitable access to the constrained resources and reorient technological efforts to mitigate the pressure before reaching the ultimate limits of these resources. Since growth has no limits in terms of population and resource use. 8- The rate of depletion of non-renewable resource such as fossil fuels and minerals should take into account the availability of such resource and should exclude as few future options as possible. 9- The convention of plant and animal species since the loss in them will reduce the options of future generations. 10- The unpleasant impacts on the quality of air, water, and other natural elements are minimized to sustain the ecosystem (WCED, 1987; Wheeler, 2004). In general,” sustainable development is a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development, and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations.”(WCED, 1987; Wheeler, 2004:p.57)

17

3.1.1 The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development 1992

The United Nations conference on environment and development which was held in Rio De Janeiro in 1992 and was known as the” Earth Summit” addressed the issue of sustainable development and rose up the awareness of public for the need of sustainable development. The conference came up with a declaration which contains principles for sustainable development in different areas. Such declaration is widely known as “Agenda 21” (Wheeler, 2004). The Rio Declaration has introduced different themes regarding sustainable development. Some of its principles could be mentioned in here which are quoted from (UN, 1992; Wheeler, 2004, p.59-62): Principle 1 Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature. Principle 3 The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations. Principle 4 In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it. Principle 8 To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people, States should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate demographic policies. Principle 9 States should cooperate to strengthen endogenous capacity-building for sustainable development by improving scientific understanding through exchanges of scientific and technological knowledge, and by enhancing the development, adaptation, diffusion and transfer of technologies, including new and innovative technologies. Principle 10 Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant level. At the national level, each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available. Effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings including redress and remedy shall be provided. Principle 17 Environmental impact assessment, as a national instrument, shall be undertaken for proposed activities that are likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment and are subject to a decision of a competent national authority.

18

Principle 22 Indigenous people and their communities and other local communities have a vital role in environmental management and development because their knowledge and traditional practices. States should recognize and duly support their identity, culture and interests and enable their effective participation in the achievement of sustainable development. Principle 27 States and people shall cooperate in good faith and in a spirit of partnership in the fulfilment of the principles embodied in this Declaration and in the further development of international law in the field of sustainable development.

3.1.2 Agenda 21

Agenda 21 is the out put of the Rio De Janeiro conference on Environment and Development which was held in 1992.This declaration presents directions for sustainable urban development and leads to the establishment of”Local Agenda 21”.thus most local authorities have reached to a consensus with their local agencies and population on their own local agenda 21(Wheeler, 2004). Promoting sustainable human settlement development is one of the issues that have been introduced in Agenda 21.The main objective of human settlement is to improve the social, economic and the environmental quality of human settlements and in the working environments of all people. Such objective could be achieved by different approaches; partnerships, participation in the decision-making process and other technical cooperation activities (UN, 1992; Wheeler, 2004). In the same issue, Agenda 21 sets different programme areas which are the core of developing national settlement strategies for countries. These programme areas which are quoted from (UN, 1992; Wheeler, 2004, p.63) are:

1- Providing adequate shelter for all. 2- Improving human settlement management. 3- Promoting sustainable land-use planning and management. 4- Promoting the integrated provision of environmental infrastructure: water, sanitation,

drainage and solid-waste management. 5- Promoting sustainable energy and transport systems in human settlements. 6- Promoting human settlement planning and management in disaster-prone areas. 7- Promoting sustainable construction industry activities. 8- Promoting human resource development and capacity-building for human settlement

development. Such declaration provides guild lines for local authorities to set their own local agenda according to their own national plans and objectives and also according to their social and cultural capabilities.

19

3.1.3 Habitat II

Other declaration on human settlement has followed the Rio De Janeiro declaration, the united nation conference which was held in Istanbul in 1996 and known as ”Habitat II” addressed issues of adequate shelters for all and sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world. Habitat II aimed at strengthening partnerships for actions at the international, national and local levels to improve the living environment of all humankind. One of the commitments that have been adopted by the heads of state or government and the official delegations of the countries which participated in the conference is sustaining the global environment. Therefore, they committed to sustainable patterns of productions, consumption, transportation and settlements development. Undertaking of preventing pollution, respecting for the capacity of ecosystems and preserving the future generations’ opportunities are main issues in this context (UN, 1996; Wheeler, 2004). The participants also committed to cooperate in terms of partnerships and different global contributions in order to conserve, protect and restore the earth’s ecosystem. They committed to promote the conservation, rehabilitation and maintenance of buildings and other construction features (UN, 1996; Wheeler, 2004).

20

3.2 Sustainable building (Green architecture)

3.2.1 Introduction & Definition

Since the emergence of sustainable development practices, the building sector has been involved into the participation in sustainability. The effects of a new building or a current building on environment have been taken into accounts in these days building-design. In the pervious times, building-design has been adapted to the harmony with the natural environment while in the modern times environmentally-friendly solutions emerge to lighten human’s activities and damages on the natural environment and reduce the over-consumption. The main goals of environmentally-friendly projects are saving natural resources and reducing pollution (Botta, 2005). Since the 1970s, many events on sustainability have addressed the significance of the building-design’s role on reducing the environmental problems of a specific building or development:

- After the oil crisis in 1973, the reduction of energy consumption by the building sector has been introduced.

- After the emerging of “sick building syndrome” in the 1980s, the building sector should take into account a study of “healthy building” techniques.

- After the Rio Conference on the development of the concept of sustainable development in 1992, the building sector has a key role in understanding such concept and its implications.

- After the climate debate and the Kyoto protocol in 1997, the building sector has to reduce greenhouse gases emissions.

- The building sector has a main role to promote equity, democracy and the right to decent dwellings (Botta, 2005).

Such events have been very significant for the definition of sustainable development in many environmental programmes. Meanwhile the built environment and building activity have great responsibilities to reduce its consequences on the environment. The concept of “sustainable building” has emerged in the 1990s in the Chicago’s World Congress with a commitment on sustainable building practices. Then the concept has been developing further in different events such as in the constitution of the Green Building Council in the U.S.A (Botta, 2005). Minimizing the impact of a specific new/existing building or a development on the natural environment and the efforts to improve the ecological performance of an existing building are the main concerns of the sustainable building concept. However, energy and water efficiency, natural and economic efficiency, healthy interior environments and the protection of biodiversity are key issues in the sustainable building developments during the construction and its operational time (Botta, 2005). By the emergence of green building standards such as the LEEDS (Leadership for Energy and Environment Design) standards in 1998, sustainable building practices and building materials had been engaged into the current construction practices. Architects are now more adaptable to local climates, materials and traditions in their building design (Wheeler, 2004).

21

3.2.2 Principles of sustainable building (Green Architecture)

Many architects have already involved their designs into the process of considering the ecological and the sustainable architecture approaches. Among those who identified principles of green architecture or sustainable architecture are the British architects Brenda and Robert Vale. As other architects and developers who have engaged into proposing these principles, all of them have almost the same themes which are encouraging designers to conserve energy and non-renewable energy, consider the local characteristics of a place and to consider the building users (Wheeler, 2004). The following principles of green architecture which are identified by Brenda and Robert Vale could serve as guild lines for architectural practices for more considering the ecological issues: Principle 1: Conserving energy “A building should be constructed so as to minimize the need for fossil fuels to run it.” (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004, p.189). Due to the growing of life standards in the recent decade and the provision of new materials and technologies, this principle of minimizing the use of energy seems to be ignored or lost. People used to live in communities to provide more shaded area and cooler air between buildings. On the contrary, people today are more adapted to the individualism way of life supported by a policy of cheap energy which encouraged people to use –for instance-automobiles .such way of life affected on the performance of the traditional community and -as a consequence- on the ambition for minimizing the use of energy. Recently, many architectural attempts are more adapted to conserving energy as a main goal in its performance rather than its dependence on the fusil fuels. Thus those experiments should be widely recognized as creative experiments for achieving more green architecture (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004). Principle 2: Working with climate “Buildings should be designed to work with climate and natural energy sources” (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004, p.189). The idea behind this principle is to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels for both warming and cooling a building. The conventional attempt to reduce such dependence on the fossil fuels in design building is by using of insulation in the building structure. On the other hand, new approaches suggest that by making use of building form and the nature of building elements can provide comfort conditions inside the building (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004). In the past time, people used the natural resources such as wood to generate energy, thus the growing shortage of this resource made them to switch to the use of solar energy to generate heat. Buildings were more orientated to the winter sun and therefore buildings were more sensitive for solar design (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004). Other challenging matter now is making buildings more adapted to warm climates. To provide comfort cooler atmosphere inside the building, the modern solution affords air

