Certification Systems As A Tool For Sustainable Architecture and Urban Planning, Case Study: Estidama, Abu Dhabi

Certification Systems as a Tool for Sustainable Architecture and Urban Planning Case Study: Estidama, Abu Dhabi
Ismail Khater April 2013
Preliminary Material
A Thesis Presented to: HafenCity University By: Ismail Khater In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree: Master of Science in Resource Efficiency in Architecture and Planning HafenCity University, Hamburg, Germany April, 2013 2013 Ismail Khater
Approved By: Professor Wolfgang Dickhaut
(Date)
(Signature)
Master Thesis - Ismail Khater
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Declaration of authorship
To the best of my knowledge I hereby declare that I have written this thesis submitted in part of the fulfillment of the Master of Science degree in Resource Efficiency in Architecture and Planning to the Hafencity University, without any help from others and without the use of documents and aids other than those cited according to established academic citation rules, and that it has not been submitted at any other university for any degree.
(Date)
(Signature)
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Acknowledgement
This thesis would not have been possible without the guidance and the help of several individuals who in one way or another contributed and extended their valuable assistance in the preparation and accomplishment of this study. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my supervisor Prof. Wolfgang Dickhaut and co-supervisor Dipl. Ing. Anke Jurleit for their continuous support of my thesis. I would like to thank Michael Vitzthum, Managing Director at Obermeyer Middle East, who has provided the workspace and support in Abu Dhabi to be able to conduct the interviews and site visits. I would also like to thank all the contributors whom I have interviewed, with special thanks to Jason Kamihira and Michel Abi Saab, who have been extremely helpful and patient, providing invaluable insights and suggestions. I am grateful to all my friends and colleagues who have made the last two years such a valuable journey. My final words go to my family. I owe more than thanks to them for their support and encouragement throughout my life.
IV
I.
Abstract
Conventional building methods are continuing to stress the supply of available resources, including water, energy and materials, causing harm to the environment. In order to tackle these problems the building industry needs to embrace sustainable development methods and strategies. One of the main approaches used to define and give solutions to these problems is adopting the relatively newly founded buildings and communities certification systems. As these certification systems are growing tremendously, it is important to continually examine their effectiveness, development path and results. In this study the particular local certification system Estidama and the pearl rating system for the emirate of Abu Dhabi is showcased and analyzed, to answer the hypothesis if the adoption of the certification system is affecting the built environment and the design consultancies in a positive way towards sustainable development. The objective of the proposition is to better understand the impacts, opportunities and challenges of the use of the unique certification system, as well as showcasing the distinctiveness of Abu Dhabis Urban Planning Council initiatives, that established the first mandated building and community rating system in the region, addressing the local environment, social, economic and cultural aspects. This is assisted by a case study Masdar City, presenting two levels of study, the building and community scales. The research methods include examining available literature, as well as on site Interviews with clients, designers, engineering consultants, environmental consultants, project managers, contractors, facility managers, building information modeling experts, municipal officials, Estidama credits assessors, policy writers and government representatives, as an attempt to represent the collaborative effort of all parties involved in a project. The interview results, as well as specific credits analysis will help in accomplishing the aim of sensitizing stakeholders and regulatory bodies about the benefits and deficiencies of the specified rating system, through the analysis and recommendations in the form of strategies and an action plan to further enhance the existing procedures. Keywords: Certification systems, Sustainability, Estidama, Benchmarks, Masdar City, Abu Dhabi.
II.
Contents
2. FUNDAMENTALS Book 1
I II III IV V Abstract Contents List of Figures List of Tables List of Abbreviations IV V VII VII VIII 2.1 2.2
2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 Description and Benefits Benchmarking Procedure Benchmarking Development
13
16 17 18
Imperative Definitions 15 Benchmarking in the built environment 16
2.3
2.3.1 2.3.2 2.3.3
Overview of Certification Tools

LEED BREEAM Comparison Table
19
19 20 21
START
2 1 3
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 1.2 1.3
1.3.1 1.3.2 1.3.3
1.4
01 3. ESTIDAMA - STATUS QUO 23

3.1 3.2
3.2.1 3.2.2
3.3
Problem and Objective 03 Research Questions and Hypothesis 04 Methodology 05

Research Structure Empirical Data Research Limitations
Background of the Emirates
05 07 08
Introduction to Estidama and UPC Overview of the Initiatives

Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 Supporting Initiatives
The Pearl Rating System
25 28
28 37
08
47
VI
4. APPLICATION: MASDAR CITY 51

4.1 4.2 4.3
4.3.1 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.3.4
6. CONCLUSION 101
Introduction Overall Masterplan Case Study 1: Masdar Institute

Energy Water Materials Miscellaneous
53 54 56
57 60 61 62
4.4
4.4.1 4.4.2 4.4.3 4.4.4
Case Study 2: Siemens Headquarters

Energy Water Materials Miscellaneous
63
64 64 65 65
4.5
Assessment and SWOT Analysis
66
5 4
5. ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION 69
5.1 5.2
5.2.1 5.2.2 5.2.5
6
FINISH
VI VII Works Cited Annex CVII CIX
Introduction Interview Outcomes

Distinctions of Estidama Data Analysis Effects of Estidama on Consultants
71 71
72 73 78
Book 2
Selected Interviews
5.3
5.3.1 5.3.2 5.3.3
Outcome Evaluation & Recommendations

Interview Data Evaluation Effects on Consultants PRS Credits
79
80 86 89
5.4
5.4.1 5.4.2 5.4.3
Strategies
Public Awareness Economic Incentives and Disincentives Utilities, Services and Infrastructure Enhancement
90
90 92 97
5.5
Action Plan
99
VII
III. List of Figures

Figure 01 World Greenhouse Gas Emissions Figure 02 Research Methodology and Design Figure 03 Map of the UAE Figure 04 Climate Data of the UAE Figure 05 Water Supply and Demand Figure 06 Area by Sector and Energy Consumption by Use Type Figure 07 UAE Footprint Figure 08 UAE Industry Breakdown Figure 09 The three spheres of sustainability Figure 10 A Graduated Approach to benchmarking Figure 11 The LEED rating system process Figure 12 The BREEAM rating process Figure 13 Emirate-wide Development Strategies Figure 14 Emirate-wide Strategic Vision Figure 15 Framework Development Process Figure 16 Measures of Success Figure 17 Complete Sustainable Communities Figure 18 UPC Manuals Suite Summary Figure 19 Fareej (Emirati neighborhood) Figure 20 IDP process during Development Review Figure 21 Elements of Complete Streets Figure 22 USDM Goals Figure 23 Links between the PRSs Figure 24 Key Team Members Figure 25 Understanding the Credits Figure 26 Masdar Organizational Structure Figure 27 Artist Impression of Masdar City Figure 28 Green Criteria Figure 29 Proposed Masterplan Figure 30 MI Phase 1A Floor Plan Figure 31 City Grid Orientation 3 5 9 9 10 11 12 12 15 18 19 21 26 29 31 36 37 37 38 43 44 45 49 49 50 53 54 55 56 56 57 Figure 32 Felt Temperatures Figure 33 Wind Tower Figure 34 Power of Masdar Institute Figure 35 Annual Energy Consumption Figure 36 Masdar Water Strategy Figure 37 Masdar Water Savings Figure 38 Operational Waste Strategy Figure 39 Material Recycling Centre Figure 40 City Mobility Figure 41 Stacked Floors Diagram Figure 42 Exterior View Figure 43 Podium View Figure 44 Sustainability Drivers Figure 45 System Preference Figure 46 Awareness & Comprehension Figure 47 Learning about Estidama Figure 48 Perception of Benchmarks Figure 49 Cost Figure 50 Benefits of Estidama & the PRS Figure 51 Barriers & Gaps Figure 52 Meetings Structure and Occurrence Figure 53 Proposed Typology Structure Figure 54 Proposed Certification Figure 55 Adoption Curve Figure 56 Design Team Involvement Figure 57 Integrated Design Process Figure 58 Time Based Pricing Figure 59 Different Connection Methods Figure 60 Contracting Financial Scheme Figure 61 Cash Flow Scheme Figure 62 Proposed Action Plan 57 58 59 59 60 60 61 61 62 63 65 66 73 74 74 74 75 76 76 77 78 82 84 84 87 88 94 94 96 96 100
IV. List of Tables

Table 01 Table 02 Table 03 Table 04 Table 05 Table 06 Comparison between LEED, BREEAM and the Pearl Rating systems Public Survey Response Public Realm Hierarchy Typologies and Guidelines 22 39 41 41 Table 07 Table 08 Table 09 Table 10 Table 11 Table 12 Table 13 Pearl Building and Community Section Credits SWOT Analysis IDP vs CDP IDP Key Concepts Awareness Matrix Dubai Tiered Pricing Suggested Billing Method 48 68 87 87 91 93 93
Three-Step Approach to Retrofitting Exist- 46 ing Streets Pearl Building and Community Rating Levels 48
VIII
V.
List of Abbreviations
GHG Greenhouse Gases i.e. id est (that is) IDP Integrated Design Process IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IRENA international Renewable Energy Agency ISOCARP International Society of City and Regional Planners km/h Kilometer per Hour KPI Key Performance Indicator kWh Kilowatt Hour LCA Life Cycle Assessment LED Light Emitting Diode LEED AP Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED AP LEED Accredited Professional m Meter MBR Membrane Bioreactor MEP Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing MIST Masdar Institute for Science and Technology MW Mega Watt OPL One Planet Living PPA Power Purchase Agreement PQP Pearl Qualified Professional PRDM Public Realm Design Manual PRS Pearl Rating System PRT Personal Rapid Transit PV Photovoltaic RFID Radio Frequency Identification SRI Solar Reflectance Index STMP Surface Transportation Master Plan SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats U.S. United States (of america) UAE United Arab Emirates UK United Kingdom UPC Urban Planning Council (abu dhabi) USDM Urban Street Design Manual WWF World Wildlife Fund
ADCCI Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry ADCED Abu Dhabis council for Economic Development ADM Abu Dhabi municipality AED United Arab Emirates dirham ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers BaU Business as Usual BDP Beam Down Project BIM Building Information Modeling bn Billion BRE Building Research Establishment BREEAM Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method CCS Carbon Capture and Storage CDP Conventional Design Process CO2 Carbon Dioxide COP Coefficient of Performance CSC Complete Sustainable Communities CSP Concentrated Solar Power DED Department of Economic Development DOT Department of Transport e.g. exempli gratia (for example) EFI Ecological Footprint Initiative EPC Energy Performance Contracts ESCO Energy Service Company etc ecetera (and other things) ETC Evacuated Tube Collectors ETFE Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene EU European Union EVPD Estidama Villa Products Database Fils 1/100 DHS FiT Feed-in Tariff FSC Forest Stewardship Council GBCI Green Building Certification Institute GCC Gulf Cooperation Council GFA Gross Floor Area
Souq Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE

Image 2012 Ismail Khater
Chapter 01: INTRODUCTION

1.1 1.2 1.3 1.3.1 1.3.2 1.3.3 1.4 Problem and Objective Research Questions and Hypothesis Methodology Research Structure Empirical Data Research Limitations Background of the Emirates
Introduction to the problem and setting the objective and aim of the thesis by providing a hypothesis and the research questions. The background and ecological data of the UAE is then introduced, to make the reader aware of the geographical and cultural context of the study.
Chapter 1 - Introduction
1 Introduction
1.1 Problem and objective

There are abundant studies proving that climate change is induced by human activity on earth 1. Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) determined that most observed increase in temperatures in the last half a century is mostly due to greenhouse gases (GHG), and primarily due to the increase of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere 2. Of that increase, buildings are globally responsible for one third of the GHG, and the use of 40% of the energy 3. Therefore, the building sector has the highest potential for reducing GHG in the long term. The majority of the GHG occurring from the building sector originated from developed countries. Still, it is expected to increase rapidly in developing countries as they are in the process of industrialization. Going further into details, 80% of the emissions occur during the operational phase 3. In order to reduce the progressing climate change effects, countries have to respond to the problem by taking active steps that are focused on the greatest potential to limit these impacts. Prioritizing the action to focus on the building sector has been supported by creating buildings and communities certification systems, which focus on providing assessment schemes as well as solutions. The objective of this thesis is to study and analyze the particular initiative, Estidama and the pearl rating system (PRS), to address the problem stated above in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and to assess its effectiveness, effects and provide recommendations and an action plan addressing the opportunities and challenges from the findings of the evaluation on the various levels, including the built environment and the stakeholders. The reasons behind choosing Estidama are that it represents a different approach that is marked by being one of the first mandated schemes, it includes cultural aspects, localized to the climate conditions and is very well integrated within other plans and policies, such as Abu Dhabis Vision 2030 4, and many other connotations which will be explained in chapter three and thereafter analyzed in chapter five. Additionally, while there are numerous studies done on certification systems, information about Estidama is limited as it is relatively new. Expected results will benefit consultants, developers and government agencies who are dealing with the building and urban planning fields with an interest in sustainability. Climate change has opened peoples eyes to the notion of sustainability; a necessity to overcome the implications caused by our way of life and to the challenges of population increase and global urbanization trends identified by the constant move of people towards living in cities.
Figure 01: World Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Sources & Notes: All data are for 2005. All calculations are based on CO2 equivalents, using 100-year global warming potentials from the IPCC (1996), based on a total global estimate of 44,153 MtCO2 equivalent.2
Sector
Transportation 14.3%
End Use/Activity
Road 10.5%
Gas
Air Rail, Ship, & Other Transport
1.7% 2.5%
Residential Buildings
10.2%
Electricity & Heat
24.9%
Energy
Commercial Buildings Unallocated Fuel Combustion Iron & Steel

Aluminum/Non-Ferrous Metals Machinery
6.3% 3.8% 4.0%

1.2% 1.0% 1.1% 1.0%
Other Fuel Combustion
8.6%
Pulp, Paper & Printing
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 77%
Food & Tobacco
Chemicals Cement
4.1% 5.0%
Industry
14.7%
Other Industry T&D Losses

Coal Mining
7.0% 2.2%
1.3%
Fugitive Emissions
4.0%
6.4%
Industrial Processes4 .3% Land Use Change* 12.2%

Agricultural Energy Use
11.3% -0.4% 1.3%

1.4%
HFCs, PFCs, SF6 1% Methane (CH4) 15%
Agriculture Soils
5.2%
Agriculture
13.8%
Livestock & Manure

Rice Cultivation Other Agriculture
5.4%
1.5% 1.7% 1.7% 1.5%
Waste
3.2%
Wastewater, Other Waste
Nitrous Oxide (N2O) 7%
1.2 Research questions and hypothesis

In order to address the objective of the thesis some key questions have been identified to assist the direction of the study. These focal questions have been detailed into sub-questions that are being answered in this study. The questions are:
1. What are building and community certification systems? a. What are the main differences among certification systems? b. How are benchmarks set and developed? 2. What is Estidama and Abu Dhabis vision 2030? a. What are the initiatives surrounding the vision? b. How are the initiatives connected? c. What are the basics of the PRS? 3. How is Estidama implemented? a. How is it implemented on a community scale? b. How is it implemented on a building scale? c. What are the results? 4. What are the effects of Estidama in its local context? a. What are the main drivers and advantages? b. What are the barriers and gaps? c. What is the effect on consultants? 5. What future steps are recommended to overcome the drawbacks and shortcomings? a. What could be implemented on the PRS level? b. What strategies could be taken to assist the transition to sustainable development? c. How could the suggestions be put into action?
Research Questions setting guideline

The research questions help further define the type of information needed to define the assignment
The thesis hypothesis states that the adoption of the certification systems assessment approach is affecting the built environment and the consultants in a positive way towards sustainable development. The statement could be described in further details as promoting energy and water conscious architecture and planning, endorsing sustainable materials use and disposal, as well as effectively developing the knowledge and processes of consultants to endorse sustainability and multi-disciplinary collaboration.
1.3 Methodology
In this section the methodological aspects of the research are presented. First, the structure of the thesis will be explained. Afterwards, empirical data collection methodologies are stated and reasoned. Research limitations are then stated at the end of the section. For the convenience of the readers the following figure represents a summary of the methodology. The methodology used in this study is triangulation, which refers to the use of more than one method to examine the research questions to improve confidence levels of the findings 5. For methodological triangulation literature review from many diverse sources were used, as well as interviews and reports assessment. For data triangulation, special care was taken to include most views, therefore different consultants, stakeholders and government agents were selected to conduct interviews with.
Literature Review
BACKGROUND FUNDAMENTALS ESTIDAMA & PRS
Figure 02: Research Methodology and Design

Methodology is drawn based on the main three features: Literature review, Abu Dhabi site visit and interviews and further on the analysis is created.
Abu Dhabi
CASE STUDIES INTERVIEWS Analysis
EVALUATION RECOMMENDATIONS STRATEGIES A B C
ACTION PLAN
1.3.1 Research structure

The thesis is structured systematically to be able to reach the studys goals, objectives and answer the placed questions through the flow from the preliminary activities that initiated the study by literature and data reviewing and presenting a case study, to the formation of the recommendations through interviews analysis. Following is a summary of the structure, which could be divided into three parts. Part one is assistance material to understand the concept of certification systems. Part two explains how the current status of Estidama is and giving a case study to show how it is implemented. By understanding the concepts from part one and two, part three will use this info combined with interview results to evaluate the system to form the recommendations.
Chapter one introduces the problem and sets the objective and aim of the thesis by providing a hypothesis and the research questions. The background and ecological data of the UAE is introduced, to make the reader aware of the geographical and cultural context of the study.
Research Structure
The systematic research structure is designed to reach the goals of achieving a coherent action plan including all strategies suggested.
Chapter two explains the fundamentals needed to understand the concept of certification systems and benchmarking by providing some major definitions along with an explanation of benchmarks development process. In order to have references to other known certification systems, the chapter ends with an impression of two different certification systems, LEED and BREEAM, as they are the most used and known worldwide. These two assessment schemes are then compared to the PRS to highlight the noticeable technical differences. Chapter three introduces the concept of Estidama in greater detail as it is the main analyzed program including the PRS rating system. It is explained in relation to the larger Vision 2030 and the supporting initiatives that are embraced by the Estidama program, the so called heart of all the initiatives, visions and plans. Overviews of the supporting initiatives are described, which include the urban neighborhood development, public realm design manual, urban street design manual and the development review process. At the end a comprehensive description of the PRS is given, which is the main feature of the Estidama program. Chapter four presents a practical implementation of the preceding chapter, where the PRS is applied on two case studies in Masdar City, one on the community and another on a building scale. Major affecting credits are showcased, how they were targeted and how they got achieved, to better understand the implementation measures and help form a better analysis in the succeeding chapter. The chapter ends with an evaluation of the case studies in the form of a SWOT analysis. Chapter five is where the main analysis is done. The data from the interviews combined with the literature review from chapter three, findings from the case study from chapter five congregate. The analysis is split into three parts, analysis, evaluation and recommendations. In the first part, the data from the interviews is filtered and visually presented when possible. The second and third parts are interconnected. Through the first evaluation all aspects are analyzed, then filtered, followed by recommendation strategies addressing the main findings to be of greater priority and influence. The chapter ends with an action plan combining all the strategies in a timed framework. Chapter six is a conclusion of the thesis, where main features and findings are itemized, followed by answering the hypothesis and suggesting future work and research.
1.3.2 Empirical data

As mentioned before, different data collection methodologies have been used to provide all viewpoints currently available. The literature review represents one half of the data sources, providing an understanding of the available systems as they are meant to work. The second half is provided by conducting interviews which are described hereafter, and available in book 2.
1.3.2.1 Literature review

The main purpose for the literature review was to assist the study through previous work and knowledge. Literature review has been conducted over the past 12 months, to identify current available sources, information and trends in the field of sustainability, sustainable development, certification systems and specifically these research topics in relation to Abu Dhabi. Research has been limited to the past 12 years as the topic is fairly new in research, as well as constantly evolving. Main literature studied is from the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, as it was found to be the only reliable source about Estidama so far. The academic literature on sustainable urban development in the gulf region is very limited. However, data is widely available for other regions especially western countries. This data was also consulted as there are many similarities found between them. For the case studies Masdar publications and some developer team members were consulted. This was also backed up with personal site visits to get a better understanding of the environment and structures. Furthermore, for the analysis, many publications have been referenced to holdup and validate the suggestions and recommendations, as well as to develop ones own opinion through a synthesis of the previous works done in this field.
1.3.2.2 Interviews
In order to study the different opinions and views of the stakeholders related to the building industry a variety of them were interviewed. Due to the lack of literature on Estidama it was vital to conduct general interview guide approach 6, which is recognized by being semi-structured, leaving some room for alterations that give more flexibility and freedom to alter the interview questions to suit the answers of the participants. The drawback of this type is that it takes the researcher a lot of time to fully and accurately provide the perspective and data from the interviews in the coding process. The main method of interviews was qualitative, however a quantitative study was included to be able to do measurements and generalize a broader view. There was one main set of questions prepared for all participants, which mainly included the quantitative part of the process. After receiving the participants consent, interview questions have been formulated to suit each range of interviewees profession and expertise. The total amount of interviews was 38, which marks 76% of all respondents, and each took about one hour. While book 2 provides selected interviews, all interviews have been accounted for in the data analysis part in chapter 5.
Comprehensiveness of Interviews
A total of 38 interviews of 15 occupations disclosed the required data to form an opinion and identify required measures.
Participants selection plays an important role as the aim was to strategically sample the whole industry involved. This was unfortunately not possible, as the building users (in this case Masdar Institute) were not open for such a request. The professions interviewed included: Architects Landscape Architects Urban Designers Engineers (MEP+structural) Environmental consultants Contractors Project managers Developers BIM specialists LEED APs + PQPs Government agents (Estidama + UPC + ADM)
Research Restrictions
Restrictions included the lack of data because of the newness of the program, and not having the users opinion included in interviews
1.3.3 Research limitations

As mentioned before, one of the limitations was not being able to include the building users in the set of interviews. The other major limitation is the lack of data available on Estidama and the PRS. Results of using the PRS are also extremely limited due to the newness of the initiation of the program, which validates the selection of qualitative analysis. Therefore, comparable sources from other systems have been used to assist the analysis in the aspects where similarities were found. This thesis is delimited to the examination of Estidama, and is not an attempt to analytically compare it to other certification systems, even though they are briefly showcased. As this could be a further research topic, a selection had to be made. Within the system the focus is towards the environmental pillar of sustainability. However, when appropriate data is available, economic and social aspects are also discussed.
1.4 Background of the Emirates

History of the emirates The UAE is considered a very young country, although the earliest settlements date back to the Stone Age. Before the twentieth century the UAE was only a desert land inhabited by nomadic Bedouin tribes who lived off of fishing and date farms. The starting time of the modern emirates dates back to the early 1970s, when the British departed and the country of the seven emirates was formed. As oil and gas were discovered in the 1960s in commercial quantities, the country saw a great transformation from being one of the poorest to one of the richest countries worldwide. Today the country is a major international touristic and economic hub in the Middle East, having one of the highest per capita income levels. 7, 8
Geography The UAE is located in Southeast Asia between latitudes 22.0-26.5 degrees North and 51-56.5 East. It shares its borders with Qatar (west), Oman (eastsouth) and Saudi Arabia (south-west). The UAE has three ecological areas. These are the coastal areas, the desert areas and the mountain areas. Established at the end of 1971, the UAE is a federation of seven Emirates (states of Sheikhdoms), including Abu Dhabi the capital, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras AlKhaimah, Fujairah, Um Al-Quwain and Ajman. Abu Dhabi covers a total area of 67.34 square kilometers making up 86.7% of the Emirates area. It is also one of the largest oil and gas reserves in the world; therefore the UAE has witnessed a huge economic growth in the last decade. 9
Figure 03: Map of the UAE

Based on the great encyclopedian world atlas. Key: Dubai Ras Al-Khaimah Abu Dhabi Sharjah Fujairah Um Al-Quwain Ajman 0 20 40 60 80 100 km
Climate The UAEs climate is arid in nature. However, it is conditional on the ocean effects due to its juxtaposition to the Arabian Gulf. There are two main seasons, one is the winter, which lasts from November to March with temperatures rarely reaching 6 degrees Celsius. The rest of the year is the summer season with temperatures reaching 48 degrees Celsius and humidity reaching 90%. Most of the country experiences dust storms. Rainfall is very rare across the country with average annual rainfall of 120mm/year. 9
50
10
Temperature [c]
40
7.5
Precipitation [mm] Average Rainfall [days]
Figure 04: Climate Data of the UAE

Based on the world weather online data. 9 Key: Average High Temperature Average Low Temperature Precipitation Rainfall Days
30
20
2.5
10
SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER FEBRUARY OCTOBER JANUARY AUGUST MARCH
APRIL
JUNE
JULY
MAY
10
Demographics Population growth in the UAE is amongst the highest worldwide due to immigration. Accordingly, the expatriates are 80% of the population while only 20% are locals (Emiratis) 10. Total population is estimated at 7.89 million as of 2011 with an urban population of 84% and a 2.3% rate of urbanization 11. Of that, Abu Dhabi citys population is about 900 thousand, the second populous city after Dubai. The official language is Arabic, while English is widely accepted due to the diverse population.
Figure 05: Water Supply and Demand

Source and End-use water supply and demand based on Assessment and Recommendations for Abu Dhabi, Columbia University 12
0 1,000 2,000 Mcm
Water Supply and Demand Even though there are no fresh water supplies (rivers and rain) the UAE is amongst the highest water users per capita worldwide. There are two main water supply types in the Emirates. The largest supply is provided through groundwater, which is saline in nature. The second type is through sea water desalination. The graphic below shows the water supply and demand of the city of Abu Dhabi 12. The highest water demand sector is for Agriculture followed by the Forests. These two sectors rely mostly on groundwater extraction. Most of the desalinated water goes to buildings, where they are used by people and for industrial and amenities uses.
SOURCE
END USE
Lost Industrial Residential
Desalinated Water
People Commercial Amenity
Rainfall/Inflows
Treated Sewage Effluent (TSE)
Groundwater
Forests
Agriculture
Livestock
11
Energy Supply and Demand In divergence to the water situation in the Emirates, the country has an extensive source of gas and oil. The estimated reserves are about 100 billion barrels of oil, close to 10% of the worlds reserves. As for the natural gas reserves, the UAE rank is fifth worldwide, with about 200 trillion cubic feet 9. However, the economic welfare and the low energy prices combined with the high cooling demands and population growth led to Abu Dhabis very high energy consumption in buildings. The majority of consumption is within the residential sector, of which the highest sector is cooling. 13
Figure 06: Area by Sector and Energy Consumption by Use Type

Based on Ministry of Energy United Arab Emirates data 9 Right: Gross Floor Area by Sector Left: Residential consumption (top) Commercial consumption (middle) Institutional consumption (bottom)
Residential
8%
7%
3%
35%
47%
Commercial
3%
36%
15%
4%
2%
OTHER
42%
13%
AGRICULTURE
1%
COMMERCIAL
54%
RESIDENTIAL
14% INDUSTRIAL
INSTITUTIONAL
16%
Institutional
30%
5%
36%
2%
27%
Cooling Water Heating Lighting Refrigeration Other Appliances
12
Ecological footprint The environmental footprint per capita in the UAE ranks among the highest worldwide according to recent publications of the UAE ecological footprint initiative (EFI) 14. This footprint has been analyzed according to the land use types, which are cropland, grazing land, fisheries land, forest land, carbon uptake land and built-up land. The average ecological footprint per capita in the UAE is close to 9.5 global hectares (GHA) 14. The same study split the footprint by demand sector showing the highest contributing sector is the household followed by business and industry and last the government. When calculated according to the industry sectors the highest contribution came from the construction industry. Therefore, it is of great importance to reduce the footprint and work on sustainability initiatives as will be described and analyzed in this thesis.
By Demand Sector
By Land Type
Figure 07: UAE Footprint

Left: Footprint contribution by demand sector based on the EFI 14 Right: Footprint contribution by land type Based on Al Basma Al Beeiya Brochure, EWS-WWF, 2010
12%
GOVERNMENT
4% 2% FORESTS
FISHING
11%
CROPLAND
30%
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
57%
HOUSEHOLD
83% CARBON
UPTAKE LAND
Figure 08: UAE Industry Breakdown

2.0
Breakdown of the UAEs land type, by economic and industry sectors 14

1.5
Built-up land Carbon footprint (import) Carbon footprint Fishing grounds Forest land Grazin g land Cropland
0
Food, Beverages and Tobacco Manufacturing Paper Products and Publishing Manufacturing Chemical and Petroleum Products Manufacturing Non-Metallic Mineral Products Manufacturing Apparel and Textiles Manufacturing Wood and Products Manufacturing Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Other Community, Social and Personal Service Crop Production and Mixed Farming; Forestry Other Manufacturing Fishing Mineral Mining Construction Engineering Industries Livestock Production Financial Intermediation Education Private Households with Employed Persons Sale, Maintenance and Repair of Motor Vehicles Health and Social Work Hotels and Restaurants Water Transport, Storage and Communications Electricity Supply Real Estate
1.0
0.5
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Chapter 02: FUNDAMENTALS

2.1 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.3 2.3.1 2.3.2 2.3.3 Imperative Definitions Benchmarking in the built environment Description and Benefits Benchmarking Procedure Benchmarking Development Overview of Certification Tools LEED BREEAM Comparison Table
Explanation of the fundamentals needed to understand the concept of certification systems and benchmarking by providing some major definitions along with an explanation of benchmarks development process. In order to have references to other known certification systems, the chapter ends with an impression of two different certification systems, LEED and BREEAM, as they are the most used and known worldwide. These two assessment schemes are then compared to the PRS to highlight the noticeable technical differences.
15
Chapter 2 - Fundamentals
2 Fundamentals
2.1 Imperative definitions

Some definitions are vital to understanding the thesis and the following section within this chapter. The most important ones are defined below: Sustainability and Sustainable Development definitions Sustainability as a word is somehow self-explanatory, to endure, maintain or support. It is a broad term that needs to be placed in a specific context to be narrowed down or defined in a framework. In the search for common understanding of sustainability in the field of architecture, planning and resource efficiency I asked my interviewees the question: how do you define sustainability? The following is a list of all the responses summarized: Least consumption to live adaptation to the environment equal footprint of all quality long term long life - good design for both people and the environment unselfish not compromising resources for next generations resource management non-intrusive integration with the environment not using more than you can replace the mind-set of living within the constraints of available resources resource efficiency symbiosis self-sufficient more than a certification or checklist. Sustainability is in most cases drawn in a Venn diagram using the three overlapping pillars; environment, social, economic. Overlaps indicate the strong relationships between the pillars, expanding the pillars to integrate social-environmental, environmental-economic and economic-social factors 15 . Another method is the onion diagram. According to Jonathon Porritt in Capitalism as if the World Matters, the economy is a substructure of society, which is a subsystem of the environment 16.
Figure 09: The three spheres of sustainability

Adopted from the 2002, University of Michigan, Sustainability Assessment left and Jonathon Porritt in Capitalism as if the World Matters right
Environmental Social-Environmental Environmental Justice

Natural Resources Stewardship Locally and Globally Natural Resource Use Environmental Management Pollution Prevention (air, water, land, waste)
Environmental-Economic
Subsidies/Incentives for use of Natural Resources
Sustainability
Social
Standard of Living Education Community Equal Opportunity
Economic
Cost Savings Economic Growth Research & Development
Economy Society Environment
Economic-Social Business Ethics

Fair Trade Workers Rights
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The most accepted and known definition of sustainable development is the Brundtland Commission definition 17 Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This definition has been criticized as being too vague leaving many possible interpretations in actual practice. There is a need to differentiate between the term green and sustainable. In most cases referring to green architecture entails the integration of the environmental aspect of sustainability, while sustainable architecture involves all three pillars. Usually used interchangeably, while they have different meanings.
Connection of benchmarks and indicators

Benchmarks use indices to measure and compare performances
Benchmarks and Indicators These two terms are sometimes used interchangeably even though they hold different meanings. Indicators are indices used for performance measuring, which use metrics divided by each other, like irrigation need (Water) per square meter per day. Benchmarks are points of references of these measurements usually used for comparison. For example a baseline is defined as current measurement, while the benchmark is the set target that needs to be achieved. Benchmarks could be based for example on a percentile increase in performance over the baseline (such as 20% over the baseline), or a standalone figure (such as zero potable water use).
2.2 Benchmarking in the built environment

2.2.1 Description and Benefits
Sustainability benchmarking for buildings and communities, such as leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED)18 BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM)19 and the Pearl Rating System 20 are methods used to measure and compare the sustainability performance of buildings and communities against each other or against set performance and essential benchmarks. These methods commonly measure physiognomies and performance comprising of energy, water, waste and many more. Most systems assess the performance according to the stages of design, construction and operation. The design phase evaluates the components according to the benchmarks set to be achieved, while the operational performance is when the facility is in use, measuring actual readings of the criteria to verify, monitor and upgrade the facility as well as the user behavior. There are several benefits of sustainability benchmarking. One, they monitor the environmental impact of the facility, which leads to better understanding of the strong and weak points of the facility to be addressed. This leads to a better action tailored to tackle the points where greatest savings, whether in cost or performance, can be made. Another benefit is being able to set future benchmarks according to the outcomes found from monitoring. After meeting these benchmarks, there is the opportunity of improvement according to the lenience of any given indicator. Additionally, the facilities of the built environment would be compared against a set of benchmarks and/or against each other. This enables regulations and legislative frameworks to be updated to raise the performance of the Lowest common denominator. The last and most commonly communicated benefit is improvement of the value of any facility achieving the targets and certification 21.
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2.2.2 Benchmarking Procedure

There is no single method to create sustainability benchmarks. In the case of benchmarks for the built environment (known as certification systems) the basics are setting the objectives to collect needed data followed by an assessment of the performance to be able to compare and identify the improvement potentials to come up with a set of applicable benchmarks to be used 22 . The following is an explanation of each step, with their relative shortages and gains: Defining objectives& scope Defining the objectives is vital to understanding which data will be needed. These objectives are derived for example from ecological defeats such as overexploitation of fossil fuels. The objectives can be updated and expanded over time. This has been seen for example in LEED, where specific types of buildings were added to the program. Data collection The first step after defining the scope is collecting the data, which needs to be as accurate and consistent as possible. Unreliable data can result in wrong decisions, such as choosing the wrong metrics. The data itself has a strong influence on the metrics used. For example, where the gross floor area is calculated, as opposed to the net floor area, then the available data will determine the indicator. The timeframe of the data is also of great value, such as an hourly measurement of electricity consumption over a measurement based on daily averages. These decisions could be changed and updated after the collection of the first outcomes if proven to be more accurate. Data analysis The indices used to assess performance in buildings and communities are absolute and normalized. Absolute performance indicators are used to assess the overall impact of a facility or a whole neighborhood. Concerns arise about the effectiveness of the absolute measurement, as it does not consider the dynamic properties of the measured property, such as growth, occupancy rate or functionality. Still, it is useful to evaluate the performance of a static development over time. On the other hand, normalized performance measurement reflects the dynamics of the property by relating the impact to another metric such as per square meter or occupancy. This type makes it also possible to assess the property in relation to other properties with the same function. 23 Setting targets As a subsequent step, the benchmarks are defined in a prescriptive or performance based manner. Prescriptive methods are ones that set a specific method and quantity to be achieved. They have been criticized for being inflexible and hinder design development and in some cases might also work against goals 24. Performance based benchmarks are planned to approach design based on the performance targets and objectives. They are flexible in terms of the solution as long as it fulfills the aims. Results review Results of applying benchmarks are to be reviewed and assessed after their implementation, to be able to update or redesign them. There is a need to be able to compare properties, and therefore they must be categorized. The most common categorization is according to building use, such as residential, offices and healthcare, whether it is a new construction or refurbishment. Another categorization is according to systems used, such as with or without air-conditioning. Most rating systems are fine-tuning their documents to include the special buildings and further subcategorize their schemes for better comparability. As an example, the pearl rating system developed a special rating system for mosques, for the fact that they run on a special schedule intensively.
Benchmarking Steps
Defining objectives& scope Data collection Data analysis Setting targets Results review
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2.2.3 Benchmarking Development

Figure 10: A Graduated Approach to benchmarking
Based on: Sustainability Benchmarking Toolkit for Commercial Buildings: Principles for best practice 23 To develop sustainability benchmarks a feedback loop is placed, which relies on the new and detailed data accumulated from the market. Most systems in place are updated regularly 18, building their complexity over time. Updates are driven by two means. The first one is raising the benchmarks providing that the market is ready for an upgrade, new or improved technologies, raising the lowest common denominator, or implementing policies and strategies such as renewable energy goals. Expending benchmarks steadily serves to increase performance over time, as well as helping policy writers and users to know where they need to focus to achieve effective performance advancement. The following detailed diagram shows the development process of sustainability benchmarks.
GRADUATED APPROACH Increase sophistication and complexity
START SIMPLY Basic data collection & reporting
DEFINE BENCHMARKING OBJECTIVES DEFINE SCOPE OF BENCHMARKING IDENTIFY DATA AVAILABILITY DEFINE METRICS AND INDICATORS
Define the purpose of the benchmarking exercise, e.g. legal compliance, performance improvement. Property and environmental scope e.g. number/ types of properties or whole portfolio, energy, water, waste, carbon emissions etc. E.g. energy or water metering, manual data collection, utility bills, property details such as GFA, owner or tenant data.
Benchmarking objectives could be expanded over time, e.g., to include greater comparison with peers portfolios, improving asset value, measuring contributions to Carbon Reduction Commitment obligations. The Scope could be expanded to include e.g., more property types and numbers, national and/ or global portfolios, both owner and occupier performance, more environmental performance topics for analysis.
Define the most appropriate metrics and indicators based on the data sources available.
COLLECT DATA
Collect data in a consistent way and over an appropriate timeframe to enable meaningful analysis.
Greater sophistication regarding data, metrics and indicators to be introduced, such as: Installation of more meters to aid collection, performance measurement and data accuracy Using both owner and occupier performance data More data on the building services and energy systems, such as HVAC types, CHP, on-site renewable energy, green electricity, district heating system biofuels Expanding building types, to include special uses and/ or using area-weighted benchmarks Detailed analysis of the building(s) uses and operation - e.g. occupier type, densities of occupation and hours of occupation More sensitive metrics to reflect greater availability of more accurate data Use of normalized as well as absolute indicators
SET (INITIAL) TARGETS & BENCHMARKS ASSESS & REPORT PERFORMANCE IDENTIFY IMPROVEMENTS REVIEW & (RE)SET TARGETS & BENCHMARKS
Set initial targets and benchmarks, based upon industry analysis at the first instance of undertaking a benchmarking exercise.
Assess performance against targets, benchmarks and overall scope and purpose of the benchmarking exercise.
With greater sophistication in data availability, collection and performance analysis, comes greater scope for more effective and targeted opportunities for behavioral improvement both from owners and occupiers, e.g. looking at areas of over consumption, changes to the building management system, design improvements when replacing plant or refurbishing buildings.
Identify measures to improve in-use and Design behaviors, as well as improvements to the benchmarking process. Reset performance targets and benchmarks to assist implementation and measurement of improvement initiatives.
Targets and benchmarks could be increasingly refined either to include and/or focus on particular building types, whole portfolios, particular environmental topics, costs reductions, as more data and increasingly sophisticated metrics and indicators are possible. This increases the scope and sensitivity of the performance assessment over time.
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2.3 Overview of Certification Tools

Buildings and communities rating systems (or assessment tools) are growing rapidly. By now there are over 30 rating systems worldwide 25. BREEAM is the first initiated rating system. While most rating systems have many similarities, some of them are unique by having the criteria developed to suit the local climate and culture. The following is a description of the two well-known certification systems, LEED and BREEAM, as a reference for comparison with Estidamas Pearl Rating System. By analyzing these systems a better analysis of Estidama can be achieved. The pearl rating system is showcased in chapter three and analyzed in chapter five.
World most used rating systems

LEED and BREEAM are worldwide the most used rating systems based on the number of projects and certified GFA
2.3.1 LEED
Overview LEED, launched 1998, is an internationally recognized rating system, with over 25,000 projects worldwide in 20 countries. The most recent version at the time of writing is version 2009. The voluntary system assesses new construction, existing buildings, commercial interiors, retail, schools, homes, healthcare and communities. There is also a separate guide for core and shell projects. The seven criteria evaluated in LEED are consistent throughout all types of certifications (with the exception of Neighborhood Development), which are: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, innovation in design and regional priority. The last criterion is a bonus above the main credits of LEED. Rated buildings or communities are benchmarked as certified, silver, gold or platinum. 26 Process The process of certifying a property requires no independent assessors; buildings are rated by the owner or project team. Review is then done and approved by members of the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). All documents are online based (except for LEED for homes), where project team members can manage the process in a convenient transparent way. All members can see which credits are targeted and how many are achieved to reach the planned level of certification. There are some required credits (prerequisites) for a project to be certified. These credits always have to be achieved for any of the benchmarks targeted. Prerequisites are constant from certified to platinum. Any team member can manage the LEED submittals and is designated as the Administrator. He or she could be a LEED accredited professional, but does not have to be one.
Figure 11: The LEED rating system process

Professional Accreditation Building Certification LEED Online LEED The process depends on two main entities: the USGBC and the GBCI 26
Reference Guides
Rating Systems
Education Programs
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Cost There are two types of cost associated with rating any project. First the certification fees and second construction cost. While the first one is set by LEED, the second one is difficult to be determined and therefore based on a study made by Steven Winter Associates for the U.S. General Services Administration 27. Cost of certification could be divided into registration, review, appeals and credit interpretations. Registering the project is for 900/1,200 U.S. dollars (members/non-members). The review fees are dependent on the project size. Projects less than 50,000 square feet and over 500,000 square feet are charged 2,250 and 22,500 for members, or 2,750 and 27,500 U.S. dollars for non-members respectively.. The projects which range in-between are charged 0.045 and 0.055 U.S. dollars per square foot (members/non-members). Appeals for complex credits are 800 dollars per credit, while for all other credits a fee of 500 dollars per credit is paid. Clarification requests are priced at 180/380 dollars per credit (members/non-members).28 As for the construction cost (as per the study mentioned above), the estimated increase is 0.5-3, 3-4, 5-6 and 7-12 percent for LEED certified, silver, gold and platinum respectively.
Green Building Councils Worldwide

Currently there are 94 member councils under the world green building council 25
Evaluation Over other certification systems, LEED has the advantage of strong marketing, which was made by promotions and branding of the US green building council. Products and services have been widely affected by LEED. A lot of them did not even exist before its initiation. Another advantage of LEED is the availability of information as there are thousands of studies and reports made about the system, as well as the fact that it is not a requirement to be accredited in order to conduct the certification process. On the other hand LEED is seen as very expensive and being a long process. Compared to other systems, LEED requires long documentation time, which expands the project schedules. Having no independent auditors could be seen as an advantage for shorter time, but could also be seen as a disadvantage for not having a third party quality control. Moreover, using LEED outside of the US (and especially Europe) is seen to be difficult, as it is designed and evolved around US regulations and standards such as ASHRAE.
2.3.2 BREEAM
Overview BREEAM, launched 1990, is the first developed rating system worldwide, with over 200,000 projects and over 300 internationally registered projects. The most recent version at the time of writing is version 2011. The voluntary system assesses various types of construction. These are New Construction (offices, industrial, retail, data centers, education, healthcare, prisons, law courts, multi-residential institutions, non-residential institutions, assembly & leisure), In-Use, Refurbishment, Code for Sustainable Homes and Communities. The ten criteria evaluated in BREEAM are consistent throughout all types of certifications, which are Management, Health & Wellbeing, Energy, Transport, Water, Materials, Waste, Land Use & Ecology, Pollution and Innovation. The last criterion is a bonus above the main credits of BREEAM. Rated buildings or communities are benchmarked as pass, good, very good, excellent and outstanding. 29 Process Certification for BREEAM is done via an independent and licensed assessor and cannot be done by the design or project team themselves. After determining the applicable certification type, the building owner or manager defines the rating level wanted to be achieved and contacts his or her asses-
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sor. The assessor then engages with the project team to develop the required information, which after completion is forwarded to the Building Research Establishment (BRE) for quality assurance and verification of data. After the assessment certification is awarded. Unlike LEED and the Pearl rating system, BREEAM prerequisite credits are dynamic, meaning that the higher the certification level the more prerequisites there are. These are available in a list on their guiding manual 29. Building Developer, Builder Owner or Occupier Independent Licensed Assessor A B C
Figure 12: The BREEAM rating process

The process involves independent licensed assessors, as opposed to LEEDs GBCI 29
Consensus Standard
Quality Control
Pre-BREEAM Advice Formal Assessment
bre
Issue Certificate
Cost The same two types of cost associated with rating any project are present like in LEED, certification and construction costs. While the first one is set by BREEAM, the second one is based on a study made by Faithful+Gould 30, a strategic advisor for the UKs government. Cost of certification could be divided into registration, review and certification. Registering the project attracts a fee of 650 British pounds. The review fees are dependent on the project size and hired assessor. This has been assessed by the BRE to range between 5,000 and 15,000 British pounds. The last payment of certification is between 350 and 850 British pound upon completion. Construction cost as per Faithful+Gould estimates an increase of 19 and 60 British pounds per square meters for very good and excellent rating simultaneously. Evaluation BREEAM has an influence over the development of the building regulations, which helped to rapidly change the codes to better suit the global efficiency needs. Along with the regular benefits shown in the previous section, BREEAMs independent auditing helps verification of quality and commissioning. Conversely a building could be BREEAM certified without engaging in energy efficiency aspects. The sections and credit weighting and distribution are being criticized, as well as missing credits such as for automated light controls. Another critique on the system is that it is very exact, leaving little room for changes. 31
2.3.3 Comparison table

The following table presents a summary of the three rating systems. A study done by Thomas Saunders 32 showed that the benchmark of LEED platinum lies at the BREEAM Very Good level, while using both LEED and the Pearl rating in Masdar Citys Siemens Headquarter achieved LEED Platinum and 3 Pearls 33. The comparison shows that it is very difficult to achieve a high Pearl rating. While both LEED and BREEAM have been overviewed, the pearl rating will be detailed in the next chapter, however included in the following comparison to serve as a first introduction.
Table 01: Comparison between LEED, BREEAM and the Pearl Rating systems
Created from analyzing each of the three systems from the information provided in the assessment books
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LEED 2009 Responsible organization Foundation Location Use Mandatory by Law Accredited Professionals & enforcement Minimum Standards
US Green Building Council
BREEAM 2011
BRE Global Ltd
Pearl Rating 2010

AD Urban Planning Council
1998 International No LEED AP (Voluntary) 8 prerequisites
1991 International No BREEAM Accredited Professional (Mandatory) Minimum standards are tiered based on the rating: 4 to 26 credits for Pass to Outstanding 132 (including 10 innovation points) 49 credits New Construction (offices, industrial, retail, data centers, education, healthcare, prisons, law courts, multiresidential institutions, non-residential institutions, assembly & leisure) In-Use Refurbishment Code for Sustainable Homes Communities Management 10.9% Health & Wellbeing 13.6% Energy 17.3% Transport 7.3% Water 5.5% Materials 11.4% Waste 6.8% Land Use & Ecology 9.1% Pollution 9.1% Innovation 9.1% Outstanding 85% Excellent 70% Very Good 55% Good 45% Pass 30% Design Stage & Post-Construction Assessment by trained and licensed BREEAM Assessors
2010 Local Yes Pearl Qualified Professional (Mandatory) 20 required credits
Number of points Number of Credits covered types
110 (including 10 bonus points) 57 credits New Construction Existing Buildings Commercial Interiors Core & Shell Retail Schools Homes Neighborhood Development Healthcare Sustainable Sites 23.6% Water Efficiency 9.1% Energy and Atmosphere 31.9% Materials and Resources 12.7% Indoor Environmental Quality 13.6% Innovation in Design 5.5% Regional Priority 3.6%
180 points 86 credits New Construction (Office, Retail, Multiresidential, School and Mixed-use) Neighborhood Development Villa (homes)
Credit Weighting
Integrated Development 7.2% Natural Systems 6.7% Livable Buildings 20.6% Precious Water 23.9% Resourceful Energy 24.4% Stewarding Materials 15.6% Innovating Practice 1.7%
Rating Classification and Benchmark (% Points) Assessment / Review
Platinum 73% Gold 55% Silver 45% Certified 36% Design & Construction Review by Green Building Certification Institute through network of third party certification bodies $900 USGBC members $1,200 non- members Included in Review Fee Design & Construction Reviews: < 50,000 sq. ft.: $2,250 (members), $2,750 (non- members) 50,000-500,000 sq. ft.: $0.045/sq. ft. (members), $0.055/sq. ft. (non- members) > 500,000 sq. ft.: $22,500 (members), $27,500 (non- members) Complex credits $800 per credit all other credits $500 per credit $180 per credit for members $380 per credit for non-members Certified 0.5-3 % Silver 3-4 % Gold 5-6 % Platinum 7-12 %
5 Pearl 92% 4 Pearl 69% 3 Pearl 58% 2 Pearl 44% 1 Pearl 11% Design & Construction Review by AD Urban Planning Council Assessors
Registration Fees Certification Fees Assessment Review Fees
650 new construction 100 in-use 350-850 Design Stage & Post-Construction Assessments by third party assessor: 5,000-15,000 (varies by project size/ complexity)
(free) (free) (free)
Credit Appeal Fee Credit Interpretation Request Fee Construction Cost over BaU
(free) (free)
(free) (free)
Good (little or no cost) Very Good (19/m2) Excellent (60/m2)
1 Pearl 1 % 2 Pearl 3 % 3 Pearl 5 % 4 Pearl 8 % 5 Pearl 14 % All Rating tools, manuals and reference guides are free of charge (downloadable from Estidamas website). Hard copies available at UPC (by request).
Availability of Information
Public guide downloadable for free Reference Guides cost $195 (hardcopy) or $180 (softcopy) for each rating system.
Pre-Assessment tool and Scheme Manual available for free
Masdar Institute , Abu Dhabi, UAE
Chapter 03: ESTIDAMA - STATUS QUO

3.1 3.2 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.3 Introduction to Estidama and UPC Overview of the Initiatives Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 Supporting Initiatives The Pearl Rating System
Introduction to the concept of Estidama in greater detail as it is the main analyzed program including the PRS rating system. It is explained in relation to the larger Vision 2030 and the supporting initiatives that are embraced by the Estidama program, the so called heart of all the initiatives, visions and plans. Overviews of the supporting initiatives are described, which include the urban neighborhood development, public realm design manual, urban street design manual and the development review process. At the end a comprehensive description of the PRS is given, which is the main feature of the Estidama program.
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Chapter 3 - Estidama
3 Estidama - status quo
3.1 Introduction to Estidama & the UPC

The Emirate has been experiencing a rapid growth in the past years. People from all over the world moved to the cities of the Emirate, resulting in an exponential growth of the urban, economic and industrial development of the cities. Accordingly, these developments also caused large environmental implications and challenges. Urbanization is a natural and inevitable trend affecting cities, and to be able to meet the needs of this growing population within the resource capacities that are available, sustainability has to be addressed at the city scale. Todays cities are becoming more centralized and condensed; a city is the place where the main business, education industry and the government convey new project ideas and urban developments. It is also the center where multi-cultural sectors meet and synergies between public and private interests collide. Hence, it is of great importance that especially cities become leaders in sustainable planning and developments of feasible and reliable strategies of employment and monitoring the actual implementation of these policies. While cities around the globe are growing rapidly, they struggle with achieving economic stability, environmental preservation, social equality and the concept of a sustainable economic growth. Estidamas approach addresses exactly these issues in detail to reach and develop sustainable cities in the Emirate 34. The UPCs program Estidama, meaning sustainability in Arabic, reflects amongst others, successful urban planning decisions and policies perusing sustainable cities and communities. This chapter introduces the concept of Estidama, which is more than just a rating method or a set of regulations for a community; it is a new vision to be implemented in order to achieve a sustainable way of living for the Arab world. The concept was initiated and later developed by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) as an inspiration and a display of idealistic concepts creating an environmentally conscious and responsible development, which lies in the core of the UPCs vision and initiatives. To be able to grasp the concept, most prominent visions, frameworks, plans, manuals and processes are showcased in this chapter, ending with an overview of the Pearl Rating System, the driver and measurement tool of sustainability in Abu Dhabi. The Estidama concept, launched in 2008, was based on the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyans vision of a sustainable Emirate 35. The main and long term objective of Estidama is to create and enhance Abu Dhabis physical and cultural identity, while preserving and improving the quality of life of its residents simultaneously. Reaching this vision requires out-of the box thinking and cooperation between the developers, design teams and residents throughout the complete planning process. Because of Estidamas holistic approach, starting with the construction methods to the choices the employers
Estidamas Objective
Create and enhance Abu Dhabis physical and cultural identity, while preserving and improving the quality of life of its residents.
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make, the leadership of Abu Dhabi soon recognized the exceptional cultural, climatic and economic development requirements of the region and the need for a localized definition of sustainability. While reaching out to create a bright and more sustainable future for the Emirate, its citizens and its residents, Estidama is eager to continue evolving and growing with the rapidly changing concepts for sustainability. Therefore it is not Estidamas responsibility alone, but everyone in the Emirate, to implement these sustainability concepts in the environment, social cultural and economic needs of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The initiatives of the UPC, Estidama and other related government sectors show tremendous efforts in creating integrated processes inside and outside the government, trying to change the mind-set of residents, developers, designers and the government to embrace the evolving concepts of how to live, build and grow in a sustainable way. This is obvious when looking into the connections made between the regulations and their demand for early multi-disciplinary integration. Of course, the unique opportunity Abu Dhabi had, which is being able to draft all the guidelines at the same time and from scratch, gave them the possibility to streamline all their processes and evolve them over a well-defined long term vision. Other countries or cities added the sustainability strategies to their already available codes and regulations that in some cases create inefficiencies. All of Abu Dhabis goals and agencies go forward according to the overarching vision 2030 that is tailored to its core, Estidama, which is based on the integrated process of the four pillars: Environment, Economy, Society and Culture.
Figure 13: Emiratewide Development 40 Strategies

The road-map of Abu Dhabis Vision 2030 showing the hierarchy of each initiative
Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Vision 2030 Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030
Plan 2030
Manuals
Master Plans
Development Code
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The Urban Planning Council The Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC), created by Emiri Decree number 23, was established in 2007 as the agency responsible for the development of Abu Dhabis urban environment. It is the expert authority for the Abu Dhabi 2030 Urban Structure Framework Plan (known later as Urban Planning Vision 2030) published September 2007. Their scope is not restricted on planning new areas, but also ensures best practice in the planning of existing urban areas. 36 The UPC is the main driver and supporter of the Abu Dhabi urban development strategy. To be able to transfer the 2030 Vision into a physical setting, UPC develops strategic plans and guiding principles for the influential projects that will have a major effect on shaping the Emirate. For a proper implementation of the their vision, a holistic analysis of the urban fabric, the land available and its best use, environmental, mobility, infrastructure and urban services have been intensively analyzed and hence integrated in the City Development Strategy. One of the key priority areas is developing the infrastructure with sustainable concepts and environmentally friendly approaches. The government, with the proper know-how available from UPC, can therefore ensure the creation of an appropriately and well-designed and managed complete urban environment for the Emirate. 36 The UPC is dedicated to fulfill five key issues in support of the implementation of the Urban Planning Vision 2030. The first role of the UPC is to develop detailed plans for regions, districts, neighborhoods and blocks across Abu Dhabi. Next, they assist in the implementation of all plans created by guiding, monitoring and working with the implementation team and other Government bodies. The third role the UPC has to fulfill is developing regulations, guidelines and policies that will help guide planning and development in the Emirate. Furthermore, they are expected to review and assess major strategic developments to comply with the plans, policies, regulations and guidelines in-line with Capital 2030, Al Ain 2030 and Al Gharbia 2030 and external Government requirements. The fifth role is incorporating and encouraging Estidama principles of sustainability into the built environment through the Estidama Pearl Rating Systems. These five key roles combined with other initiatives, as mentioned in the supporting initiatives, ensure a gradual, appropriate and high quality sustainable development across the UAE. The process of revitalization programs and building new developments requires time, but phasing the process will enable citizens and visitors to see milestones of completed projects over the coming years. 36 In addition to the five key issues, the UPC has other main tasks and missions. One of the responsibilities of the UPC is granting planning permission for new developments, on the basis of a highly dependable development review process. This process enables the UPC to make good decisions and apply strict regulatory controls for developers, as well as to guarantee that the city is well prepared for the climate, economic and cultural growth. Another important factor that overseeing these developments has is that the UPC can make sure that the appropriate transport and utility infrastructure are provided for the growth. The core that forms this whole process is the principal of sustainability. That way a long-term balance between supply and demand is projected. In order to be a truly sustainable process, the UPC communicates with other government departments, such as the Department of Transport, the Environment Agency, municipalities and utility providers. Discussing relevant development proposals and coordinating the approach and necessary steps to comply with the infrastructure demand is a step that UPC is very keen on doing. 36 The UPC has a strong partnership with Abu Dhabis council for Economic Development (ADCED) 36 as it works on the second half of the vision, which is
UPCs Mission
Develop the urban environment of Abu Dhabi according to the Vision 2030 as well as existing urban areas, by providing and managing the supporting initiatives.
UPC and ADCED

A strong partnership between the two entities has been made, as both work hand in hand on the Vision 2030.
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the economic part. Together, with the help and coordination of other government sectors, they have shaped the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030, the main initiative of the Emirate.
3.2 Overview of the Initiatives

3.2.1 Abu Dhabi Vision 2030
The Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Vision 2030
Developing physical plans and policies to shape Abu Dhabi Emirate as the leading global 21st century Arab capital and ensuring factors such as sustainability, infrastructure capacity, economic growth and community planning are integrated to provide a high-quality of life for all. 38 As previously mentioned in 1.2, the UPC developed the Abu Dhabi 2030 Urban Structure Framework Plan (Urban Planning Vision) for optimizing the urban development through a 25 year program. To plan ahead for the infrastructure is a major step towards developed and visionary governance. The 2030 Vision sets the foundation for a socially consistent and economically sustainable community while preserving the Emirates cultural heritage. In their plan the word vision reflects the visionary guidance of government initiative. One objective of their mission is the branding for Abu Dhabi and the regions of Al Ain and Al Gharbia. The capital, Abu Dhabi, is intended to communicate its position as the base of government within the UAE. 37 For a proper foundation of a suitable vision the social, cultural and economic living in the Emirates were analyzed in detail, in addition to workshops with leading urban planners and community developers. The Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 lays out the framework for development throughout the capital city, with guidelines for all new projects which are formed by the following principles: Abu Dhabi will be a contemporary expression of an Arab city which has people living, doing and thriving in healthy, supportive proximity to each other. Abu Dhabi will continue its practice of measured growth reflecting a sustainable economy, rather than an uncontrolled growth. Abu Dhabi will respect, be scaled to, and shaped by the natural environment of its sensitive coastal and desert ecologies. Abu Dhabi will manifest its role and stature as a capital city. Abu Dhabis urban fabric and community infrastructure will protect and enhance the Emirates Arabic values, social arrangements, culture and mores of this Arab community. 38 The plan was developed through consultation with local and global experts, based on the vision of the Abu Dhabis Executive Council. In addition the following investigations were of major importance: Analysis of social, cultural and economic issues in the Emirates and factors that are currently driving the demand in the real estate sector Environmental analysis to help protect Abu Dhabis natural (desert and marine) ecology Analysis of Abu Dhabis infrastructure and transport requirements and A study of housing requirements and settlement patterns across the city. The vision 2030 is split into two parts, urban planning and economic vision. Subcategories are found in the graphic below. The main two initiatives are explained in the following sub-chapter and major supporting initiatives are showcased afterwards. 39
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Enhance Federal-Local Cooperation Enhance Transparency and Modernise the Judicial System and Business Legislation Streamline Government Processes Facilitate the Investment Process
Diversify Fiscal Revenue Sources Optimize Government Spending Leverage Fiscal Policy Tools to Respond to Economic Cycle Enhance Regulatory and Supervisory Functions over Banking and Insurance Sectors Leverage Monetary Policy Tools to Control Inflation Develop Efficient and Less Speculative Financial Markets Encourage Participation of Nationals in the Labour Force, Especially in the Private Sector Continue Expanding Skilled Labour Force Base and Further Reduce Dependence on Unskilled Labour Enhance Abu Dhabis Labour Market Processes Enhance Energy Security to Meet Future Demand Ensure an Efficient and Safe Transport Infrastructure Ensure Availability of Efficient ICT Infrastructure and Promote ICT Adoption Ensure Environmental Sustainability Increase National Workforce Participation and Employability Optimize the Allocation of Workforce Enhance Productivity of the Labour Force Increase Savings and Depth of Deposits Encourage Financing of Economic Sectors and Projects Enhance Financial Markets Performance
1. Build an Open, Efficient, Effective and Globally Integrated Business Environment
2. Adopt a Disciplined Fiscal Policy that is Responsive to Economic Cycles
3. Establish a Resilient Monetary and Fiscal Markets Environment with Manageable Levels of Inflation
4. Drive Significant Improvement in the Efficiency of the Labour Market
5. Develop a Sufficient and Resilient Infrastructure Capable of Supporting the Anticipated Economic Growth
6. Develop a Highly Skilled, Highly Productive Workforce
7. Enable Financial Markets to Become the Key Financiers of Economic Sectors and Projects
2. Ensure a Balanced Social and Regional Economic Development Approach that Brings Benefits to All
1. Build a Sustainable Economy
Economic Vision 2030 Abu Dhabi as a sustainable, diversified, high value-added economy that encourages enterprises and entrepreneurship and well integrated in the global economy leading to better opportunities for all
For Abu Dhabi to continue to create a confident, secure society and to build a sustainable, open and globally competitive economy
H.H Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi
Urban Planning Vision 2030 Developing plans and policies that shape Abu Dhabi Emirate as the leading global 21st century Arab capital and ensuring factors such as sustainability, infrastructure capacity, community planning and a high quality of life for all.
Environment
To create a sustainable Emirate that protects and enhances the environment and natural resources for present and future generations.
Society
To raise the standard of living for all people living and visiting the Emirate, through the creation of vibrant, mixed-use communities and the provision of a diverse range of housing.
Culture
To protect and enhance Emirati and Arab culture and traditions while embracing contemporary living and respecting the diverse cultures of all who reside in and visit Abu Dhabi.
Economy
To support and enable growth in, and the diversification of, Abu Dhabis economy to transform Abu Dhabi into a global capital city to provide greater opportunities for all.
To promote and implement Estidama as the UPCs holistic approach to sustainability in the Emirate. To create environmental frameworks across the Emirate that preserve and protect Abu Dhabis rich and varied environmental assets, such as the coastal, oases, desert and historic farming areas for current and future generations to enjoy. To create thriving, close-knit communities that limit urban sprawl and its impact on the environment. To ensure new development respects and is scaled to the natural environment. To create plans that respond to the desert climate, respecting water assets and making use of sustainable energy and waste techniques and technologies where appropriate.
To create complete communities that enable people to live, work and play in attractive, vibrant surroundings, with easy access to high-quality, civic, healthcare, educational open space and retail amenities. To provide a diversity of housing choice to meet the needs of all residents within a wide range of income levels. To revitalise existing communities with high-quality amenities, transport, housing and recreational options without compromising the existing character and social fabric. To create a safe, vibrant and well-connected public realm that offers spaces for meeting, relaxing and playing in for all members of the community.
To ensure that Emirati culture and local heritage is protected, enhanced and celebrated through traditional living patterns, sustainable, high-quality Emirati architecture and appropriate religious amenities. To respect and integrate, where possible, the international, where possible, the cultures of the diverse population of the Emirate. To incorporate areas for local and international arts, music, civic and cultural usage that are accessible to all who live and visit the Emirate. For Abu Dhabi City to manifest its role as the Capital of the United Arab Emirates and the national seat of Government.
To ensure appropriate transit and infrastructure, in addition to residential, commercial and industrial, leisure and hospitality components are incorporated into plans to support economic growth. To ensure development supports and provides for the growth sectors identified by Economic Vision 2030 and in the diversification of the economy. To transform Abu Dhabi into a leading Emirate that attracts people and enterprises to its high quality of life, supported by its vibrant communities, high-quality buildings, public realm and world-class transportation system. To support the development of the entire Emirate to ensure exemplary employment opportunities are available throughout Abu Dhabi, thereby encouraging residents to work close to their homes and families.
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3.2.1.1 Urban Planning Vision 2030 Figure 14: Emirate-wide Strategic Vision
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Overall vision for Abu Dhabi, the individual visions of ADCED and the UPC and the overarching principles and objectives that form these visions, which can be used as a checklist to ensure that any new plans and initiatives across the two realms fit with the overall vision for the Emirate.
The first framework to be developed by the UPC in 2007 was the Plan Capital 2030. Its scale and approach were considered one of the first initiatives of its kind in this region. It covered the area of Abu Dhabi Island and its surrounding mainland. The Plan was a result of comprehensive analysis and research to fully understand the context and area. Since the framework was established, a master plan for Capital District was released in 2009 and others are in progress. (Khalifa City A, Khalifa City B, Shahama & Bahia, North Wathba, Baniyas, South Wathba, Mohammed bin Zayed City, Musaffah, Wasat Madinat Abu Dhabi and the Corniche Revitalization Area). The major highlights which Plan Capital 2030 focuses on are livability within the city, the provision of two growth centers downtown, the revitalization of existing locations across the metropolitan area and capturing culture and heritage through planning and design. The implementation of National Park Systems, Green Gradients and a Sand Belt to prevent urban sprawl were provided by the Environmental Framework Plan to focus on areas of environmental importance. 38 Plan Al Ain 2030 on the other hand covers a regional and urban structure framework plan and was released in 2009 4. Al Ain is known as the green city of Abu Dhabi. The main focus of this plan is the re-connection of the oases to its surroundings, the revitalization of the city and the maintenance of its architecture and local culture and heritage. The Al Ain Plan 2030 Regional Structure Framework Plan covers 20 settlements of the region and was released in 2011. 38 In addition, Al Gharbia 2030 Regional Structure Framework Plan is still in the pipeline and would cover seven key settlements of the western region (Liwa, Madinat Zayed, Mirfa, Delma, Silaa, Ruwais and Ghayathi). Not only is Al Gharbia the largest region of the Emirate and holds the majority of its oil and gas, but it is also renowned for its agricultural diversity and animal husbandry and beautiful natural coastlines. Key issues of the Gharbia Plan is to increase the quality of life for its residents while maintaining sustainable, measured growth while providing the community with amenities and a proper network of transportation. The plan also aims at supporting the oil and gas sectors, at the same time diversifying the economy and reducing out migration through facilitating high quality employment opportunities. Moreover, the protection of the beautiful natural environment of the region and its rich culture and heritage remain a very important factor in the plan. The development of the four framework plans took a lot of time and research, analysis and field visits in the first stages. 38 Following are elements that were reviewed and analyzed for each area plan: Demographics Economy and industry Environment, ecology and biodiversity Existing settlements and land use Transportation networks Utilities and waste management Culture and society Archaeology Healthcare and education Tourism Agriculture and food production 38
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The process to define a framework plan includes contributions from various inputs such as design charrettes, site visits, collaboration with other government agencies, inspirational sessions, public consultation and research and existing conditions analysis. The following process was utilized in the development and creation of the framework plans:
Research and existing conditions analysis
Design charrettes
Figure 15: Framework Development Process

Public consultation Framework Plans Site visits
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Various contributions defining and creating the framework development process
Inspirational sessions
Collaboration with Government agencies
Design charrettes are brainstorming sessions characterized by their intensity, creativity and collaborative problem solving character. The different participants usually come from different local and international backgrounds but with the same or similar skills or expertise relevant to the area of discussion. UPCs technical charrettes to develop initial concepts for the framework plans included members of the UPCs teams, local municipalities or councils, Government agencies, urban planners, designers, architects and specialists. This approach, where stakeholders get the opportunity to give their input from the start and work together with the experts to develop guiding principles, creates well developed and mature concepts and recommended policy directions in a short period of time. The collaboration in the technical charrettes is a key input in the process. The UPC worked closely with governmental agencies to develop the framework plan. That way it was assured that the outcomes incorporate up to date plans from other agencies and promotes integration between the UPC and other governmental stakeholders. The role of site visits is very important for the design team. It enables them to experience the feel of the area, the land, its formation, history and patterns first hand. Another important input is talking to members of the public to gather information about the area and its livability. Some inspirational sessions were held with the Abu Dhabi Executive Council to better understand the vision that the framework is based on. It was of great value to the UPC to get public consultation; feedback from the people living and working in Abu Dhabi. Many from the general public were invited to events and workshops where they could discuss subjects like healthcare, education, public facilities and transportation, as well as employment and housing issues. 38 Principles and objectives The main principles developed for Plan Capital 2030 were the foundation of all other framework plans and the creation of the Estidama Program. Recently, a set of overreaching principles have been developed to complete the picture for the Emirate, and with the completion of the other framework plans with their own overreaching principles. The Estidama program of sustainability, which is in the core of the UPCs plans and policies, sets the four main principles of the urban planning vision. These are then categorized into eleven key directions. The program is built on the main pillars of Estidama:
Principles and Objectives

Main principles developed for Plan 2030 were the foundation of all other framework plans and the creation of the Estidama Program.
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Environment Focusing on the Emirate, the principle is to follow sustainable development to protect and enhance the ecology and natural resources for current and future generations by meeting the objectives: To ensure new development respects and is scaled to the natural environment To create plans that respond to the desert climate, respecting water assets and making use of sustainable energy and waste techniques and technologies where appropriate To create environmental frameworks across the Emirate that preserve and protect Abu Dhabis rich and varied environmental assets, such as the coastal, oases, desert and historic farming areas for current and future generations to enjoy To create thriving, close-knit communities that limit urban sprawl and its impact on the environment To promote and implement Estidama as the UPCs holistic approach to sustainability in the Emirate 38 Economy The principle is to support and empower the growth and diversification of the economy of Abu Dhabi to transform the city into a global capital providing better prospects by following the objectives: To ensure appropriate transit and infrastructure, in addition to residential, commercial and industrial, leisure and hospitality components, are incorporated into plans to support economic growth To ensure the plans created support and provide for the growth sectors identified by Economic Vision 2030 and in the diversification of the economy To transform Abu Dhabi into a leading Emirate that attracts people and enterprises to its high quality of life, supported by its vibrant communities, high-quality buildings, public realm and world-class transportation system To support the development of the entire Emirate to ensure exemplary employment opportunities are available throughout Abu Dhabi, thereby encouraging residents to work close to their homes and families 38 Society The principle is to raise the standards of living for residents and visitors of the Emirate by forming communities that are lively and mixed-use and providing housing for all ranges of income through following the objectives: To create complete communities that enable people to live, work and play in attractive, vibrant surroundings, with easy access to high-quality, civic, healthcare, educational open space and retail amenities; To provide a diversity of housing choice to meet the needs of all residents within a wide range of income levels To revitalise existing communities with high-quality amenities, transport, housing and recreational options without compromising the existing character and social fabric To create a safe, vibrant and well-connected public realm that offers spaces for meeting, relaxing and playing for all members of the community 38 Culture The principle is to protect and enrich Arab and Emirati traditions and culture, at the same time provide contemporary living respecting the diverse cultures residing and visiting Abu Dhabi, by following the objectives: To ensure that Emirati culture and local heritage is protected, enhanced and celebrated through traditional living patterns, sustainable, highquality Emirati architecture and appropriate religious amenities To respect and integrate, where possible, the international cultures of the diverse population of the Emirate To incorporate areas for local and international arts, music, civic and cultural usage that are accessible to all who live and visit the Emirate For Abu Dhabi City to manifest its role as the Capital of the United Arab Emirates and the national seat of Government 38
The Four Pillars of Estidama

Estidama is organized under four pillars. Unlike other programs and theories it recognizes Society as a separate pillar that needs the same weighting as the other three pillars.
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The key directions incorporated in the Urban Planning Vision 2030 are: Sustainability Livability Economic development Managed urban growth Connectivity Safe, shaded and walkable streets Housing diversity Community development Cultural heritage Natural environment Revitalization 38
Sustainability The availability of oil has brought a fast and considerable amount of wealth to the UAE. Since oil is a finite resource it is of great importance to utilize it very carefully and wisely. Since it is very difficult to reclaim depleted resources or natural environments, Abu Dhabis future relies on the ability to save the existing resources and utilize the wealth to explore alternative options like renewable energy production, energy efficiency and raise awareness. Resource efficiency is a key issue of Estidama and a main factor in turning Abu Dhabi into a truly sustainable city. 38 Livability The new policies and developments have a direct impact on peoples lives. Since livability includes the quality of how citizens and visitors will live, work and relax in a city, facilities, infrastructure and open spaces are necessary to provide safe and attractive surroundings. The new policies will be included in the process to evaluate new planned projects on their fairness towards livability elements. Living standards that are similar to international standards are the core to decisions about new developments. Abu Dhabi developed a rare potential, offering a combination of two life styles and urban identities in the past years. It is safe and authentic, yet progressive with a lot of open air living, characteristics gained from the desert and the sea. In addition, a traditional way of life is lived but with the latest 21st century choices. It is a booming place for business opportunities and also a place of government and culture. Hence the Emirate should be defined by its nature, the island and dunes, and also by its infrastructure, streets and developments. These mergers will increase the livability of the city noticeably. 38 Economic development The main goal of the Abu Dhabi vision 2030 is to move away from the dependency on hydrocarbons and to diversify the economy of the Emirate. Some industries have been identified as potential sectors to grow a more diversified economy mix in the Emirate. Some of these industries include tourism, education aerospace and media. The role of the Urban Planning Vision 2030 is to create the necessary physical infrastructure, like utilities, transportation and buildings, in addition to technical colleges, R&D facilities and homes for employees of these industries so they may excel in these new fields of economy. The diversified economic growth will develop a more sustainable economy that is less dependent on crude oil prices and its depletion. 38 Managed urban growth The Urban Planning Vision 2030 will guarantee new developments and infrastructure (roads, public transport, utilities) to fulfill the needs of a rapidly growing population in a sustainable way. With major new developments, new infrastructure has to be strategically delivered, in order to ensure the users have the necessary amenities and facilities as well as strong transportation
Key Directions for Planning Vision