22

conditioning systems which surely consume a lot of energy and increasingly contribute in the current pollution issues (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004). Principle 3: Minimizing new resources “A building should be designed so as to minimize the use of new resources and, at the end of its useful life, to form the resources for other architecture” (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004, p.189) Obviously, the current built environment requires vast resources in order to meet the demands on new buildings due to the population and the economic growth in today’s world. This world has not the sufficient resources that can meet the other generations’ needs to build new environment if we always adapt demolition and rebuilding to meet those needs. Therefore, the need for re-using in a form of recycling materials and spaces is much more significant and on the other hand, rehabilitation and upgrading for minimal the environment impact is also important (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004). Unfortunately, those who have an easy access to resources are unlikely adapted to the approach of re-using existing structures which have been designed for one purpose and that can suit a different need than its designed purpose. But what if the existing building’s components have been re-used in different state then other problem emerges here is the conservation of historical buildings. Many argue that it can still make useful if those buildings can be conserved in a changed state. Green approach suggests solutions depend on the resources that if the resources require to modify/change/replace a building are less than for demolition and rebuilding then the replacement is the solution and this solution also denies the historical importance of a building (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004). However, the total benefits of reusing an existing building that has a historical importance can ignore the internal concerns and the renovation of existing building can also minimize resources instead of demolition and rebuilding (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004). Principle 4: Respect for users “A green architecture recognizes the importance of all the people involved with it” (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004, p.190) Since different resources are included in the process of making a building, Green architecture highlights the importance of human beings involvement in the building process. The respect of users can be illustrated in two forms; for the professional builder, it’s important to realize the effect of materials and processes that form the building on users, workers and on the construction site. Thus such materials and processes should have less polluting and dangerous effect. Therefore, the use of insulating materials that contain CFCs and methods of timber treatments that contains chemical components has poisoning effect on both workers and working -site environment and such processes should be eliminated from any green building practices (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004). Other form of respecting of users is for recognizing the importance of human participation in the design and construction process. This value should be further developed in a way that could increase the level of satisfaction with the construction of a building. In parallel to that, people should freely engage into the process of design and creating a building (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004).

23

Principle 5: Respect for site “A building will “touch-this-earth-lightly” (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004, p.191) This phrase illustrates other green principle which highlights the awareness of the interaction between a building and its site. A building will touch this earth lightly means that in a case of removing a building from its site, that building could leave it in a condition as it was before placed there. And it also carries concerns of the materials with which a building was created with. Therefore, any building consumes heavily energy, creates pollution and eliminates users does not touch this earth lightly (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004). Now days, temporary designs and structures for exhibitions, performances and other cultural events are considered good illustration of this principle because at the end of the event, these structures could leave the site without any alteration and it could easily be else where (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004). Principle 6: Holism “All the green principles need to be embodied in a holistic approach to the built environment” (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004, p.192) All green principles that have been previously demonstrated can not be easily embodied in a single building; rather it can be involved into an interaction of systems-systems of playing, living and working- among buildings that represented into built forms. On the other hand, green architecture includes not only buildings and its designs but also sustainable form of urban environment (Vale, 1991; Wheeler, 2004).

3.2.3 Examples of sustainable building

Many of recent architectural projects have adapted green approaches in its structure and function. Accordingly architects attempt to find solutions to restraint the accelerative pollution generated by high dependency on private vehicles, high population growth and other unsustainable urban practices. The following examples illustrate high performance environmentally-friendly buildings that undertake advantage of local properties and carry out the greenly approach in its context.

24

One of the greenest buildings in the world which is described by SOM – an American architectural company- is Pearl River Tower in Guanzhou, China shown in figure (8). It’s a new 69 story, 303 metre tower designed for China National Tobacco Corp (www.som.com). Pearl River Tower is designed to be one of the most environmentally-friendly buildings in the world. The tower produces as much energy as it consumes and it has a high performance structure in terms of greenery features; the form of the building guides winds to push turbines to generate energy for the building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; façade- integrated photovoltaic; basement fuel cells which produce electricity by extracting hydrogen from natural gas; a condensate reclamation system that collects water and reuses it and mass ventilation, which captures and uses heat caught between the building’s façade (www.som.com). On the hand, the form of the tower with openings façade provides an important structural element; this opening façade allows wind to pass through it instead of pressing against it and that will reduce the external forces on the building’s structure. Pearl River Tower is expected to be a guide feature for further environmentally- friendly practices in urban development since such attempt will highly contribute in reducing the region’s serious air pollution problems. Figure 8: Peal River Tower,

Guangzhou, China Source: (som.com)

Other example which illustrates attempts to enhance sustainable building practices at the district scale is the Kronsberg Ecological District in Hannover-Germany. This neighbourhood is designed as model for the 2000 World Expo. It’s the newest growth area in Hannover which demonstrates sustainable dimensions in its construction (Wheeler, 2004). Kronsberg District as shown in figure (9) has a lot of sustainable features in terms of the following;

- Its form; multi family houses are located within a traffic- calmed zone (30 km/h) which are very accessible with a new tram linked with the city’s tram system. Additionally to that, bike lanes and onsite car sharing are provided.

- Its new town hall; is constructed from sustainable materials, PVs on its rooftop and other services specializing in the environment.

- Innovative systems for storms water collection and then for treatment bioswales which serves as a green feature and a delightful pathway. Consequently, water is always available for the district’s use.

- The use of green rooftops, green country yards and water features.

- Its energy features which include; low-energy standard homes, two combined heat and power plants, three wind turbines and solar energy technologies such a centralized solar hot water heating system.

- It has an ecological farm. - Sustainable landscape management plan. - And it has a green elementary school (Wheeler, 2004).

Kronsberg district has numerous ecological- friendly impacts firstly on its residents and on Hannover city as a whole. This project has added a successful attempt to enhance sustainable building practices and emerges the ecological, social and economical benefits for Kronsberg’s community. Figure 9: Images from Kronsberg Hannover, Germany Source: (oekoiedlungen.de)

25

26

3.3 Sustainable use of energy in buildings sector Most of urban cities need dynamic natural resources to consume and operate its system. Thus, the way of consumption and the use of energy in urban agglomerations represent the most challenges to urban sustainability. Reducing consumption of energy - particularly- which is generated by non-renewable fossil fuels is also crucial to urban sustainability. Therefore, other energy sources (renewable energy sources) such as wind power, solar power, geothermal energy, biomass conversion (from organic material) and ...Etc provides more understanding of ecosystems functioning to reduce the side effects of cities urbanization (Wheeler, 2004). Energy sources have a significant role in operating cities. Since the world wide accelerating demands on energy especially fossil fuel, the demand increased five times more in the last 50 years with 85 percent of the world’s energy provision. Therefore the dependence on fusil fuels is embrace which is happening mainly within cities (Girardet, 1999; Wheeler, 2004). The increasing awareness of the consequences of energy demands on the environment such as the global warming and acid rains highlights the need for developing strategies for sustainable use of energy which is crucial. On the other hand, there is a relationship between large cities with high living standards and high levels of energy consumption especially in cities where car use is the dominant, urban sprawl and air travelling. Thus, a major contribution to solving air pollution problems could be achieved by reducing the urban energy consumption (Girardet, 1999; Wheeler, 2004). To achieve sustainable use of energy, energy conservation which could be obtained by a combination of energy efficiency and efficient energy supply systems is essential. Improving the energy efficiency by adapting national strategies carries many advantages in different aspects; reducing fuel bills, decreasing the need for imports and then consequently assisting in the trade balance, the energy efficiency industry increases the creation of new jobs in this sector, decreasing the demand for fossil fuels and contributing to mitigating the environmental problems (Girardet, 1999; Wheeler, 2004). Many countries have experienced and benefited from applying energy efficiency strategies combined with efficient supply systems for instance, Scandinavian countries have a deep experience in reducing its dependence on fossil fuels by adopting such combination. The conventional energy supply systems such as for electricity supply which is generated by coal-fired stations are only 34% efficient meanwhile, modern gas-fired stations are slightly better with 40-50% efficient. New systems/ technologies of energy efficiency could be applied to increase the overall energy efficiency. The following new systems of energy efficiency are gradually used in many countries;

- Combined heart and power systems (CHP): these systems capture the wasted heat from burning and distribute it through district heating systems. Therefore, CHPs are 80% efficient and increasingly used in many European cities for instance in Finland, 34 per cent of the electricity is produced by such systems. Meanwhile in Helsinki, they have developed CHP systems further to capture more of the wasted heat from coal- fired power station and used it to heat 90 per cent of its buildings. On the other hand they also have compact land use patterns which made district heating wildly viable.