Directions are continuing constantly across all framework plans under the same 11 keys.
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networks within the UAE. Large open spaces will improve the quality of life of the people living in Abu Dhabi. To preserve the identity of smaller towns and villages, strict regulation will prevent urban sprawl. 38 Connectivity The transportation in Abu Dhabi relies currently almost entirely on cars. This however will not be possible in the upcoming 20 years when the Emirates cities continue growing. A more developed, multi layered, sustainable and efficient transportation system has to be created to meet the needs of Abu Dhabi and reflects the demand and size of the city. A first Surface Transportation Master Plan (STMP) to improve the connectivity around Abu Dhabi has been created by the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport together with the UPC. The objective of a network of public transportation system with a high speed rail and rapid transit options, such as trams and buses, as well as supporting initiatives for walking and cycling, is to reduce the usage of private cars and the reliance on them. Therefore a new streets system has to be developed to create safer transport and accommodate all transport modes. 38 Safe, shaded and walkable streets Essential to the creation of attractive friendly places, are shaded and walkable streets. To encourage more people to walk short distances in comfort, streets have to be improved and clearly defined pedestrian walkways and pavements have to be provided. Due to the heat in Abu Dhabi in the summer time, well-connected streets to minimize unnecessary walking time in addition to cool, shaded pedestrian walkways are needed to make walking more comfortable. It is already planned to create a system of shade-ways that connect sidewalks and pedestrian paths. 38 Housing diversity In the Abu Dhabi Emirate, a diverse set of housing facilities are required to accommodate a full range of different income levels and household sizes. The UPC initiative, Affordable housing strategy, works on implementing different levels of affordable housing. The diversity of levels of housing is very important to enable residents to choose whatever fits their needs. 38 Community development The target of the community development initiative is to create livable and comfortable places which mix residential buildings, shopping and services while promoting a variety of community values. The planned neighborhoods will include a range of housing choices, public spaces with good air quality and enable walking and public transit use through safe, shaded streets and good public transportation systems. There will be places provided where the community can interact, such as schools, recreational areas, open spaces and parks, shops, cafes as well as mosques and hospitals. All the facilities will apply the standards for special needs access. Through this approach a successful integration of employment, housing, retail, cultural, religious, recreational, community and educational facilities will be adapted throughout the towns and cities of Abu Dhabi Emirate. The new housing projects have to fulfill the needs of the Emirati Family. The traditional Emirati neighborhood system fareej enables a group of houses clustered together to form a smaller society to increase the interaction between them, while still protecting every ones privacy. The pattern of these houses, forms courtyards in the housing designs. Mixing these systems with public spaces, amenities, shop, schools and small streets, creates an interactive atmosphere that encourages walking and cycling. Combining the traditional living arrangements with contemporary design will be a main part in the new neighborhood designs. The merging between old and new will create attractive homes and safe, vibrant neighborhoods. 38
Car Based Society

Abu Dhabi residents, visitors and commuters rely mostly on private cars due to the lack of public transportation. Until today there is no rail transportation.
Abu Dhabi City Grid

The wide streets of Abu Dhabi island combined with the huge block sizes make it very hard for pedestrians to walk during high summer months.
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Cultural heritage The unique heritage, culture and customs are of great importance and hence it is vital to conserve it. Examples where the heritage and culture plays a big role in peoples lives are the generations who spent half of the year out fishing and pearl diving and the rest of the year farming and ranching in the desert oases. This bond between the residents and their surroundings can be maintained by a visual and physical link between the city and the landscape. In addition historic Arab and Emirati architectural elements, forms and patterns are incorporated into contemporary forms creating an authentic plan for the Arab Capital. It is very important that new developments are designed at a human scale to remain a pleasant living space even while the city grows. Creativity will play an important role, as well as flexibility to successfully combine the traditional and contemporary living choices. The Emiratis have a very hospitable nature and are very welcoming to diverse populations as well as their cultures and arts, which is reflected in museums, art centers and exhibitions. 38 Natural environment Abu Dhabis islands, sand dunes, native wildlife and coastlines all merge to define Abu Dhabis character. The Abu Dhabi Planning Vision 2030 works on protecting these resources and preserving the connection between people and their environment. It is a priority to conserve these landmarks and cultural and environmental amenities and then take decisions where new developments could be located, creating a balance between developing and conserving. Loosing or damaging the environment is a non-reversible process and hence it is important to start planning with this thought in mind. 38 Revitalization In its plan, the UPC also places a lot of focus on the revitalization concept. Some ways to revitalize an existing community is through improving the transportation system and developing a more pedestrian friendly city in addition to high quality community facilities and more sustainable housing options, while upgrading and developing on the already existing infrastructure and built environment. Through this concept and by extending the life of the existing buildings the government of Abu Dhabi can achieve their sustainability goals. This strategy should also focus on creating an interactive, diverse and more balanced urban environment. 38
Culture of Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabis culture is defined by Arabias Islamic traditions. The combination of international influences and commitment to local heritage has creates the interesting mix of new and old.
3.2.1.2 Economic Vision 2030

An economic strategy was created by ADCED to work towards the realization of the goals laid out in the Governments Policy Agenda document. The ADCED is placed to take part in the development of the strategy. The board includes private sector and government, as well as representatives from the Department of Economic Development (DED), the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) and domestic and foreign business councils. This results in a joint public-private cooperative structure for economic advice, which includes representatives of the main stakeholders, where ADCED creates an open channel for economic matters. This structures objective is to transform the Emirates economic base and incorporate global integration. 38 In order to achieve the Policy Agenda to create the Economic Vision 2030, the economic environment was analyzed and key improvement potential areas were identified in 2008 by ADCED. The state of the economy in 2008, the business environment and the Emiratis resources and steps that need to be taken to ensure and accommodate economic growth were covered in the Economic Vision 2030. The Vision is a result of combined efforts between public and joint public-private sectors. Each section of the Economic Vision
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2030 defines long-term targets to be achieved, and means and processes on how the Emirate could achieve them. Therefore, the result is a road map for the economic sector of the Emirate. Abu Dhabi currently has made a major commitment to build a sustainable, diversified, high value-added economy by 2030. An important activity would be widening the sectors of economic activity, enlarging the enterprise base and growing external markets. Abu Dhabi also plans to continuously improve productivity and create competitiveness. 38 Since social and regional equality is very important and a key component in the strategy, Abu Dhabi will train its youth to enter the job market and try to maximize the participation of women, especially UAE Nationals. For the successful achievement of the economic targets learning from global experiences and implementing them locally must optimize both regulatory and legislative structures. Hence Abu Dhabi is going to build a business environment that is open, effective and efficient. To sum up, the Economic Vision 2030 was developed to ensure that the designed strategy is realistic and fits the trends and requirements of the stakeholders in the Emirate economy. 38 The economic vision is based on two policies that are split into seven focus areas. The first policy is building a sustainable economy, which emphasizes the need to build on non-oil economic sectors and activities. The second policy is to ensure the balanced social and regional economic development that benefits all, which includes women and expatriates. The seven focus areas are: 1. Build an open, efficient, effective and globally integrated business environment 2. Adopt a disciplined fiscal policy that is responsive to economic cycles 3. Establish a resilient monetary and fiscal markets environment with manageable levels of inflation 4. Drive significant improvement in the efficiency of the labor market 5. Develop a sufficient and resilient infrastructure capable of supporting the anticipated economic growth 6. Develop a highly-skilled, highly productive work force 7. Enable financial markets to become key financiers of economic sectors and projects 38 To measure the successfulness of the ongoing plan, ADCED has framed a five point means of success to indicate the progress of its vision. These are divided into the economic inputs and outputs. The inputs are the human, productivity, physical and financial capitals, while the outputs are the economic development and stability. The following graphic summarizes these measures. 38
Economic Vision Policies

Building a sustainable economy and ensure the balanced social and regional economic development
Figure 16: Measures of Success

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Five point means of success to indicate the progress of the vision

Workforce Development - Total Workforce - Unemployment Rate - Job Creation - Dependency Ratio - GDP Output per Employee - Etc. Skills Development - Education Attainment HDI Etc.
Fiscal Stability - Fiscal Deficit - Fiscal Revenues Volatility - Discretionary Spending - Etc. Monetary Stability - Inflation Rate - Exchange Rate - Etc. Trade Relations - Trade Policy Reviews - Etc.
Aggregate Economic Growth - Sustainable Real Growth - Etc. Personal Wealth & Standards of Living - Real Wages - Average wage per employee - Etc. Etc.
Economic Stability
Economic Development
Human Capital
Productivity & Competitiveness
Physical & Financial Capital
National Asset Formation Domestic Investments Current Account - Net Exports - Non-Oil Net Exports Aggregate Savings - Public Savings - Private Saving Capital Stock Etc.
Total Factor Productivity Labour Productivity Capital Productivity Competitiveness Etc.
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3.2.2 Supporting Initiatives

The UPC has been working on supporting initiatives that have been developed to assist realizing the vision 2030 in greater detail. These initiatives have been designed to meet current needs, as well as being flexible for future changes. The key question that formed the initiatives is how to create sustainable communities that are safe, comfortable, attractive, as well as well integrated in terms of physical and visual surroundings 40. Furthermore, these initiatives should tackle the need for mixed use developments, which meet the economic, social and environmental needs of the future. Additionally in order to keep the developments of a high standard and up-to-date there is the need for facility management and maintenance. In parallel to Plan 2030, the manuals developed by the UPC are all based on the Complete Sustainable Communities (CSC) initiative, which are all based on the four pillars of Estidama. The CSC revolves around 8 principles summarized in the graphic below. 40
SOCIAL
ENVIRONMENTAL
ECONOMIC
CULTURAL
Figure 17: Complete Sustainable Communities

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Well Connected With good local transport services and communication linking people to jobs, schools, health and other services
Well Designed and Built A sense of place featuring quality built and natural environment and a diversity of open spaces
Environmentally Sensitive Providing places and spaces for people to live and work that are considerate of the environment
Thriving
Well Run
Active, Inclusive and Safe
Flexible
Well Served With public private, community and voluntary services that are appropriate to peoples needs and accessible to all
With a flourishing and diverse local economy
With effective and inclusive participation, representation and leadership
Cohesive with a strong local culture and other shared community activities
Built to accommodate peoples needs both now and in the future
The eight principles of CSCs to meet existing and future needs by using natural resources effectively
While some of the manuals, like the pearl rating system, the public realm design manual and the urban street design manual have been published and in use since 2010, some other initiatives are currently being produced. These manuals have been identified as being essential for all types of projects developed in Abu Dhabi, and organizing agencies have been assigned to each one of them to assist consultants to know which coordination is required with which agency. The following summary of existing and planned manuals shows the relationships between the manuals, their use, aims and benefits. From the graphic, one could see the links and relations of the manuals, which is presented in greater detail after the next sub-chapter that discusses some of the Vision 2030 supporting initiatives.
Figure 18: UPC Manuals Suite Summary

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The ten manuals are grouped and summarized
Estidama Pearl Rating System Mandatory sustainability requirements and guidelines for the construction of all Villas, Buildings and Communities Lowers power, water and material demand by enhancing efficiency
Safety and Security Planning Manual Provides a complete set of security and crime prevention guidelines for building and landscape design Improves safety at a lower cost and reduces costly retrofitting
Community Facilities and Services Ensures the adequate number and distribution of mosques, community facilities and programmed open spaces Optimizes investment in facilities while enhancing access
Street and Public Realm Design Creates Complete Streets to ensure land use efficiency through right-of-way and utility design guidelines Enhances efficiency by decreasing width of right-of-ways
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3.2.2.1 Neighborhood planning

The supporting initiative of neighborhood planning has been released in the form of a brochure in 2010 to assist the design of context, culture and climate related planning of neighborhoods in Abu Dhabi. The manual was supposed to be published in 2011. It is to comply with all other relevant manuals and regulations developed by the UPC. The manual is being designed to put forward the detailed standards of the elements of the neighborhood 41. There are 5 design principles that need to be present for any community, whether existing or planned and they are not based on a hierarchy. These comprise of being complete communities that have a comprehensive set of services on the district and neighborhood levels. These services include a mosque, a park and a retail center. The second principle is walkability. Here, the services need to be reached within a 5 minute walk (350m). Third is safe and legible circulation promoting a pedestrian safe circulation that is shaded and connects people from their homes to the district nodes. Then there is efficient use of land meaning reduced utility corridor to increase the pedestrian realm and plan for future requirements. Last is sustainable which is being achieved by conforming to Estidama requirements. 41 There is an interactive presentation on the UPCs website that shows an example and explains the elements that create an Emirati neighborhood. These elements are first the fareej which is a traditional neighborhood system that comprises of three elements: courtyard houses, sikkak and barahaat. The courtyard houses are best known from historical Arabian countries for their privacy, responsiveness to desert climates and good layouts making it possible to have narrower external sikkak. The sikkak are basically the narrow streets around the courtyard houses, which are mainly for pedestrian use. The narrow sikkak make it easier to be shaded enabling walking even in hot days. These sikkak connect each house to the barahaat. Barahaat are public spaces within the fareej that serve as meeting points for residents. These barahaat are designed to meet the needs of close by facilities, such as a playground next to a school. 41 Of course, for accessibility reasons there are vehicular streets provided around each fareej. Nevertheless, these are limited to the minimum to enhance the pedestrian friendliness of the neighborhood. By intertwining many neighborhoods with services a community is created. 41
Figure 19: Fareej (Emirati neighborhood)

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Five elements comprising an Emirati neighborhood image source (Vision 2030) 38
Sikkak
Mayadeen
Barahaat
Courtyard House
Street
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3.2.2.2 Public realm design manual

The 2011 international society of city and regional planners (ISOCARP) award winning Abu Dhabi Public Realm Design Manual (PRDM) in the category District planning/ urban design 42 developed by the UPC has a key influence on diverting the city and community into a more active and connected one, by shaping the parks, streetscape, waterfronts and public places of Abu Dhabi and AL Ain and later on the entire Emirate. The public realm is defined as any publicly owned parks, pathways, streets, right of ways, publicly accessible open spaces and any public and civic building and facility 43. As for the definition in the manual, it is stated that the public realm includes all exterior places, linkages and built form elements that are physically and/or visually accessible regardless of ownership. 44 Examples of elements that are included in the public realm are streets, bikeways, bridges, transportation hubs, parks, landmarks view corridors and public squares. The manual has been developed to be used as a tool to assist designers, consultants, developers and municipalities in the design of any of the four categories of public realm: parks, streetscapes, waterfronts and public places. The implements of the manual are considered policies and recommendations, which are used to measure and evaluate any public realm project through its typologies and guidelines. As all guides and manuals, the PRDMs objective is to assist the implementation of the Plan 2030 in the area of public realm, within the UPCs Complete Sustainable Developments initiative. The aim is to meet the needs of residents and visitors, developing first-rate developments and designs, for current and future generations. 44 The vision of Abu Dhabis public realm is to maintain and enhance its tradition culture however work for the multicultural population as well. It is to respond to the local climate in a safe and comfortable manner. The applicability of the manual expands to both existing and planned urban areas, which are defined in the Plan 2030. One of the key intentions is to improve the distribution of open spaces and parks. This is planned by creating more parks, landmarks, waterfronts, plazas and squares. Another intent is to make walking in the city comfortable to encourage pedestrian activity. This is in line with Estidama, which is a crucial element in the PRDM. Estidama requirements are also seen in the PRDM in its aim to reduce irrigation needs. 44 The manual is divided into three parts. The first part explains the process, principles, policies and level of service. The second part focuses on the overall public realm network for each Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, and goes into detail on the typologies and guidelines, as well as the planning process for each of the four categories of the public realm mentioned before. The third and last part of the manual has a list of recommended and indigenous plants, as well as their applicability and irrigation needs. The following highlights the most important found concepts and aspects of each section:
Table 02: Public Survey Response
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Key needs identified from surveys and organized according to the four typologies of the Public Realm.
Key Qualities for Ideal Parks
Key Qualities for Ideal Streetscapes
Key Qualities for Ideal Waterfronts
Key Qualities for Ideal Public Places
Security Family Seating Areas Hygienic Restrooms Game Areas for Children Places to Buy Soft Drinks Comfortable Seating Shaded Areas Diverse Play Equipment
Safety and Security for Families Property Separation Between People and Vehicles Adequate Seating High-quality Paving Materials Shopping and Dining Cycling Opportunities
Proper Shading and Seating Along Pathways Increased Access for Pedestrians and Cyclists Naturalized Environment Food, Drink and Restrooms
Safety and Security Proper Separation to Ensure Family Privacy Variety of Shopping Shaded Areas Food, Drink and Restrooms
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Policies for the Public Realm

Each Principle is detailed into general policies, park policy, streetscape policy, waterfront policy and public place policy
Guideline planning process A key to creating such a document and make it work was using both bottom up and top down approaches. This has been done by having stakeholder meetings, including all government departments that are associated with the public realm such as the municipalities, transport authority and culture and heritage authority, as well as special consultants. Public surveys have been conducted around the emirate with a high number of participants reaching approximately 11,000 households. The key outcomes of the survey was 63% reported missing community facility or facilities from their local area, as well as 20% are missing parks in their neighborhood, while only 30% of total are visiting parks. The table on the left shows the key public survey responses and needs for the four categories, parks, streetscape, waterfronts and public spaces. 44 Principles and policies There are 9 principles identified in the PRDM that support regulatory process to achieve the goals of the vision 2030 in the public realm. These principles formulate the policies, which are serving as a more defined goal to the overarching principles. Each policy is clarified as a general policy, and then taken into detail of each of the four categories of the public realm. The principles as stated in the manual are: Livability - The public realm is a safe and comfortable space, where diverse activities can be experienced by all, contributing to peoples physical and mental wellness, and providing a high- quality of life. Identity - The public realm will be a unique expression of Arab culture, heritage, values and traditions expressed throughout Abu Dhabi, the UAE Capital. Access - The public realm ensures full access to Parks, Streetscapes, Waterfronts and Public Places. Connectivity - The public realm is interconnected and enhances the mobility of people by providing continuous land and water access for pedestrians, cyclists and other modes of transport. Place-making & Design Excellence- The public realm is made up of high-quality, human-scaled and visually interesting places. The public realm includes multi-functional, flexible and climate responsive design solutions using high-quality, sustainably sourced materials. Environmental Stewardship - The public realm is responsibly designed to achieve water and energy efficiency, and will respect important natural assets and native flora and fauna. Inclusivity - The public realm will provide a safe and comfortable array of diverse places and activities for all people to enjoy. Activation - The public realm will immediately be improved by ensuring activities and functions are appropriately integrated and programmed while also defining a clear operations and maintenance program that ensures continued contribution to the identity of Abu Dhabi. Shared Ownership & Implementation - The public realm will be developed through a cooperative effort of government and/or private entities to ensure a high-quality resource that all stakeholders will contribute to and enjoy. 44
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Level of service Level of service describes the range and quantity of a particular type of facility to meet the needs of the population. In the context of the public realm it is limited to its four categories, while only parks and waterfronts are quantified. The level of service in the public realm of Abu Dhabi has been categorized into 5 levels of hierarchy, emirate, municipality, city, district and neighborhood 44. The definition of each of the 5 levels is explained in the graphic below.
Emirate Municipality City District Neighborhood Elements which serve the entire Emirate Significant attractions with a wide variety of uses and user groups serving more 20,000 people Destination areas located adjacent and accessible to population centres serving less than 20,000 people Accommodates large group activities and organized sports serving multiple neighborhoods of less than 10,000 people Highly integrated public realm elements within walking and cycling distance serving less than 1,000 people
Table 03: Public Realm Hierarchy

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Level of Service of the Public Realm are categorized according to scale
Public Realm Network The quantification of parks and waterfronts aims to identify and preserve the appropriate percentage of area, while being situated within proximity of every inhabitant. The public realm needs to be accessible as well as fairly distributed to guarantee meeting the demands of the whole population. The parks and open spaces also need to offer a wide variety of activities, with a possibility to grow. Furthermore, there is a need to identify links between parks and open spaces, combining their purposes with other development plans. In the PRDM the requirements of parks and open spaces of current and forecasted 2030 population has been identified with potential locations. All of these concepts are found in the public realm network plans. 44 Typologies and Guidelines The guidelines of the parks, streetscapes, waterfronts and public spaces are designed to follow and implement the policies mentioned before. They are set as a minimum standard and are categorized in three statement types: shall, should and may, which represent mandatory, recommended and optional simultaneously. There are many typologies identified for each of the four categories of the public realm which are listed below with the specific guidelines for each typology. 44
Table 04: Typologies and Guidelines

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Each typologie has been identified according to the various forms used, and each form follows the design guidelines.
PARKS
STREETSCAPES
WATERFRONTS
PUBLIC PLACES
Art Park Ceremonial Park Community Gardens Sports Park Conservation Park Desert Park Family Park Heritage Park Linear Park Oasis Urban Park Meyadeen Baraha
Scenic Byway Ceremonial Route Themed Corridor Transit Corridor Gateway Pedestrian Corridor Pedestrian Crossing Parking Area Mushtarak Sikka
Preservation Conservation Recreation Urban
Cultural Destination Heritage Feature Mosque Landmark Destination Plaza Souk
DESIGN GUIDELINE LANGUAGE

External Linkages Access Internal Circulation Parking Universal Access Buildings Special Features Shading Softscape Hardscape Furniture Water Features Public Art Lighting Fences/Walls/Screens Signage/Wayfinding Services/Infrastructure Safety/Security
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PRDM Planning Process

44
1 - Define Project 2 - Review Policies 3 - Identify Hierarchy 4 - Determine Level of Service 5 - Identify Typology 6 - Apply Universal Design Guidelines 7 - Apply Typology Design Guidelines 8 - Complete UPC Approvals Process
Plant list and irrigation guide The plant list serves as a guideline for irrigation needs and types identification, which are suitable for Abu Dhabi. The types identified comprise of trees, palms, shrubs, ground cover, succulents and perennials and climbers. The matrix provided classifies the plant types according to their name, occurrence and their tolerance levels to the climate. Each type is also characterized according to their irrigation needs, from low to high with two steps in-between. There are also classifications for the suitability and applicability for each plant for each typology of each of the four public realm categories. Additionally, an irrigation guide is provided to help conserve water. This has been measured according to stress levels studies for each type according to their irrigation needs, for every month in a year, as well as depending on the plant age. 44 By utilizing this information combined with the use of efficient and maintained irrigation systems Abu Dhabi would see a decline in the water demand.
3.2.2.3 Development review

In order to achieve the goals defined in the Plan 2030 there is not only a need for the assisting manuals, but also a necessity for having a clearly defined and easy to use application and submittal process. The development review has been developed by the UPC to clarify the process, which has been designed after getting stakeholders feedback. The development review process clarifies the divisions between agencies so that applicants know which part of each project will be reviewed by the responsible organization. It also clearly identifies the deliveries for each project stage. The related initiatives include the public realm, transportation, utilities, environment and safety & security. Recently, this process has been made available online so that all project involved parties could have a transparent overview of the project status. This online based system helps the review process, as well as easing the method of communication. 45 According to the UPC the review process is designed to: Support the developer by giving them access to information and instructions to enhance the overall integration with the surrounding area It assists the UPC itself with the necessary data to make informed decisions on development applications Ensure a transparent, reliable system for all development reviews 45 The review department within UPC consists of highly skilled and innovative planners, architects and urban designers. The team work, together with the developers and their consultants, ensures innovative proposals consistent with the Plan 2030. This involvement of UPC starts from managing and reviewing the general idea through to the specific design proposals. For this management to be successful, clear communication with developers, their consultants and external agencies is necessary. For the review and approval process the UPC also researches, designs and publishes large-scale planning documents, for example the Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 Urban Structure Framework Plan. These documents provide a framework and guidelines for the developers. Similar plans are also in the pipeline for Al Ain and Al Gharbia. 45 Estidama plays a big role when it comes to the development review, as it ensures having an integrated design process (IDP) and also addressing the six categories of the pearl rating system (explained later), therefore, going through the development review is a mandatory requirement of the pearl rating system 46. The IDP process is reviewed in a manner that promotes and ensures strategic and solution oriented thinking, collaboration and continuity during the design phase and specifying the sustainability goals of the project.
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This simplified process has identified three different development sizes, A, B and C. According to each project a path has been drawn identifying the expectations for each stage. All development sizes abide by a four step process. The first step is having an information meeting with an assigned UPC staff member right after the plot has been secured. In this meeting the UPC staff member explains the relevant policies, guidelines and deliverables, as well as the IDP and the applicable pearl rating system. Step two is the preliminary development option. In this step the UPC and other agencies have given the applicant relevant information to start the preliminary development of the site, such as the available infrastructure, transportation availability etc. the applicant has then to identify the Estidama strategy, which also has to comply with Plan 2030 guidelines. Step three is the concept plan. Here a concept plan, including the land use, densities, building form, site layout, services and phasing is reviewed. Sustainability concepts of water, energy and waste are also reviewed. The fourth and last step is the detailed plan. This phase is different for the large-scale developments. For small and mid-sized developments the UPC reviews the same outline in step three, but with greater detail going into the character, public realm and utilities. As for the large-scale developments this step serves as a transition into the sub-projects by providing plot sizes and dimensions as well as usage. The following two graphics show the streamline processes for each development type, as well as the Estidama requirements for each of the four steps. 45, 46
Figure 20: IDP process during Development Review

45
Flowchart illustrating the detailed steps of the development review process.
Step 1: The Information Meeting
UPC Staff explain relevant Estidama policies to the landowner representative, outline the Integrated Development Process, and clarify which Pearl Rating System is applicable to the development. UPC assigns Pearl Assessor.
UPC staff describes Estidama Policy, IDP, PRS
UPC assigns Pearl Assessor
Step 2: The Preliminary Development Options
The team is formed. Collaboratively, team members have planned for, and are implementing, the IDP. An Estidama Framework is set, with clear vision, objectives, indicators and targets. The team develops an understanding of the site and projects natural, urban and regulatory contexts and identified opportunities and constraints. Initial Development Options are formulated as well as initial approaches to various urban and technical strategies. Initial assessment of Development Options is carried out with UPC DR and Estidama staff prior to submission of Concept Plan (Step 3).
Set Estidama Framework
Form IDP team and organise Process & Workshops

Assess Urban Systems Comply w/ Regulatory Framework
Assess Natural Systems
Identify Opportunities & Constraints Develop Preliminary Dev. Options Develop Initial Approach to: Natural Systems, Livable Community/Building, Precious Water , Resourceful Energy, Stewarding Materials
Step 3: The Concept Plan (for Types A & B only)
Team develops a Concept Plan and associated Concept Strategies. Team continues to implement IDP. A workshop with UPC DR and Estidama staff is held to review Concept. Scheme performance is assessed against initial indicators and targets.
Develop Concept Plan Develop Concept Strategies with options for: Natural Systems, Livable Community/Building, Precious Water, Resourceful Energy, Stewarding Materials
Step 4: The Detailed Plan
Team develops a Detailed Plan and associated Detailed Strategies. Team continues to implement IDP. Scheme performance is assessed against initial indicators and targets. A plan was developed for the next stages of design, construction, commissioning and operation.
Develop Detailed Plan Develop Concept Strategies for: Natural Systems, Livable Community/Building, Precious Water, Resourceful Energy, Stewarding Materials
Assess Performance
IDP Implementation Strategy
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3.2.2.4 Urban Street Design Manual

The urban street design manual (USDM) has been developed by the UPC, the department of transport (DoT), the municipalities and Abu Dhabi Police to deliver the requirements of the population to improve walkability, connectivity, safety and comfort, as well as environmental needs and health improvement 47. This could be seen on account of current motor vehicular based transport only, which hinders pedestrians from walking safely. The design principles are based on best practice examples from various European, United States and Asian countries. As there are many involved government agencies in the urban streets, the following cross-section shows the scope of responsiblity of the USDM. 47
Figure 21: Elements of Complete Streets

47
The elements shown in the figure are the complete street design elements, while the boundaries represent the scope of work of the USDM.
As with all other initiatives, the USDM is linked directly to the Plan 2030 vision, and applies to the three areas of the Emirate: Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Gharbia. The USDM helps the transition into a multi-modal society. 47 The manual has been written to assist urban planners, designers, traffic engineers, civil engineers and landscape architects to collaboratively deliver projects up to the requirements in the USDM and therefore Plan 2030. The USDM is divided into three parts. The first part, Context and Process, reviews the goals and design guidelines needed to be achieved, as well as showing the design and review process to be used.
Abu Dhabi Urban Street Design Manual
Landscape & Shade
Public Transit
Traffic Capacity
Landscape
Traffic Control
Street Lighting
Signs
Development Code
Pedestrian Realm
Cycle
Road Safety
Utilities
Traffic Calming
Parking
Development Code
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There are eight goals defined in the USDM, which are illustrated in the graphic below and are as following 47: Safety making the streets safe for all users at all times, with an emphasis on pedestrians especially children, elders and handicapped, by aiming at improving network design and public awareness. Land Use Context respond to the function of the buildings looking over the street to arrange for its needs, by designing according to the pedestrian realm with the use of streetscape, landscape, signage and art. Efficiency design streets for efficient mobility for all types of users by the expansion of public transport means, which are well connected, as well as providing pedestrians and vehicles with shorter distances between crossings. Sustainability aid achieving Estidama principles by promoting walking and cycling, leading to a reduction in carbon emissions, in addition to savings in water requirements by reducing irrigation needs, along with shaded walkways reducing the ambient temperatures and cumulatively increase comfort. Public Health improved through higher rates of walking and cycling decreasing obesity and heart problems, as well as lower vehicle emissions improving air quality. Public Enjoyment design for social interaction such as sidewalk coffee bars endorsing pleasant experiences. Economic Development & Tourism draw investors into development to increase property value. Culture & Image preserving and expressing local culture and traditions, while being welcoming to other cultures. The goals are driven from the design principles, and they are: The best transport plan is a good land use plan. Streets are community places. Good street design starts with pedestrians. Well-designed street networks help create sustainable cities. Street design reflects the goals of the 2030 Plans for Abu Dhabi Emirate. Street design supports Estidama principles. 47
Figure 22: USDM Goals
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By following the design principles the USDM goals shown could be achieved.
Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and public transportation users of all ages and abilities are able to safely move along and across a complete street
Help to ease congestion by reducing vehicular reliance Promote Health Living (increased physical activity, lower percentage of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc)
Improve safety, especially for children, older adults and people with disabilities
Encourage walking, cycling and public transport use
Economic benefits (create livable communities and boost economic revitalization)
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The design and review process provides guidance on how to implement the goals and principles by following a 5 stage procedure, which is not interchangeable in their order. First is the information gathering stage, which shows how to get the information from each related initiative such as from Estidama, utility requirements, urban design guidelines and the transport authority. The second stage is developing the design concept by determining or assigning land uses and transport plans, then conducting a transportation impact study, to establish sections and plans. The third stage is to evaluate the design. This is being done by undertaking the survey form provided in the manual. Fourth stage is reviewing the design for approval by the relevant agencies, which ends with the final stage of developing a detailed design drawn by the engineers, designers and landscape architects. 47 The second part of the manual, Design of complete streets, classifies the street typologies as well as organizes the users according to their priority, followed by a higher level of detail for each of the street, junction and streetscape design. The various details are presented in the form of sections and plans with the endorsed dimensions and details. The last section of part two deals with retrofitting existing streets and junctions. This is planned to be achieved through a three steps process which is shown below. 47 The last part of the manual has the supporting material, such as a sample project, performance measures, standard details and various other useful tools. One of the resourceful tools is the online street design tool. This new feature enables designers to explore numerous options for new or retrofit for all combinations of street types combined by the projects land use and building heights. The tool is interactively displayed in the form of sections and plans with plenty of editing possibilities. Even though the tool does not guarantee the design approval by any agency, still, it is possible to check if the design meets the USDMs standards and display any conflicts. 48
Table 05: ThreeStep Approach to Retrofitting Existing Streets

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The three steps are illustrated to show how to approach an existing street condition to do the required retrofitting.
Step 1
De-clutter (No change to curb or utility relocation) This step involves removing unnecessary or obsolete signs, poles and other sidewalk furniture which no longer serves a purpose. Evaluate the need for all street furnishings based on use patterns at all times of the day and only replace those that provide a necessary function. Thoroughly survey the street for the following elements that may be removed: Permanent and temporary traffic signs and barriers that obstruct pedestrian movement. Damaged litter receptacles, signs and benches. Bollards or other unnecessary or obsolete vertical projections within the pedestrian realm. Consider the use of multi-function pole systems which accommodate signs, lights and elevated trash receptacles. Relocate only high-quality furniture and/ or add new furniture within the designated Furnishings zone. Conflicts with, or relocation of, existing utilities should be avoided.
Step 2
Pedestrian Realm Improvements (Minor changes to curb and limited utility relocation) This step creates an improved pedestrian realm that follows the USDM principles of streetscape design, with minor changes to the curb. Refer to the UCDM and coordinate with relevant utility agencies when minor utility relocations are involved. Pedestrian realm improvements include: Well-defined Edge, Furnishings, Through and Frontage zones. Cycle tracks, if applicable. Pedestrian crossings, with accessible curb ramps or raised crosswalks: Can be added to existing streets without reconstruction. Need to take stormwater drainage into account. Add bollards at raised crosswalks (optional). Pedestrian-scaled paving indicating sidewalk zones. Trees, shade structures and awnings to provide shade in primary pedestrian areas. Coordinated palette of street furniture and streetscape elements. Limited modification of frontage lanes, parking areas and taxi / bus lay-bys.
Step 3
Recreating the Street (Major changes to curb and utility relocation) This step involves the complete reconstruction of the street based on the Manuals principles. Refer to the UCDM and coordinate with relevant utility agencies when major utility relocations are required. It incorporates all elements of the previous steps with additional efforts to create a complete street. Recreating the Street may be triggered by a major street reconstruction, such as Salam Street in Abu Dhabi, utility relocation or the introduction of significant transport infrastructure such as the proposed Metro or tram lines. The design should consider adjacent land uses and associated travel demand. The dimensions of the traveled way and pedestrian realm should be determined accordingly. This step may include some or all of the following: Road Diet Traffic Calming Signalized Mid-block Pedestrian Crossings Access Management Landscape works and new street amenities should be considered.
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3.3 The Pearl Rating System

The main initiative used hereafter in the thesis is the pearl rating system (PRS). The PRS is one of the first initiatives developed by the UPC to assess how structures and communities impact the environment, consume resources and affect people 4. The sustainable design, construction and operational framework plan is reflecting the vision of Abu Dhabi 2030 to improve the lives of all its citizens, as well as preserving and enhancing the environment. The streamline of the PRS is seen in all other Manuals and initiatives, aiming to achieve better design, construction and operational efficiencies, and vice versa. It strives to increase quality to achieve healthier working and living environments with lower operation and maintenance costs, which accomplish higher returns on investments and improve marketability 35. So far, the pearl rating system has been designed and published for communities, villas and buildings. The building certification covers offices, retail, schools, residential and mixed use buildings 20. Even though there is no specific special uses and healthcare rating system, still, some of these types of facilities have pursued and achieved the rating system. The community rating system is made for developments of equal or greater than 1,000 inhabitants. For any development for greater than 20,000 inhabitants it is required to split the project into sub-projects for them to be able to follow the certification. Specifically for the community ratings, there is a need to ensure compliance with the relevant 2030 master plan, as well as development codes, urban street and public realm design manual 34. In this thesis the villa rating system is not accentuated. Prior to the launch of the PRS, developers would look at other internationally recognized rating systems, such as LEED and BREEAM Gulf. The UPC saw the need to develop its own rating system to be tailored to its hot and arid environment and very low water availability. This need was also due to the fact that the UPC wanted to preserve the unique Emirati culture. Another reason at the time of its launch was imposing the integrated development process (explained later in this section), which encouraged developers to study the whole lifecycle of the projects. A product database has been developed by the UPC and Estidama which complies with the rating system or promotes sustainable practices. This has been done to help architects, developers, contractors and those responsible for product specifications to choose the most suitable materials to be used. This list includes water fixtures and fittings, insulation products, windows and glazing, solar hot water systems and air conditioning equipment. Estidama and the UPC do not certify products though; they have only been analyzed and found compliant based on their technical performance 35. PRS categories The pearl rating system is structured into seven categories all driven from the four Estidama pillars, environmental, economic, social and cultural. The categories are Integrated Development Process, Natural Systems, Livable Communities, Precious water, Resourceful energy, Stewarding materials and Innovating practice. 34 The integrated development process is a key element in the PRS, which endorses true cross-disciplinary teamwork to provide ecological and quality management during the course of the lifespan of any project. Using an integrated process can lead to cost reduction by many means, including avoidance of last minute changes to comply with PRS requirements. It also encourages defining the sustainability targets, monitor them and making sure they are achieved. Natural systems promote natural resources management, such as ecosystems and natural reserves, by following the three steps of protection, enhancement and restoration consecutively. Beyond that, it gives credit to habitat creation and creating sustainable food. The livable com-
Scope of the PRS
20
The PRS has been developed for Buildings, Communities and Vills, a mandatory assessment tool in Abu Dhabi.
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munities section addresses the urban components that influence the quality of the urban built form, through analyzing and assessing and improving the outdoor comfort, connectivity, diversity, walkability and making communities safe and secure. The highly recognized section, precious water is aimed at reducing water demands for indoor and outdoor uses. The hierarchy of goals is listed as reducing demand, efficient distribution and using alternative sources. This is being promoted through creating strategies such as monitoring and detecting leakage systems, minimizing water features, reducing landscaping and promoting the use of indigenous plants and efficient water features within buildings. As for the resourceful energy section, it targets the hierarchical goals of reducing the demand followed by energy efficiency through passive processes and then promoting the use of onsite and offsite renewable energy sources. Efficiency of the infrastructure, such as lighting, district cooling and smart grids, is driven at. Passive measures are not limited to the buildings, but extend to the community scale as well, for instance by reducing the urban heat-island effect and analyzing wind and shade and use the analysis to layout the city grid for best orientation. Stewarding materials addresses the need to recognize and act on the direct and indirect effects of the mining, production, transportation, usage and disposal of materials used in the life cycle of construction. The strategy placed is avoiding the use, then reducing it and finally recycling. Another aspect of this section is waste management, which includes construction and operational waste. The last section of innovative practice gives extra credit for addressing any or all pillars of Estidama through innovative solutions, with a focus on culture. 20 A certified building or community has mandatory and optional credits. The rating levels are ranging from one to five pearls. To attain a one pearl rating all mandatory credits need to be achieved. For the two to five pearl rating levels the list below shows how many credits are needed 20, 34.
Table 06: Pearl Building and Community Rating Levels

20, 34
Requirement PBRS
All mandatory credits All mandatory credits + 60 credit points All mandatory credits + 85 credit points All mandatory credits + 115 credit points All mandatory credits + 140 credit points
Requirement PCRS
All mandatory credits All mandatory credits + 55 credit points All mandatory credits + 75 credit points All mandatory credits + 100 credit points All mandatory credits + 125 credit points
Pearl Rating Achieved