27

- Photovoltaic modules (PV): they are significant technologies that have been recently used on the buildings roofs to produce electricity from solar panels. Based on an evidence from the oil company BP, London, its calculations show that by using PV modules on the roofs and walls of London’s’ buildings, the city could supply most of its summer electricity needs. The production cost of PV modules make them slowly spreading but on the contrast, large scale production will reduce the unit cost.

- Fuel cells: it’s another cleaner technology to produce electricity from converting

Hydrogen, natural gas or methanol into electricity by a chemical process without any need for burning. Fuel cells are used now in operating generators, power stations, buses cars and trucks. By also adopting a large scale commercial production will reduce the unit cost of this technology.

- Combined photovoltaic modules with fuel cells: it’s a further development of

producing cleaner energy by combining photovoltaic modules with fuel cell. The photovoltaic modules are used to generate electricity to produce hydrogen from splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen and using hydrogen which could be stored to run fuel cells power stations.

- Heart pumps

- Solar hot water systems (Girardet, 1999; Wheeler, 2004).

In terms of the efficient use of energy, new energy policies are needed to improve the energy industry and generating more efficiency. Evidently, that larger improvement in power distribution and consumption could be attained by cities in which the municipality owns the electricity company as in Toronto and Amsterdam (Girardet, 1999; Wheeler, 2004). So a combination between adapting new technologies to produce energy efficiency such as renewable energy systems and the efficient use of energy will reduce dramatically the negative impact on the urban environment and contribute deeply in sustaining the use of energy.

28

3.4 Tool for Assessing Sustainability Assessing sustainability of a development is a key issue for developers, decision makers, environment advocators...etc. it may help them to evaluate the performance of a project or a development, improve its performance and on the final hand enhance sustainable urban development. To evaluate an urban development proposal, international guidelines on acceptable or desirable levels of indicators - such as in UK- could be identified, for instance, as for air or water pollution. Edwards and Hyett (2001) develop a sustainability tool with themes related to urban settlements. For projects and developments, indicators can measure some factors related to environmental sustainability such as the use of land or water, transportation, energy for heating or ventilation and use of building materials. Meanwhile, the desirable or acceptable level of resource consumption is not constant because it is vary from place to place and it depends on existing level of development, consumption and pollution. For example, the consumption level of water is vary from Africa to UK; in Africa 87 per cent of water is used for agriculture however 56 per cent of water in UK is for demotic use (Romaya, 2002). So by using a sustainability matrix which has been developed by Edward and Hyett, the impacts of a proposed project or development on specific aspect of sustainability can be measured. Table (2) is an illustration of such matrix. Table 2: Evaluation matrix for assessing the impact of a development on sustainability Theme Factor Evaluation* Weight** Sustainability score

Energy Heating Very good (5) Important (5) 5 ×5 = 25 Construction Average (3) Important (5) 3 × 5 = 15 Transport Poor (2) Very important (6) 2 × 6 = 12

Land Agriculture Average (3) Very important (6) 3 × 6 = 18 Housing Average (3) Ambivalent (3) 3 × 3 = 9

Water Industry Good (4) Essential (7) 4 × 7 = 28 Total sustainability score = 107

* Evaluation on 5-point scale: very good (5), good (4), average (3), poor (2), very poor (1). ** Weight on 7-point scale: essential (7), very important (6), important (5), significant (4), ambivalent (3), limited significant (2), insignificant (1). Source: (Romaya, 2002, p. 187) In column 1, key themes or natural resources have been identified such as energy, land and water in this particular case. Then for each of these natural resources, existing or proposed uses have been also identified as factors in column 2. In column 3, a comparable evaluation approach based on ranking from 1-5 has been provided for assessing the existing or proposed development satisfies sustainability requirements for each indicators. Then in column 4, each indicator is weighted according to its importance such as an economic priority. In column 5, scores for each weighted indicator have been provided and finally, the sum of these weighted indicators’ scores is an overall estimate of the impact of a proposed development on the sustainability (Romaya, 2002).

Such evaluation matrix which has been illustrated in table (2) can be used in two studies before and after the development occurs or likely to occur to provide an evaluation of the impact of such development on the sustainability and also to illustrate the degree of change. So after getting the total sustainability scores from the two evaluation matrixes, table (3) provides an analysis of the effect of development on sustainability. In both columns 2 and 3, values from the previous two evaluation studies have been added with respect to each individual factor and parallel to this, the percentage of change has been demonstrated for these factors. According to the percentage change of each individual factor; enhancement sustainability means increasing in the value of after-development score and degradation in sustainability means decreasing in the value of after- development score. Thus, by comparing the total evaluation scores before and after development in this particular example, there is an increasing in the value of after- development score by two per cent and that means the post- development shows an improvement on sustainability terms (Romaya, 2002). Table 3: Analysis of the effect of development on sustainability (notional values)

Source: (Romaya, 2002, p. 187)

Evaluation Percentage Factor Before After Enhancement Degradation

Development Development

Heating 25 20 - 20

Construction 15 20 33 -

Transport 12 15 25 - Agriculture 18 18 - -

Housing 9 12 33 -

Industry 28 24 - 14

Total 107 109 2

This tool of assessing sustainability shows the impact of a proposed development on the environment and it also provides significant data for improving the decision-making process in terms of urban development to enhance sustainable building practices.

29

30

C h a p t e r IV: Me t h o d o l o g i c a l Ap p r o a c h

4.1 A case study research A case study research is a way to investigate cases of human activities. These cases can be single cases such as an individual, a group, an institution, a large- scale community or a multiple cases such as different projects, single parents. In a case study research, researchers try to answer specific research questions which need different kind of evidences that exist in the case setting. (Gillham, 2000) The use of multiple sources of evidence and the uncertainty of prioritizing a theoretical notion (since researches won’t know what theories make the most logical sense) - are the key characteristics of a case study research. (Gillham, 2000) A case study method empowers researchers of specific human phenomena to highlight issues that would be hardly covered by using other methods; a case study method is well- suited to the complexity and specificity of real- life phenomena, a case study method has an inductive theorizing style, i.e. making sense of the researchers findings, a case study searches for the qualitative elements of the collected data to give meaning for the results, a case study method pays great attention to the both subjective and objective evidences (what people do, what records show, and so on), a case study method enables researches to participate and acknowledge their role in what they discover, a case study method has its own dynamic and has effects on individuals and institutions because the role of the researcher of asking questions, clarifying procedures and collecting data.(Gillham, 2000) The main methodological approach in this thesis is an investigation of a case study which is one of Dubai’s urban developments. As it has been mentioned before, Dubai’s has exercised many mega-projects; one of these projects is The Palm Jumeirah which is considered the first mega man- made island. Different kinds of projects are taken place at The Palm Jumeirah. Due to the time constrain of collecting data and the difficulties that I have faced to gather such information, only one main project of The Palm Jumeirah will be analyzed and presented as a case study; The Trump International Hotel and Tower. The reason behind choosing this project refers to the importance of such development which is considered among the land marks of The Palm Jumeirah and the main centerpiece of the Trunk.

4.2 The qualitative dimension Qualitative methods of collecting data in the case study research have a significant value and they focus on the kind of data (what people say and do) and that will give explanations of what is going on. Thus, qualitative methods are descriptive and often considered as soft. (Gillham, 2000) On the other hand, qualitative case studies are often “the preferred strategy when “how” or “why” questions are being posed, when the investigator has little control over events, and when the focus is on a contemporary phenomenon within some real-life context” (Yin, 1994:p.1) .

31

The qualitative methods of collecting data enable researchers to:

1- To carry out an investigation where other methods – such as experiments- are not practicable.

2- To investigate situations where little is known about what is there or what is going on. 3- To explore complexities which are beyond the scope of more (controlled) approaches. 4- To get under the skin of a group or organization to find out what really happens- the

informal reality which can only be perceived from the inside. 5- To view the case from the inside out: to see it from the perspective of those involved. 6- To carry out research into the process leading to results rather than into the

significance of the results them selves. (Gillham, 2000:p.11) Examples of qualitative methods of collecting data are like interviewing, observations, document analysis, and literature studies. Interviews have been carried out with key- persons from Atkins Middle East (WS Atkins & Partners overseas- Dubai) which is the main consultant in the The Trump International Hotel and Tower at The Palm Jumeirah. Those key- persons are in the following positions: Managing director, Client director, Commercial director, Resident director. They recommended me to contact An Associate Director (senior design architect) with whom I had the interview. The interview questions highlighted the company’s building practices, their awareness for sustainability and the main sustainable features in the Trump hotel and Tower. See appendix (2) Data has been also collected from the official web site of NAKHEEL (www.nakheel.com) which is the main developer of The Palm Jumeirah. These data provides information about the island, exploring the island, the construction of the island and environment concerns. Different documents and literatures have been utilized for collecting data as well.

4.3 The quantitative dimension Quantitative methods of collecting data are described as those which involve counting and measuring such as statistics. Statistics are two kinds; descriptive and inferetial. An example of descriptive statistics is avarages which descripe data in a summary setting. Meanwhile; inferential statistics enable researchers to draw meaningful and significant inferences from qualitative data. (Gillham, 2000) In this context, questionnaires have been distributed aimed to provide data of the current architectural practices in Dubai’s urban developments. The practitioners have been asked about their concerns of sustainable development, green architecture, adapting to the local climate in their designs and other concerns. This questionnaire is enclosed in the appendix. The demonstration of this case study is mainly for testing the viability of the presented theories above in the theoretical chapter. Theories of sustainable development, green architecture, sustainable use of energy and tools for assessing sustainability will be tested in this case study and find out the current performance of the two chosen projects in terms of sustainability.

C h a p t e r V: An a l y s i s & Re s u l t s 5.1 Exploring The Palm Jumeirah The Palm Jumeirah is a man- made island which is located on the coastal area of Dubai. The palm is built in the shape of a symbolic feature- a palm tree- that is widely existed in the United Arab Emirates. It measures 5km² and has added 78.6km to the country’s 72km coastline. The Palm Jumeirah is primarily a residential area for living, relaxation and leisure. (www.nakheel.com) The Palm Jumeirah is a result of five years planning and land reclamation, years of researches, trials, surveys and environmental assessments were carried out. Many well-known international construction companies and consultants have been approached to carry out construction tests to establish this mega-project. The construction of the Palm started in 2002; the first task was to establish the breakwater to protect the reclaimed land from the strong winds of the Arabian Gulf. This task was created by using rocks instead of concrete slabs and that for encouraging the creation of a natural reef. The next step was the land reclamation; the main difficulty in this stage was the positioning of places where the sand must be located since there were no fixed points of land to survey. Therefore, engineers had to use the DGPS (Differential Global Positioning System) with accuracy to 1 cm. the sand was taken from the sea since it is more environmentally sustainable which allows marine life to grow, more than the sand from the Dubai deserts. After the land reclamation, the next step was to prepare the artificial island for occupation, installation of desalination plants; wastewater treatment, underground power lines and the construction of a transport network all were taken place in the island.

The Crescent The Fronds The Marinas The Golden The Shoreline Mile Apartments The Trunk

Figure 10: The main divisions of The Palm Jumeirah Source: (nakheel.com)

32

The Palm Jumeirah consists of the following. (As shown in figure 10)

1- The Trunk It’s the heart of the Palm Jumeirah which contains projects for living, retail and tourism. The Trunk has a canal that carries water along the centre of the trunk and it also contains a monorail that connects the island parts. The Trunk has features which are shaping a new icon for Dubai city;

A- The shoreline apartments, it’s a residential area provides 2,650 new apartments ranging between 1 to3 bedroom unites and it also contains 80 luxurious penthouses. The shoreline apartments have five exclusive beachfront clubhouses and other facilities. (www.nakheel.com) ( shown in figure 11)

Figure 11: The Shoreline Apartments Source: (nakheel.com)

B- The Golden Mile, a commercial and residential area which comprises 200 retail outlets and 10 waterfront residential buildings that hold 860 unites of townhouses, 1- 3 bedroom apartments and penthouses. ( shown in figure 12)

Figur 12: The Golden Mile Source: (nakheel.com)

33

C- The marinas, it contains the Village Centre with 68,000sqm of retail and commercial and more than a thousand apartments and townhouses. The Marinas also offers 750 berths for private vessels between 10 and 16 meters in length at both sides of the Trunk and other 400berths for private

vessels between 12 and 16 meters in length. ( shown in figure 13)

Figure 13: The Marinas Source: (nakheel.com)

D- Trump International Hotel and Tower, it

will be the centre piece of The Palm Jumeirah’s trunk, including residential and hotel element. ( shown in figure 14)

Figure 14: Trump International Hotel and Tower Source: (nakheel.com)

2- The Fronds

The Fronts are the main exclusive residential area of the Palm Jumeirah, 17 fronts will habitat more than 8,000 residents in their own villas with exclusive beaches (shown in figure 15). Each villa has its own garden fronted by an expensive white sand beach. The expected residents will move into their homes at the end of 2006.

(www.nakheel.com)

34

3- The Crescent In additional to its function as breakwater, The 11 kilometre Crescent that surrounds the island is also a home to 22 of the most leading hotels and resorts in the world ( shown in figure 16 ). Each of these hotels provides its own unique style and services. One of these brand hotels is Atlantis; a $1.2 billion comprises 1500 room and its own water- themed resort. (www.n

Figure 16: The Crescent Source: (nakheel.com)

Figure 15: Fronts villas Source: (nakheel.com)

akheel.com)

5.2 The Trump International Hotel and Tower

5.2.1 The project features

A new architectural landmark located on the center part of The Trunk of The Palm Jumierah. The Trump International Hotel and Tower (shown in figure 17 ) is a more than 255m tall and 60 stories building designed by Athins global company. The project features a 300-room five-star hotel, 400 residential apartments, offices, retail, and leisure facilities such as a gym, spa, private beaches and a number of restaurants.

35

ts blur uilding.

vides panoramas of the island, ubai and Arabian Gulf.

r The Palm Jumeirah, our flagship

ion and The Trump ternational organization.