1 Pearl 2 Pearl 3 Pearl 4 Pearl 5 Pearl
The list shows how many points are required for each rating level for Communities and Buildings.
Section weighting Credits available for each section are based on custom local studies, which are based on current availability of resources. A key result is an emphasis on water and energy credit weighting compared to other certification systems. The list below shows the exact figures for each building and community pearl rating system 20, 34.
Table 07: Pearl Building and Community Section Credits

20, 34
Credit Section
IDP Integrated Development Process NS Natural Systems LB/C - Livable Buildings/Communities PW Precious Water
Maximum Points PBRS

13 12 37 43 44 28 3
Maximum Points PCRS

10 14 38 37 42 18 3
The list shows how many points are available in each section for Communities and Buildings.
RE Resourceful Energy SM Stewarding Materials IP Innovating Practice
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The pearl rating stages As mentioned before, there are three rating stages for the pearl rating, design, construction and operation. While the first two are already defined and worked with, the third one is still not available. The pearl design rating is given for and after the design is completed. It is there to measure and reward only the design itself. This rating stage is also only available until the construction is completed, when the pearl construction rating is awarded for the project. This second rating has been developed to ensure that all design pledged credits are achieved. As for the last stage, the pearl operational rating is there to indicate and assess the actual performance of the project after two years of operation with a minimum of 80% of occupancy 34. The graphic below shows the links between the stages and ratings of Estidama.
Figure 23: Links between the PRSs

20
The third rating stage is planned to exist soon, however it has not been published yet.
Pearl Community Rating System Rating Stages Design Rating
Pearl Community Rating System
Design Rating
Design Rating
Construction Rating
Construction Rating
Construction Rating
Operational Rating
To ease the process for consultants as well as for the government representatives there are two people, one from each party, assigned to the project. From the Estidama team he or she is called the pearl assessor. As for the consultants side he or she is a pearl qualified professional (PQP). To attain a PQP role in any project the individual needs to pass an exam of technical and administrative knowledge of the pearl rating system, to be able to facilitate the process and provide the necessary quality assurance of the submission, as well as for communication purposes between Estidama and the designing team.
Key Team Members UPC Estidama Team Pearl Assessor
Figure 24: Key Team Members
20
The graphic shows how the interaction between the two teams is done via the presenters.
Pearl Qualified Professional
Design and Development Team
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Figure 25: Understanding the Credits

20
The figure explains how to follow the rating system and what each section provides.
The pearl rating process The streamline process of getting the design and construction rating consists of eleven steps, divided into three preparation, four design and four construction rating stages. First the project is registered to get an identification number and then assigned a PQP and conduct the workshop explained previously in the development review. Then the design rating starts with regular reviewing and updating of the credits. After the final design is done the assessor reviews the credit submissions for any further clarification or changes before the design rating is awarded. The construction rating follows the same steps of the design rating, but with the construction rating requirements and documentation. 20,34 A credit template, as in the rating document provided by Estidama is shown below to give an example. Credits marked with an R after the category reference are mandatory, while the ones with a number are optional. 20
Credit number and title
SM-8: Hazardous Waste Management

Primary purpose of the credit
Intent Credit Requirements
To ensure the safe handling of hazardous waste in order to minimize pollution to the ground, water and air.
GENERAL
Demonstrate the provision of at least one location point for the safe collection of potentially hazardous consumer waste such as paints, batteries and oil.
Description of what must be achieved to meet the intent of the credit
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT/CLARIFICATIONS
None
Requirement Achievement
CREDIT POINT S
1 (maximum)
REQUIREMENTS
Design Rating Allocate a location on the development for the safe collection of potentially hazardous consumer waste. Construction Rating Demonstrate adequate space on the development for the safe collection of potentially hazardous consumer waste.
Description of how the credit points will be awarded
1
1 (maximum)
Description of the submission requirements to achieve the Design and Construction Ratings
Credit Submission: Design Rating
Narrative describing how the project int ends to meet the Credit Requirement s, including details on the size and location of the storage area and the estimated amount of hazardous waste to be generated; and Drawings clearly indicating the proposed location and size of hazardous waste collection area(s).
Clarification of any calculations or methodology Any referenced standards that should be consulted
Credit Submission: Construction Rating
Updated narrative describing how the pr oject meets the Credit Requirements, including details on the size and location of the storage area and the amount of hazardous waste to be generated; and As Built drawings clearly indicating t he location and size of hazardous waste collection area(s). None
Calculations and Methodology References
Center of Waste Management, Abu Dhabi: www.cwm.ae
Wind Tower at Masdar Institute , Abu Dhabi, UAE
Chapter 04: APPLICATION: MASDAR CITY

4.1 4.2 4.3 4.3.1 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.3.4 4.4 4.4.1 4.4.2 4.4.3 4.4.4 4.5 Introduction Overall Masterplan Case Study 1: Masdar Institute Energy Water Materials Miscellaneous Case Study 2: Siemens Headquarters Energy Water Materials Miscellaneous Assessment and SWOT Analysis
Presentation of a practical implementation of the preceding chapter, where the PRS is applied on two case studies in Masdar City, one on the community and another on a building scale. Major affecting credits are showcased, how they were targeted and how they got achieved, to better understand the implementation measures and help form a better analysis in the succeeding chapter. The chapter ends with an evaluation of the case studies in the form of a SWOT analysis.
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Chapter 4 - Application
4 Application: Masdar City
4.1 Introduction
Masdar is an enterprise established in 2006, which operates through its five integrated units; the Masdar institute, capital, power, carbon and City. The word Masdar means the source in Arabic, referring to the vision of Masdar which is To make Abu Dhabi the preeminent source of renewable energy knowledge, development, implementation and the worlds benchmark for sustainable development 49 The planned and implemented measures to achieve this mission are through the Masdar Institute as the source of education and innovation and human capital of all other units, whereas Masdar Capital is ensuring investments in renewable energies and clean technology corporations, such as wind and solar energy, as well as resources including water and waste management. Masdar Power uses the know-how developed from the research, and focuses on the power generation and operation, such as concentrated solar power (CSP), geothermal, photovoltaic and wind energy. Masdar Carbon deals with projects that aim to reduce its carbon emissions through waste handling, energy efficiency and carbon capture and storage (CCS). As for the last part of the organization, Masdar City is the clean technology cluster and sustainable urban planning and development branch. 49 The city is planned to occupy a six square kilometer and is located 17 kilometers from downtown Abu Dhabi. When completed an estimate of 40,000 people will reside the city. Along with that, numerous research companies and businesses will be located in Masdar City, such as general electric (GE), Siemens, BASF and the international renewable energy agency (IRENA). The allocated budget of the overall Masterplan is 15 to 18 billion US dollars, financed by the Abu Dhabi government. 49
Figure 26: Masdar Organizational 49 Structure

The five integrated units of Masdar that support the Vision 2030.
INSTITUTE
CAPITAL
POWER
CARBON
CITY
Innovation Over 30 research projects Human capacity development Nearly 180 students from 25 countries
Investment Clean energy Energy and material efficiency Environmental resources Environmental services
Energy generation 100 MW CSP plant Shams 1 17MW Solar tower Gemasolar 1GW London Array wind farm Masdar PV producing advanced thin film solar modules Wind farm Sir Bani Yas
Carbon abatement CDM Projects Energy efficiency under EON Masdar Integrated Carbon (EMIC) Carbon storage Abu Dhabi CCS network
Clean technology cluster Sustainable urban planning and development
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Masdar and Vision 2030

Masdar is directly supporting the UPCs Vision 2030, both the economic and urban planning visions, by branching out of the oil based investments and focusing on education, renewable energy and technology 50
Masdar is directly supporting the UPCs Vision 2030, both the economic and urban planning visions, by branching out of the oil based investments and focusing on education, renewable energy and technology 50. In addition to that, it sets a good example for Estidama driven developments, even though Masdar started before the commencement of the UPC. It does that by many means, such as developing according to best practices containing history and tradition tapping, their development of clean energy transportation, energy efficient design, improving the supply chain and practice and many more. Masdar Citys professionals are aiding as an additional resource to the UPC, Department of Transportation, Waste Management and the department of municipal affairs on a range of added urban planning issues, including giving insights and information from the practical point of view of what does or does not work. Masdar City is also providing major education outreach resources to the public and in local schools 51. The Masterplan and the case studies of a community and building are showed in the following sections.
4.2 Overall Masterplan

The aim set to be achieved by Masdar for the Masterplan is to be a carbon neutral development in operation, as well as diverting all the waste generated in the city from landfills. Another aim is providing the residents of Masdar city with the highest quality of life without compromising on the environmental footprint goals. 52 As stated before, the Masterplan is to be of mixed use nature, combining residential, hotels, leisure, offices, research and light industry with the supporting facilities to achieve complete sustainable communities (CSC) as explained in chapter 3. The Foster+Partners design of the Masterplan is inspired by the traditional Arab city 53. It incorporates traditional concepts that are known for centuries to have worked best for the regions climate. The Masterplan is designed to have a relatively very high density (compared to current practices in this region), which is 135 people per hectare 54. The integration of all uses within proximity makes it also possible to have the city function with no or minimum vehicular streets, making it a pedestrian friendly city 55. As an alternative, there are some routes for electric based public transportation, whether its regular cars or Masdars state-of-the-art personal rapid transit (PRT) system. For the time being planned landscape of indigenous or low irrigation plans will aid in reducing the ambient temperatures. This is grouped with the water features, such as mirror pools and evaporative cooling towers 52. On top of that, Masdar City is running on 100% renewable energy, considering the annual average use over annual on-site production. To be able to achieve these high standards Masdar introduced renewable energy pilot projects for testing, and embraced the one planet living concepts as well as initiating the future build, a platform of rated and tested products and materials.
Figure 27: Artist Impression of Masdar City

Courtesy of Foster + Partners 53
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Figure 28: Green 58 Criteria

energy reduction water reduction waste reduction recycled packaging VOC content
The Future Build 15 sustainability assessment criteria
recycled content
reusable
biobased content
maintenance /cleaning
indicative price
durability
availability
renewable energy
code of conduct
TBF ranking
The Future build The future build is an initiative by Masdar, the first of its kind in the region, which assists architects, engineers, specification developers and contractors to identify materials and products that provide environmental benefits assessed by third parties 56. Besides that, it is a platform for news, discussions and information about the latest green building products. The future build offers training services for companies to reduce their environmental footprint, whether it is in the product, supply chain or overall businesses 57. In conjunction with that they provide life cycle assessment (LCA) and process chain analysis provided by sustainability experts 58. This enables manufacturers to assess the complete life cycle of their products, displaying the environmental impact in a transparent way, which leads to possibilities of enhancing their processes. The LCA includes carbon footprint, water footprint, ecological efficiency and energy management and more. Another benefit of the future build platform is advertisement. On their website, there is the possibility to have products and services displayed, provided with relative information on how green the products are and connected on the platform to certification systems and sustainability criteria. Each product, according to how thorough its analysis was made, will display its information, green attributes and relevance or possibilities to achieve certain certification credits such as for Estidama or LEED. The future build helps with the spreading of awareness and making the transition to sustainable buildings easier. One planet living One planet living (OPL) is a global initiative that has been endorsed by Masdar City development. It is based on ten principles of sustainable development, developed by BioRegional and WWF International 59. The aim of OPL is to help the transition or movement from the current developments to sustainable developments based on the ten principles. These principles are: zero carbon, zero waste, sustainable transport, local and sustainable materials, local and sustainable food, sustainable water, natural habitat and wildlife, culture and heritage, equity and fair-trade and health and happiness. To develop this vision a holistic approach of closed loops has been shaped. This vision is recognized by an action plan covering the indicators and targets, sustainability integration and the footprint analysis and infrastructure design by Masdar City. The developers have used OPL to benchmark their Masterplan and to keep the development to a certain standard. As of the initial design of the Masterplan, Masdar had exceeded the OPL standards, which are summarized in the table in the annex 60.
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4.3 Case Study #1: Masdar Institute

The Masdar institute for science and technology (MIST) Phase 1A is the first completed project within the city. It has a GFA of 63,174 m2, completed in November 2010 with an estimated budget of 500m US dollars 61. This development (neighborhood) has been chosen to be showcased as it represents a major leap from the business as usual design and construction methodologies prior to the mandate of Estidama and the pearl rating system. To clarify again, the MIST has not been analyzed or rated by Estidamas Pearl Community Rating System, and henceforth the comparison is based on the authors benchmarking of the outcome of the facilities with the PRS targets. This has been driven by comparing both, the PRS and the MIST outcome to Abu Dhabis baseline. According to the outcome, MIST if rated should be a 3-4 pearl community. The community has six buildings: 3 residential buildings with 102 apartments, 2 laboratories and classroom buildings (including the administration) and one knowledge center (auditorium and library). This is the first part of 3 phases which was completed in 2010, hosting around 150 students per academic year. The second part of phase one is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2013. The following part shows some of the pearl community rating criteria and how they were achieved.
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 1A (Completed)
Phase 1B (under constr.)
Figure 29: Proposed 55 Masterplan

Proposed Masterplan of Masdar Institute for Science and Technology North
Figure 30: MI Phase 1A 61 Floor Plan

1 Reception 2 Laboratory 3 Housing 4 Library 5 Wind Tower
0 10m
3 3 2 4 2 1
2 2 3
3 5 3
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4.3.1 Energy
LC-9: Improved Outdoor Thermal Comfort; and RE-1: Community Strategies for Passive Cooling; and RE-2 Urban Heat Reduction The intent of these credits is to improve the outdoor micro-climate through early community design and land use decisions, and reduce the urban heat island effect in the public realm and especially in pedestrian walkways 34. This has been achieved through orienting the whole community northeast-southwest, which provides the public realm with shade most of the day all year round. In addition, this orientation provides best wind flow from the prevailing wind direction after going through the planned linear park. The proximity of the buildings (i.e. narrow building to building distance) enables building to building shading, lowering the reflectance of sun rays on the ground resulting in lower ground temperatures. Additionally, colonnades for pedestrians are provided.
North/South The North-South orientation of streets allows sunlight penetration to the urban fabric with a subsequent increase in cooling loads. East/West An East-West alignment results in an increase in cooling load requirement due to the exposure of external walls to sunlight. Northeast/Southwest The Northeast-Southwest orientation of the city fabric provides optimal shading.
Figure 31: City Grid 55 Orientation

The City grid is placed Northeast/ Southwest for best natural ventilation and shading.
71oC 66 C
Central Abu Dhabi Desert
(unshaded)
51oC
Masdar Institute
Fully shaded colonnades
47 C
Masdar Institute
Lush green garden
46oC
Masdar Institute
Added active water feature
Figure 32: Felt55 Temperatures

Comparative analysis showed temperatures felt are drastically lower in Masdar City.
Another main feature is the Windtower. The Windtower is 45m in height, and is a modern version of the traditional Arabic design, which is designed to capture the cooler wind from above and direct it to the public realm level. The Windtower is triangular in shape with operable louvers on the top. These louvers work with sensors to open and close according to the present wind direction. The sealed inner membrane of the tower is made of PTFE material. Furthermore, there are mist jets on the top level that humidify the air on its way down resulting in cooling the wind (evaporative cooling). The lighting on the Windtower serves as a measurement and mostly education tool to notify and keep residents aware of their energy consumption. Basically the light indicators (in the form of raising bars) light up according to the campuses energy consumption. Blue color for low to regular consumption, and it transits to red when consumption is higher.

Shading shaded colonnades provide shade to low angle sun Fire Escape located externally to eliminate the need for AC Finishes Heavyweight finishes provide thermal mass
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Faades Lightweight, reflective ETFE
Figure 33: Wind Tower

Down : 1 Louvres 2 Mist Jets 3 Monitoring 4 Inner Sock Right: Image showing elements of MI
Ismail Khater 2012
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1 2
3 4
RE-5: Energy Efficient Buildings The intent of this credit is to reduce the energy consumption of buildings within the community and limit the size and burden on the community infrastructure. This has been achieved through various methods. 34 Air conditioning load reduction methods have been placed by locating the fire escapes of the buildings to the outside, meaning reducing the AC load required through the reduction of the floor area. For the fire escapes horizontal louvers are provided to shade them. A different approach has been used in the lobbies of the buildings. The air conditioning in these lobbies is set to 30 degrees Celsius, to act as a transitional space between the outdoor and indoor climates, to limit the thermal shock effect. This transition is usually ranging between 6-8 degrees Celsius between the two environments. 62 Shading provision is another major aspect to achieve the goal of energy reduction. External louvers are provided to reduce or illuminate direct solar heat gain indoors, as a secondary measure during high sun angle times, while the buildings already shade themselves due to proximity. The residential units have a modern version of the Islamic architectural element Mashrabiya, which are latticework which operates as a shading and privacy protection element without hindering the views from the inside. Faades design is made in such a way that they reduce the heat transfer through high thermal mass, insulation and innovative construction. As an example, the laboratories are covered with lightweight Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) material, a plastic with a high insulation value that is inflated. The windows of the institute are equipped with high performance double glazed glass that minimizes thermal transfer. 62 Lighting reduction of artificial systems presents another aspect for energy reduction to specifically achieve minimization of electrical lighting load and heat. Various areas within the campus are lit naturally in an indirect way, and where artificial lighting is needed, it is provided through efficient high frequency lighting fixtures. Another method used is by painting the interior walls with bright colors, mainly white, which also lowers the need for artificial lighting by bouncing the rays on the white surfaces. 62 Smart sensors are supplied all over the campus. These range from lighting sensors to CO2 sensors which adjust the needed mechanical ventilation and lighting according to the demand. 62
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RE-4.1: Renewable energy: On-site RE4.2: Renewable energy: Off-site The intents of these credits are to endorse/promote the use of onsite renewable energy to compensate for reductions due to transmission losses, as well as to create large-scale renewable energy facilities. Both of these credits aim to reduce reliance on fossil fuel based power generation. 34 Masdar City is well known for its provision of renewable energy in its various forms, extending from the on-site 1MW rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panels, which also reduce the solar heat gain from the roof area, to the off-site but close by 10MW PV farm. The evacuated tube collectors (ETC) provide 75% of the hot water demand. Excess power from the 10MW plant is then fed to the grid of Abu Dhabi. Several pilot projects exist as well in Masdar. There is the beam down project (BDP), same concept of the concentrated solar power (CSP) that works by directing the beam to an elevated tower, except in the case of the BDP the beam is diverted again to the ground level. This eliminates the power needed to elevate the heated fluid to the top of the tower resulting in lower energy needs. Other pilot projects are using geothermal energy and thermal cooling, in which multiple-effect absorption chillers are driven. 62
ETC
Ex cess power returned to the Abu Dhabi grid
Roof Top P V (1MW )
PV array (10M W)
Figure 34: Power 62 of Masdar Institute

Diagram showing how the Institute Buildings are powered.
75%
SHW Masdar Institute
30%
70%
Solar hot water system
Efficient lighting
3%
Reduced cooling demand and efficient cooling systems
Efficient fans and pumps
15%
18% 45%
Figure 35: Annual 62 Energy Consumption

Technologies providing % annual energy savings against UAE business as usual (incremental contribution).
Additional contribution from PVs
Proposed design
66%
51%
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4.3.2 Water
PW-1.1: Community Water Use Reduction: Landscaping PW-1.3: Community Water Use Reduction: Water Features The intents of these credits are to encourage water efficient public realm landscape design through plant selection, irrigation technologies and management, and minimize evaporation losses in water features and the use of recycled water. 34 The campuses softscape comprises of native species, locally sourced and low water demanding plants. The outcome is a low 6 liter per square meter per day water demand, which is reduced by using treated sewage effluent (TSE) water. The water is treated on-site by a membrane bioreactor (MBR) plant. Waste from the treatment is expected to be used for composting and wasteto-energy when the supply and demand is present. 62 Water features are minimized in the campus. There is only one mirror fountain and the mist jets in the Windtower, which create a cooling effect and are shaded for lower evaporation rates. There are no outdoor pools.
e th nd m r ou fr o r g ed nde t c u l l e om fr
Figure 36: Masdar 55 Water Strategy

Diagram explaining the water strategy of a sustainable development and aimed for by Masdar City.
F il
W s e ater aa c nd o
ter e
des Water isol ar al inated power us ing s

nd
Po to tabl be e us W e
R a in
wate
e ur c So er ps at in ta d
and dow fil ter s nu nd bac er k gr ou
l l ec te r is c o
ol l ec ted wat T he ceaned and s ter is cl y to be us e or ed d to. r ea d ..
Reduced consumption through high tec h appliances

Wa te r
at ion
Tr e a dis c te d wa ter ly ef fic ha r ged to highys te m s ie nt c l ea ning s
Fl
us
PW-3: Water Efficient Buildings & Plots The intent of this credit is to endorse reductions in the water consumption of buildings within the community, as well as limit the size and load on the community infrastructure 34. Measures taken to achieve the intent include high-efficient appliances such as low water demanding laundry machines. Other appliances include lowflow showers and water taps, which reduced the consumption to 179 liters per person per day, which is efficient compared to Abu Dhabis average of 390 liters consumption per person per day 62. Along with that, water leakage detection has been installed and reduced to 1%. Water meters are also used to inform the users of their consumption.
Figure 37: Masdar 55 Water Savings

Water savings compared to Business a Usual.
Business as usual 390 liters per person per day Masdar Institute Campus 179 liters per person per day
he
t
is u
s ed
for
ir r
ig
54%
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4.3.3 Materials
SM-3: Recycled Materials The intent of this credit is to increase the demand for recycled materials and therefore reduce the amount of waste going to disposal. 34 The use of recycled materials is a major aim in the development of Masdar and included in their own key performance indicators (KPIs). Masdar seeks to maximize the recycled content, through having about 90% of the steel from post-consumer recycled content. The use of building aggregates as a substitute or addition in concrete was also present. All the woodwork is from FSC certified post-consumer material, as well as all the Aluminum. Recycled stone is also used for kitchen work-tops. 62 SM-5: Improved Construction Waste Management SM-6: Improved Operational Waste Management The intents of these credits are to reduce the long-term environmental impacts associated with construction and operational waste collection, transport and disposal. 34 This has been achieved by obliging contractors to separate construction waste during the building phase, resulting in recycling of a higher percentage rate than 70% by weight. Most of the waste is being recycled on-site in a material recycling center. The bulk of the waste is being used in the construction of Masdar City. Concrete waste is crushed and used as an infill. Excavated sand stays on-site for later filling as well (common in Abu Dhabi is to divert its location by transporting it in trucks). Diversion from landfills of the construction material is 96%, a very high rate for the Emirate. 52 As for the operational waste management, Masdar sets a high solid waste stream waste strategy. Separated bins are provided as a first step of separation, followed by another sorting which divides materials into recyclable and none-recyclable waste. As for now, no recycling facility is available, but planned to be near or on-site. The bio-waste will be composted and used as a fertilizer for landscaping.
Waste collected and sorted Products Consumer Waste - to - energy (planned pilot project)
Recyclable
Recycling
Figure 38: Operational 62 Waste Strategy

Diagram illustrating the waste strategy at the Masdar Institute Campus.
Non-Recyclable
Bio-Products
Composting
Figure 39: Material 55 Recycling Centre

Masdar City and its contractors are iverting up to 96% of construction waste from landfi ll and using it in the build of the city.
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4.3.4 Miscellaneous
LC-1: Transit Supportive Practices The intent of this credit is to optimize public transportation investment through development practices that facilitate higher use of transit facilities. 34 This credit is tackled by the innovative personal rapid transit (PRT) connecting the institute to other public transportation, which connects to the city. The PRT station is located within the required 350 meter radius. The walkways to the underground station are also shaded. This is achieved through having no vehicular streets within the campus. The PRT system comprises of electric vehicles that are driverless that are controlled by magnets embedded in their pathway. These carts can reach 40 km/h. Unlike any other rail public transit system, the PRT has lay-bys that prevent the need for waiting time of the carts in front, where they also get charged. The PRT system is running under the whole facility. 52
High-speed Train
Figure 40: 62 City Mobility

Airport
Mas s T r ans it
Diagram explaining the proximity of city landmarks to the Masdar Institute Campus.
LR T Station
Public Green Space
PRT/Bus Station
Pl ayground
Neighborhood Center
Places of Worship
2x 2 =4
Public Green Space
Shops
School
Work places
Metro
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4.4 Case study #2: Siemens HQ

The Siemens Headquarters located in Masdar City adjacent to the MIST is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2013. The project is valued at 170 million AED, with an area of 20,000 square meters. The main function of the building is being an office building, with the main tenant of Siemens AG occupying 12,000 square meters of the building 33. The building has a compact plan, designed through parametric modeling. There are nine courtyards located within the floor plate providing necessary natural lighting. Unlike MIST the building is constructed on the ground level and is elevated towards the institute to solve the connectivity with the adjacent site as shown in the image. The building is expected to achieve LEED platinum and Estidama 3 Pearl building certification, to fulfill local requirements as well as getting LEED for international recognition 63. The design of the architecture has been provided by Sheppard Robson. The aim set for the design was to be as efficient as possible, set on the ground of highest standards of Masdar and LEED. Each floor has an area of 4,500 square meters, achieving an efficiency of 90%. This has been realized through column free floor plates, with 15 meters span, by using post-tensioned flat slabs providing highly flexible spaces for future changes. The building is performing 44% better than ASHRAE energy model baseline. The following credits from the pearl building rating system have been selected to show the achievements for further analysis.
Figure 41: Stacked Floors Diagram

Floor Plans showing the 9 attires configuration. Courtesy of Sheppard Robson
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4.4.1 Energy
RE-1: Improved Energy Performance RE-2: Cool Building Strategies The intent of this credit is to reduce the energy consumption of the building in the operational phase and reduce the cooling demand 20.
Parametric design
Parametric design is the generation of geometry from the definition of a family of initial parameters and the design of the formal relations they keep with each other. It is about the use of algorithms to generate an order of mathematical and geometric relations that let you explore many results that the variability of the initial parameters allows
By providing an energy model performance analysis that achieves Masdar KPIs, the building will save above 40% of energy compared with ASHRAE baseline 90.1 2007. This has been done through passive and active measures. The external glazing has been limited to 35% of the faade area. These are shaded by another added layer that has been parametrically designed to achieve 100% shading on all orientations of the faade, without compromising the views and natural lighting requirements. For the cool building strategies the roof has been covered with high albedo materials with a solar reflectance index (SRI) higher than 78. The nine atria are shaded, but provide natural lighting. The overall envelope has an air leakage rate of 5 cubic meters per hour per square meter. RE-6: Renewable Energy The intent of this credit is to reward projects for their use of onsite and offsite renewable energy, which reduces CO2 emissions and therefore reduce the reliance on fossil fuels 20. Some points of this credit are achieved through the onsite solar collectors on the roof, which provide three quarters of the demand of hot water used in the building. Offsite systems achieve 20% from the 1MW power plant in Masdar City. Energy monitoring are also not only included, but displayed for the tenants and visitors, which could affect their behavior and may provide further reductions.
4.4.2 Water
PW-1: Improved Interior Water Use Reduction PW-2.1: Improved Exterior Water Use Reduction: Landscaping; and PW-2.2: Improved Exterior Water Use Reduction: Water Features The intents of these credits are basically water reduction. These range from interior potable water reduction, to exterior landscaping and water features reductions through irrigation strategies and the use of recycled water 20. For the interior reductions water saving devices have been installed, including dual flush toilets, low flow taps and showers as well as waterless urinals. For the same reason as with the energy monitoring, publically displayed water meters are provided to expand the awareness of the users of their consumption. For exterior water use a variety of locally grown low water and native plant species have been selected. The total area used for landscaping does not exceed 10%, while the irrigation rate is limited to 6 liters per square meter per day. The water used for irrigation is from the allocated water budget from the treated effluent water of the building. As for the water features, none have been incorporated in the Masdar Siemens Headquarters.
Water Features
No water features have been incorporated in the design of Siemens Headquarter.
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4.4.3 Materials
SM-10: Recycled Materials The intent of this credit is to increase the use of recycled materials to reduce the amount of waste going to be disposed 20. As per Masdars KPIs it is mandated to achieve an even higher benchmark than set by Estidama. This is achieved through having over 80% of the steel used in the structure having 90% of post-consumer recycled content. The Portland cement is also reduced through the use of ground granulated blast furnace slag. Furthermore, the column free design enabled material reductions of 60% and made the office space even more flexible to accommodate a high range of offices according to their demands. SM-13: Improved Construction Waste Management SM-14: Improved Operational Waste Management The intents of these credits are to reduce the long-term environmental impacts associated with construction and operational waste collection, transport and disposal 20. The operational waste has been planned to be separated and recycled as per Masdars solid waste stream waste strategy. A room adjacent to the loading bay is provided for the waste separation and storage, with a target of 80% diversion from landfills. Construction and demolition waste is being recycled with a higher percentage rate than 70% by weight. Most of the waste is being recycled onsite in the material recycling center. Substance of the waste is being used in the construction of Masdar City. Diversion from landfills of the construction material is above 90%.
Figure 42: Exterior View

Courtesy of Sheppard Robson
4.4.4 Miscellaneous
LBo-1: Improved Outdoor Thermal Comfort The intent of this credit is to improve outdoor thermal comfort during transition months and further reduce thermal discomfort during summer months in public spaces and walkways 20. The outdoor spaces underneath the building will be fully shaded. Parking structures are also fully shaded, providing a walkable environment. LBo-6: Public Transport The intent of this credit is to encourage the use of public transport by building occupants and visitors 20.
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Figure 43: Podium View

Courtesy of Sheppard Robson
As a car free development this credit is achieved through having the building adjacent to the MIST and therefore the PRT system. The Masterplan also incorporates the network of the Abu Dhabi planned public rail system. As there are no vehicular streets and only narrow pedestrian streets, which are shaded, this encourages users and visitors to walk and cycle.
4.5 Assessment and SWOT analysis

This section analyzes the case study of Masdar Institute and the Siemens building. The assessment method used is a SWOT analysis, to balance internal and external aspects of the development of Masdar City. Strengths and weaknesses are determined by internal elements, while the opportunities and threats are external forces. In this analysis the aspects looked at are the pillars of sustainability defined by Estidama: Environmental, economic, culture and social. Data used for the analysis are derived from interviews 52, 64, own analysis of the project through literature review as well as site visits. Because of the financial crisis, the project has changed in terms of budget, delivery time and some design aspects. The budget fell from 22bn US dollars to 18bn US dollars. The delivery of the project is now expected to be 2025. Major elements that have changed are the abandonment of the PRT system, restricting it to what has already been built to cut the cost on the infrastructure needed (raising the buildings seven meters). Still, other methods of fossil fuel free transportation are looked at. Another major change is not having PV on the roofs of the new buildings; instead, additional PV will be installed next to the 10MW plant in Masdar City. Looking at the positive side of the crisis, it gave the developers the opportunity to realize the importance of the economic aspect, which after that all projects need to be financially viable. Another outcome was the pace of development, which slowed down to building one neighborhood at a time. This strategy helps the next phases to learn from the previous ones, avoiding disastrous economic pitfalls. Strengths One of the main strengths remaining in Masdar is its realized ambition to retain solely reliability on renewable energy. This is kept through Abu Dhabis excess of available capital and Masdars high benchmarks and goals they have committed to. Looking at Masdar City Masterplan as a whole, and not a single building, it could be considered being decentralized in terms of energy. Architectural features such as the modernized version of the Mashrabiya and the courtyard designs give the development its identity of a modern Arabic
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city by combining the past and the present, which is one of the goals of the cultural pillar of Estidama. Similarly, being highly dense and mixed in the functions remains a strong point over the Abu Dhabi business as usual urban sprawl, a relatively unique component. The outcome of density, shade and mixed-use is a walkable development: a rare thing in the UAE. Furthermore, passive measures have reduced the energy and water consumption alone by 50% respectively, which should be implemented in all upcoming developments. Weaknesses There still exists a controversial problem of the concept of creating entire cities from scratch. On the one hand Abu Dhabi is in need of developments to meet the needs of the growing population, on the other hand the isolation of Masdar City and lack of existing building renovation plans reduce the weight of its impact. While the capital is present through the oil rich Emirate, the development is too expensive and this money could have been invested in existing developments that are seen as more socially crucial. Masdar city is impartially too expensive. The desires set by Masdar are too ambitious, leading to a downsizing after realizing the importance of the economic sustainability. This is not only seen in the elimination of some features, but as an overall goal of being a carbon free city. Seeing the monitoring LEDs on the Windtower lit in red in all my visits made me conclude that even though it is possible to stay within the estimated energy consumption there is still a lack of either awareness and/or practice by the occupants. As a final argument, there is a lack of social diversity in the development making it incomplete and exclusive for a certain niche of the society. Opportunities As the development is still ongoing and thriving, there is a lot of potential for changes to be done to reach the highly ambitious goals. This could range from ground breaking technology from the renewable energy explorations to local food production with the residues of the water treatment. Methods of awareness rising are also prospects seen as an outcome of Masdar, combined with a ripple effect which could turn the whole building industry towards more sustainable practices. This is not limited to consultants designs, but also a potential to uplift the whole supply chain. Not that Masdar could be copied as is, there is a huge potential for knowledge transfer from the institute, as well as process transfer from the Masdar City developers. This process transfer could make it possible to achieve the highest standards in other new developments around the region. Another main opportunity which is already on its way to realization is the diversification of the economy, the main aim of the economic vision 2030. Threats Many external threats for Masdar City stand, as it is a long term project. One problem that could arise is a cutoff of finance for the project. Along with that is the highly vulnerable area with climate change, especially the water scarcity problem. Building in a desert climate imposes the threat of sandstorms, which affect the efficiency of the PV panels dramatically and with the water shortage it becomes very resource intensive to clean them. Another long term outlying threat is population growth, which could result in incapability of carrying the capacity while maintaining dependence on renewable energy.
Knowledge Transfer
While the city cannot be copied, technology and processes used are transferable.
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There are other threats that are already affecting the development. One of them is the lack or shortage of skilled workers that are familiar and trained to deliver to the high building standards. Design and materials are highly affected by the methods and accuracy of implementation. Another threat is the lack of infrastructure. As an example, there are no proper waste separation and treating facilities for domestic garbage. Finally, the highly subsidized water and electricity is affecting all the visions in a negative way, making it nearly impossible to change the users behavior, leaving it up to the conscience of the consumer since there is no financial pressure that reflects the real price of the resource. The following table represents a summary of the SWOT analysis:
Table 08: SWOT Analysis

A summary of the finding of the SWOT analysis of both Case Studies
Strengths
Capital availability Passive & compact design Walkable pedestrian friendly development High benchmarks 100% run by renewable energy Decentralized development Mixed use neighborhoods Regional identity
Weaknesses
Development too expensive Isolation of the city New construction Lack of involvement in existing buildings Lack of social diversity Occupants behavior uncontrollable Goals too ambitious
Opportunities
Knowledge transfer Economic diversification Ripple effect Uplift supply chain Awareness raising Exploring and inventing new technologies
Threats
Climate change water scarcity/sandstorms Financial drawbacks Lack of infrastructure Lack of skilled workers Population growth Subsidized resources
While there remain many obstacles in the way of the development of Masdar city, in my opinion, it is a needed initiative to step away from our comfort zones and business as usual, to try to systematically reach far for solutions to our environmental problems. Learning by doing is not the most financially effective way, but in this case I see it as a definite way forward.
Yas Viceroy Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Chapter 05: ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION

5.1 5.2 5.2.1 5.2.2 5.2.5 5.3 5.3.1 5.3.2 5.3.3 5.4 5.4.1 5.4.2 5.4.3 5.5 Introduction Interview Outcomes Distinctions of Estidama Data Analysis Effects of Estidama on Consultants Outcome Evaluation & Recommendations Interview Data Evaluation Effects on Consultants PRS Credits Strategies Public Awareness Economic Incentives and Disincentives Utilities, Services and Infrastructure Enhancement Action Plan
The data from the interviews combined with the literature review from chapter three, findings from the case study from chapter five congregate in this analysis. The analysis is split into three parts, analysis, evaluation and recommendations. In the first part, the data from the interviews is filtered and visually presented when possible. The second and third parts are interconnected. Through the first evaluation all aspects are analyzed, then filtered, followed by recommendation strategies addressing the main findings to be of greater priority and influence. The chapter ends with an action plan combining all the strategies in a timed framework.
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Chapter 5 - Analysis & Evaluation
5 Analysis and Evaluation
5.1 Introduction
The Vision 2030 combined with all supporting initiatives and integrated backing from different government agencies in Abu Dhabi signal the recognition of the need and opportunities for improvement of the built environment to address the resources scarcity issues, as well as the realization of the necessity to develop in a sustainable manner. The biggest opportunity Abu Dhabi has is building new developments, which provides the chance for leapfrogging. This could be seen in their policies, such as Estidama, as well as in the physical environment and testing fields, such as Masdar City and its initiatives. Nevertheless, there are opportunities that have not been taken advantage of, as well as tweaks to the newly implemented frameworks, which could enhance the overall performance of the state. In order to find these, exclusive interviews were conducted to identify the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and barriers of the policies and implemented measures. This chapter highlights the findings from the interviews, which are analyzed to come up with a comprehensive evaluation and recommendations to assist the development of Abu Dhabis initiatives. The methodology is split into three parts: the first part illustrates the interview outcomes, where the distinctions of Estidama are displayed, as well as the data analysis and effects of Estidama and the pearl rating system on consultants. The second part is evaluating the data from the first part, identifying the benefits along with the barriers and gaps. The last part details the recommendations for the two scales, the rating system and city-wide strategies, and is concluded by an action plan to put the results into a time frame with its resource allocations. Referenced interviews are available in the supplementary booklet.
Leapfrogging
The concept is seen in being able to skip less efficient or more expensive technologies and processes and move directly to more advanced ones.
5.2 Interview outcomes