The Trump International Hotel and Tower is designed in asymmetrical halves with stainless steel, glass and stone facades. The open core in the middle of both linked buildings is an innovative feature to minimize the shadows. The building gives the sense of infinity at the top of each tower where the glazed elemenb On the other hand, the Trump International Hotel and Tower more slender design allows for a linear view through the building to the top of the island and proD This project is considered among the unique projects which are at the forefront of innovation. Since Nakheel has the commitment to create unique projects to match the vision of Dubai, the Trump International Hotel and Tower is a result of those commitments. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem stats "The new design of the Trump International Hotel and Tower lives up to this commitment and will provide a fitting landmark centrepiece fodevelopment. The project came up as a result of a partnership between Nakheel Corporatin Figure 17: Images for The Trump

Source: (atkinsdesign.com)International Hotel and Tower

5.2.2 Attempts for sustainability

The trump international and tower has been designed by a leading international multidisciplinary design firm called Atkins which has a regional branch based in Dubai. Atkins Middle East has released an international awareness programme o

36

n sustainability in onstruction which emerging plans for integrating sustainable features into the built

We put sustainability high on the agenda in every project we are involved in” Said Regional Smith. (www.atkins-me.com)

The project featuring e ultimate use of wind and solar power

f the construction and management of buildings on the nvironment associated with the contribution to carbon emissions and consumption of

esses an make to our wider society and communities,” said Dr Bassam Abu-Hijleh, Senior

e-invent themselves and reduce costs, manage risks better and drive

ups of ultidisciplined academic consultants in the world able to delivery advising on integrated

ays- consider many sustainable aspects in every project such as orientation, insulation and

cenvironment, not only just through design but also all aspects of business. “Head of Technology Richard Atkins attempts through investing in various areas of projects to ensure a long term benefits in energy savings, reduction in operating costs and better environment. The Bahrain World Trade Centre project - as shown in figure (18) - is obvious evidence exhibiting Atkins attempts toward its strategic plans. thintegrated into the design. Atkins signed an agreement with British University in Dubai (BUiD). Through this partnership, Atkins contributes to research in the field of sustainability in the built environment. Continuously, Atkins funds BUiD’s Institute of Built Environment which is aimed at highlighting key sustainability concepts in every aspect of building (including materials, design and structure) to reduce the impact o

Figure 18: Bahrain World Trade Centre Source: (atkinsdesign.com)

eresources. (www.atkins-me.com) “This partnership between one of the world’s largest design and engineering consultancies and the British University reflects the important contribution that universities and busincLecturer and Head of BUiD’s Institute of the Built Environment. (www.atkins-me.com) “Aside from the ecological benefits and positive publicity that a sustainable design approach brings, many of industry’s leaders find that sustainability has become an invaluable vehicle for exploring ways to rfundamental internal changes in culture, structure and quality of life,” continued Dr. Bassam. (www.atkins-me.com) This agreement will also make BUiD’s built environment one of the gromsustainable design solutions for urban and built environments. (www.atkins-me-com) Atkins, through emerging sustainability awareness into the design process, invests in employing specialists such as house physicists working side by side with architects to ensure any possibilities to apply sustainable environmental solutions into projects. Architects- now dintegrating wind turbines and solar power. (www.atkins-me.com)

37

tkins is trying through integrating sustainable solutions into building practices, to establish

ivil structures. It is here that BUiD’s advanced built environment research will be used to its

ew, Managing Director, Atkins Middle East. (www.atkins-me-com)

ding practices to reduce the impact of building on the environment. It also includes a direct question about the sustainable features in the

of ngineering services in the building design. The following procersures present those attempts

ng design which are aimed to reduce the impact on the environment;

inimized y using passive design techniques and recovery strategies. The following techniques have

p International hotel and tower;

ergy onsumption as a whole. Thus, shading glass of the facades is a way for reducing the solar

ied out studies of optimising the se of shading through studying sun falls on the building in different times of the year. Figure 9) shows summary of optimum shading design on towers.

Athe first platform for long term change towards sustainable building practices in the region. “Atkins is proud to offer a wealth of services to our clients which combines cutting edge solutions with tried and tested technologies to design systems, processes, buildings and c

fullest,” said Tim Ask

5.2.3 An interview

An interview has been carried out with a key- person (as mentioned before) from Atkins Global Company aimed to obtain qualitative data concerning the development. The interview questions deal with issues of sustainable buil

project and other concerns. See appendix (2)

5.2.3.1 Presenting the findings (sustainable features) According to the preminiraly design report of The Trump International Hotel and Tower section 11 (building physics and sustainability), the building will reduce its impact on the environment through significant design and engineering services. Thus, reducing the consumption level of energy, water, natural resources and the loads on the building are main issues that will be mitigated through applying innovative systems in different aspectsefor sustainable buildi 1- Facade design Through a careful design of the building’s facades, the energy consumption can be mbbeen utilized during the designing phase of the Trum • Solar shading and its impact on cooling loads A reduction in air conditioning loads of the building means a reduction in encgain through windows and therefore reducing the air conditioning loads on the building. Designers of the Trump international Hotel and Tower carru(1

ll study of shading design has been attached in the appendix part of this thesis- see

igure (20) shows a sample of this study which presents the optimum use of shading by using louvers with different dimensions during the sun of June 21st.

Summer sun path Winter sun path

Figur 19: shading design for the towers Source: (Atkins Middle East) The fuappendix (3) – this study also shows the solar access on facades during different times of the year. F

One louvre per floor:

700mm primary floor

Interm 0mm

400mm intermediate

Intermed ,200mm centres

600mm l

400mm secondary floor

ediate louvres at 1,20centres

700mm primary floor 400mm secondary floor

iate louvres at 1

for al

15:00h June 21st – little shading 15:00h June 21st – 60% shading 15:00h June 21st – 100% shading

Figure 20: shading of the south facade of the south tower source: (Atkins Middle East)

On the other hand, other study has been taken place to investigate the effect of shading devices on the cooling loads of the building. The following sample - figure (21) - represents this effect of shading on a chosen room facing the south side of the building.

38

No shading worst case

200mm x 3 minimal shading

500mm + 300mm x 2 possible design option

600mm x 3 ideal shading

Figure 21: The effect of shading devices on a tested room Source: (Atkins Middle East) This room has been tested under two different peak conditions on August 15th (peak wet condition with 27°C and peak dry 46°C) where the solar loads are at the peak values. This occurs at 17:00h and 15:00h (the sun is higher and then shading is more effective).The following table (4) shows the improvement on shading loads which minimize the cooling loads - and thereby the cooling energy- , the running costs and the carbon dioxide emissions of the building. Table 4: The resulting shading loads to the room

17:00h Solar Load

% improvement from no shading

15:00h solar Load

% improvement from no shading

No shading 1,729W - 1,451W -

200/200/200 1,535W 15% 1,025W 29%

500/300/300 1,311W 27% 755W 48%

600/600/600 1,101W 42% 641W 56%

Source: (Atkins Middle East) • Glazing Glass selection according to its properties has a significant effect on the cooling loads of the building and, thereby, on the level of energy consumption. The following table (5) shows the effect of using different glass properties on the cooling loads of the same tested room in the last model. Values of U-value and shading coefficient should be low to ensure minimum cooling loads on the building. Table 5: Glass properties and the impact on the cooling loads

U-value Shading Coefficient

Visual Light Transmission

Peak Total Load

Improvement on minimum

Minimum requirement

2.1W/m²K 0.35 Not specified 4,475W -

CoolRAY Carat

1.4W/m²K 0.32 52% 4,040W 10%

CoolRAY Galaxy

1.4W/m²K 0.25 40% 3,671W 18%

CoolPANE PB20

1.4W/m²K 0.20 17% 3,436W 23%

Source: (Atkins Middle East) 39

40

• Insulation Insulation of external walls, floors and roofs has also great impact on the reduction of heat gaining and consequently, on the level of energy consumption. In addition, window frames have also significant role of minimizing heat gaining. Thus, designers of the Trump International Hotel and tower realized the importance of insulating window frames -which are selected be to aluminum – and therefore, will limit the thermal transmission through window frames. • Infiltration Infiltration is an outside air flowing into the building through the facades. Limiting infiltration especially in the top third of the building where it is generally worst is vital to reduce air conditioning loads and thus, reduce the energy consumption.

2- Mechanical systems Mechanical systems in the Trump International Hotel and Tower have been investigated according to its suitability to the building and its contribution to reduce the total energy consumption. The following mechanical systems have been utilized to the building during the designing phase. • Chilled beams Using chilled beams in offices and other public spaces is considered as more energy efficient and space efficient that air- based cooling systems. These systems will not be used in high volume areas or accommodation due to irregular operation, guest not understanding how they work, and guest opening doors and windows which would increase condensation risk. • Displacement ventilation Displacement ventilation is an efficient way to reduce the cooling loads of the building spaces. The advantage of these systems is only the occupied space, for instance, the first 2m above the floor is conditioned rather than conditioning the whole volume which requires more energy. These systems are recommended to be used in high spaces such as the entrance lobby and the restaurant at the top of the trump International hotel and Tower. • Heat Recovery Heat recovery using a thermal wheel is standard design and, by reducing the temperature of incoming outside air, reduces the energy required to cool it and dehumidify it for use in the building.

41

• Equipment sizing and selection Using greater number of smaller pumps and supporters (fans) is more efficient than using fewer large ones at the part load. On the other hand, variable speed drives that will be used on pumps and supporters (fans) are also more efficient rather than working to set part load speeds. Although it may be a slight increase in plant room requirement by using such number of smaller equipments, the running cost savings and reduced impact on the environment will be significant. In addition, to reduce the energy required to move air and chilled water around the building, pipes and ducts will be sized to reduce pressure heads. • Car park ventilation Ventilation in the car park is to be controlled by pollutant levels so that the jet fans only operate when carbon monoxide levels reach a certain point. 3- Electrical services Reducing the impact of electrical services means reducing the total energy consumption of the whole project. Thereby, benefits will be gained through adapting saving strategies into the designing phase. The following examples are means used to reduce the need for more energy. • Efficient lighting An example of adapting more efficient lighting represents in limiting the lighting designers of front and back house lighting – which is still a major electricity consumer- to use an energy budget of 50w/m2.this, will stimulate the use of efficient fixture, day dimming, and so forth. • Lighting control As a main strategy of controlling consumption of lighting, proximity sensors will be installed in apartment floor corridors and staircases. In addition, daylight dimming controls, energy efficient lamps and ballasts will also be installed in the offices floors of the building. Other additional methods of controlling lights of being used where they are not needed, no switch will control lighting to more than 100m2 of floor area, switches for separate circuits will be located in the zone they serve wherever possible, rather than in banks of switches near the door. (For example, an office may have a light near the window and another internally. By locating the perimeter light switch on the perimeter and forcing people to cross the room to turn it on, they will think twice before doing so.) It is further recommended that lighting is controlled by the BMS to turn off in offices and BOH after a certain time (provided people have left) to ensure lights are not left on overnight.

42

• Appliances Such as refrigerators – are always major consumer of power in apartment- , washing machines and dishwashers should be in the top 10% of their class for energy efficiency. Consequently, this will ensure a reduction in the energy consumption. 4- Solar hot water Different solar hot water systems have been tested and analyzed in respect of energy and cost efficiency. Thus, Sola hart solar water systems are recommended due to its long term benefits as shown in the following table (6). The table shows a comparison between generating hot water from Solar hot water + LPG and Electric heaters. The comparison shows that using Solar hot water systems are more efficient after 6 years of utilizing. Table 6: A comparison between solar hot water + LPG and Electric heaters

Solar hot water + LPG Cost (AED)

Boiler cost (1-No) 850,000

Maintenance cost @ 2% p.a. 17,000

5-No 6500 units + 480-No panels @ AED330,000 ea

1,650,000

Piping cost 250,000

Total cost 2,767,000

Annual operating costs 322,560

Electric heaters Cost (AED)

1,305-No electric heaters @ AED450 ea 587,250

Maintenance cost @ 2% p.a. 11,745

2,500kVA transformer 150,000

Cabling costs 50,000

Total cost 798,995

Annual operating cost 657,720

Simple payback for Solar Hot Water system 6 years

Source: (Atkins Middle East) 5- Material selection • Recycled content of construction materials The production of construction materials is an energy intensive which has a major environmental impact. By replacing those materials - for instance – Portland cement which are energy intensive with ones that are industrial waste products such as fly ash, this will reduce the carbon dioxide emissions and the energy intensity.

43

Meanwhile, different steel mills use different proportions of recycled steel in their feedstock and the selection of steel by the contractor should consider the recycled content as a matter of contract. For non-structural concrete, up to 20% of recycled aggregate can be used. • Timber All timber and wood, including that used in construction, should be from a certified sustainable source, such as Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) accredited forests, or be post-consumer re-used timber, or similar. • Internal air quality Several materials release harmful chemicals into the air. This release is called off-gassing and is a leading cause of sick building syndrome. Zero-VOC paints are readily available on the world market and are the same quality as other paints. Cost implications in Dubai are unknown at this stage. • Ozone depletion Insolents used in construction will not use ozone depleting substances in their production. Similarly, refrigerants, where used, will have ozone depleting potential of zero and a global warming potential of less than 10. 6- Management To ensure an effective performance of the environmental initiatives during the operation of the building, an environmental management plan has been drawn in the Trump International Hotel and Tower. This plan contains a formalized monitoring and reporting system that compares performance of a building against industry standards in different area such as energy efficiency and energy management, waste minimization, reuse and recycling and so forth. The plan also sets objectives, targets and actions to improve performance of the building over time, and reports progress regularly. In addition, a construction plan has also been drawn to ensure the initiatives that are the responsibility of the contractor, such as infiltration protection and façade insulation levels, are implemented. The plan also includes guidelines on waste management, recycling and reporting. By applying both the environmental management plan for the building’s operation and the construction management plan, better performance of the building would be noticed in terms of sustainability.

44

5.2.4 Questionnaire

Questionnaires have been targeted a sample of practitioners in fields of architecture, engineering, urban planning and policy makers who are in charged of Dubai’s urban developments and with various working experiences in order to high lights their awareness of sustainable development. The sample has included 30 practitioners from different fields who received a questionnaire form via email. The total respondents is 22 (73% of the total number of questionnaires)which makes the process of collecting these data – data from the questionnaires- is more reliable to draw a common conclusion out of analyzing the responses. Almost all of the respondents have more than 3 years working experience in their professional field with number of projects varied between 3 - more than 50 projects that they have been involved in. Table 7: A summary of questionnaires results

Question Response Q1 100% of all respondents said yes that they know the concept of sustainable

development. Q2 There is a common answer which is only focusing on the environmental aspect mainly

about the energy saving. Q3 100% of all respondents said yes that they know the concept of green architecture. Q4 Almost all respondents only mentioned using the natural energy in buildings. Q5 60% of the respondents have not seen sustainable buildings before. Q6 40% of the respondents who have seen sustainable buildings before saw them in

Germany. Q7 The same 40% of the respondents mentioned the use of solar energy and natural

ventilation as the main sustainable features in those buildings. Q8 60% of the respondents have not engaged in designing or proposing a sustainable

building in their career before. Q9 40% of the respondents who have involved in designing a sustainable building where in

London and in their educational period at universities (proposals). Q10 The respondents mentioned the use of solar panels, big fans, natural ventilation,

recycling and solar gain as sustainable features in those buildings. Q11 The answers varied from the direction of the building, using suitable materials,

function to cost and beauty as main issues they considered in the designing phase. Q12 60% of the respondents adapt their building design to Dubai’s climate. Q13 The use of insolation is the common answer. Q14 All of the respondents don’t have any knowledge about the ecological footprint ranking. Q15 Only 40% of the respondents know that UAE is among the highest energy

consumer/capita. Q16 High percentage of the respondents thinks that by making use of natural energy,

buildings could reduce its impact on the environment. While 10% of the respondents think that proper guidelines and regulations could ensure that.

Q17 90% of the respondents think that there are difficulties to adopt renewable energy in the building sector.

Q18 Increasing the total cost of the building which affects the capital return is the common answer.