This section will examine the interviews and surveys which are an integral part of this thesis. The analysis is presented in a graphical format whenever possible, to help visualize the data outcomes. Through these findings it will be later on possible to evaluate the PRS and Estidama initiatives. All information indicated in this section is based on the interviewees opinions. The findings show that there are many advantages such as the distinctions of Estidama and the benefits of the program. On the other hand there are still many disadvantages which could be optimized.
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5.2.1 Distinctions of Estidama

This part is focused on the differences seen in Estidama compared to other certification systems and initiatives like the ones discussed in chapter two, as well as the process of stakeholders perceiving the new system. Estidama is the overall or more holistic umbrella program of sustainable development, which has been explained in chapter 3. Therefore, it is crucial to differentiate between Estidama and the Pearl Rating System (PRS). Estidama is connected, or better integrated, inside all initiatives under both the planning and economic initiatives. This is the internal (governmental) integration part.
How the PRS is different than other systems

A closer look into the system reveals a number of significant differences compared to other certification systems. The PRS is differentiated from other systems by including the integrated design process (IDP). This enables crossdisciplinary teamwork. The PRS is also the first mandatory rating system. All projects in Abu Dhabi need to be at least rated with one pearl, while all government buildings need to be two pearl rated. The rating system is tailored to the climate of Abu Dhabi. About 50% of all the credits are for water and energy performance and savings. The added fourth pillar is also a pioneering aspect, where it is encouraged to promote traditional Arab design as well as directed design for women and children privacy seen in the culture. Furthermore, the PRS is not based on a business model. As a result there is no competition for other rating systems to monopolize the assessment and marketing of buildings and communities. The government does not charge for the rating in any of the assessment stages, nor for any documents or clarification requests.
Main Differences
Mandatory Culture sensitive Government initiative Local system Integrated design process
How the PRS is perceived by project teams

As per the interviews with Estidama staff members, some of the system users (developers and consultants) were first enthusiastic about the implementation of the program at an early stage, when Estidama was looking for pilot projects to test the system. However, even though it was announced early that the program will be mandated, users were caught by surprise followed by what was described to me as the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and then acceptance. After it was realized that no new projects in Abu Dhabi would be getting building permits without following the new submission path, anger started rising. The most affected group were small consultancies and villa owners, which had limited or no experience with such programs and requirements. Others have tried to by-pass the process on the basis that their projects were developed on a fast-track basis leaving no time for the required submissions. Reluctant users then tried to bargain their way out of the submissions. Others did not understand how to comply with the requirements, which initiated the Estidama Villa Products Database (EVPD) 65, a database of products that comply with the one pearl requirement. This has been developed for consultants, contractors, owners and any relevant stakeholders. The database includes water fixtures and fittings, insulation products and systems, windows and glazing, air conditioning and solar hot water equipment. Still, this database is only serving villa projects. Two years after the implementation, there seems to be much more acceptance, which came by time and experience. Less persons are challenging the PRS and the change in mentality started to be seen in consultants. While the change takes time and is difficult, people are not realizing their return on investment with the current energy and water prices.
Acceptance
The system is evolving fast and being accepted on a wider scale after two years of launch
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5.2.2 Data analysis

This part is focused on the data derived from the interviews with consultants, contractors and developers. This data is examined later on in the evaluation section. By going through the interviews and surveys, information has been classified to identify the patterns and categories, which lead to the interpretations and associations displayed below. Data analyzed include the direct and indirect sustainability drivers, preference of certification system usage, comprehension of the system, awareness of the rating system, associated direct costs, barriers and gaps of Estidama and the PRS and the disadvantages seen in the implementation.
Sustainability Driver
Even if some consultants had the knowledge, means and awareness to do responsible sustainable design there are direct factors that drive the sustainability aims. Direct factors are influencing the aims directly without any intermediate steps. From the interviews an assessment of the most prevailing drivers were found to be determined by the clients. This is followed by the cost factor, then the state laws and regulations, which in this case are Estidama and the Pearl rating system. Lastly, there is the influence of the consultants as well as existing projects seen as best practice examples that are being designed to achieve similar results. The figure below shows the percentages of these drivers. Indirect factors are classified as secondary causes that involve intervening aspects influencing the aim, and hence, the direct drivers. The higher these factors are, the higher the aims are. These factors are high resource prices, such as water and energy, providing incentives, creating competition, increasing the awareness of all stakeholders, increased evidence of climate change and its associated problems. The figure below shows the effects of the indirect factors in percentages derived from the survey.
BEST PRACTICE
7%
INCREASED EVIDENCE
2%
LAWS & REG.
18%
INCREASED AWARENESS
16%
Figure 44: Sustainability Drivers
26%
COST
48% CLIENTS
COMPETITION
20%
36% RESOURCE
PRICES
INCENTIVES PROVISION
27%
Left: Direct Sustainability Drivers Right: Indirect Sustainability Drivers
Preference, comprehension and awareness of the PRS

Questions asked for the preferences of certification systems include two parts. The first is indicating whether the user prefers using the PRS, any other certification or has no preference. Most answers were headed for the PRS as it is local and mandatory. The second question refers to whether or not any certification system should be mandatory or voluntary. In this question the PRS system of mixed, voluntary and mandatory, has been added as it constitutes most of the answers given. The majority said to have a mixed system, which sets minimum requirements and gives the option and recognition of above mandatory achievements.
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Figure 45: System Preference

Left: Preferred Rating System Right: Preference on obligation
16% NO PREFERENCE
19%
VOLUNTARY
19% OTHERS
65% ESTIDAMA
MANDATORY
19%
72% MIXED
Understanding the system to be able to implement it plays a vital role in achieving its aims, as well as the complete awareness of the principles, aims and procedures. The first aspect displayed is the awareness of consultants, contractors and clients. It is based on four levels of awareness ranging from fully aware, as seen in pearl qualified professionals, partially aware for people who have general interest or had to deal with some of the credits, to people who have minimum or no knowledge about the system. There has been no case where someone had no knowledge at all about the system.
Figure 46: Awareness & Comprehension

Top: Awareness of Rating System Bottom: Comprehension of Rating System
FULLY AWARE
30%
PARTIALLY AWARE
63%
7%
MINIMUM KNOWLEDGE
17%
VERY EASY
45%
EASY
21% 10%
AVERAGE HARD
7%
VERY HARD
As for the ease of using the system, a five tier survey has been done to understand how comprehensible the system is. Although 45 percent thought the system was easy, 73 percent found the system to be above average. The 80 percent of people who thought the system was hard or very hard were also the ones who had minimum to partial knowledge of the system. To assess the methodologies of marketing and awareness of the program, persons were asked how they learnt about Estidama and its initiatives. This has been done in order to identify the strong and weak methods. While the largest percentage learned about Estidama through involvement in projects that had to be certified, the smallest percentage learned about it through advertisements, press and awareness campaigns.
Figure 47: Learning about Estidama

Methods and percentages of how people learned about Estidama and the PRS
AWARENESS CAMPAIGN MEDIA (ADVERTISEMENT & PRESS) WEBSITE ESTIDAMA WORKSHOPS IN-HOUSE PQP INVOLVED IN PROJECTS
0%
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Benchmarks of the PRS

Benchmarks are not easy to be set and are driven by many factors. Reasons found for setting the benchmarks as well as developing them are split into demand and supply. The demand side comes from the need to minimize environmental and resources depreciation, as well as peoples demands to have better living conditions through their awareness. The supply side is expounded by political motives, such as regulations and visions, in addition to the provision of incentives and affordable technology, means and methods of implementation. The next statistic defines the perception on the PRS benchmarks from the interviewees point of views. Results are set by five choices from very low to very high, with a mean of being ideal. Of course, the interviewees view is related to the current time, meaning that it includes aspects such as that the program is relatively new and also tied to the baseline or business as usual methods of construction used right before the implementation of the PRS. While the majority saw that the benchmarks are set below the ideal, they have indicated that it is not advisable to upgrade them right now because of many factors such as market readiness, lack of incentives and the need to test the first batch of outcome first, so that the system could be optimized.
60%
ABOVE IDEAL 37%
BELOW IDEAL 63%
Figure 48: Perception of Benchmarks

The graph shows the perception based on the 5 categories stated. The majority felt the benchmarks are set below average.
40%
20%
0% VERY HIGH HIGH IDEAL LOW VERY LOW
Associated direct cost increase

Direct costs are those seen in the design, submissions and construction, until the stage that the building is built and ready to be occupied. As mentioned before, there are no submission fees required by Estidama or the UPC. Consultants stated a range of 1 to 7 percent increase in the design fees. These include documentation, meetings, coordination and research needed to comply with the PRS (1 and 2 pearls). Due to the fact that the system is new, it is hard to rely on these figures even after removing the outliers from the statistic. Furthermore, some consultants stated that they, themselves, have a hard time assessing the exact fees, time and resources needed for the newly implemented PRS. Even though calculating construction costs over business as usual could be seen as a generally simple task, in the case of pearl rated buildings it is not as straight forward because of the lack of data. Contractors conceded a range from 3 to 18 percent increase over business as usual, excluding the outliers, which ranged up to 40 percent. An analysis made by Estidama shows a range from 1 to 15 percent increase over business as usual for residential, offices and communities, based on a theoretical study made by Estidama, including both design and construction fees. This study is based on the third quarter of the year 2010 66. The range depending on the level of pearls achieved is listed in the graphic below.
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Figure 49: Cost

The percentages shown represent increase of cost over BaU including both construction and design fees.
1 PEARL 2 PEARLS 3 PEARLS 4 PEARLS 5 PEARLS
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
Benefits of Estidama and the PRS

Many benefits have been stated before in all previous chapters. These specific benefits are weighted according to the subjective opinions of the interviewees. They have been divided into two categories, first there are benefits of Estidama as the overarching principle of the vision 2030, and the second one is specific about the benefits in the PRS. While some fit for both, their weighting is different according to the viewpoint, whether it was Estidama or the PRS. The biggest benefit of Estidama seen as is fighting climate change and preserving the environment. The second leading benefit is how Estidama is set as both a market based instrument and a command and control measurement at the same time, which is unique to Abu Dhabi. In doing this, not only the leaders in sustainability will benefit, but also any weak performing buildings will be pushed to improve, leading to a widespread enhancement in the built environment. This was followed by the market transformation in Abu Dhabi, where a lot of high performance materials are entering the market. Having a strategic planning authority with a clear vision makes it easier to widen the participants in achieving the aims, as well as the creation of a sense of belonging. While this vision involves a lot of authorities, ministries and departments, the integration of Estidama in all of them and how connected they are is of great advantage. Another benefit is having the authority to enforce the change. While this is very subjective and dependent on the culture, it is seen as something positive in Abu Dhabi. Last, the initiation of Estidama as a government entity prevents the private sector from charging fees or a premium for certifications and avoids monopolization of that market. As for the benefits of the PRS, the highest mentioning rate was having localized benchmarks for buildings and communities, which was not present before the PRS. The next aspect felt was the change of resource consumption reductions in new constructions. This was followed by the design and construction culture change to include early integrated strategic planning with set goals and whole building thinking. The last two benefits in the PRS are the elimination of submission fees and the standards set in the PRS to prevent greenwashing.
Figure 50: Benefits of Estidama & the PRS

Left: Benefits of Estidama Right: Benefits of the PRS
MONOPOLIZATION PREVENTION AUTHORITATIVE INSTRUMENT INTEGRATED INITIATIVES CLEAR STRATEGIC PLANNING VISION MARKET TRANSFORMATION COMBINED FORCES OF MBI AND C&C REDUCING CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS
PREVENTING GREENWASHING ELIMINATING SUBMISSION FEES WHOLE BUILDING THINKING EARLY STRATEGIC PLANNING RESOURCES CONSUMPTION REDUCTION WEIGHTING TAILORED TO REGION BENCHMARKING FACILITIES
0%
5%
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35%
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30%
Estidama
Pearl Rating System
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Barriers and gaps of Estidama and the PRS

This part is split into two parts exactly as the previous part, Estidama and the PRS. Here, most of the mentioned barriers, disadvantages and missing elements have been combined and presented. The ten most mentioned aspects for each have been chosen and weighted. Barriers and gaps for Estidama include the lack of incentives, highly subsidized energy and water prices, the lack of supporting utilities such as waste treatment and public transportation. Another barrier seen is the lack or low client awareness of sustainability needs and requirements. There have also been some consultants complaining about the inconsistencies of the requirements and delivery processes between Estidama and Abu Dhabi Municipality (ADM). Minor barriers included not having regulations for suppliers on their products, which reduces the transparency of the purchases. The use of building information modeling is not encouraged or looked at. Inclusion of the community in the decision process is seen as very low, and the market of Estidama is seen to be unfair on the basis that it is only mandated in Abu Dhabi and not the whole emirate. PRS specific barriers and gaps were topped by the lack of regulations and certification for existing buildings and operational rating. Second is the lack of social and economic aspects in the PRS, for example there are no requirements for social interaction areas in offices such as for lunch breaks. The process of the PRS was criticized for being intensive in bureaucracy and paperwork, as well as being resource intensive requiring extra team members. The process is also not optimized such as seen in other rating systems, where submissions are online based giving more interactive access to all stakeholders. Local material availability has been mentioned to be very limited and there are inadequate researches and case studies to help the developers and consultants. Less mentioned was the absence of specific rating systems for many building typologies. Some mentioned that some credits seemed to be copied from other systems and are irrelevant for Abu Dhabi conditions such as the bike racks and shower facilities. As for the benchmarks, some were perceived to be aiming too high, such as the water credits, while others were supposed to be mandatory such as a minimum noise level and embodied energy in materials. Consultants were also asking to have a feedback loop to be able to learn from their designs after monitoring their performances.
Figure 51: Barriers & Gaps

Left: Barriers & Gaps of Estidama Right: Barriers & Gaps of the PRS
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT MARKET FAIRNESS BIM PROVISION SUPPLIER TRANSPARANCY CONSISTENCY OF PROCESS (ADM & UPC) LOW CLIENT AWARENESS LACK OF MARKET READYNESS INSUFFICIENT UTILITIES SUBSIDIES ARE TOO HIGH LACK OF INCENTIVES
NO MANDATORY NOISE LEVELS IRRELEVANT CREDITS EMBEDDED ENERGY NOT INCLUDED TYPOLOGIES NOT SPECIFIC WATER CREDITS TOO HARD RESEARCH AND CASE STUDIES NOT AVAILABLE LOCAL MATERIALS AVAILABILITY PRS PROCESS IS DIFFICULT LACK OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS MISSING EXISTING BUILDINGS & OPERATION
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
0%
10%
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40%
Estidama
Pearl Rating System
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5.2.3 Effects of Estidama on consultants

There are many influences on the consultants which seem to have taken place since Estidama and the PRS were launched. These impacts are mostly on the processes used in any design methodology, such as meetings occurrence and participation, as well as how their design methods changed to integrate the Estidama and PRS goals and requirements. Consultants also replied with what they aim to achieve in the near future to better suit the vision. Meetings and participation Meetings participation and multidisciplinary work has been carried out with higher rates, as well as more frequent meetings. From an integrated design point of view the only missing participants were cost consultants and contractors. These were not present in any consultants meetings except for Masdars Siemens Headquarter. Regular Participants: Architects Urban planners infrastructure Interior designers Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Engineers Project managers Structure engineers Clients PQP (sustainability consultant) Landscape architect
Figure 52: Meetings Structure and Occurrence

Key: Weekly Biweekly Monthly 2-3 times/project
The rate and amount of meetings vary according to project size. To assess the occurrence of meetings a building size of 10,000 to 25,000 square meters of GFA is considered. There are four types of meetings. The first meeting types are internal meetings within a multi-disciplinary consultancy that includes each department on its own. These meetings take place at least once a week. Then, there are biweekly meetings that include all departments within the consultancy. Monthly meetings usually include two design members (according to the discussed topics) and a project manager and the client. The fourth meeting type is with government representatives, such as from the Pearl assessment team. These meetings occur two to three times over the whole design phase of the project. Credit clarification requests and details are handled on a one to one basis between the assigned pearl assessor and pearl qualified professional. The visualization below represents the structure and meetings as prescribed by the consultants.
STRUCTURAL TEAM
URBAN DESIGN TEAM LANDSCAPE DESIGN TEAM INFRASTRUCTURE TEAM
COST CONSULTANT
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
LEAD STRUCTURAL LEAD INTERIOR

INTERIOR DESIGN TEAM
LEAD LS & INFRA. LEAD MEP

MECHANICAL TEAM ELECTRICAL TEAM PLUMBING TEAM
PQP
LEAD ARCHITECT
ARCHITECTURE TEAM
PROJECT MANAGER
CLIENT
UPC ADM
CONTRACTOR
INTERNAL COORDINATION
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List of changes made by consultants because of Estidama: Higher Insulation rates and more efficient wall sections Better glass selection (based on U-values meeting targets) More outdoor shading as per requirements Meeting the Solar hot water demand of 50% More internal and external coordination Commissioning agent is assigned from start of project More analysis on orientation, climate and context Less water features and landscaping to meet strict water savings targets Timeline of project changed to have the workload more up-front Early stakeholder involvement Energy model requirements met from the start of the project Plant selection is based on water and locality preferences COP of chillers is higher in performance Improvement aims of consultants Due to the enforcement of the PRS consultants are rapidly trying to improve their processes. When asked what they think they would like to change to better suit the needs of beyond business as usual and achieving higher economic, social and environmental goals they had some criteria which they found to be in need for improvement. The most suggested feature was improving the integrated design process. This was demarcated as wanting to integrate the establishment of pearl credits earlier in the design process than they are actually doing, as they find that less cost and time is needed the earlier the coordination starts. At the same time, they see a need to meet more often for coordination, especially at the early stages of design. Another particular deficit is cost, time and resources allocation. At present, it is hard for consultants to estimate the right amount of resources needed for the PRS coordination and documentation. Another aim is to improve the education and technical skills of employees. The suggested method was having in-house workshops and presentations from experts in the fields of study. Topics that have been mentioned were mainly focused on sustainability, such as design measures for resource savings, as well as process improvements. The main hindrance mentioned was time, as they find the idea very appealing in theory, however practically it is difficult to allocate the time for it. Moreover consultants feel that over the next years sustainability measures should have no additional cost and should become business as usual, having no premium for sustainability.
Main Consultants Improvement Aim

The most targeted aim of improvement by consultant is the integrated process, which needs more study, monitoring and update.
5.3 Outcome Evaluation & Recommendations

This section will evaluate and discuss the data from the previous section, to further identify the strategies needed to be recommended. Results are based on interviewees data magnitude as well as prominence seen by the author, so even some of the less dominant aspects are promoted. Overall data are first evaluated followed by the benefits, gaps and barriers. From all the interviews there are two themes that are presumed: the two largest drivers are economic incentives and awareness. These are the two overarching features of the assessment. And the two crucial missing elements are the absence of operational and existing building certification. The shortages of the utilities and infrastructure (such as waste handling and public transportation) are also affecting the results of the PRS and Estidama initiatives, as they depend on them.
Main Drivers & Missing Elements

The two main drivers found from the interviews are economic incentives and awareness. Main missing elements are existing and operational rating as well as sufficient utilities and infrastructure.
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5.3.1 Interview Data Evaluation

Indirect and direct Sustainability Drivers
From the results shown in the previous section it is clear that the biggest indirect burden is subsidized energy and water prices, which led to the lack of return on investments for the users, making it a weak selling point for the developers and a narrow demand by the occupants. Electricity prices are 0.027 euro/kWh in Abu Dhabi 67 based on the tariff of 15 Fils per kWh for non-nationals and 5 Fils for nationals 67 with the average exchange rate of 4.8 dirhams to 1 euro 68. Compared to the average EU-27 price of 1 kWh (0.184 euro) 69, Abu Dhabis electricity prices are 85% less. Similarly, water prices are vastly subsidized as well. Studies show that domestic water and electricity prices increase awareness and lower consumption 70. The second largest driver is incentives. Incentives have many forms in the field of sustainable building. To summarize, they could be split into structural incentives, such as expedited review, density and building height bonuses which are the only ones given in Abu Dhabi 71, financial incentives, such as tax credits, fee reductions, grants and revolving loan funds, or other incentives such as technical or marketing assistance 72. The only mentioned incentive of building heights is very vague and not guaranteed by any regulations or laws, therefore making it not a highly viable incentive for developers. The lack of other incentives is therefore a vast burden and is encouraged to be developed.
Clients Influence
To have more proactive clients they need to be aware about sustainability through awareness campaigns
The largest factor affecting the sustainability level directly is the client himself. This is due to the control he or she has over the financing of the project, which is the second largest difficulty. Both are connected in a way. In order to have more proactive clients they need to be made conscious and aware about sustainability, its implications and advantages. This links directly to the results of the awareness campaigns that show that Estidama is not widely spread over the media. More awareness campaigns, competitions and studies are needed to activate the potential of client movement towards investment in green buildings. As for the costs associated with green developments, one could argue that it has many facets that influence the behavior of clients. These are ranging from mid-stream attempts to incorporate sustainability measures, lack of consultants experience with low cost measures leading to late high cost additions, lack of clear goals to insufficient incentives and low return on investments. Therefore, the direct and indirect complications to the drivers need to be addressed in order to widen the spectrum and goals of green construction to be more accepted and push the market to achieving higher goals than the current set of mandatory aims.
Preference and comprehension

Most answers to whether or not users prefer the PRS indicated that they do favor it. This is directly tied to other elements such as that it is clear and easy to use, as well as having a larger positive impact towards goals of certification systems because it is tailored to the specific climate and needs of Abu Dhabi. While some criticize the PRS for being copied from many other certification systems that have been out for some years, I argue that the best way of achieving good results in such a short period has to come from learning from others and developing what has been already in use. The criteria for determining a rating system preference could be seen as the reasons behind the vast choice of the PRS, which are comprehensiveness, user-friendliness, support, value, education, versatility, challenge and use as a management tool 73.
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The system has been designed to be fairly easy to use, with very little problems reported on the credit content from a comprehension point of view. This factor is very important to draw more audience to understand and implement the system, as well as lowering the clarification requests that take a lot of time. Favoring a compulsory system over having it only voluntary is a strange behavior that needed to be studied further. Findings are that awareness of interviewees and their desires to see real change is the main factor, a result of belief in the need for change towards sustainable living and practice. Furthermore, the lack of standards prior to Estidama is a main driver to that request. While most interviewees were consultants, they are also residents of the UAE, meaning that there is a demand for more quality construction. Optimization is being done to have one path of submissions, unlike other rating systems that go in parallel to standard regulations, making the PRS more preferential: a crucial step for Abu Dhabi and a leapfrogging initiative, as the market was not ready to embrace change voluntarily. This will help close the gap between top performers (top) and the low performers by raising and avoiding negative or slow progress from the lower performers (bottom).
Compulsory Programs
Being one helps close the gap between top and low performers by raising progress rate from the lower performers
Awareness
Estidama has undoubtedly taken great strides in the dissemination of regional awareness. The certification system could be viewed as a learning tool. There are awareness campaigns for the public that are issued online on their website addressing measures anyone could take up to reduce their environmental footprint, encouraging the public to reduce water, energy and waste by providing easily comprehended ways to do so 74. As for the professionals, there are introductory systems, free of charge, as well as detailed training sessions that are given on a regular basis, whether or not attendees take the PQP exam or not. However there is still much to be improved. The most aware people are the ones directly involved with the program. The awareness campaigns seem to have taken very low effects and are not widely spread. There are two features that need to be improved, one is in the Estidama program and the other is in the PRS. Estidama needs to improve their awareness campaigns to reach more people, which could also be assisted by demanding the awareness credit in the PRS, as well as enhancing the marketing and media usage. Public education on sustainability needs further attention if it is to successfully become a point of distinction influencing users to select certified sustainable product over conventional alternatives. Moreover, there is a need for a government or a non-government organization to take the lead in capacity building, to complement the certification system in the stage where the construction industry is still undertaking the shift towards spreading this tool and methods. The prevalent type that needs immediate attention is the client, as they are currently the main drivers of the sustainability goals beyond the regulations. Further details for action are discussed in the recommendations section. Along with the previous mentioned awareness criteria, there is a need for more published work to be available. There is a lack of comprehensive and transparent data to help the industry and decision makers. Research studies in the form of reports and case studies and statistics would help the overall industry develop and raises its awareness. For example, improved studies could lead to better understanding of MEP equipment sizing that will reduce the safety margin set by over-sizing the equipment, leading to reduced materials, equipment and costs. Finally including the general public in the decision making process through active involvement creates not only a strong sense of belonging, but could raise interest and education as well.
Improvement Criteria
Improvement needed in the awareness campaigns include client education, publishing case studies, capacity building and the general public.
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Benchmarks
The current benchmarks are perceived to be generally below average and more stringent benchmarks are wished for. This is very controversial because the system is fairly new and many developers, contractors and consultants are still not up to a level to embrace higher benchmarks since they need more time to get the knowledge, as well as the market needs to mature first. Still, there needs to be constant pressure to be able to develop. This should be on various levels, especially on suppliers to be able to have more qualified high performance materials and drive the cost down. On the other hand there are some benchmarks that are presently set too high. This could be seen as a deficit in setting more detailed benchmarks. To give an example, a credit such as the use of recycled material is set to two specific percentages and split to five categories. If a category is set too high it will not be addressed because of financial difficulties and market shortage. Rather than that methodology it could be inverted to have more steps of percentages to the same categories and decouple them from one another. This could have the effect of trying to achieve some amount in each category rather than focusing on one material aspect. Achieving this will stimulate the market to evolve faster and will provide more competition.
Typology
Another aspect is the typology and stages of the PRS. Currently there are three types: villa, buildings and communities. These types cover design and construction stages. There is a need to expand the covered types to address all building typologies in greater details, which are continuously increasing. Other rating systems overcame this issue by adopting and developing more schemes to address more details and typologies. This was criticized to have a negative effect because of the complexity it creates, which is still not present in the PRS. This could be avoided by recognizing that the similarities between the schemes are far more than the differences, and therefore a common scheme with detailed sub-schemes would be the more efficient way to progress, as for example what was done in BREEAM 29. Still, as there are many differences in existing buildings and operational certification systems there should be another main scheme specifically for these. Details are given in the recommendation section. Providing existing building certification will tackle the current bulk resource consumers, while the operational rating will verify and hold the developments up to the standards that they have been designed to reach. Both could also be based on one scheme with a path including refurbishment while the other one only focuses on operation and maintenance.
Figure 53: Proposed Typology Structure

The proposed structure recognizes similarities first. The methodology is based on a 3 stepped approach: 1. Define Scale 2. Define Stage 3. Define Type
1 3
BUILDING
COMMUNITY
EXISTING
COURTS DATA CENTERS INDUSTRIAL SERVICES FIRE STATION POLICE STATION
2 NEW CONSTRUCTION
SPECIAL TYPES MIXED-USE RESIDENTIAL OFFICE HOTEL EDUCATION HEALTHCARE VILLAS
OPERATIONAL
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Weighting
Weighting of credits plays a very important role over the outcome of any certification system. As mentioned before, about half of the weight is addressing energy and water reductions as a consequence of climate conditions, water scarcity and consumption behavior. This is considered to be a good strategy to challenge the greater subjects. On the other hand, this has an extensive influence on other aspects, making them easily negligible because of their lacking or a shortage. As Cole et al. 75 debates, most available certification systems including the PRS offer little or no weight on social and economic aspects in their evaluation. This has also been acknowledged by some of the interviewees that said that the reason behind this is not having social criteria high on the agenda as well as having the certification system designed and written by the engineering community. There needs to be a properly balanced alignment as these certification systems are addressing sustainability as a whole and not the environmental issues alone. Additionally, some developments could get away with achieving highest ratings while still lacking main criteria as a whole. This is seen in studies made for example on LEED platinum rated buildings 76 that show relatively similar trends between certified, silver, gold and platinum rated buildings. This issue creates negative impacts on the reliability and credibility of the rating system. Avoiding this issue could be achieved by having some kind of a wider separation between the levels and requiring provision of all aspects. A method of realizing this is having dynamic prerequisites. The meaning of this is having a tier based set of prerequisites, the higher the pearl rating the more prerequisites are required. It could be set as a prerequisite to optional credits ratio.
Balanced Weighting
Social and Economic aspects should get more weighting in the rating.
Dynamic Weighting
Prerequisites could be raised with each level of rating.
Transparency
Transparency of certifications is also tied to the reliability and credibility of the rating system. At present, the conveyed information used to inform the public and users about the buildings is a single number of pearls. For someone who has no understanding on the benchmarks used this number would not be meaningful as it is not transferable into generally known and used indicators, such as kWh per square meter or liters per day, or even compared to current baselines of the city, stating a percentage increase above the baseline in the specific aspects that affect the decision of a user. This issue is easily avoided without any extra cost, as the information should already be calculated within the rating stages, as well as having a higher pressure and impact on developers and contractors to deliver what they have promised. As a proposal, the rating certificate could be set to include more tangible criteria, adding the water and energy savings over the baseline to be publicly displayed with the pearl level. Another subject is the long term goal of Estidama and the PRS. Currently there are probably plans to diversify and extend the PRS, as well as making the benchmarks more stringent. These future goals should be conveyed to the public in figures such as done by the EU in the Europe 2020 targets 77, for example setting the reduction levels to a certain percentage as well as the renewable energy generation. All of which are to be set in phases. Benefits in doing so are setting aspirations that drive and shape the changes in the market and research, committing to goals that have to be achieved even when policy makers change and last, making the public more aware of the future plans of their city.
84
Figure 54: Proposed Certification

The proposed certification is to include more data than just the level of rating, as a mean to convey further helpful information in a transparent manner. (Estidama logo and rating)
47
26% 45%
150M
ENERGY SAVINGS /BaU WATER SAVINGS /BaU DISTANCE TO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Updating the PRS

Updating the certification system to address benchmarks modifications is becoming a standard in most certification systems. These are mainly done by having incremental advancements in the indicators compared to the original baseline. This could be prescribed as the bottom up approach. This is a very complex task which requires constant monitoring of the market changes and relies on the feedback from certification systems users to comment on the new benchmarks set, how they are achieved and what costs are associated and whether or not they will be implemented. A deficiency in the bottom up approach is hitting the exact benchmark that is not too high and not too low. A way out of this is defining the levels, indicators and criteria that meet long term sustainability goals and inverse the system to be a top down one, which could be perceived better from the users as they would have a clear vision of the goals. Another benefit is the easiness of upgrading the system. Through continuous monitoring of the performance of buildings and communities it will be easier to know the timing of raising the performance bar, as well as to which level. While many other rating systems lack the authority to drive the market through acting as regulatory bodies, the case with Estidama as mentioned in the previous section is being both, a command and control as well as a market based instrument. This reduces the time governments need to adjust their regulations to follow best practices and certification systems. Through that, the pace of upgrades is expected to be higher.
EARLY ADOPTERS 13.5%
EARLY MAJORITY 34%
LATE MAJORITY 34%
INNOVATORS 2.5%
The voluntary case is illustrated in the solid bell curve with the given percentages (adopted from Everett M. Rogers Diffusion of Innovations). The dotted curve represents Estidamas PRS improvements estimation caused by mandating the rating and combining C&C and MBIs.
ADOPTERS
LAGGARDS 16%
Figure 55: Adoption Curve
TIME
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Assessment methodology
The assessment methodology could encourage innovative design or hinder it by setting too many restrictions in an innovation discouraging way. In the interviews some were arguing that prescriptive methods tend to hinder the design in some ways. On the other hand performance based methods are seen to be expensive and time consuming in some aspects, for example doing performance based energy analysis requires great details in the development of the model and also requires an appropriate amount of expertise and having the software tools. Certification systems should not discourage innovative designs by setting restrictions. At the same time they should not overload the designers and put technical and economic burdens on them. A solution is providing both prescriptive and performance based methods to suit the whole range of small and large businesses. By having more than one way of doing the analysis consultants could use the path that is best suitable for each specific project type, size and function.
Financial barriers
As mentioned in the beginning of the section, economic aspects are one of the main drivers of sustainable development progress, and therefore need critical attention. Many have criticized the PRS and Estidama for not providing incentives, which holds to be factual. There is enormous potential for providing financial incentives which will be discussed in detail in the strategies section. Incentives should address short term as well as long term strategies. One of the major problems faced occurs when the developer is not the end-user, leading to what is called the agency problem 78, defined as when someone (developer) looks after the best interest of another party (user) rather than his or her own interest. In this case the authorities should provide methods to internalize the benefits to the developer. Methods used are fairly new, and need support from legislation. One of the methods used in Germany is increasing the rent cap. For example, if the rent cap in Abu Dhabi is set to 7% every two years it could be increased or the intervals changed to a shorter period of time. Market incentives should also be provided, to promote the adoption of usually unaffordable technologies. On the other hand, from the interview results there are many observations that note higher costs such as having the commissioning agents and contractors present from the beginning of the process, increased paperwork that is time intensive, and extra knowledge and team members obligation. Affordability of these issues is the main challenge. Nevertheless these aspects need to be looked at while keeping the whole life cycle cost of the development in mind. The main principal is having the owner consider the cost over the lifecycle of the project and not just the initial cost to realize that these expenditures do actually lower the maintenance and operation of the properties. This is only plausible by having a financially positive outcome with profits. This is doubtfully the case if Abu Dhabis subsidies stay as-is. The market as a whole takes part in the financial disputes. As mentioned in the interviews, enforcing a certification system with its requirements on Abu Dhabi alone in the UAE creates an imbalanced market when looking at all emirates. This could lead to the shift of developments and developers to focus on other locations for the attractiveness of lower regulations. A wider implementation or comparable regulations is therefore recommended. Another market aspect is readiness, meaning how extensive the supporting industries are equipped to address the technical and economic needs of the regulation. Many interviewees addressed this issue by stating the lack of required materials, equipment and agents. The result is higher prices through higher demand that is currently not met. Another face is reliance on imports which drive the prices even higher. Local manufacturing is therefore needed.
Incentives
There is a huge gap between developers and users as there are no financial incentives given to developers to go beyond regulations.
Market Fairness
An imbalanced market with only Abu Dhabi following Estidama could cause developers to shift capital to neighboring Emirates.
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5.3.2 Effects on Consultants

The effect that Estidama and the PRS have on consultants shows great improvements as well as providing feedback to the system. As listed in the previous section, the establishment of the IDP in the rating system enhanced and encouraged more integrated and cross-disciplinary work. Mandating a minimum performance of the facilities required a huge amount of changes in the processes, design and education of consultants towards more consciousness about the sustainability issues. Therefore the PRS had a general positive effect on consultants.
Missing Information
As consultants reported lacking information and case studies, an open source online communication platform is suggested, that includes all stakeholders.
What is still missing is providing a feedback loop to further enrich consultants progression. This could be done after implementing an operational rating by sending the feedback to the consultants, as well as providing more research as stated before. The integrated design process should be conveyed in a more practical way as stated in some of the interviews, which is provided in the next page. Another measure that could be beneficial is easing the certification process by providing more optimized ways of submission, interaction and design tools. For the submission optimization an interactive online tool could be provided that would include a login process to each project to give all stakeholders and participating parties the ability to view the progress of the project. Interactions should include means such as blogs, Q&A forums as well as data platforms that are based on peer to peer with no or minimum fees. These forums should not be limited to consultants and should include suppliers, manufacturers and developers to keep them all up to date and provide the designers with state of the art products, as well as help manufacturers and suppliers know what the industry is looking for. Estidamas EVPD is a good starting point, but lacks means of interaction as well as it is limited to villa specific products. Design tools could include BIM technology. This would highly improve the performance of design and could work as a standardized tool of communication between the different parties and stages of the project, as well as providing data for the operational phase. The downsides of incorporating BIM as a regulation is its huge cost implication combined with the high risk provided because of how new these software packages are. The integrated design process, which has been taking place by the consultants, has been criticized by its own users. The main reason found for having issues implementing it is the lack of structure. Even though there are many variations to the process relying on project size, consultants diversity (multidisciplinary) and size, as well as location of stakeholders and producers, there are basics that if followed, then the integration could see significant enhancements. Furthermore, many have tested, reported and documented their processes, which could be used as a base structure and later on varied to suit each consultant. The following is an explanation of a methodology: The method requires all disciplines to be on board from the very first step of project initiation, and depends on the level of collaboration between team members. By doing so, a holistic vision could be shared, generating improved results in a timely manner. This process ought to be achieved within the same timeframe and allocated budget of any given project, with the difference of the intervals and period of payment. This process is to be followed over the whole cycle of the project. 79 Even though there might be different visions of an integrated design process, there is an agreement on the key differences between the integrated and conventional, business as usual design process, which are highlighted in the following list.
87

Conventional Design Process
Involves team members only when essential Less time, energy, and collaboration exhibited in early stages More decisions made by fewer people Linear process Systems often considered in isolation Limited to constrained optimization Diminished opportunity for synergies Emphasis on up-front costs Typically finished when construction is complete
Integrated Design Process