Q19 Almost all respondents don’t see any sustainable features in the Palm Jumeirah projects. Q20 NO answers. Source: (The author)

45

C h a p t e r VI: Di s c u s s i o n & Co n c l u s i o n

6.1 Sustainability in a rapid urban development Sustainable urban development is a wide concept covers integrated issues; social, economical, environmental and institutional aspects. Finding a balance status among those aspects is a big challenge for planners, architects, policy makers and so forth. This study covers one type of sustainability, sustainable building practices in a rapid urban development mainly in Dubai context. After studying the Trump International Hotel and Tower at The Palm Jumeirah which is one of the main mega projects occur in a rapid context, the study shows great attempts for engaging sustainability into the building design and management. Sustainable features have been acknowledged through comprehensive studies on the building performance. The findings also show to a great extends an illustration for Brenda and Robert principles of sustainable building (Green Architecture). Principles for conserving energy, working with climate, minimizing new resources, respect for users, respect for site and holism have been demonstrated in the case study findings. Collecting qualitative data throw applying an interview with a key- person form Atkins Company deeply enables to understand those attempts for sustainability. The interview indicates comprehensive studies about how to apply innovative systems into the design process and integrate them into the building performance. The findings on the other hand, show that throw applying innovative systems in different aspects of engineering services in the building design, a significant reduction in the consumption level of energy, water and natural resources will occur. Thus the building will reduce its impact on the environment and ambitiously will contribute to the attempts for sustainability in the building sector. The findings also indicate great linkage between adapting innovative systems and revenues in the operational costs of the building in the long term. Sustainable use of energy in the building sector can be achieved by applying a combination of energy efficiency and efficient energy supply. In that extend, the findings illustrate this approach of adapting efficient energy supply and new innovative systems in designing The Trump International Hotel and Tower. Thus, a reduction in the dependency on the fossil fuels and consequently a reduction in the impact of building on the environment can be achieved. Since the limited time span and scope of the study area, a deep investigation of the energy efficiency policies that are applied in Dubai context is missing. It could be considered as both a limitation and delimitation since it is not a main concern in this study while highlighting other issues need more time than it is expected. The findings also demonstrate the willing of carrying out a deep study of the possibilities to adapt sustainable use of energy during the designing phase of the building. This doesn’t nessesary reflect the general buildings practices in Dubai context rather than give an idea of a sustainable building practice is occurring there and the willing of highlight this issue in the whole region.

46

Sustainable building practices in term of energy consumption which have been illustrated in the findings emphasize the significant contribution of such practices in mitigating the negative consequences of a development- that occurs in a rapid pattern - on the environment.

6.2 Awareness for sustainability in terms of energy consumption Through analysing the trump international Hotel and Tower, Atkins Group has significant attempts of highlighting the awareness for sustainability in the building practices; Atkins Group has released an international awareness programme on sustainability in construction which emerging plans for integrating sustainable features into the built environment. Atkins performances in Dubai and in the whole region contribute to high raising the awareness for sustainability in the current building practices which could be serviced as successful attempts and lessons to be followed by the other building practitioners. The trump International Tower and Hotel in Dubai and Bahrain World Trade Centre are both significant examples of such performances. And the future great ambitious here is to copy the successful performance of Pearl River Tower in Guanzhou/China which has been designed by Som for more sustainable building. This building – as it is mentioned before- is considered the greenest building in the world since it is (a zero energy consumption building). Since Dubai is seeking for recording more Superlative descriptions in their development, it would be a great record if they concern more toward greenery buildings and more environmentally friendly development. It could also be a great benefit to promote the city in this direction. On the hand, the awareness of building practitioners for sustainability in Dubai context has been acknowledged through carrying out a questionnaire. The Findings show a lack of clear understanding of both the concept of sustainable development and sustainable building (green architecture). But, the findings also demonstrate attempts for sustainable features integrated into the building design- for instance- the use of insulation and the direction of the building. Those attempts are constrained by the economical aspects of the projects – for instance- by the limited investing budget of the project which restricts adapting more innovative systems into the design process. The findings show the lack of realizing the long term benefits of adapting innovative systems for reducing the energy consumption into the design process. The lack of practical experience in adapting innovative systems is observed due to the shortage of comprehensive educational programmes to enrich practitioners in the building sector with knowledge for more sustainable building practices – for instance- practical knowledge about different innovative systems and their properties of conserving energy. The educational attempts could also highlight the awareness for sustainability through promoting tools for assessing sustainability of a development. The tool that it has been presented in the theoretical chapter for assessing sustainability is one method could be utilized to evaluate the performance of development and improve its performance to enhance sustainable urban development. The importance of those educational attempts were stated in Rio declaration on environment and development; it states in principle (9) the significant of improving scientific understanding through exchanges of scientific and technological knowledge, and by enhancing the development, adaptation, diffusion and transfer of technologies, including new and innovative technologies. The study is lacking for carrying out an environmental impact assessment but actually Nakheel Company has undertaken this assessment and it was a lot of difficulties to obtain this assessment from Nakheel or the specialist company which carried out this assessment. This limited the study findings of more understanding such attempts aimed to reduce the impact of

47

this development on the environment. Continuously, this illustrates the awareness of such practices for more sustainable development and this also a direct implementation of Rio declaration on environment and development 92 specialy principle (17) which states the importance of undertaking an environmental impact assessment as a national instrument.

6.3 Conclusion Building practices in Dubai’s mega- projects which occur in a rapid pattern show great attempts for adapting sustainable features into the design process. The Trump International Tower and Hotel which is considered among the unique projects to match the vision of Dubai is a significant development regarding sustainable building practices that aimed to reduce the energy consumption. Other building practices in Dubai context illustrate less awareness for sustainability through adopting innovative systems into the design process. The absence of educational programs to highlight the benefits of such innovative systems in the long term limits the use of these technologies. Building practices of international companies in Dubai context – for instance- Atkins Global have great impact for promoting sustainability. Atkins has strategies for promoting their practices through investing in sustainable features and educational programs for enhancing sustainability. This study gives notions about the nature of building practices in Dubai context regarding sustainability and energy consumption. Narrowing down the scale of the study to a building scale enables to understand deeply the opportunities of adapting innovative systems into the design process. On the other hand, there is a lack of covering other building practices with less building capacity due to the time constrained and the difficulties of gathering reliable data in such limited time. Other concern is the missing of undertaking SWOT analysis for generating significant results about adapting innovative systems into the design process. Carrying out this methodology needs more time and reliable data which all limited by the lack of communication of these busy companies in Dubai context. These mega-projects are on-going projects which means limiting the flow of information and gathering them, contacting key- persons and the lack of previous studies about this thesis subject. There is a great need to promote sustainable building practices in Dubai context and at the national level to limit the impact of building practices on the environment. On the other hand, mitigating the impact of rapid urbanization on the environment and the energy consumption levels need more awareness for the sustainability applications in different aspects; social, economical, environmental and institutional. Sustainable building practices one of those aspects.

48

6.4 Scientific and practical significance The aim of this study is to contribute to the current studies concerning sustainability issues in Dubai context. The study provides knowlege, advices and illustration aimed to emerge the awareness for adapting sustainable features into the design process of buildings. It could also serve as a prinimary step towards understanding sustainable development and its applications in Dubai context. The study highlights the performance of the current building practices in Dubai regarding its mega-projects. On the other hand, it shows Dubai’s environemntal status and the impact of its urbanization process on the environment and this might help radically to take actions towards mitigating such impacts by considering sustainability dimentions and its benefites.

6.5 Recommendations The study shows attempts for sustainable building practices in respect to the energy consumption. Meanwhile other practices show less concern of adopting sustainable features into the design process. Thus, I recommend the following; • Due to the lack of clear understanding of sustainability concept and the lack of qualified

expertise in its applications, there is a need to impose educational programs (training programs) about this subject targeted building practitioners in Dubai context. This can be organized by cooperation between Dubai municipality and the private sector in this branch.

• Due to the availability of local amenities in Dubai context – for instance- sun resource, capital (oil revenue, tourism revenue), and so forth, there are great opportunities to invest in innovative systems integrated into the design process.

• Investing in sustainable building practices aimed to reduce the impact on the environment is a key advantage for promoting the city globally in respect to the tourism sector and foreign investments.

• Mitigating the impact of urbanization on the environment needs a national environmental plan and a national sustainable development plan.

6.6 Future research Since the study area covers one aspect of the systainability- sustainable building practices in term of energy consuption- further reseraches could be done in other aspects of sustainabitily. There is a need to investigate the impact of Dubai mega- projects on the social dimention regarding sustaibility.on other hand, it would be interesting to investigate the desicion making process behind these mega- projects and highlight the people participation in taking those desicions.Thus, democracy and power issues in making desicions regarding the built environment should be covered.

49

Re f e r e n c e s

AboulNaga, M. and Elsheshtawy, Y. (2001) Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Buildings in Hot Climates: the Case of the UAE. AL-Ain, United Arab Emirates. Botta, M. (2005) Towards Sustainable Renovation Three Research Projects. PhD thesis KTH,Stockholm:pp.38-43 Gillham, B. (2000) Case Study Research Methods. London Girardet, H. (1999) The Metabolism of Cities. IN Wheeler, S. and Beatley, T. (2004) The Sustainable Urban Development. New York. Hasic, T. (2004) Reconstruction Planning in Post-Conflict Zones: Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Community. Doctoral Thesis, Stockholm. UN-ESCWA (2001) Sustainable Urban Development: A Regional Perspective on Good Urban Governance. by Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) - United Nations, New York. UN (1992) The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. IN Wheeler, S. and Beatley, T. (2004) The Sustainable Urban Development. New York. UN (1996) The Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements. IN Wheeler, S. and Beatley, T. (2004) The Sustainable Urban Development. New York. Romaya, S. (2002) Incremental Transformations for Sustainable Urban Settlements. IN Romaya, S. and Rakodi, C. (2002) building sustainable Urban settlements: Approaches and Case Studies in the Developing world. London:pp.167-189. Vale, R. and Brenda (1991) principles of green architecture. IN Wheeler, S. and Beatley, T. (2004) The Sustainable Urban Development. New York. Walters, L., Walters, T. and Kadragic, A. (2006) Miracle or Mirage: Is Development Sustainable in the United Arab Emirates? IN The Middle East Review of International Affairs, Volume 10, No.3, Article 6/10, the Gloria Centre, Herzliya. WCED (1987) Our Common Future. IN Wheeler, S. and Beatley, T. (2004) The Sustainable Urban Development. New York Wheeler, S. and Beatley, T. (2004) The Sustainable Urban Development. New York. Yin R., K. (1994) Case Study Research: design and methods. Thousand Oaks, London and New Delhi: Sage Publications.

50

Other publications: The United Arab Emirates’ Yearbook, (2006). WWF, The living planet report, (2006). Federal Environmental Agency, U.A.E Report on Sustainable Development, (2002). Web pages: www.atkins-me.com www.atkinsdesign.com www.atkinsglobal.com www.burjdubai.com www.dubailand.ae www.dubaiwaterfront.ae www.earthtrends.wri.org www.falconcity.com www.nakheel.com www.oekosiedlungen.de/kronsberg/steckbrief.htm www.som.com www.theworld.ae

51

List of Fi g u r e s Figure 1: Maps of Dubai's mega- projects .............................................................................................................. 9 Figure 2: Burj Dubai Tower.................................................................................................................................... 9 Figure 3: Dubai Land ............................................................................................................................................ 10 Figure 4: Falcon City of Wonders......................................................................................................................... 10 Figure 5: Ecological footprint per person, by country, 2003................................................................................. 12 Figure 6: Energy Consumption by source, United Arab Emirates, 1971- 1999.................................................... 13 Figure 7: Energy Consumption, United Arab Emirates, 1971-1999 ..................................................................... 13 Figure 8: Peal River Tower, .................................................................................................................................... 0 Figure 9: Images from Kronsberg ......................................................................................................................... 25 Figure 10: The main divisions of The Palm Jumeirah .......................................................................................... 32 Figure 11: The Shoreline Apartments ................................................................................................................... 33 Figure 12: The Golden Mile.................................................................................................................................. 33 Figure 13: The Marinas...........................................................................................................................................33 Figure 14: Trump International Hotel and Tower...................................................................................................33 Figure 15: Fronts villas...........................................................................................................................................34 Figure 16: The Crescent..........................................................................................................................................34 Figure 17: Images for The Trump International Hotel and Tower.........................................................................35 Figure 18: Bahrain World Trade Centre.................................................................................................................36 Figure 19: shading design for the towers .............................................................................................................. 38 Figure 20: shading of the south facade of the south tower ................................................................................... 38 Figure 21: The effect of shading devices on a tested room................................................................................... 39

List of Ta b l e s Table 1: Energy production and consumption (in thousands metric tons of oil equivalent) ................................. 14 Table 2: Evaluation matrix for assessing the impact of a development on sustainability ..................................... 28 Table 3: Analysis of the effect of development on sustainability (notional values).............................................. 29 Table 4: The resulting shading loads to the room ................................................................................................. 39 Table 5: Glass properties and the impact on the cooling loads ............................................................................. 39 Table 6: A comparison between solar hot water + LPG and Electric heaters ....................................................... 42 Table 7: A summary of questionnaires results ...................................................................................................... 44

52

Ap p e n d i c e s

- 1 - A pilot study on sustainable building practices in Dubai’s developments

Structured Questionnaire Title: Architect, Engineer, Planner, Policy maker, other.

Years of experience: (1-3), more than (3).

Sex: Male, Female. Age: Years.

Number of projects you have involved in: .

The company/office services: .

Introduction The aim of this questionnaire is to carry out a pilot study on sustainable building practices in Dubai’s developments. The targeted sample includes architects, engineers, urban planners, policy makers, and others who are in charged of Dubai’s urban developments in order to highlight their awareness of sustainable development. Please respond to the questions below and send your participation attached to the author’s e-mail address: osaart@gmail.com. This questionnaire will be only used for academic researches. Your participation is highly appreciated. Thanks. (Please use as much space as you need).

1- Do you know what the concept of (sustainable development) is about? Yes, No

2- If Yes, Can you mention few key words for sustainable development?

, , , .

3- Have you ever heard the concept of (Green Architecture) before? Yes, No

4- If Yes, Can you mention few of green architecture principles?

, , , .

5- Have you seen any of sustainable buildings before? Yes, No

6- If yes, where is that building located? .

7- What are the main sustainable features in that building? .

8- Have you ever engaged in designing/proposing a sustainable building in your career

before? Yes, No

9- If Yes, Where? .

10- What are the main sustainable features in that building?

, , , .

53

11- As a designer, what are the main issues that you consider when you design/propose a

building? .

12- Do you adapt your building design to Dubai’s warm climate? Yes, No

13- If Yes, in what ways? . 14- Do you know that UAE has the highest ecological foot print which is ranked number one

in the world, according to WWF (World Wildlife Fund) on environment in 2003?

Yes, No

15- Do you know that UAE is ranked among the highest energy consumers per capita?

Yes, No

16- In your point of view, how can the building sector reduce its negative impact on the

environment in terms of energy consumption? .

17- Are there any difficulties to adapt to renewable energy resources in the building design,

for instance, making use of solar energy? Yes, No

18- If yes, what are these difficulties? .

19- Billions of dollars have been invested in the palm Jumeirah, do you see any of the

sustainable features/buildings in that project? Yes, No

20- If Yes, in what ways? .

THANK YOU

54

- 2 - An interview questions with a key person from Atkins global company

• Regarding your company’s strategy of reducing the negative impact of building on the environment, To what extent the recent development- The Palm Trump Hotel and Tower- in Dubai takes into consideration the environmental problems in its design such as air pollution and high average of energy consumption?

• What are the main sustainable features in The Palm Trump Hotel and Tower in Dubai?

• How could the recent mega-projects in Dubai enhance sustainability in term of energy

consumption?

3 - Shading study and design of The Trump (Source: AtkinsGlobal)

Solar access on façades, June 21st

10:00h 12:00h 14:00h 16:00h 18:00h

Plan

South elevation

West elevation

55

Solar access on façades, June 21st (cont’d)

10:00h 12:00h 14:00h 16:00h 18:00h

North elevation

East elevation

56

Solar access on façades, September 21st

10:00h 12:00h 14:00h 16:00h 18:00h

Plan

South elevation

West elevation

57

Solar access on façades, September 21st (cont’d)

10:00h 12:00h 14:00h 16:00h 18:00h

North elevation

East elevation

58

Solar access on façades, December 21st

10:00h 12:00h 14:00h 16:00h 18:00h

Plan

South elevation

West elevation

59

Solar access on façades, December 21st (cont’d)

10:00h 12:00h 14:00h 16:00h 18:00h

North elevation

East elevation

60