Inclusive from the outset Front-loaded time and energy invested early Decisions influenced by broad team Iterative process Whole-systems thinking Allows for full optimization Seeks synergies Life-cycle costing Process continues through post-occupancy
Table 09: IDP vs CDP
79
A summary comparison between IDP and CDP, showing the main differences.
The image below shows the level of involvement of team members, which is directly related to the projects environmental and economic performance because of later stage problems and last minute changes avoidance. One could see how by setting the work more up-front that the required effort at the later stages decreases.
PD Intensive high involvement Periodic high involvement Moderate involvement Periodic low involvement Sporadic or no involvement
0 3 6 9 18 42
SD
DD
CD
BC
BO/PO
Figure 56: Design Team Involvement
79
Comparison between IDP and CDP level of involvement. Key: Sustainability Opportunities CDP IDP (design) IDP (contractor)
Duration (months)
Generally, the integrated design process could be seen as an interactive one, which is flexible and not a strict procedure. It could, or even should be different for each project; therefore one cannot draw a specific schedule for all projects. As team members learn from each others experiences in the various involved disciplines, it is an ongoing learning practice. The following is a list of attitudes, principals and strategies embraced in the integrated design process. 79
Attitude
Inclusion and collaboration Outcome oriented Trust and transparency
Principle
Broad collaborative team Well-defined scope, vision, goals, and objectives Effective and open communication Innovation and synthesis
Strategies
Careful team formation Team building Facilitation training for team Expert facilitation Visioning charrettes (with comprehensive preparation) Brainstorming
Table 10: IDP Key Concepts
79
Attitudes, principles, in combination with the strategies are listed
Open-mindedness and creativity
Rigour and attention to detail
Systematic decision making
Goals and targets matrix Decision-making tools
Continuous learning and improvement
Iterative process with feedback cycles
Post-occupancy evaluation Comprehensive commissioning
88
As mentioned before, the process requires involvement from all disciplines in the project. These include architects, planners, engineers (MEP), structural engineers, project managers, cost consultants, landscape architects, interior, lighting and material designers, as well as other experts dependent on the project type. 80 Usually key members missing are contractors and cost consultants. For these enormous meetings and coordination a new role for organization is needed. This role has been described as an IDP facilitator. The succeeding image shows the time dynamics and interactions between the members across the whole building phases. As the up-front work aims to avoid last minute crisis, last minute changes are minimized. 79 When it comes to Building design, there are a set of defined needs which should be considered first as a main objective that all members would strive to achieve. These start with the functionality of the building, which is optimized to fit with energy efficiency, water savings and material reduction measures that will be chosen. The analysis of the envelope would consider the climate it will be built in as well. Mechanical systems are then reduced from the standards through passive measures and avoided oversized systems. Controls are then chosen according to the type and user criteria. Lastly, and this is usually where designers previously started, a selection of available renewable energy sources are explored, to add to the efficiency of the building as a whole entity.
Figure 57: Integrated Design Process

Key: Project Constraints Exploratory Design Process All Team Workshop Focused Workshops Iterative Process Additional Iterations
To fully comprehend and adjust the buildings energy performance and production, an energy model is required. This is vitally important to be taking place in the early design phase to build up decisions according to the findings. 81 This is specially the case in complex shaped buildings where it is difficult to use the rules of thumbs (e.g. north-south orientation). With todays technological advancements and programs available, this task is no longer considered as time consuming or expensive.
Front End
Back End
PD
SD
DD
CD
BC
BO
PO
Scope
18
42
Duration (months)
89
5.3.3 PRS credits

When looking into the credits in greater detail they have proven to be largely balanced between pushing the industry towards higher standards without paralyzing the projects flow. As mentioned in the interviews with Estidama team members, this was not the case from the start because there was general rejection from stakeholders, however it is something that was solved by time. Nevertheless, there are credits that could achieve higher standards by raising the aimed benchmarks as a consequence of either being too lenient or having a larger demand for it. Other credits may be too ambitious. Even when they are very high on the agenda they still need more support to be able to accomplish them. Right now these high credits could see a reduction in their demands or segmenting them to have lower effects without hindering being able to reach higher achievements. Subsequently, there are some credits that could be mandated as prerequisites as well as additional credits to the rating system that do not exist. Finally, some of the credits could use more clarification to be easier to understand and precise in their requirements, calculations and submission methods. First explained are aspects that could see some reductions. As stated before, the methodology should not be removing or just lowering the benchmarks, but having a broader spectrum of credits to have greater flexibility and encourage developers to pursue more credits. First is the energy monitoring. Currently it is mandated to have sub-metering for all different kinds of end-use equipment with details reaching hourly monitoring. This equipment is costly and requires services and area and is generally not the norm yet. Therefore, it is advised to have less mandated equipment and maybe have the higher regulation set as an optional credit. The same could be applied to the material reduction and design for flexibility credits, which are already optional credits. Rather than setting the full credit to one high percentage, this credit could be divided to have a range of percentages. Other examples are regarding the cost to benefit ratio, as well as flexibility of the methodology. For instance a requirement of shading bicycle pathways is beneficial if the rate of cycling is very high in reality or expected to be. As for now it is less of a priority compared to shading for pedestrians. As an example for flexibility, the provision of organic waste treatment should not be limited to onsite only. A semi-centralized treatment facility for each community to share could also be a possibility. In this way, the impact is better since there would be more wastes to treat, which make the management and maintenance costs feasible. The second aspects discussed are those that could see some higher requirements and benchmarks. The feature mentioned the least in the interviews was noise. Architects tend to focus on the aesthetics, engineers on function and the noise aspect is greatly neglected. As Julian Treasure said we are losing our listening 82, there is a need for greater attention to the noise aspects in design. Therefore, a prerequisite of a separate maximum day and night values is recommended/suggested to be added to the PRS. Another objective is water reduction. This is one of the highest required aspects in Abu Dhabi and therefore it is encouraged to further raise the requirements and standards. To avoid resistance of developers it could be done in a way as prescribed before, by adding more credits that could be achieved with more efficiency. One measure that could be put in place right away is disallowing any plants that are invasive in nature or that require a lot of water for irrigation. As for the energy aspects higher efficiency materials could be rewarded, such as better glazing. For renewable energy there should be a bounding limit by country or radius of where the renewable energy is coming from, as a means of forcing the growth of local renewable energy production. As cited before, social and economic aspects are widely neglected or fall short on their weight, such as in the last section of the PRS Innovating practice where cultural architecture and practice are encouraged. This section should see more divisions to
Higher Credits Benchmark Adjustment

A broader spectrum of credits would encourage developers to pursue the hard credits by achieving lower requirements, helping development by time.
Lower Credits Benchmark Adjustment

Credits that need higher benchmarks are noise, water, social and economic aspects.
Master Thesis - Ismail Khater more specific requirements as well as more overall weighting.
90
Credit Provisions
Prescriptive methods for energy calculation should be added to the PBRS. Feedback from users should also be mandated. The use of BIM technology is seen as a great added value, therefore should be considered as a plus.
The last aspects discussed are the ones that are currently not available, but could be amended in the next version of the PRS. One greatly mentioned difficulty is the energy model. Currently prescriptive methods are limited to villas. To further ease the process for smaller developers and consultants it is recommended to add the prescriptive method to the building rating as well. Smaller changes are needed in terms of clarity and comprehensiveness of the PRS, such as more detailed descriptions as well as including all measurable criteria. For example, the interior water reduction credit does not include dishwashers and washing machines. Another addition that could be added to the PRS is reinforcing shared facilities. The intent of this credit would be to encourage developers and tenants to share equipment and facilities as much as socially accepted, on both community and building scales. To give an example, washing machines could be provided for an entire building in a room, which would reduce initial cost, maintenance cost and plumbing fixtures. The final aspect discussed in this section is incorporating users behavior and feedback. Feedback is of great value to help improve the design in many aspects, especially because the design relies on many assumptions about consumer behavior. Therefore a localized study is needed to rationalize these assumptions and better understand the information to be conveyed to both the designers and tenants. Last, there could be a credit specifically encouraging the use of BIM technology over the whole period of the project. The level of details could define the credits achieved, to have the process more incremental and benefit from the initiation to the end of the use of the software.
5.4 Strategies
In this section strategies for the most prominent weaknesses identified from the analysis will be made. These are awareness campaigns for awareness raising, financial incentives and enhancement of utilities and infrastructure. In relation to the PRS and Estidama, these play vital roles in supporting the initiatives to achieve their goals. Improvement strategies will be showed including methodologies of implementation and examples.
5.4.1 Public awareness

Increasing awareness is a strategy to develop drivers for sustainability. It is also a method of increasing knowledge by educating and informing people about the various strategies needed to achieve the goals. There are various achievements which could be accomplished through the raising of awareness, which lead/point towards the aims of the Estidama and the PRS of promoting sustainability. This is of course split into specific measures and actions which drive towards the overall goal. Many awareness campaigns have been successfully implemented and studied, which helped shape this outline 12, 83, 84, 85, 86 . The ultimate goal of awareness campaigns is to achieve a degree of motivation so the members of the community can participate in the decision making process at a more informed level and that they can participate in the realization of the decisions taken. There are four steps to any awareness campaign, which are: identifying the message, identifying the audience, communication methods and measuring the results. Estidamas awareness campaign 74 is a good starting point for identifying the messages; however it lacks structure, consistency, clarity and diversity of media usage. Identifying the message: A good awareness campaign is one where the message is clearly communicated, effective and is understood by the broadest audience. The message must deliver the issue and what needs to be done. It also needs to be focused to increase its success.
91
Identifying the audience: The different stakeholders and users related to any project make up the audience. In order to maximize effectiveness of these campaigns they need to be tailored to each category of the respective audience. The first target audiences are industry, which includes developers, owners, contractors, designers and manufacturers. Second target audiences are the consumers, including home buyers and owners, as well as children in schools, youth in universities, academics and the general public. Communication methods: The methods can vary but preferably should be consistent. Methods should be as diverse as possible, to reach people regardless of their mode of communication. Methods should include but are not limited to websites, e-banners, TV spots, radio spots, street banners, newsletters (digital and print), brochures, press releases, presentations, public and focus presentations and workshops, information books as well as unconventional methods, such as social network sites and mobile applications, including interactive blogs that will include the audiences input and feedback. As there is a huge Muslim community in Abu Dhabi that visits mosques at least once every Friday, there is a huge potential to reach out to people through preaching as well. This is also the case because of the influence religious leaders have over the population. Measuring results: This task needs to be taken once before the initiation of the campaigns and after that it will be done after finishing each campaign. The reason for doing so is to track the effectiveness of the campaigns, as well as identify the trends of preferred communication methods. After gathering the required information, including the effectiveness and preferred methods, an update and then re-initiation should take place. The following table is a summary matrix of the proposed audience combined with their messages and means of communication.
Table 11: Awareness Matrix

Summary matrix of the proposed target groups combined with their messages, activities and means of communication.
TARGET GROUP MESSAGE Developers Owners Constructors Designers Manufacturers INDUSTRY
Schools Universities Academics General public CONSUMERS
COMMUNICATION METHOD Environmental benefits of green Create media and workshops that explains the benefits Focused workshops building of sustainable building, manufacturing, maintenance and Information books design Blogs Incentives for sustainable building Explain the current and expected incentives with case stud- Seminars ies showing how long the payback periods are, methods of Technical publications Social network financing and expected revenues Website Business opportunities of green Encourage and promote the initiation and expansion of E-newsletter products green products and explain how they will be supported by increased incentives and regulations Quality advantages Explain the advantages of improved quality over the period of use of buildings, appliances and products in general Inform about databases Give information about the available tools of communication, interaction and products promotion with walkthroughs of how to use them Eco-friendly products and labels Explain the differences between products, help identifying mobile applications eco-products and the benefits of their use TV spots Building reputation and credibility Build the reputation, trust and credibility for green products Radio spots Street banners through showing the differences, their advantages and E-newsletter savings Public presentations Resource saving advantages and Explain the advantages of saving water and electricity Press release methods and also explain the methods of achieving these savings through less consumption behavior and smart appliances Encourage less waste generation Promote less material usage and encourage waste separation Encourage healthy living Promote healthier living behavior through explaining the benefits and methods, such as less usage of vehicular usage Green products database Inform about reliable information sources and explain how to use these sources, as well as explain indicators with examples ACTIVITY
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5.4.2 Economic Incentives and disincentives

Incentives could be broadly defined as anything that motivates people to act 87 . The term disincentives refer to the act of discouraging a certain behavior such as excessive water and electricity consumption. This section will convey some financial incentive strategies which could be placed in Abu Dhabi to assist with the implementation of Estidamas and the PRS goals, as well as targeting the existing buildings and behavior of people.
Water and electricity pricing Subsidies in Abu Dhabi

Water and electricity subsidies reach 85% for nationals and 50% for expatriates, discouraging reduction in consumption as well as building efficiency. Subsidies have existed in Abu Dhabi since the formation of the government. They exist on fossil fuels, water and electricity prices. Even when they could be justified in theory that they support social prosperity, experts opinion argued that the subsidies have a net negative effect 88. They have extensive environmental, economic and social impacts and usually result in more consumption, placing pressure on government budgets and funding that could have been diverted to other priorities such as alternative energy sources 89. Prior to 1997 electricity and water prices were based on a flat fee of 50 Dhs per month. After introducing the unit price system a reduction of around 30% occurred 90. This is an example and proof that prices do have a huge effect on the usage of the resources and should play a big role in the saving measures the city wishes to see. Abu Dhabi has no plans to increase water and electricity prices 91. The current subsidies on water and electricity, which reach to 85% for nationals and 50% for expatriates 92, are discouraging as they promote neither a reduction in consumption nor more efficient building. Moreover, traditional resource prices have been set at the same level for broad classes of customers, such as residential or industrial, and are fixed to a set price regardless of the supply and demand and not reflective of price hikes seen in the hourly cost. There are three measures which could be done to increase the incentives to build more efficiently and be more conscious about the resource prices. These are reductions in subsidies, tiered pricing slabs and time based pricing.
Subsidies phase-out
Much literature has proven that phasing out of subsidies leads directly to reductions in energy and water usage 93, 94. Since the subsidies percentages are so huge, it is necessary to create a reasonable phasing out plan that would be noticeable but not too dramatic in pace so as to avoid calamities or cause opposition. Besides that, benefits for the rich are higher than the poor, because richer households consume more resources. From other examples such as in Indonesia, Ghana and India 95 there are proven methods of subsidies reductions combined with effective public relations campaigns to make the phasing accepted. The proposed plan is to take advantage of the pearl rating, as it will ensure the reduction of energy and water consumption in coming developments. Phasing out would be split to national and non-national residents. An average 5.8% increase between now and 2030 would lead to the complete removal of the subsidies. Of course this could be enforced on the higher users, and plans for low income should take place.
93
Tiered pricing
The principle of tiered pricing has been already adopted in many countries and cities, such as Egypt, china and Dubai 96. By using tiered pricing social fairness is ensured, as low consumers do not get affected, while high consumers are driven to lower their consumption through higher price tiers. The method of doing this is to have each tier limit priced differently and stated on the bills for costumers. The following is an example of the tiered pricing system in Dubai, which is a relatively close example of what could be achieved in Abu Dhabi.
Electricity Tariff
Residential / Commercial
Consumption/ month 0-2000 kWh Slab tariff 23 fils / kWh
Water Tariff
Industrial
ConsumpSlab tariff tion/ month 0-10000 23 fils / kWh kWh 10001 kWh & Above 38 fils / kWh
Residential
Consumption/ month 0-6000 IG Slab tariff 3.5 fils / IG
Industrial & Commercial

Consumption/ month 0-10000 IG Slab tariff 3.5 fils / IG
Table 12: Dubai Tiered Pricing 96

Example of tiered pricing system already applied in Dubai. The higher the consumption, the higher the unit price.
200128 fils / 4000 kWh kWh 400132 fils / 6000 kWh kWh 6001 kWh 38 fils / & Above kWh
60014.0 fils 12000 IG / IG 12001 IG 4.6 fils & above / IG
100014.0 fils 20000 IG / IG 20001 IG 4.6 fils & above / IG
Time-based pricing
The principle of time based pricing is having a dynamic price that reflects two things: first the demand of the resource (the higher the demand the higher the price), and second the actual production price (in case of electricity). There are many ways of having time based pricing, ranging from hourly real-time pricing to fixed time-of-use pricing 97. Because real-time pricing is complicated and requires sophisticated metering, here it is suggested to have the fixed time-of-use pricing, divided into three categories, on-peak, mid-peak and off-peak pricing. On-peak would be calculated according to the daily consumption graph taking the highest measured five hours of the day, while mid-peak is three hours before and after the on-peak and the off-peak is the rest of the 24 hours. Added to that a seasonal pricing could be added, where summer months have a higher rate than the winter months because of the higher summer months consumption. The effect of having time-based pricing will reduce production costs as well as reduce resource consumption. A recent study done by Fraunhofer institute 98 states that 53% of the interviewed population responded with yes that they will adapt their behavior according to the prices. The two figures illustrate the time-based pricing suggestion on an hourly and monthly basis, while the suggested billing method combining both time-based and tiered pricing would be calculated and displayed as in the following table.
Electricity Tariff
Consumption/ month 0-2000 kWh Slab tariff 10 fils / kWh
Time-based Multiplier
time/day 22-11 hr 8-11 & 16-22 hr 11-16 hr multiplier 0.9 1.1 1.4
Seasonal Multiplier
season low (september-april) high (may-august) multiplier 0.9 1.1
Table 13: Suggested Billing Method

Suggested method combines tier and time based methods, based on two multiplier factors.
2001-4000 kWh 15 fils / kWh 4001-6000 kWh 20 fils / kWh

price multiplier
94
consumption kWh
1600 1.4 1400 1.2 1200 1 1000 0.8 800 0.6 600 0.4 400 200 0.2 0
1
consumption kWh
6 months
25 20 15 10 5 0
1800 1.6
6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0
12 time per hour
18
24
12
Figure 58: Time Based Pricing

Left: Daily Pricing Right: Seasonal Pricing Key: Price Measurement
Regulating renewable energy development

There is a need for regulations for renewable energy development in Abu Dhabi to promote the technologies and encourage investors to enter the market. Currently there are no mechanisms that promote individuals or larger investors to enter the energy market. The main incentive to promote renewable energy development used worldwide is guaranteeing that the government or power purchase company will buy the electricity generated from the renewable energy producer. There are three types of payment: feed-in tariff, net metering and power purchase agreements. Feed-in tariff The feed-in tariff compensation method is usually highlighted by the fact that the producer gets a higher compensation rate than the retail price. This is regulated by the amount they can produce and is usually set to a specific price. To promote development in the technology this tariff declines over the years. Common producers are home owners who install PV panels on their roof. The tariff is also guaranteed for a long period (i.e. 20 years). Feed-in tariffs also require two meters, one for the generation metering and the standard meter for consumption. 99 Net metering In the net metering method the compensation is exactly the retail price. This method requires no additional meter, as most meters can work in reverse 100. Producers get to pay the subtracted outcome of what they produce subtracted from what they have consumed. In the case that they have excess production they can either transfer their credit to a different time or get compensated in monetary terms (depending on the policy). The disadvantage of net metering is that it is less profitable compared to current feed-in tariff policies. Power purchase agreement Power purchase agreements are usually used for larger producers 101. They do get compensated lower than the retail price, except in some cases of solar power. The seller is obliged to deliver the agreed upon volume and is penalized if they do not do so. 102
Figure 59: Different Connection Methods

Net metering, Feed-in tariff and Power purchase agreement connection methods.
Net
INVERTER
FiT
INVERTER
PPA
INVERTER
FiT meter
STANDARD
STANDARD
meter
PPA meter
GRID
meter
GRID STANDARD GRID
meter
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Green loans and leases

Green loans are loans that could be taken to invest in renewable energy, energy efficient fixtures and appliances, existing buildings retrofitting and generally any resource saving technique, which would result in the reduction of CO2 emissions through the reduction in resource consumption. To give an example, households could get a free sustainability assessment by an Estidama assessor that would result in a report provided by the assessor highlighting measures that could be taken as an action plan to retrofit the house. This method has been used for example in Australia 103, 104. The government then provides the loans on a low or no interest basis. Green leases are for new and renewal leases, where the owner and the tenants agree on operational recommendations set out in the green lease to abide by the set performance for energy and water use, share data, fit-out and refurbishment for owners and occupiers and as many other clauses as agreed upon by both parties 105. Both tenants and landlord undertake the specified set of responsibilities which include supply, maintenance and operational use of the building as well as social and ethical considerations. There are other methods that are not widely used but available in Germany, which are based on the rent cap. In that case, an increase of the rent cap is permitted by the government in case the owner takes the initiative to retrofit the existing building, creating an incentive for the developer 106.
Energy Performance contracting

As stated before there are no initiatives taken to tackle the performance of the existing buildings even though there is a huge potential to reduce emissions and resource consumption if these buildings were to be refurbished. The main obstacles are financial in nature followed by the lack of technical knowledge. Energy performance contracting is a solution that will target resource consumption reduction without relying on owner or tenant investment. Energy performance contracts (EPC) are innovative forms of contracting that were developed to overcome the obstacles identified above, providing a performance based procurement and financial mechanism. EPCs are performed by energy service companies (ESCO) that engage the facilities to improve its efficiency, guaranteeing the outcome savings will pay for the capital investment over a specified period of time. What the ESCOs do is analyze the facility, evaluate what the levels of savings could achieve, offer to implement the savings project with guarantees over a definite time period and after the construction they monitor and verify the performance 107. This guarantee assures the payment of the capital investment could be paid by the utility bills savings 108. The user will be paying the agreed share from the savings and will enjoy the full savings after the completion of the contract period. Depending on the scheme and contract terms the risk is divided between the user and ESCO. There are three considerations for any EPC. These are viability, capital and risk. The fundamental consideration is having a viable project that is justified to take the next steps of financing and implementation. This is studied depending on the payback period, which is usually between 3-20 years 109. To implement this in Abu Dhabi it is suggested to include Estidama and the PRS teams to take part in the assessment of the projects, verifying the viability of these projects. This would require extra resources or a whole department that would focus on these types of projects. After confirming the viability of the project the capital source is looked for. This could either be the ESCO, the developer, a bank, public fund or from energy utilities. As the energy utilities are government owned, it would be of their own interest to finance these projects because of the double savings they would achieve, first by the return
Green Financing Schemes

By applying the schemes explained, Abu Dhabi government would be saving the need to expand the utilities needed to meet population growth demands.
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on their investment and second by reducing the subsidized energy generation. The last consideration is risk, which is at large endured by the ESCO due to equipment and performance shortage. Since this is the added value of ESCOs they should cover most of the risk and all of the technical risks 110. The following figure illustrates the financial allocation of the project. The tilt in the graph represents the energy price increase.
Energy Operating Costs
Figure 60: Contracting Financial Scheme 110

After the contract period the customer will receive all savings
Guaranteed savings covers the investment value
Customer Savings
Previous costs
New, reduced costs with Performance Contracting
Guarantee Period begins
Contract expires
Time
There are numerous benefits for implementing EPCs. The benefits are driving the built environment towards sustainability goals. Environmental goals are reductions in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Economic goals are through savings in capital and allowing more activity in the construction industry which create jobs. Social goals are through improvements in indoor quality. There are many types of cash flow in EPCs. The most known two are explained hereafter. Shared savings contracts are the ones where the ESCO arranges for the capital. They may either pay from their own capital or take a loan from a third party such as a bank. After completing the project the customer pays the ESCO from the savings based on the percentage which they agreed upon. This method incentivizes the customer to take extra saving measures. Since the ESCO pays for the installations they also retain ownership of it until payment is completed. Banks would usually not prefer giving too many loans for one ESCO; therefore this method reduces the amount of projects one company could take. The second type is guaranteed savings contracts. The main difference is that in this case the customer takes out the loan from a third party. Performance risks are guaranteed by the ESCO, and differences between the guarantees and actual savings are paid by the ESCO. The customer pays the ESCO for their services and the third party financier. As the ESCO does not need to take loans in this case, smaller ESCOs could take many projects without the financial burden. Still, the reputation of the ESCO plays a role in the financiers decision. 108 The following figure illustrates the main differences between the two types.
Energy Investment Loan
Figure 61: Cash Flow Scheme 108

Top: Cash flow in shared savings contract Bottom: Cash flow in Guaranteed saving contract
Customer
Share of Savings
ESCO
Repayments
Third Party Financier
Payment for Work
Loan
ESCO
Energy Works
Customer
Repayments
Third Party Financier
Savings Guarantee
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5.4.3 Utilities, services and infrastructure enhancement

This section will discuss some strategies which could be implemented to assist the infrastructure and utilities to achieve higher efficiencies and more sustainability goals through short term, long term and temporary measures. Some of the ideas are derived from other countries, which require verification of social acceptance and willingness of behavioral changes. There are two main measures discussed. One is the resource management, where suggestions for utility improvements are recommended, and the second one is proposing dematerialization and ephemeralization alternatives to the current materialized economy and behavior.
Resource Management
The challenge of improving and redeveloping the utilities and infrastructure is a complex, long term task. The aims already exist in the plan 2030. To be able to achieve these goals Abu Dhabi needs to work on decentralization initiatives, combined with incentives and by including the general public in taking some of the load of water, energy and waste production and treatment, as this currently does not exist. Water treatment is solely the responsibility of the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority 111. The same is true for waste treatment. However decentralized wastewater treatment and solid waste treatment has faced much negative criticism, such as inefficiencies, hygiene and safety problems. Additionally there are scalability problems that make such projects not feasible because of the amount of wastewater and solid waste available for treatment making the projects not economically viable 112. As a solution, a compromise between the completely decentralized and centralized system is suggested, meaning treatment projects that work on a neighborhood or district level. This would solve the scale issues, as well as providing more control over maintenance by assigning management companies to the services. In the case of organic waste there are no scale issues, and therefore it is recommended to further promote decentralized decomposition systems 113. Furthermore, the PRS for communities could play a vital role in recognizing and giving credit to such initiatives, though the government would have to provide the legislation for this market to be created. Water consumption in public spaces has been addressed by the PRDM, where lists of measures and plants have been identified. Irrigation methods and schedules are also well researched 44. The existing landscape could see more improvements, such as irrigation efficiencies described in the PRDM in terms of scheduling and the use of wastewater. Solid waste separation is being enforced by the PRS for new developments 34. Currently solid waste is all collected together without separation. There needs to be a plan for developing solid waste treatment plants, and there needs to be initiatives to tackle the existing buildings as a way of preparation for when the treatment plants are developed. Another problem of waste is the collection method. A solution for this issue is described in the next sub-section. The energy sector has seen a lot of initiatives in the past decade in Abu Dhabi. This could be seen for example in the Masdar initiatives discussed in chapter four. Still, all production is centralized and owned solely by the government. Systems as discussed in the previous section (PPA and FiT) would reduce the burden on the government to create new plants, as well as improving the renewable energy market.
Decentralization Schemes
Abu Dhabi needs to work on decentralization initiatives, combined with creating incentives, by including the general public in taking some of the load of resource production and treatment.
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Servicising Alternatives
Technological improvements based on dematerialization strategies are insufficient to reduce the ecological impacts of products due to population growth and rapidly shrinking prices of these products which leads to consumption growth. There is a need to address the levels of consumption in order to reach true sustainable solutions. Ephemeralization is therefore insufficient to meet peoples demands of services.
Dematerialization Schemes
Measures taken to dematerialize consumption behavior include servicising, such as car and community facilities sharing. Products could also be driven by lending options with take back guarantees.
An approach to dematerialize the consumption is based on the product servicing concept. It is widely seen in western countries, with proven working strategies and is economically viable 114. The concept is simply to deliver services rather than products. It requires business models to do the shift from product-based to service-based models. The benefits include the overall aims of Estidama for sustainable development, and lowering the environmental impacts. The approach could also be accomplished in some instances without businesses, having the small communities (building to city scale) use methods of sharing which are controlled by their own regulations. The following are examples of implemented servicising and sharing schemes: Car Sharing Schemes: there are two types of car sharing schemes, one is based on a business model, where a company provides the cars and customers get to hire these cars on a short term basis. Examples of existing car sharing businesses are Car2Go 115 and GoGet 116. Customers become members of the service by providing personal details and billing information to get a membership card with an RFID, which is used to access the available cars. The cars are distributed over the city or in some countries cover more than a city. A study made by GoGet indicates that each GoGet car on the road reduces a total of 7 cars. Advantages of the system are not worrying about maintenance, insurance and all other car owning related issues. In some areas there are also dedicated parking spaces for the service vehicles. The second scheme is community based car sharing, where community members who own cars offer carpooling services in exchange for money. There are also companies that facilitate the communication platforms for this service for free. The disadvantages of this system are reliability and safety, which is also why the communication platforms were introduced. These platforms give options for rating the drivers and their cars after having completed the journey. These two schemes could play a role in traffic reduction in Abu Dhabi; at least until the planned public transportation alternatives are operational. Facilities, appliance and materials sharing: the concept of sharing facilities is of course available in Abu Dhabi, such as sharing a GYM or a Pool by a building or complex of buildings. It is proposed to widen the sharing to more users on the basis of providing better services. For example rather than having 4 buildings with 4 GYMs they can share one with better equipment and services such as trainers. Another idea is sharing appliances, such as washing machines. A laundry room could be provided within each residential building where tenants could share the machines. This would reduce the amount of space needed for each apartment by 1 square meter, as well as saving in plumbing piping and electricity wires. By having centralized laundry facilities maintenance and operational costs are reduced. However, this requires social acceptance from the tenants. The same concept could be applied to materials, such as floor carpet tiles in offices, printers. The production company would be renting the materials, which results in having them responsible for the end of cycle of the material, as well as maintenance. An example is Interface, a commercial carpet and interior furnishings company that leases its products 117. Other options also seen in some of the developments in the UAE are leasing all kitchen applianc-
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es. This reduces the initial investment needed from the tenants while making it possible to reduce maintenance costs and be able to purchase high performance appliances to ensure the goals of the certification are met. The last example is using centralized systems for waste collection. An example is the system applied in al Raha Beach development 118. By having one collection point or facility for each cluster in the city, the collection process is made easier, reducing traffic congestion as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Another advantage is being able to pre-treat the waste by separating it properly, as well as compressing it to reduce space. The use of these improved facilities also reduces the amount of space required by the municipalities for waste collection rooms in each building.
5.5 Action Plan

In this section an action plan is created to further put the findings from this chapter into a road-map with a timed plan. The aim of the action plan is to show the possible developments that could be done to further assist achieving the vision 2030. The action plan is developed for the key components found from the analysis, which have the biggest potential to affect the City and work towards achieving the vision 2030 through codes, targets, awareness, incentives, utilities provision and capacity building. Furthermore the plans objectives are to overcome market, financial, technical and institutional barriers. The plan is an iterative one, meaning that the stepped process is to be revisited after the completion of each cycle. It also takes advantage of already implemented measures and initiatives; however necessary developments in these initiatives are required. There are four main phases in this action plan. The first step is the assessment, where all the preparatory steps are taken to be able to start planning. These include data collection, metrics and indicators identification, current conditions analysis and a general SWOT analysis. An intermediate aspect between the assessment and the planning phases is prioritizing. The results are filtered according to their importance, feasibility and hierarchy. The second phase, planning, is where the initiatives are created. Goals, objectives and methodologies are defined. The definitions are then evaluated before starting the third phase of implementation. In the third step the details of the planning phase are implemented by producing the required actions and providing their resources and measures. Continuous support and maintenance for the implemented measures are kept up to reach the monitoring phase. In this last phase of the first cycle, performance and quality are monitored, as well as a new log of data is created. Feedback is then provided to and from involved stakeholders and teams, which could be in the form of reports. The end of the process is the beginning of it, by means of having the data for the assessment. The plan is divided into short, medium and long term actions which are to be addressed by the PRS team, Estidama and the whole government of Abu Dhabi simultaneously. The short-term plan is 0-2 years. It targets swift changes to the PRS program to keep developing the market. The mid-term plan is 0-5 years. It targets businesses and societal behavior change by addressing awareness aspects and creating incentives and disincentives in command and control as well as market based instrument measures. The long-term plan is 0-20 years. It targets the transformation of the utilities, their networks and the overall infrastructure of the city. While the overall assessment is to be done for each timeframe of the plan, it is necessary to add intermediary evaluations to address the course and progress of the plan. Especially the long term plans which need to be revisited, as technological advancements could change their course dramatically.
Figure 62: Proposed Action Plan

The action plan includes the four steps: Assessment, Planning, Implementation and Monitoring. It has three time periods: Short, mid and long -term.
Prioritize
Evaluate
Support & Maintain
Assessment Planning
Facilitate integrated design processes Add missing elements Create strategies addressing opportunities and weak points Create typology system and include existing buildings Update benchmarks Create tiered prerequisite system Adjust weighting Expand product platform Create professionals communication forums Create professionals educational workshops Monitor and measure progress Perform audits Assign corrective actions
Implementation
Monitoring
Collect data Establish baseline Conduct interviews and
surveys
Update PRS
Quality control
Define water, energy and waste reduction goals
Identify available data Define metrics and Support education and awareness of the industry
Short-term plan (0-2 years)
indicators
Identify messages for public awareness Identify communication methods Identify audience categories Support energy performance contracting Utility pricing strategies Provide green loans and leases Create supporting laws and regulations for loans and leases Provide awareness material with clear messages Provide needed resources
Create communication platforms
Identify weak points Identify opportunities Assess already implemented policies
Create awareness campaigns
Distribute media through all approved methods
Publish reports Communicate with research institutes Coordinate information with all government agencies
Create incentives & disincentives
Create regulations for renewable energy
Identify servicing strategies Phase out of subsidies strategy Decentralized systems provision Public transportation plans Short term alternatives
Mid-term plan (0-5 years)
Market incentives and disincentives plans Feedback from public Feedback from professionals Implement phasing out of subsidies Continuous research and development Create laws and regulations to support decentralization of utilities
Organization readiness Assign responsibilities Develop processes Conduct integration meetings on government
level
Improve utilities
Identify needs Identify unmet needs and gaps
Improve infrastructure
Market plans for public transportation Return to beginning of process and repeat Identify and minimize risks
Forecasting
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Long-term plan (0-20 years)
Waste collection plans
Create policy framework supporting decentralized waste handling
Dubai International Financial Centre , Dubai, UAE

Chapter 06: CONCLUSION
A conclusion of the thesis, where main features and findings are itemized, followed by answering the hypothesis and suggesting future work and research.
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Chapter 6 - Conclusion
6 Conclusion
This study has considered the effectiveness of Estidama and the PRS assessment system, as well as the effectiveness of the supporting initiatives on consultants and the built environment en route to realizing the visions and plans of sustainable development. Analysis of the current status has been prepared resulting in the identification of strengths, weaknesses and opportunities that have led to the recommendations, which have been structured into an action plan. This research could work as a guiding framework of improvement outlines for Estidama and the PRS, as well as for other certification tools which could benefit from the considerations. The method of research included literature review for an understanding of the system and supporting initiatives, a case study with site visits to test the implementation of the system which helped in shaping the results, as well as interviews conducted with a wide range of system involved participants in the building industry in Abu Dhabi. The interview results helped in identifying the analysis points of the thesis as well as develop the evaluation criteria, data significance and recommendations. I stand by the stated hypothesis that certification systems, in this case Estidamas PRS, enables and positively affects the building industry, consultants and construction, leading them towards the transformation to sustainable development. To realize sustainable development, establishing assessment tools is undoubtedly the right way to move forward. Key findings were that the localization of the certification system is more preferred and has a higher potential in the long run. Another key finding is that mandating a minimum level of the certification has a higher potential of encouraging developers and consultants to do more than the minimum because of being in the process of attaining the certification, especially in this region as it was lacking strict building codes and incentives. This would also lead to the construction industry and supply chain to be driven by the scheme to provide the necessities for accreditation. Furthermore, the mandate works on all developments unlike voluntary systems which are targeted only by the top performers, leading to a faster and higher percentage of improvements. Finally, the integration of all participants was found to be a high priority and effective method to achieve higher levels of sustainable developments. This also includes the collaboration needed between government agents and their initiatives. Certification systems, laws and regulations should go hand in hand, or better yet, combined as one tool as seen in Estidama.
Thesis Objective & Research Methodology

Study and analyze Estidama and the PRS, to assess its effectiveness, effects and provide recommendations and an action plan. Research used Methodological triangulation in literature review, as well as interviews and reports assessment. Data triangulation to include most views
Key Findings
Findings reach far beyond the certification system itself as it does not work in isolation from all the other initiatives and plans
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However, findings reach far beyond the certification system itself as it does not work in isolation from all the other initiatives and plans. Despite the growth and recognition of Estidama and the PRS assessment system the industry in Abu Dhabi is still undergoing a technical and cultural shift towards using the tools to their full magnitude. There are several aspects challenging the current system, leading to further improvement requirements and continuous evolving to maintain the momentum developed thus far. The most dominant hindrances could be categorized into three groups: first, the need to enhance and expand the PRS, second, support for the scheme through awareness campaigns and financial incentives, and third, providing necessary laws and regulations that would enhance the utilities and infrastructure. Improvement details are provided in the evaluation, strategies and action plan sections. The results in this study provide main insights concerning the field of Estidama and sustainable development, based on the research conducted in Abu Dhabi, which is mostly unexplored. It was found that there is a lack of studies, data and statistics on PRS certified buildings and communities, as well as of the certification influence, progress and efficiency. This was the main hindrance of the study which needs to be considered, which is mostly due to the relative newness of the program initiation. Another limitation was not being able to include the building users into the study, which is of great importance to have a complete assessment as they ought to be incorporated into the assessment of the PRS. Filling these gaps would dramatically improve the robustness of the findings and evaluation. Therefore, the next step of studies would include data analysis from a broader spectrum of monitored facilities as well as feedback from users, after being able to acquire more available quantitative data. A valuable additional step could compare the Gulf regions certification systems as they share similar culture and climate conditions, to get a side by side comparison. A further step could study the methodology and action strategy by including the social and economic criteria into the certification to balance the sustainability pillars weighting. Few would disagree that the increase in application and development of certification systems assessment has provided considerable theoretical and practical knowledge, awareness and experience. These systems hold the potential of contributing further sustainable building practices. It is essential to shift the mind-set of people from thinking that going green is a premium as it is a necessity.
Further Studies
Include a broader spectrum of monitored facilities and users feedback, as well as making a comparison of regional certification systems
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Works Cited
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39. Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. Next Generation Sustainable Planning. Abu Dhabi : Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, 2009. 40. Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. Planning Complete Sustainable Communities. Abu Dhabi : Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, 2012. Presentation. 41. Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. Neighbourhood Planning. Abu Dhabi : UPC, 2010. 42. ISOCARP. 2011 ISOCARP Awards for Excellence. International Society of City and Regional Planners . The Hague, Netherland : s.n., 2011. 43. Mann, Eliza. ARC. [Online] [Cited: December 10, 2012.] http://www.arc-online.co.uk/publicrealm/what-is-public-realm. 44. Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. Abu Dhabi Public Realm Design Manual. UPC. Abu Dhabi : s.n., 2010. 45. Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. Development Review Information Guide. UPC. Abu Dhabi : s.n., 2010. Brochure. 46. Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. Planning for Estidama: Development Review supplement. UPC. Abu Dhabi : s.n., 2010. 47. Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. Urban Street Design Manual v1.1. UPC. Abu Dhabi : s.n., 2012. 48. Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. Urban Street Design Manual Online Design Tool. [Online] December 2012. http://usdm.upc.gov.ae/usdm_ online_tool/USDM_Online_Tool.html. 49. Masdar. The Reality of Future Energy. Version 5. Abu Dhabi : Masdar, 2011. 50. Masdar City. Sustainability that Saves: Well Show You How. Version 2. Abu Dhabi : Masdar, 2011. 51. Masdar City. Masdar City: Frequently Asked Questions. [Online] December 2012. http://masdarcity.ae/en/110/frequently-asked-questions/. 52. Interview with: Michel Abi Saab. Interviewer: Ismail Khater. October 10, 2012. UAE: Abu Dhabi, Masdar City: Energy Efficiency Engineer, LEED AP. 53. Foster+Partners. Masdar Development. [Online] December 2012. http://www.fosterandpartners.com/Projects/1515/Default.aspx. 54. Hartman, Hattie. architectsjournal: Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. [Online] December 2012. http:// www.architectsjournal.co.uk/buildings/aj-buildingstudies/masdar-city-abu-dhabi/5214105.article. 55. Masdar City. Exploring Masdar City. Version 3. Abu Dhabi : Masdar, 2011. 56. Masdar: The Future Build. thefuturebuild. com. [Online] December 2012. http://www.thefuturebuild.com/about-masdar-city/page.html. 57. Masdar City, The Future Bild. Training in Sustainable Supply Chain. version 2. Abu Dhabi : The Future Build, 2011. 58. The Future Build, Masdar City. Sustainability is Only a Click Away. version 2. Abu Dhabi : Masdar, 2011. 59. Desai, Pooran. One Planet Communities: A real-life guide to sustainable living. Chichester : Wiley, 2010. 60. One Planet Living, BioRegional. Masdar Outline Sustainability Action Plan: benchmark
CVIII
against One Planet Living (TM). Surrey : BioRegional Development Group, 2008. 61. designbuild-network. Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, United Arab Emirates. [Online] December 2012. http://www.designbuildnetwork.com/projects/masdar-institute/. 62. Masdar City. Exploring the Masdar Institute Campus. Version 1. Abu Dhabi : Masdar City, 2011. 63. Siemens. Siemens Real Estate: Architectural award for future Siemens regional headquarters in Masdar City. Munich : Siemens Press, 2012. 64. Interview with: Chris Wan. Interviewer: Ismail Khater. 2012. UAE: Abu Dhabi, Masdar City: Manager, City Design. 65. Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. Estidama Villa Products Database. [Online] [Cited: February 11, 2013.] http://estidama.org/estidamavilla-products-database.aspx. 66. Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. Pearl Building Rating System 1 Pearl Workshop: Construction Industry Professionals. Abu Dhabi : UPC, 2012. 67. Abu Dhabi Regulation and Supervision Bureau. Electricity tariffs for large-users in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi : ADWEC, 2010. 68. Exchange Rates . Live Currency Exchange Rates . [Online] [Cited: January 22, 2013.] http:// www.exchangerates.org.uk/EUR-AED-exchangerate-history.html. 69. European Commission. Electricity and natural gas price statistics. eurostat. [Online] [Cited: January 23, 2013.] http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa. eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Electricity_and_ natural_gas_price_statistics. 70. Lallana, Concha. Indicator Fact Sheet: Water Prices. s.l. : European Environmental Agency, 2003. 71. Interview with: Abdulla Ahmed. Interviewer: Ismail Khater. October 22, 2012. UAE: Abu Dhabi, UPC: Planning Manager. 72. US Green Building Council. Green Building Incentive Strategies. Atlanta, GA : USGBC, 2012. 73. Elisa Campbell Consulting. Assessment of Tools for Rating the Performance of Existing Buildings. s.l. : GVRD, 2006. 74. Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. Estidama 40 Day Build up Campaigns. Estidama. [Online] UPC. [Cited: October 20, 2012.] http://estidama.org/estidama-40-day-build-up-campaigns. aspx. 75. Cole et al. Environmental Assessment Tools: Current and Future Roles. Tokyo : World Sustainable Building Conference, 2005. 76. Turner C. et al. Energy Performance of LEED for new Construction Buildings. Vancouver : new building institute, 2008. 77. European Commission. Europe 2020 Targets. Brussels : Eurostat, 2011. 78. Sanford J. Grossman et al. An Analysis of the Principal-Agent Problem. UK : The Econometric Society, 1983. 79. PERKINS+WILL, STANTEC Consulting. Roadmap for the integrated design process. Vancouver : Green Building Roundtable, 2007. 80. Amory B. Lovins, L. Hunter Lovins, Paul Hawken. A Roadmap for Natural Capitalizm. New York : Harvard Business Review, 1999.
81. Kendra Tupper, Caroline Fluhrer. Energy Modeling at each Design Phase: Strategies to minimize Design Energy Use. New York : Fourth National Conference of IBPSA-USA, August 2010. 82. Treasure, Julian. TED Talks: Ideas worth spreading. Why architects need to use their ears. [Online] [Cited: January 5, 2013.] http://www.ted. com/talks/julian_treasure_why_architects_need_ to_use_their_ears.html. 83. Barbara Smith. Financial Education:What Makes a Successful Public Awareness Campaign? New Delhi, : OECD and PFRDA International, 2006. 84. Florida Solar Energy Center. Green Building Public Awareness Campaign Plan. Florida : s.n., 2008. 85. GREEN PRO: Promoting Green Products. Awareness Campaign Strategy and Road Map. Bacau : EC European Focus Consulting SRL, 2010. 86. Carbon Trust. Creating an awareness campaign. United Kigdom : Carbon Trust, 2012. 87. FAO INVESTMENT CENTRE. Incentive Systems for Natural Resources Management: Role of Indirect Incentives. s.l. : United Nations, 1999. 88. Von Moltke, A., McKee, C. and Morgan, T. Energy Subsidies: Lessons Learned in Assessing their Impact and Designing Policy Reforms. Sheffield : Greenleaf Publishing, 2004. 89. Koplow, D. and Dernbach, J. Federal Fossilfuel Subsidies and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Case Study of Increasing Transparency for Fiscal Policy. s.l. : Annual Review of Energy and Environment, 2001. 90. Qdais, Abu. Effect of pricing policy on water conservation: a case study. Abu Dhabi : s.n., 2001. 91. gulfnews. No plans for water and electricity tariff hikes in Abu Dhabi, says Adwea. gulfnews. com. [Online] [Cited: December 23, 2012.] http:// gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/no-plansfor-water-and-electricity-tariff-hikes-in-abu-dhabisays-adwea-1.1007013. 92. gulfnews. Utility bills to show subsidised amount. Zaman, Samihah. Abu Dhabi : gulf news, 2010. 93. Ellis, Jennifer. The Effects of Fossil-Fuel Subsidy Reform: A review of modelling and emperical studies. s.l. : International Institute for Sustainable Development, Global Subsidies Initiative, 2010. 94. Bram Smeets, Ali Bayar. Sustainability of economic growth in Abu Dhabi - a Dynamic CGE Approach. Chicago : Topics in Middle Eastern and African Economies, 2011. 95. Robert Bacon, Masami Kojima. Phasing Out Subsidies: Recent Experiences with Fuel in Developing Countries. s.l. : the world bank group, 2006. 96. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. Electricity and Water Tariff . dewa.gov.ae. [Online] [Cited: December 23, 2012.] http://www.dewa.gov. ae/tariff/tariffdetails.aspx. 97. Steven Braithwait, Dan Hansen, and Michael OSheasy. Retail Electricity Pricing And Rate Design In Evolving Markets. s.l. : Edison Electric Institute, 2007. 98. Elisabeth Dtschke, Michael Unterlnder, Martin Wietschel. Variable Stromtarife aus Kundensicht Akzeptanzstudie auf Basis einer Conjoint-Analyse. Karlsruhe : fraunhofer ISI, 2012. 99. World Future Council. Feed-in Tariffs: Boosting Energy for our Future. Hamburg : s.n., 2009.
100. Hoffmann, Winfried. Feed-in Tariffs or Net Metering? Whats the Difference? applied materials. [Online] [Cited: February 22, 2013.] http://blog. appliedmaterials.com/feed-tariffs-or-net-meteringwhat%E2%80%99s-difference. 101. Wijayatunga, Priyantha D C. Regulation for Renewable Energy Development: Lessons from Sri Lanka Experience. linkoeping : World Renewable Energy Congress, 2011. 102. Shah, Chandra. Power Purchase Agreements. s.l. : U.S. Department of Energy: Federal Energy Management Program, 2011. 103. DEWHA. Independent Inquiry - Green Loans Program: review of procurement processes and contractual arrangements. 2010. 104. AECOM Australia Pty Ltd. Green Loans: Review of Householder Perspectives. Fortitude Valley : AECOM, 2011. 105. Better Building Partnership. Green Lease Toolkit: Working together to improve sustainability. London : s.n., 2009. 106. Andrew J. Nelson, Oliver Rakau, Philipp Drrenberg. Green Buildings: A niche becomes mainstream. Frankfurt : Deutsche Bank Research, 2010. 107. Regenthal, T. Tetreault and S. ESPC Overview: Cash Flows, Scenarios, and Associated Diagrams for Energy Savings Performance Contracts. s.l. : U.S. Department of Energy, Efficiency & Renewable Energy, 2011. 108. Alan Ryan, Declan Meally, Cian ORiordan, Toni, Mercer. Efficiency & Renewable Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. Dublin : Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, 2011. 109. Ltd, Robert Turner Consulting Pty. A Best Practice Guide to Energy Performance Contracts: reducing operating costs through guaranteed outcomes. Sydney : The Australasian Energy Performance Contracting Association, 2000. 110. EPC Watch. Measurement & Verification of Energy Efficiency Projects. 2007. 111. The Government of Abu Dhabi Privatization Committee Water and Electricity Sector. Law No (2) concerning the regulation of the water and electricity sector. 112. Moreland Energy Foundation. Business models for enabling sustainable precincts. Melbourne : Sustainability Victoria, 2011. 113. Das, A. Saji. Generation of Energy through decentralized Waste treatment. Kerala : BIOTECH Renewable Energy Pvt.Ltd, 2010. 114. Plepys, Andrius. Doctoral Dissertation: Environmental Implications of Product Servicising. s.l. : IIIEE, 2004. 115. car2go.com. [Online] [Cited: January 23, 2013.] https://www.car2go.com/en/ austin/#pid=46140. 116. goget.com. [Online] [Cited: january 23, 2012.] http://www.goget.com.au/how-does-itwork.html. 117. interfaceflor.com. [Online] [Cited: January 23, 2012.] https://www.interfaceflor.com/?r=0. 118. STREAM Automated waste collection systems. Pneumatic Waste Collection Systems as a New Utility Infrastructure in Modern Developments Today: case study on Automated Waste Collection. Abu Dhabi : STREAM Environment Sdn Bhd, 2011.
CIX
Annex
VIII. Annex Relationship Between Pearl Rating Systems 34

Community Integrated Development Process IDP-R1 Integrated Development Strategy IDP-R3 Guest Worker Accommodation IDP-R4 Community-Dedicated Infrastructure Basic Commissioning IDP-1 Life Cycle Costing IDP-2 Construction Environmental Management IDP-3 Sustainability Awareness Natural Systems NS-R1 Natural Systems Assessment NS-R2 Natural Systems Protection Building IDP-R1 Integrated Development Strategy IDP-R3 Guest Worker Accommodation IDP-R4 Basic Commissioning IDP-1 Life Cycle Costing IDP-2 Construction Environmental Management IDP-5 Sustainability Communication NS-R1 Natural Systems Assessment NS-R2 Natural Systems Protection Villa IDP-R1 Integrated Development Strategy IDP-R2 Guest Worker Accommodation IDP-R3 System & Envelope Performance Verification IDP-1 Life Cycle Costing IDP-2 Construction Environmental Management IDP-3 Sustainability Communication NS-R1 Natural Systems Assessment & Protection NS-R1 Natural Systems Assessment & Protection NS-1 Landscape Design & Management Plan
NS-R3 Natural Systems Design & NS-R3 Natural Systems Design & Management Strategy Management Strategy NS-1 Reuse of Land NS-1 Reuse of Land NS-2 Remediation of Contaminated NS-2 Remediation of Contaminated Land Land NS-3 Ecological Enhancement NS-3 Ecological Enhancement NS-4 Habitat Creation & Restoration NS-4 Habitat Creation & Restoration Livable Communities, Livable Buildings and Livable Villas LC-R1 Plan 2030 LBo-R1 Plan 2030 LC-R2 Urban Systems Assessment LBo-R2 Urban Systems Assessment LC-R3 Provision of Amenities and LBo-3 Accessible Community Facilities Facilities LC-R4 Outdoor Thermal Comfort LBo-R3 Outdoor Thermal Comfort Strategy Strategy LC-1 Transit Supportive Practices LBo-6 Public Transport LC-4 Accessible Community LBo-3 Accessible Community Facilities Facilities LC-7 Active Urban Environments LBo-4 Active Urban Environments LC-8 Travel Plan LC-9 Improved Outdoor Thermal Comfort LC-11 Pearl Rated Buildings Within Communities LC-12 Safe & Secure Community LBo-9 Travel Plan LBo-1 Improved Outdoor Thermal Comfort LBo-2 Pearl Rated Communities LBi-10 Safe & Secure Environment
NS-2 Landscape Enhancement
LV-R1 Urban Systems Assessment LV-3 Community Facilities & Active Urban Environments LV-R2 Outdoor Thermal Comfort LV-4 Public Transport LV-3 Community Facilities & Active Urban Environments LV-3 Community Facilities & Active Urban Environments
LV-1 Pearl Rated Community
CX
Community Precious Water PW-R3 Water Monitoring & Leak Detection PW-1.1 Community Water Use Reduction: Landscaping PW-1.2 Community Water Use Reduction: Heat Rejection PW-1.3 Community Water Use Reduction: Water Features PW-2 Stormwater Management PW-3 Water Efficient Buildings PW-3 Water Efficient Buildings Resourceful Energy RE-R3 Energy Monitoring & Reporting RE-1 Community Strategies for Passive Cooling RE-4.1 Renewable Energy: Onsite RE-4.2 Renewable Energy: Offsite RE-5 Energy Efficient Buildings RE-5 Energy Efficient Buildings Stewarding Materials SM-R1 CCA Treated Timber Elimination SM-R2 Basic Construction Waste Management SM-R3 Basic Operational Waste Management SM-2 Regional Materials SM-3 Recycled Materials SM-4 Reused or Certified Timber SM-5 Improved Construction Waste Management SM-6 Improved Operational Waste Management SM-7 Organic Waste Management Innovating Practice IP-1 Showcase of Regional & Cultural Practices IP-2 Innovating Practice
Building PW-3 Water Monitoring & Leak Detection PW-2.1 Exterior Water Use Reduction: Landscaping PW-2.2 Exterior Water Use Reduction: Heat Rejection PW-2.3 Exterior Water Use Reduction: Water Features PW-4 Stormwater Management PW-R1 Minimum Interior Water Use Reduction PW-1 Improved Interior Water Use Reduction RE-R2 Energy Monitoring & Reporting RE-2 Cool Building Strategies RE-6 Renewable Energy RE-6 Renewable Energy RE-R1 Minimum Energy Performance RE-1 Improved Energy Performance SM-R1 Hazardous Materials Elimination SM-R2 Basic Construction Waste Management SM-R3 Basic Operational Waste Management SM-9 Regional Materials SM-10 Recycled Materials SM-12 Reused or Certified Timber SM-13 Improved Construction Waste Management SM-14 Improved Operational Waste Management SM-15 Organic Waste Management IP-1 Innovative Cultural & Regional Practices IP-2 Innovating Practice
Villa PW-R2 Water Monitoring PW-2.1 Exterior Water Use Reduction: Landscaping
PW-2.2 Exterior Water Use Reduction: Water Features PW-3 Stormwater Management PW-R1 Minimum Interior Water Use Reduction PW-1 Improved Interior Water Use Reduction RE-R2 Energy Monitoring RE-2 Cool Building Strategies RE-3 Renewable Energy RE-3 Renewable Energy RE-R1 Minimum Energy Performance RE-1 Improved Energy Performance SM-R1 Hazardous Materials Elimination SM-R2 Basic Construction Waste Management
SM-4 Regional Materials SM-5 Recycled Materials SM-6 Reused or Certified Timber SM-7 Improved Construction Waste Management
IP-1 Innovative Cultural & Regional Practices IP-2 Innovating Practice
CXI
Land Acquisition
Enquiry
Enquiry
UPC Planner Assigned
Annex
Information Meeting
Large Development more than 125,000m 2 GFA
Medium Development 75,000m 2 to 125,000m 2 GFA
Small Development One Plot, one principal building up to 75,000m 2 GFA
Development Review Processes 45
Prepare and submit preliminary development concepts Prepare and submit preliminary development concepts
Prepare and submit preliminary development concept
External agency input External agency input preliminary concepts
preliminary concepts
preliminary concept
Pre-Application
Changes Required?
Changes Required?
Changes Required?
Prepare and submit concept masterplan
Prepare and submit concept development
External agency input External agency input
concept masterplan
concept development
Concept
Changes Required?
Changes Required?
UPC concept approval (with conditions)
UPC concept approval (with conditions)
Prepare and submit development regulations and guidelines Prepare and submit detailed site and building design Prepare and submit detailed site and building design
External agency input detailed site and building design
External agency input detailed site and building design Changes Required?
development regulations and guidelines
External agency input
Detailed
Changes Required?
Changes Required?
UPC approval UPC notice to proceed UPC notice to proceed
Obtain external agency approvals (NOCs)
Obtain external agency approvals (NOCs)
UPC approval
UPC approval
Apply for municipal permits
Apply for municipal permits
Medium
Medium or Small Development?
Small
Start B Medium Development Review Process
Start C Small Development Review Process
CXII
CXIII
Annex
Masdar Indicators and Targets (OPL) 60

Zero Carbon
Indicators 1. Percentage of energy supplied from renewable sources. 1 1.1 Tonnes of carbon released in generating the power consumed for operating the site Masdar Targets 1. 100% on completion of each phase
2
1.1. Net zero tonnes (CO
released in Energy from Waste
Target energy consumption for building typologies 3 calculated by Transsolar (iteration 4) :

2
Energy consumption (kWh/m
/a): Laboratory Housing Education Community Support Production Catering/Retail Diverse
Sens Lat Elec 72.8 50.5 29.0 118.5 107.4 96.6 68.4 76.9 20.7 63.3 67.0 25.3 115.5 85.2 84.1 202.5 106.0 203.8 223.9 195.2 154.8 98.3 124.0 67.7
Energy consumption for domestic hot water 2 (kWh/m /a): Housing Community Support Catering/retail Diverse 3. Embodied carbon of construction materials and plant 15.8 7 27 4.4 3. (a) Track embodied carbon of construction.
Zero Waste (Operational)

Indicators 1.2 Percentage waste minimisation 1.3 Percentage of waste arisings recycled and composted Masdar Targets 1.1 Over 99% by 2020 1.2 30% from baseline 1.3 By phase 2: Recycling 50% Composting 16% Thermal treatment 33% Masdar Targets 3 2 1. 13m /100m following monitoring data collection, for later phases Masdar Targets
2 /year 4
Zero Waste (Construction)

Indicators 1. Volume of construction waste generated
Sustainable Transport
Indicators 1. Tonnes of CO 2 emissions due to transport within the city zero emissions zone 2. Percentage of land based journeys to and from Masdar 3. Air transport summarising baseline monitoring of air transport and setting incremental annual percentage reductions. 2. 55% by private car and 45% by public transport by 2020.
1 This is a baseline requirement of OPL, see Common International Targets in Appendix 1in original document. 2 BioRegional recognises that 100% renewable energy supply does not capture all of the potential sources of carbon emissions on site. However according to the Common International Targets of OPL the aim is to produce 100% of the energy demand of buildings from on and off site renewable sources, in whatever mix of renewables is appropriate to the site. The purpose of this broad target is to make steps towards reducing our carbon impact, and the overall goal of achieving net zero carbon, whilst allowing for innovation and flexibility in development. Masdar is exceeding the OPL target. 3 These figures represent one method of achieving the carbon neutrality target designed by the Masterplanning team, they represent a reduction in consumption of approximately 80% compared to the Abu Dhabi baseline. Comparable data of best practice energy efficiency in the desert environment has not been available for this phase of the project; any data made available going forward will be used to benchmark these figures. For OPL these figures demonstrate a significant reduction in energy consumption from the country specific baseline and are therefore considered to be in line with the zero carbon goal.
resident knowledge and transport behaviour and setting annual targets for increasing and behaviour change.
Local and Sustainable Materials

Indicators 1. Embodied CO
2
of construction materials
Masdar Targets 1. Phase 1 research target; suggest less than 2 600kgCO 2/m and track embodied carbon of Construction (excluding podium). 1.1. Subsequent phases work to achieving the target set out in phase 1, continue tracking embodied carbon of construction.
2. Percentage of recycled materials in construction.
3. Percentage of sustainable timber
scheme. 2. Phase 1 benchmark recycled content of construction 2.1. Subsequent phases increase recycled content of construction up to 25% total by mass for phase 6 3. 100% of timber from most environmentally
Local and Sustainable Food

Indicators 1. Ecological footprint of food consumed in shops and restaurants at Masdar 2. Organic food or food produced using lowenvironmental impact agricultural techniques consumed from on site shops and restaurants. 3. Vegetarian restaurant on site Masdar Targets 1. Consumption consistent with achieving overall personal consumption of 0.6 global hectares/person 2. Produce report on availability of organic and low environmental impact food in the region. 6 2.1. Minimum 75%, by weight, of total food consumed by 2020 to be low environment impact 3. One vegetarian restaurant on site by phase 4. One additional vegetarian organic restaurant on site by phase 6. 4. One farm shop sourcing regional produce by phase 4.
4. Farm shop on site
CXIV
Local and Sustainable Water

Indicators 1. Water consumption 1.1. Domestic Masdar Targets 1.1. 140l/p/d (37l/p/d new water, remainder of water 7 supplied from on site recycled sources) 2 2 1.2. 3.85litres/m /day (reduced to 2.35litres/m /day with greywater recycling) 2. 100% by 2020
2. Percentage of water supplied from recycled sources (either direct or indirect recycling)
Natural Habitats and Wildlife

Indicators 1. Conservation of existing biodiversity 2. Enhancement of biodiversity 2010 2015 3. Conservation of existing biocapacity 4. Enhancement of biocapacity 2010 2015 Masdar Targets then any valuable species to be relocated. 2. Budget to be agreed to invest in at least one UAE Biodiversity project by 2015. 3. Very low existing biocapacity so no target needed 4. Budget to be agreed to invest in one regional project to support increasing local biocapacity by 2015. Masdar Targets 1.1 Build Masdar using narrow streets for shading. 1.2 Use wind catchers in the city for passive ventilation. 1.3 Build a walled city, using the wall for protection from the elements. 2.1 Masdar cultural events calendar 2.2 Community majilis 3.1 Integrate renewable technologies into the cityscape 3.2 Implement a zero emissions zone for transport 3.3 Provide segregated waste collection facilities throughout the city 4.1. Annual door knocking and poster awareness raising programme about recycling, combined with recycling government to stimulate recycling industry in the region. 4.2 Annual waterwise awareness raising programme to encourage low water use, combined with water infrastructure.
Culture and Heritage

Indicators 1. Built form and building design will integrate local culture and heritage in the context of Masdar.
2. Financial and personnel support to integrate local culture and heritage into the operation of the city. 3. Built form and building design will have visible demonstrations of sustainability.
4. Financial and personnel support to demonstrate sustainability in the operation of the city.
Equity and Fair Trade

Indicators 1. Fair wages and working conditions (best international labour standards for wages and health and safety) within the context of federal and regional laws. 2. Capacity of a local project that supports a disadvantaged 8 group in society. Masdar Targets 1. Everyone employed during construction and operation of Masdar from day 1 of their employment
4 Masdar brief sets a zero emissions zone within the zero emissions area defined by Systematica in the Masterplan. 5 This target can be achieved at OPL Brighton; through use of concrete frame constructed with 58% recycled content, recycled and reclaimed landscape materials and some reclaimed timber studwork. 6 Consistent with achieving a footprint of 0.6 global hectares, using REAP modelling. 7 Calculations from WSP water model in the Masterplan. 8 Defined as Groups or populations within a country who, compared with the majority of the population, suffer from poorer health, fewer opportunities or reduced access to services may be called disadvantaged. Disadvantage may be the result of discrimination (race, gender, ethnicity), poverty, geography (rural residence), or other causes. Universities and the health of the disadvantaged, D Blumenthal and C Boelen, World Health Organisation, 2001 9 Source: Masdar Masterplan Vol 2-3 Transsolar 10 Source: Healthy Building Network, www.healthybuilding.net
2.1. Identify target project e.g. Al Ghadeer womens 2.2 Set target for increasing capacity of that project by 100% by target group compared to their current baseline by 2015 e.g. number of disadvantaged employed. 3.1 Identify group/business opportunity.
3. Level of support provided to a disadvantaged group to set up a business related to construction and/or operation of Masdar e.g. recycling, catering, sand bags for construction.
Health and Happiness

Indicators 1. Built form and building design will integrate health and happiness principles. Masdar Targets 1.1 Zero emissions zone to improve health 1.2. Provide walking and cycling lanes throughout the city 1.3 Natural daylighting to buildings from courtyards and streets, solar control glazing with daylight transmission > 65% 9 1.4 Avoid formaldehyde and other VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and phthalates 10 e.g. PVC carpet backing, wall coverings, ceiling tiles and wiring. 1.5 Build library at Masdar 1.6 Build community centre at Masdar at Masdar (age, ethnicity, sex, income) badminton court, skate park, crche 3. 1 Ongoing program for each group by 2015 e.g. yoga class, reading group, drama workshops, cooking groups 4.2 Annual celebration or event provided for all major festivals for all countries represented at Masdar. 5.1 Annual monitoring survey to be produced 5.2 70% of residents reporting that they have a higher quality of life from where they previously lived 5.3 Average resident knows 15 of their neighbours by name
2. Facilities provided for each demographic group at Masdar
3. Events run for each demographic group at Masdar
4. Celebration of festivals
5. Residents satisfaction levels
CXV
Annex
Interview Questions
Interview questions varied according to the profession of each individual. The following is a list of the combination of most common questions used in the interviews: What are the advantages and disadvantages of Certification system? How do you define sustainability? What does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? In your opinion what is needed to make a paradigm shift to convert the built environment into a sustainable one? What are the interlocking connections between the industries, consultancies and regulations needed for a Certification system to work and develop well in the market? What is still missing in Certification system? And what do you expect in Certification system future developments? How is Estidama embedded in the public realm design guideline? Who should/is involved in the creation of the public realm design guidelines? How is the public consulted? What is being done in order to achieve the guidelines? How are the guidelines linked to codes, plan 2030, Estidama and development reviews? Are there revisions done to the guidelines along the process of realizing it? What creates those changes and who? What is different in Abu Dhabis public realm guidelines other than in other cities? Is environmental awareness incorporated into the public realm plan? And how? How is BIM incorporating or helping sustainable design? What are the benefits of using BIM? (environmental, economic, social) Could you speak briefly about the effect of using BIM in the following? (Energy Materials - Water) What are the advantages of BIM in each stage of the project? What are the disadvantages of BIM?
What defines your projects design sustainability level? Where you involved in any project that had to be certified? What was your involvement? What was your role in the project? What type of meetings did you participate in? Who was involved? What was their occurrence? When using a certification system in a project, do you prefer one over another? And why? How many people are certified? And what kind of certification? What are the fees associated with rating a project? The integration of a Certification system in the planning process: How is it done? What are the differences? Pros and cons? Whats the process you go through to learn, submit Estidama documents? What did you have to change in order to incorporate the mandatory Certification system usage of Estidama? Is the Estidama process easy and clear? Do you struggle to do any Estidama related work? What are the difficulties you face when dealing with Estidama/UPC and ADM? Do you think Certification system should be mandatory, voluntary, or a mix of both? What would you do differently in order to achieve a better sustainable design? When do you revise the benchmarks? And what reactions do changes cause? How would you rate Estidamas current goals to other Certification system? How would you rate Estidamas goals to an ultimate sustainable goal? Is Estidama pushing the market too far, or not pushing far enough? What is in your opinion the reason behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings?
CXVI
Consent Form
Ismail Khater
Architectural Engineer B.Sc. REAP Masters Student M.Sc.
Resource Efficiency in Architecture and Planning Alsterkrugchaussee 212 22297 Hamburg e-mail : i.khater@live.com ismail.khater@hcu-hamburg.de Cell +49 (0) 176 7033 -1886 Cell +971 (0) 56 265 - 6365 Internet: www.hcu-hamburg.de
Abu Dhabi, October 2012
You are being requested to participate in a qualitative interview conducted by Ismail Khater, who is a Student in the Master Program Resource Efficiency in Architecture and Planning, at HafenCity University, Hamburg. The interview is for his thesis entitled: Certification Systems as a Tool for Sustainable Architecture and Urban Planning - Case Study: Estidama, Abu Dhabi.
Purpose: The objective of the thesis is to develop an understanding of the impact, challenges and opportunities of the certification system requirements. Selection: You have been chosen for the nature of your work, your work experience as well as the nature of your project locations. Participation: Your participation in this study is voluntary. This means that your decision will be respected, whether or not you want to be in the study. If you decide to join the study now, you can still change your mind during the study. Risks: No risks or discomforts have been identified for this interview. If you feel stressed during the study you may stop at any time, and you may skip any questions that you feel uncomfortable answering. Procedure: The procedure is having the interview questions sent to you via email for reviewing first. Then, you could identify any questions you wish to eliminate, or you could decide to do so during the interview. Additions to the interview that you see helpful are welcomed. Payment and Benefits: there is no monetary payment associated to this interview. Although this study is not designed to help you personally, the information you contribute will help answering the hypothesis and connect your experience with the objective of the study. Time and Location: interviews are to be conducted within your facilities for your convenience at a mutually suitable time. Confidentiality: Your contribution in the form of an audio recorded interview will be written in the annex of the thesis, with an acknowledgement of the speakers (identified by name, biography and a picture of your face which will be next to the biography). While this is the case, this interview is intended for the sole purpose of the thesis specified above. All audio files will be deleted after the thesis writing is completed or within 6 months (whichever comes first).
I give permission to be interviewed by the researcher I give permission to have my picture taken I agree to have the interview audio recorded
Yes Yes Yes
No No No
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CXVII
Annex
Raw Interview Data
sustainability drivers (indirect) high resources prices incentives provision competition increased awareness increased evidence
16 12 9 7 1 45
36% 27% 20% 16% 2% 100%
awareness of system fully aware partially aware minimum knowledge no knowledge
9 30.0% 19 63.3% 2 6.7% 0 0.0% 30 100.0%
sustainability level (direct) clients cost laws and regulations best practice
13 48.1% 7 25.9% 5 18.5% 2 7.4% 27 100.0%
comprehension of PRS very easy easy average hard very hard
5 17.2% 13 44.8% 6 20.7% 3 10.3% 2 6.9% 29 100.0%
preference of certification to be used Estidama 17 65.4% others 5 19.2% no preference 4 15.4% 26 100.0% preferred type mixed (like Estidama) mandatory voluntary
18 72.0% 4 16.0% 3 12.0% 25 100.0%
Learning about Estidama Involved in projects In-house PQP Estidama workshops Website Media (advertisement & press) Awareness campaign
12 7 6 3 2
39% 23% 19% 10% 6%
1 3% 31 100.0%
perception of benchmarks very high high ideal low very low
1 3.3% 2 6.7% 16 53.3% 8 26.7% 3 10.0% 30 100.0%
CXVIII
Cost of Estidama 5 Pearl 4 Pearl 3 Pearl 2 Pearl 1 Pearl benefits of Estidama reducing climate change effects combined forces of MBI and C&C market transformation clear vision strategic planning integrated initiatives authoritative instrument monopolization prevention
12% 8% 5% 3% 1%
13 9 6 5 4 3 2 42
31% 21% 14% 12% 10% 7% 5% 100%
benefits of the PRS benchmarking facilities weighting tailored to region resources consumption reduction early strategic planning whole building thinking eliminating submission fees preventing greenwashing
12 8 7 5 4 3 2 41
29% 20% 17% 12% 10% 7% 5% 100%
barriers and gaps of Estidama incentives subsidies utilities market readyness low client awareness consistency of process (ADM and UPC) supplier transparancy BIM provision market fairness community involvement
16 11 6 5 4 3 2 2 1 1 51
31% 22% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 4% 2% 2% 100%
barriers and gaps of the PRS existing buildings & operation social and economic aspects PRS process local materials availability research and case studies water credits too hard typology embedded energy irrelevant credits mandatory noise levels
13 6 5 4 3 2 2 1 1 1 38
34% 16% 13% 11% 8% 5% 5% 3% 3% 3% 100%
Library Building - Masdar Institute, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Certification Systems as a Tool for Sustainable Architecture and Urban Planning - Case Study: Estidama, Abu Dhabi
Certification Systems as a Tool for Sustainable Architecture and Urban Planning Case Study: Estidama, Abu Dhabi Book 2: Interviews
Ismail Khater April 2013
Selected Interviews
A Thesis Presented to: HafenCity University By: Ismail Khater In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree: Master of Science in Resource Efficiency in Architecture and Planning HafenCity University, Hamburg, Germany April, 2013 2013 Ismail Khater
Approved By: Professor Wolfgang Dickhaut
(Date)
(Signature)
II
Selected Interviews
Abdulla Ahmed Balalaa Adi Afaneh Carlos Amaya Jean Philippe Coulaud Michael Stott Peter Stair Talal Al Ansari Camilo Chacon Carlo Thomas Charles Blaschke IV Chris Wan Daniel Frawley Dharvish Moinuddin Dina El Karimy & Ansam Ahmed Erik Hokanson Iris Eckstein Hemsa Ibrahim Ivar Krasinski Jason Kamihira Liam Farrell & Serkan Akyuz Martina Konrad Michel Abi Saab Rasha Abdul-Khalek Reham Hussein & Lamees Himmo Waleed Hashem Anonymous
Planning Manager, UPC Associate Assessor, Estidama, UPC Senior Associate Assessor, Estidama, UPC Director Corporate Communications, UPC Senior Associate, Public Realm & Neighborhood Planning, UPC Associate Planner, Estidama, UPC Associate Manager, Urban Design, UPC Senior Design Consultant, ADM Senior Associate, Discipline Lead - MEP, Stantec Project Manager, iTech - General Manager, taka solutions anager, City Design, Masdar City Regional Design Technology Manager, Woods Bagot Mechanical Engineer, LEED-AP, PQP, Stantec Architect & Senior Architect, Burthill Principal, Stantec Landscape Architect, Obermeyer Green Building Certification and Daylight Modeling Professional, iMCC Design Director, STR-EDGE Senior Architect, PQP, QSAS, Stantec Senior Associate Landscape Architect & Landscape Architect, Stantec Sustainability Manager Energy Efficiency, Senior Engineer, Masdar City Architect (LEED AP BD+C), Atkins Senior Architect & Architect, Stantec Project Manager-LEED AP, PQP, Obermeyer
1 4 7 10 13 16 18 21 23 27 31 35 39 42 45 49 50 52 55 58 61 65 67 69 71 74
Selected Interviews
Abdulla Ahmed Balalaa

Position: Planning Manager, UPC Country of Origin: United Arab Emirates Biography: Abdulla holds a masters degree in Urban and regional planning from Paris Sorbonne University and a bachelors degree in applied science civil engineering and a masters degree in leadership management from Cambridge University in the UK. He is working now in the UPC as an urban planning department manager, and he holds a development review department called enabling facilitation and customer service development review.
Ismail: can you tell me more about the role of your department? Abdulla: its basically the department responsible of reviewing the entire private and government sectors developments in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, and when I say the emirate of Abu Dhabi we are talking about almost 87% of the total area of the United Arab Emirates. So basically the departments role is reviewing the developments through an application submission process and we go through that review and the review is designed and scaled into three different stages; first is the pre concept stage and its a stage before the developers go and put the concept together and then once the concept is being put all together we review the concept and then the detail, so its pre concept, concept and detail. For the 3 stages we only review planning of course you cannot separate planning from infrastructure and structure, we do review that as well, but we do review plans not implementations. Ismail: what are the reasons behind creating a certification system here in Abu Dhabi? Abdulla: mainly the UPC was formed to be the regulator of the booming happening in Abu Dhabi, especially in real estate, projects and developments which is in touch with the economy in different aspects. Now talking about sustainability, when the UPC was formed there was no Estidama at the beginning and then you know the direction of the country of the UAE, even the leadership in Abu Dhabi government is towards sustainability and thats a direction the whole world is going to. Thats why we thought of this initiative and we started working on it and today we are implementing it. We came up with the sustainability initiative which would be covering all the UPC aspects in the future, currently it does but we want to take it a more level of detail especially with the planning and policies department. So currently Estidama is an initiative created by the UPC basically rating the master plans communitys development and it measure how sustainable are these developments. Ismail: what are the differences in Estidama compared to other certification systems? And how is the culture pillar being embedded in Estidama? Abdulla: you are answering the first question by saying how the culture is embedded. What distinguishes Estidama from other sustainability initiatives as LEED, BREEAM and Green Star is adding the culture, most of the well-known sustainability initiatives look from social, environmental and economical point of view. And cultural is something we dont compromise with in the UAE as it is part of our identity, so thats why we added one more pillar which is the culture pillar. Ismail: what is still missing in certification systems and how do you see that changing in the future development? Abdulla: setting a certification system will allow us to go scientifically and achieve our goals. For example; we now have Estidama, its an initiative and its approved by the government and to prove that we have successful stories; developments being approved, construction delivered and done, its operating now and its sustainable. That shows that it is something not difficult and can be done and accepted by the society. Now, how can we achieve this in a scientific way is to change the mindset of people plus the people who are working on that field such as; contractors and consultants. How can I know that you will be up to the level of putting together a sustainable development or design? We created the certification system which will allow you to distinguish those who are available and able to get this job done for you, thats
the main purpose. And we worked closely of the department of economic developments which is considered the government body who is granting licenses for contractors, designers and consultants and we worked with and told them we dont need any more contractors, designers and consultants to be registered at the government without being certified because this is a direction of the government. So this argument is happening, not even in our level as department managers but even organization and government level. This will ensure that, I mean if you are bleeding you want to stop the bleed first and then you can clean and cure, we are bleeding if we put such initiatives and such certifications and exams for people, and department of economic development still is licensing and registering people who are not certified, then you are not solving the problem. You want to start from there stop the bleed first then you want to go and work out with what you have which the existing already registered people. Ismail: Estidama sets three certification stages; design, construction and operation. Could you elaborate more on that? Abdulla: design; you want to make sure that the design, lets take an example of a building; how can you make sure that this building is sustainable? First of all in a country like UAE we have a harsh climate, hot and humid country, one of the items Estidama is calling for is minimizing the size of the windows, why? To reduce the amount of heat getting into the space, relatively you will lower the use of air conditioning something like 60% of energy wasted, so you can eliminate this from the design. Another example; the building orientation, you want to make that the building is designed in a way that provides shade to the people who are walking downstairs. The third thing you want to assign the plotting of a building in a way that it wont prevent a wind corridor, we even studied the wind direction because if the wind is going that way why build a barrier there? All of this can be prevented in the design stage. Construction phase; use of recycled materials credits to be more sustainable, if you want to talk about operational stage I will give you an example; if a building is being operated you are capturing the waste for example and this waste can be used for recycling or to produce heat or something then you are sustainable in the operation as well and lots of other examples like; automatic lighting; its off when you pass by it switches on, in office buildings lowering the partitions to provide more sunlight and all of these in the operation stage. Ismail: in your opinion what is the added value of certification systems? Abdulla: certification systems will support us as the government. First of all it will support the society and the people to have a good place to stay at, a sustainable place to stay at when these projects are delivered. Second, on the long run it will save cost to the government by applying the sustainability concepts. Third: The certification system will distinguish for us who is good and who is bad so we can know who to give the job to, not as UPC of course but as implementation when people have projects. Today Estidama is mandatory, lets say Ismail is certified and Abdulla is not, then Abdulla will never get a job in the government because it is mandatory, you can see the difference. Ismail: If we take plan 2030 as the main vision, how are other supporting initiatives being integrated into this plan? Abdulla: first of all urban planning is a new science, not only in UAE but across the world, you cannot compare it chemistry or math it is a relatively new science especially in our region. Number two, when we came as the government and we put together our urban planning

council we wanted to establish a planning culture, we want people to know there is something called urban planning which will basically increase the quality of life, we want this message to be spread. How will it increase the quality of life? We will show you and then we produce plans and once these plans are implemented, here you go and you can go and visit city of Vancouver or city of New York there are lots of successful examples of well urbanized cities. Three, how do we want to start this? We need to think in a strategic level first, we put together plan 2030 which is the guiding principles and strategic framework for the Abu Dhabi metropolitan; the island itself and the neighboring mainland, once we put 2030 plan it sets guiding planning principles, it tells you how to produce a good plan, at the same time parallel to this there are certain guidelines that are implanted within plan2030 such as; population, heights, showing where are the high and the low density in the metropolitan of Abu Dhabi. Those are somehow regulated, it is not a detailed one like the code but they are regulations so we have to make sure that these regulations are implemented while we do planning works here either development review or planning policies. This is strategic plan 2030, take this to one more level of detail, the UPC is working on approving master plans for developments and producing master plans for existing areas and new areas. So we have to maintain what plan 2030 is saying in terms of the guiding planning principles and of course the heights and population. Keeping in mind plan 2030 is aligned with economic 2030 so its not just being put in place without looking at the economic factor, so its all integrated. Ismail: now the strategic plan you just explained how is it being embedded into the codes? Is there something like building code change? Abdulla: we dont have building code we have development code. What is the difference? Building code will tell you stuff about construction thats building we dont do this. we are the planning authority but a development code will tell you whats the length between the wall of your villa and the land level itself, will tell you how long a utility corridor should be, how wide is the road, what is a maximum length of a side walk, what should I book for future capacity of infrastructure for the city after 10 years from now. This is all planning, but not construction we dont go into type of cable.etc. for example you get a piece of land we inform you about the setbacks between the villa and your wall and that you are only allowed to have one villa per plot, the planning code tells you that also something like you are not allowed to go outside your plot boundary, you are not allowed to have plantation or car outside your plot because its a utility corridor, the floor area ratio of the building should be one these are all planning codes. Ismail: how is Estidama the initiative embedded into plan 2030? Abdulla: the difference in Estidama is that it goes into construction, why? Because they monitor, Estidama team today they do auditing in construction sites but thats the one and only team within the UPC who looks at such things. Why? Because that what they are mandated to do, they stay with you in the design stage, they tell you how you can be sustainable in design. Then they want to make sure that you are meeting what you guys have agreed upon before so you make that development sustainable. So they go on and audit the site in terms of material use, and thats legal by the government. UPC development review is allowed to audit, for example if you are a private developer or government as well, we give you a maximum height of 20 floors in one of your buildings and you went and did 22 this shouldnt pass from the municipality, because if the municipality will give only what we give you but when it comes to construction and you did something wrong we as UPC are empowered to sue you. The first step is UPC and then we send our approval and regulations of development to the municipality, and then they will give construction permit based on our planning and they will do architectural and structural reviews, which is something that has to be done with construction, we dont see this. Ismail: a sustainable measure of plan 2030 is transportation Abu Dhabi currently is highly a car based society, and in vision 2030 there is plan to change it into a transit oriented city. How will this happen? Abdulla: all of the guiding principles in plan 2030 are promoting Abu Dhabi to be a transit oriented city. We can do this by introducing another mode of transit, now everyone can see that Abu Dhabi is car oriented city, we introduced with the collaboration of department of transportation, the buses now there are public buses which somehow covers a great area of the city, it covers the majority of the city. Now we are working closely with department of transport and the federal authority of railway which 75% funded and owned by Abu Dhabi, on booking for them the lines and how we can link these not only freight but passengers as well and we are also involved with the department of transport to put with them surface transport master plan for Abu Dhabi. So plan 2030 and the UPC is encouraging through master planning works introducing different transit modes. On the other hand the UPC as a regularity authority published manuals; one of them is called the urban street design manual, one of the things we are calling for is introducing to the roads and showing sections of how roads should
be designed, what is the length and width of the roads, is there a side walk, cycling paths all this is introduced in urban street design manual. Which is considered another mode of transport; you can walk and you can cycle. Ismail: is this also done for existing developments? Abdulla: yes, we are doing this revitalization plans for existing areas, we take sector by sector for example, review them and make sure that these sectors are all linked somehow together so we look at it as a whole and as a concept first and then we go into phasing it, so look at this not only in cycling and walk ability but even in roads and streets networks. Ismail: is environmental awareness incorporated into public realm plan? Abdulla: yes absolutely, we do everything from environmental point of view, even in development review when we look at a project and review it. We ask them for environmental analysis for the site of their developments and we not only that we review we comment on it and we send it to the environmental authority to verify it, if they have other concerns they have to come and tell them. So we go to that extreme with environment. Ismail: what about public consultation? One of the guiding principles in urban planning is doing public consultation, if you are from Cairo, nobody knows Cairo better then you, especially that Cairo is big, your neighborhood nobody knows it better than you, you have been there for 20 to 30 years, you know every stone in that land. So we do a public consultation day, if we want do a master plan for a certain area, we bring all the people who are living there and we sit with together and ask them what are the things you guys are lacking? What are the issues and problems? We are UPC we are the government we want to help you we want to make this place look better, we want you to have an easier life, and then based on their inquiries we go back to the office short list this stuff and while we are doing urban planning we will look at these things and try to make things better. And once we finalize the plan we do something called report back day we go and say these are the pictures this is what you guys said and this is the plan which incorporates them all. This way you ensure that people are happy they are the end users of your plan and basically you have given them what they want, and give them a higher sense of belonging, this is best practice not only here but all over the world, even though the UAE is not like the United States or the UK; as government we can go and do stuff whatever we want, but thats not the right way of doing it. Ismail: so could you tell me about your experience, how was it conceived? Were the public really active about it? Abdulla: everything is done by public Emirati people are very demanding. If you give them the opportunity to ask you they will ask you and then they will take you by their car and let you ride with them and they will take you to see this and that. Which is absolutely great, that is a tangible example of something we are lacking we need this. So actually they are extremely active and sometimes its not only one day its 5 or 4 days. As a manager this is tough for me I have work to be done. Because all we care about in the UAE and that comes from the leadership and founder of the country is the people, we do everything for our people. Ismail: what is the effect of such programs as Estidama and sustainability initiatives on the society and country? Abdulla: I will be frank with you, once we introduced Estidama people were challenging it they didnt want it, people hated it. But if you go through a specific road every day from your house to work, but then I come one day and pick you up and take you to work using another road you wont feel comfortable, although at the end of the day at the same time you are at work, because human beings always refuse to change, even if its for their own benefit. We proved scientifically we had researches that Estidama is saving people money on the long run due to minimizing the energy use and water use and stuff like that. So you save money out of this, why are you against it? Thats only because it will cost them to implement Estidama something like 2% more, take this 2% percent from this amount and measure to how much you are saving on the long run you are winning this 100% so it was a bit challenging at the beginning. But then once we started doing our outreach programs for example now Estidama is embedded in schools we have a great relationship with Abu Dhabi educational council, they built 10 schools, 10 sustainable schools with the UPC, this is one of the projects we are proud of, 10 schools reached 3 pearls. This is a great success story to be told. Sustainability I think is a new concept we are not only looking at it from technicalities but we even implement to get it out. Now we do press releases about sustainability, we go to sustainability conferences we talk about what we have done, we promote Estidama. So now there is acceptance and that is why the government is buying into the program and its going well. And now we are maximizing and it is going its just a matter of time.
Selected Interviews
towards more sustainable communities and buildings? Abdulla: it new, thats it. For me personally this is the one and only thing. It is a mindset, it is a topic that needs to be studied and embedded in schools curriculums, we should teach our children from today that when brushing their teeth to close the water tab, we have to instill this in them at a young age, they should know that people are dying in Somalia and Djibouti because they cant find water nor food and we are sitting here wasting water. Second, I think governments should enforce some kind of, I am not saying taxes, but the water issue in Abu Dhabi should be given more thought, we here pay 50 Dirham and open the water all day long. So you know that water costs the government more than petrol?! And also the desalination of it costs more than petroleum refining costs. Can you imagine that and we are considered one of the top countries that consume and waste water?! This is very unfortunate. Ismail: how do you define sustainability? Abdulla: sustainability for me means not being selfish, how can we not be selfish? Think of the next generations coming, you are dying tomorrow, have mercy for the coming generations dont prevent them from having the good things you had in your life. When you think of it that way, and that there are people already suffering today because lack of resources and you have all that, think how precious is this and you will go sustainable. Electricity, lighting and water these are blessings, our grandfathers didnt have that, some of them died either because of thirst, hunger, of cold or of heat, and they were Bedouins they never live in one place. Egypt for example you have civilization, you have the Nile. We are not like that; my grandfather lived in the desert not because he likes it because there is water, once its finished they go find someplace else. This is how precious water is, and wherever there is water there is life; plants, humans and animals all are there because of water. If we know all of this we will be sustainable. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Abdulla: I think integration would be the right word here, as we integrate the resources that we have, we integrate our sustainability researches, how can we use recycled materials. Sustainability, we have to switch it on and we start doing it there are examples which people start seeing these examples prove that it works. When we see a success story for sustainable projects that reduces water, electricity and energy consumption that uses recycled materials then what would stop us. And it creates its own market and the government supports that with decisions, which is the whole case with Estidama. Ismail: in your own opinion what is needed to make a paradigm shift to convert the built environment into a sustainable one? Abdulla: it is all about education, it all started after the Kyoto protocol in Japan in the late 70s this was like yesterday, we studied that in the 80s, and it is new science. We need time and lets be smart the current situation is costing us money, the government has to be smart with this, the best example for sustainable countries after Germany is the Scandinavian countries; Sweden and Norway they are amazing. We are one of the most petrol rich companies, we were some Bedouins who had nothing then petroleum appears and then we have everything we must conserve it; this is the black gold how to conserve it, by these things like sustainability. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
Ismail: the integration of the certification system into the planning process, how is it done and what are the differences? Abdulla: If you are putting together a master plan you have to involve the Estidama team because even if you are putting a master plan, they will tell you how sustainable it should be, they will tell you if you put the parking lot here it will be easier to move and that is more sustainable. Estidama today is involved in everything in master planning work and even in development review when we review development they review with us from Estidama point of view. For example we do a few developments from different perspectives transportation, infrastructure, environment, urban design, urban planning as well as with Estidama sustainability. So we review it from different perspectives and then we have comments on each aspect and then we sit with the developer you have to make this and that, modify this or this looks absolutely fine.etc. And its all of course in the developers benefits. We have received a lot of thank certificates from developers they value UPCs input and Estidamas input as well. Ismail: any conflicts between municipalitys policies and Estidamas requirements and the vision 2030? Abdulla: vision 2030 is being put by the UPC, approved by the government and by the executive council which is the government board, no one can say anything about it, there is no conflict, there is no doubt, everyone has to meet it. I will tell you what happened, there was no council before everything was run by the municipalities and UPC formed with the vision, we finished the vision and then we announced the council, we worked on the vision 2006/2007 and then we finished it we announced the council. The council being formed we pulled the responsibilities of planning from all the government agencies because today we have a planning authority, they are responsible for this. And together we want to achieve 2030 vision. Now when I put a public realm design manual from the day one I start working I have 3 representatives from the municipality because they will be implementing this later on so its good to be involving them from the beginning, integration is always there. But when I told you that we do only planning because I was talking about the role of the organization only, but that doesnt mean we dont talk to municipalities or dont involve them. We have continuous task force meetings with the stakeholders; municipalities, department of transport, Abu Dhabi tourism and culture authority and environmental agency all of these we have continuous direct task force meetings. But as I only put policies and not implement them, the one who does implement them should be involved with me from the beginning and thats what we do. Ismail: what incentives does Abu Dhabi provide for the promotion of sustainability? Abdulla: right now there arent any, but there is an idea of bonuses. You can say that they are in the pipeline. For example; if Ismail is a developer and he wants to develop a hotel, he is mandated to be sustainable by 2 pearls level but if he becomes more sustainable like 3 or 4 pearls for example then I would be more than happy to give Ismail more space like one floor extra. This will enhance the sustainability initiatives, as a council I cant give you something like 3 or 4 floors extra this is too much; this has an impact on infrastructure it creates more load. Lots of bonuses and incentives that can be done, this is one of the ideas.. Ismail: what is in your opinion the reason behind not moving faster
Adi Afaneh
Position: Associate Assessor, Estidama, UPC Country of Origin: Jordan Biography: Adi has 10 years of experience in environmental sustainability. He acquired his bachelor degree in environmental science from the University of London. His career start was marked with a solid 4 years of experience at a consultancy, where he was involved in numerous projects in Jordan and Palestine, which were funded by the World Bank, USAID and the EU. Moving to the emirates he worked at the Dubai Municipality as a senior environmental planner in the planning department, where his work included projects related to the waste department, environment department and green building regulations with the building department. He is currently an associate assessor at Estidama UPC since 2010, working on assessments of Pearl Rating applications, for the design and construction audits, as well as part of the training.
Ismail: what are the reasons behind creating the certification system? Adi: it is a green building rating system, reasons behind it is to deal with the lack of efficient use of resources mainly; energy and water related, obviously other sustainability related issues such as waste, materials, indoor and outdoor quality of buildings. So it is to help Abu Dhabi be more sustainable, help buildings become better for users and occupants, help utility companies in conserving water and energy resources which are heavily subsidized and cost a lot for the government. Ismail: what is different in Estidama compared to other certification systems? Adi: we are here talking about the Pearl Rating System of Estidama, Estidama is the umbrella program; its a sustainability program thats placed to instill sustainability throughout Abu Dhabis future vision 2030. So the pearl rating system of Estidama is different as it is tailored made for Abu Dhabi, 50 % of the weight of all the requirements deals with water and energy, which is not the case in other rating systems obviously, it did take into account Abu Dhabis climate, and current building and construction practices, it deals with culture issues which you dont find in other rating systems and it emphasizes quite a bit the idea of Integrated Development Process. We have a whole category for that its just instilling good planning, scheduling and management practices throughout the life cycle of the project. It is trying to instill all these good practices in a project; this is in all projects as a number of these credits within the IDP category are mandatory. But a very important difference between our rating system and others around the world is that it is mandated, other certification systems are voluntary. The first and main output so far is the pearl rating system which is our certification system. And we are involved with other initiatives such as the public realm design manual, we have thoughts and ideas about instilling sustainability not only outside of the rating system, but being involved in sustainability initiatives or initiating initiatives in the future. We have obviously our training which we see extending to universities and extending to schools, we have some thoughts and plans about that; it is in process of being put in place. Anything related to sustainability and Estidama that we can work towards or implement or include or contribute to or initiate, we will be doing that, even though it is not the pearl rating system or the certification system. So Estidama is not only about the pearl rating system, its bigger, wider, its about sustainability as a whole, so some thoughts are about getting more involved in waste management on city level with the relevant authorities, we have some thoughts that might be involved with them or other things might be related to infrastructure, maybe utility level demand management. So its not enclosed within the rating system. Ismail: what is still missing in the certification systems and how do you see that changing in the future developments? Adi: obviously its a new system, its 2 years old and we continue to want to improve and change and update and we are learning quite a bit. We are going to include an operational rating to complete the life cycle of the project. Not that its perfect or complete but it is an ongoing process of development and feedback from the market, from what worked and what didnt, what is still missing, what is clear and what is not, do we need to clarify anything? There are thoughts to widen our training, diversify it and update content, target new groups..etc. So its an ongoing process of improvement and feedback. We had a draft
version two, obviously, time, connections, updates, clarifying a few issues. Other regulations and rating systems around the world every 2 to 3 years they do this update version. As a component what is missing maybe the operational, which we hope to have soon. Ismail: what is the process consultants go through to learn about Estidama? Adi: training started in August 2010 and going up until today around 5,000 people got trained. The training is not a prerequisite, it is a prerequisite that each team has a pearl qualified professional; which is a certificate you need to obtain by taking an exam, other than that we do our best in offering trainings for whoever wants to attend, free of charge of course. And they can come in and ask whatever question, is it enough? Can be for some, can be not enough for others depends on background, knowledge and experience. Also activeness of a person, but once project teams are hired for a project, our doors are always open for meetings, clarifications and workshops with them. And this is something we are very proud of; we are trying to implement something that is very ambitious. We dont want to give anyone the excuse saying I didnt know or didnt understand or didnt realize I needed to do this or that and over the phone people call us lots of times and we answer. But I think a lot depends on the seriousness and activeness of project teams. They need to be serious, intelligent, pay attention and should start the process as early as possible. Ismail: Estidama sets three certification stages; design, construction and operation. This is quite different from other certification systems. Why has it been designed to be set like this? Adi: design is the intention to do something, construction you actually build it but the example I give is; imagine you are designing the best car ever, you actually built this best car ever and then you started driving it and you dont maintain it at all for 2 years imagine yet you dont maintain it for 5 years, when you only maintain it when you hear a sound in the engine by then its probably too late. The car is going to break its not going to be the best car ever anymore; same thing is with the building. So a lot of mechanical systems and there are some requirements for example; regards to all the HVAC systems and elevators and so on. Some parts of this region as a whole, probably these things are not always done in terms of best practice or the way they should maintain it, not only reactive maintenance, it needs to be proactive with the plan and idea to maintain efficiency, because you design and construct levels of efficiency in terms of saving energy.etc. to ensure that your building continues to operate the way it should be, so this is why the operation rating system comes in. And very important in all that we do is trying to instill best practices throughout the life cycle of the project. And again going back to the benefits of all of this to all stakeholders; owners, designers and users. This is the whole idea of the operational. Why typologies? We actually have some breakdown for different typologies within the region, for the rating system. And why dont we have a clear break down like other rating systems? No particular reason maybe we will have it in the future. Its part of the development and improvement and other rating systems are running for 15 to 20 years, ours 2 years and 2 months old. Ismail: what is the added value of certification systems? And how credible are they? Adi: its added value to all stakeholders, better building for users, better building performance, designer teams are going back to practice
Selected Interviews
is Estidama certified, it only meets the performance requirements and this why its available on their website. It makes it easy for contractors and design teams to be able to find and for you it gives you advantage because you are listed on the website. Ismail: how would you rate Estidamas goals towards an ultimate sustainability goal? Adi: I rate it quite highly, because its really ticking the boxes of so many important components of sustainability. I will start from the end, it is trying to achieve water and energy efficiency, waste efficiency, better material use, better recycling rates, less harm to the ozone, obviously reducing water and energy intensity to this part of the world, reducing green house gas emissions on a global level so all these mark up on what you call ultimate sustainability goal. But stepping back its really educating people to be able to do all of this; you are educating all the suppliers, designers, manufacturers, owners and consultants to do this. Varying levels of education obviously but still it is one bit of change at a time. In a few years you will create that, all the training we are doing we are trying to instill the understanding of sustainability, so we are targeting as many and as much as possible. We have big projects, without any names mentioned, with thousands of workers on site; which they are aiming to train every single individual on site, imagine if you train 10,000 or 20,000 workers again it maybe an ounce of knowledge added to each person or maybe they wont understand it fully, but if this ounce shifted to one friend or two, is it achieving? It is. And all of this we are still talking about the pearl rating system, not other programs that we hope to implement in the future. Ismail: is Estidama pushing the market too far or not pushing it far enough? Adi: I think just right, because if you dont get anybody out of his comfort zone they will insist on staying there and this applies to individuals too. Market when we first started was all about complaints cant find this, it is not available, or I cant sell my product or I cant but the product. I think markets are adaptable, I think the ultimate main reason behind implementing is a good reason and important reason for all involved. Are you going to please everybody? No way, does it have to be done? It has to because Abu Dhabi is trying to be a leading city in all aspects as well as sustainability, I think we are moving towards that and it will become a leader, it is a leader so far in the Middle East I think. Establishing and doing can be a model that can be copied. So I think its just right, I dont think we over burdened it and I dont want to say we need to push more. The way its happening its happening good. Ismail: what incentives does Abu Dhabi provide for the promotion of sustainable water, energy and material usage? Are there any incentives? Adi: we dont have yet, but we have thoughts that might be implemented in the future. It could be like you are mandated for 2 pearls if you do 3 we will give extra GFA in terms of zoning, instead of your zoning limits you to 10 floors we give another. This is a good thing, it might not impact the actual zoning of the area quite a lot, its just one floor really we are not talking about and area zones for 10 floors and you are putting 50 floors in it. This might be a very good incentive. So its like I am spending more but I will get to rent a floor more, which will make that up. This is one example, there are others like; moral recognition, marketing, publicizing you as a project or as an owner or as a design team, that is important and most time it is as good as money for you, it can also be showcasing. From around the world there are possibilities other than; tax reduction or customs or something. And it can be educating about the improved cost savings you might be able to achieve in terms of life cycle cost not only looking at the capital cost. Even though it is subsidized at the moment, but still if you own a building and you include efficiency practices you will save energy and water and it will impact your pocket quite a bit, even with the subsidized water and energy. And subsidies change around the world, in this region and even other emirates in UAE, tariffs changed and it could change here as well. So you are always thinking ahead, getting people to understand and realize this and not only look at the capital cost is an incentive in itself. Ismail: when do you revise the benchmark? And what reactions does it cause? Adi: in general, probably when we feel that people are able to meet requirements, practices have changed, and it becomes sort of the norm, the market has transformed quite a bit, consultants are comfortable, contractors are comfortable and we have a number of buildings already built and so on. Then we can take it a notch higher, or maybe it will depend on technologies when they are improved so better efficiencies are possible to meet with current costs or time. Ismail: whats in your opinion the reason behind not moving fast enough towards more sustainable buildings? Adi: my personal opinion, its about proper targeted education, not just your typical give a presentation or go speak to a school kind of a thing. It really needs to be a curriculum throughout the life cycle of dif-
what they learned in architecture 101, deign 101, mechanics 101 in terms of proper calculations for ventilation systems, making use of natural daylight, proper passive design and so on. It benefits owners, occupants and utility companies. If you want to zoom out, it benefits the country, benefits the globe as whole. Ismail: so what are the difficulties you face when dealing with consultants, clients and environmental experts? Adi: we used to face more issues when started than today, for the obvious reason its something new not a lot of people want it, not a lot of people thought it would be reviewed at the level we try to achieve, not a lot of people thought we would have audits on site and actually go and find time to document. And it wasnt about taking it seriously it was about not knowing or understanding, maybe sometimes fear of the unknown is something normal. Again good example with cars the first time someone drives; you are first worried and not sure but then it becomes the normal. Owners were worried about cost and how much and they didnt understand and some suppliers were trying to capitalize on this fears by taking advantage. But now we have around 500 PQPs, around 250 projects, people are starting to get it we have the EVPD which has over a 1,000 types of materials that people can refer to so its no more a matter of I cant find this or it is too expensive, or I can only find one supplier for this and so on. Obviously its a natural progression that probably just needed to happen, a cycle of new and unknown to becoming familiar, becoming known and becoming something that people have done and found doable. But also we attempt through the training to continue, through this EVPD. So I think all of that sort of decreased, we still see issues with type of quality of submission, but its much less than we used to see before. We still get some consultants which we spend time with whom we have met 3 to 4 times before in meetings. We get them to a certain level in a project and we expect them to come the following project to start from this level, but we find they go back to zero again, but its very minimal probably out of each 10 maybe 1 consultant. We still get these from time to time, but we are seeing quality is improving and more people are getting it. Ismail: were there any conflicts between municipal policies and Estidama requirements and vision? And how are they being solved? Adi: we attempted at the very beginning, and this actually relates to how is Estidama is different, we did our best to align, discuss, review or get feedback from different stakeholders; municipalities, Department of transportation, environment agencies, department municipal affairs and some other agencies, so we tried not to create any conflicts. There are always issues in such things, especially when its new and mandated and it is linked with the municipality process in that its linked with building parameter. There are no benchmarks for efficiencies that are mandated so far except for Estidama, . So we are not in conflict with their architectural and structural departments. Challenges, in terms of number of stakeholders, dealing and agreeing its a normal thing. Probably the initial stages of implementation, we were coordinating and talking quite a bit about it, but things are moving. Will this continue? Will we see new issues? I dont think any place can smooth running, these things pop up, but we deal with them as they come up, especially when we move forward or want to change. Ismail: is there any database that you use showing building performances? And is it available for the public? Adi: the EVPD is a database of materials and suppliers and its available. Database for building X I want to rent in it, can I open a database and see what rating it has, so I can decide to pay that much money or not? We dont have such a thing. We did have an idea, it didnt materialize yet and I dont know if it will happen. That materials database covers five types; glazing, air condition systems, water fixtures and fittings, solar hot water systems and insulation material. These are the main five that are included in required credits and the most impacting on the points you can get. So if you have an AC and you want to get it on the database what we do is; you come to us and lets us know you have this product and we put your name down on a list and we carry out a training for the EVPD for suppliers groups and the training happens every 4 to 6 months and the update of the data happens every 4 to 6 months, so far as it is really intensive work. So you approach, you get invited, you attend, during this training you learn for your product the AC what are the performance criteria for Estidama, although we hold that for people to do some research, and let you know what type of submission or certification or tests are required to be submitted from you to us to be looked at, accepted and once we accept your proofs your specific product, its not company x it is product x, y,z with model no. and specs, this item gets put on the list. You get an EVDP reference no. and model no. and contacts of your company, this way people will be able to open and say ok my requirements are x then, lets say for example water fixtures; I am looking for bathroom tabs that are 6 liters per minute at 413 pressure, when you open the database you will be able to find all the items that fit your requirement then you pick and choose. We dont certify or stamp them so you cannot say this product

ferent stakeholders, which is better done at younger ages. I really think its more behavior change than education, the word education is very open and over used. So its education, its training, its behavior change, and its environmental sustainable psychology interventions that need to happen. Beyond that its capability to plan, to implement plans when you do them, and the seriousness of governments about them. Estidama is good practice here, if you think about other places in the Arab world, its not happening or sometimes happening by necessity, they do not have water running all week. I mainly say it is education, training and behavioral change more than the technical. Ismail: how could you evaluate and measure the contribution of certification systems to the built environment? Adi: obviously design, benchmarks, calculations and energy modeling you specify according to these studies and designs and you implement your specifications and we audit the implementation of specification that they are met and so on. Then its operational and monitoring, we do have a number of requirements for monitoring for example; for exterior water irrigation, for exterior water use, for energy monitoring and reporting as where we require the monitoring of different components and systems and distribution boards above certain kilowatts and all these types of meters we require data logging capabilities, comparisons and so on. And we ask for a written confirmation that this data will be provided to Estidama if and when requested. The reason behind this is research and development. Ismail: how do you define sustainability? Adi: it is Estidama and what we are doing, it instills, not only as the
Arabic translation, but I think Estidama with its goals for education and teaching and approving and changing practices and behaviors with the goals for resource management, waste management and so on. I think this is sustainability for me. I think its Estidama as a program. And so far what is happening with what we aim to achieve and do. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Adi: if we take integrated development process for a community as a whole including all stakeholders with different ages and different backgrounds, different professions, suppliers, contractors, users, waste generators; which is all of us mainly, the community. Its about target education, for me educational behavior changed for me I think its the heart of everything. Because if you have challenges with parts of community or some of the stakeholders or the government agencies, maybe some private sector companies its educating, talking to them, explaining to them and making them understand. I will give the example of the owner who was angry at this and I said do you save money for your children? he said yes of course for the future I said why dont you save some water and energy for them? and he got what we are trying to do!. So its targeted messages, educating and training depending on the background but not just to get it across, to actually make it happen. So if you think of waste management and how much challenges goes into it in terms of finance, planning..etc. you will really have to target everyone in different stages in different levels with different means, this is just what it takes. And plan for it, for the life cycle of the community which is probably continues forever. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
Selected Interviews
Carlos Amaya
Position: Senior Associate Assessor, Estidama, UPC Country of Origin: Colombia Biography: Carlos is an Environmental Engineer, who holds a master degree in Energy Studies. He has work experience in resource efficiency and sustainability in Colombia, Australia, UK and the UAE. Currently he is working as a senior associate assessor at Estidama, UPC in Abu Dhabi. He likes sports and supports Arsenal and Barcelona football clubs.
Ismail: What are the reasons behind creating the certification system? Carlos: its to improve the sustainability performance of the built environment in Abu Dhabi or any developments tiding to the plan 2030 which is a development plan for the next 18 years. So through the rating system we will help achieve the vision of making Abu Dhabi a more sustainable city. Ismail: What is different in Estidama compared to other certification systems? Carlos: Estidama is part of a more holistic umbrella program of sustainable development and its a mandated certification system for all new developments, its the only mandated system in the world I believe. And its also been tailor made for Abu Dhabi depending on the climate conditions and cultural context. Ismail: What do you think is still missing in the certification system? Carlos: At the moment it only tackles new buildings villas and communities. It should also be enhanced to include existing buildings and to include all the resource efficiency issues like industry for example, to have a policy for industrial processes, which would be very beneficial because a lot of water and energy goes into the industry. Ismail: How do you see that changing in future developments? Is it planned somehow? Carlos: There are no specific plans as such but I think its something people will start realizing. Once the government and leadership start to see the benefits of the rating system as it is, there is no reason why it should not be expanded to other areas. Ismail: Estidama sets three certification stages: design, construction and operation. Could you elaborate on the details? Carlos: to improve the sustainability performance of a building, a community or a villa unit you need to understand what the design intent, is thats when the design process comes into play where the design team and developer put together or basically design the building. And the design could be very efficient, so you have a vision of minimizing energy consumption or water consumption, have better ventilation or better shading etc... And then at construction its more difficult because they have to prove the design intent. And a lot of changes always happen during construction. The contractor is on board and wants to save money on materials and things change on site so its quiet difficult to work it through and at the end maintain the planned certification. But so far a lot of projects 99% of the projects have achieved it. And once its built it is also important to maintain that efficiency status, especially on a resource efficiency point of view, water, energy and waste. So thats when the operation comes in place to make sure that the buildings are being operated and maintained as efficient as possible and also the developer continues improving their framework and strategy to help reduce the energy consumption and water consumption. Ismail: How credible are CS? Carlos: In my personal point of view theyre not very credible because they are very much design intent and Ive seen studies for LEED for example where buildings that have been certified for LEED actually do not operate as they claim and are not as sustainable as they said to be. So unless you can verify and measure and monitor the sustainability performance of a building it is very difficult to claim a sustainability
status. We are in the process of developing benchmarks that we would only know for certain once the operational rating is up and running in a few years how effective everything has been. I dont believe you could just claim a sustainability performance unless you can verify it with numbers and measurements and benchmarks etc. Ismail: The integration of the certification system in the planning process: How is it done? And what are the differences? And what are the pros and cons? Carlos: Because its a mandate and its part of the planning authority any new development that is planned to be built is made aware as early as possible of the future requirement for the rating system and Estidama. So from the very early stage of the planning approval Estidama is incorporated in the process. The client and the developer need to make commitments for the sustainability from the early beginning in the pre-concept stage and then you move forward in a more detailed obtain the design rating which will then lead to the building permit to allow them build. I dont think there are any cons to be honest, because sustainability is something that has to be done. And despite reluctance from people and wrong perceptions that this will cost more or its difficult, reality is that resources are being depleted and we need to do something about it. The developments are not going to stop so we will need more energy and more water especially in this part of the world. So at the very beginning the more people is aware and the more integration happens through this projects the better, the easier it is later on especially because its mandated. They will leave it too late when the developers want a building permit its going to be a big headache for them, for us for everybody. It makes sense to make it as early as possible. Ismail: What are the difficulties you face when dealing with consultants? clients? environmental experts? Carlos: At the beginning of the program there was a lot of reluctance. Its just this issue of human nature, the fear of change. The construction industry is used to doing business as usual for many years and suddenly a new policy comes in place where they have to change things. They are trying to make a very big step change from business as usual. So at the beginning there was a lot of reluctance and negativity about it but two years down track we have changed the value of doing Estidama and for every developer for every contractor and for every consultant the first project is very difficult. But after they go through the process with us and we help as much as we can they realize its not that difficult. Were trying to implement best practices, improve the quality of construction and put more attention to detail so its helping and making things better. So they realize that in these areas it makes sense and then they move forward. Obviously not a 100% would be the case. There people who still dont believe in Estidama at all and the why dont you do anything about it but I think at least the majority is. Weve been able to change the nature and mentality of the majority of the stakeholders throughout the last two years Ismail: So how would you rate Estidamas goals compared to other certification systems? Carlos: I do not have a lot of experience with rating systems. This is my first time I have been involved in a rating system. I have been working on sustainability for many years now but not on rating systems. Even in Masdar using a rating system was like using a swear word. They didnt want to hear anything about rating systems. So its difficult for me to

compare against others. If all of the buildings become rated, it would be a huge improvement. One of the challenges is to help move forward in that process with other stakeholders in the government like utilities for example. If we make buildings more sustainable but if we keep the utilities without any change, if we keep the pipes in the ground as they are in the moment, if we keep buildings substations to generate excessive power, the change is not going to be much if any at all. It has to be a holistic approach at the utility level as well to make the government realize we are actually saving energy we are actually saving water so we need to generate less. We need to build smaller substations. We need to desalinate less water. Unfortunately at the moment there is still the status quo of excessiveness. Everything is oversized. Water is wasted far too much. Estidama is trying to remove that probability issues and trying to make it efficient in systems. So the next step is behavioral changes to the community to the owner to the user to the inhabitants and also to the utility side to make things more efficient. So I think this is the first step and once we have a lot of buildings rated and when the existing buildings program is introduced then we need to take it further and we need to look at the utilities. And also with the help of raising the awareness of the people that use the buildings, that would make a big change. Here in Abu Dhabi it is contradicting that fossil fuel is still subsidized. That is working against Estidama. Ismail: Are there any plans of incentives? Carlos: That has been discussed in the past in terms of lowering the subsidies for energy and water. You are right, there is no incentives at all for people to use less. A lot of people do not even see a bill, how much water or energy they use. It doesnt make sense. And I agree with you its contradictory position there. So what other things the government is looking at is developing programs for DSM. So that the government money that is used for subsidies is put into improving the efficiency of existing buildings and in that way save a lot of the subsidy that is put into the utilities. And I think that the next step will be to look into doing a different structure, to incentivize more of less usage. There is much potential to have a lot of savings from energy and water usage from there but the executive authority has been working on a lot of pilot studies and a lot of economic studies to see the potential of improvement and its very promising and I think the next years too well see a lot of going forward. Ismail: could it also be including things like products, like a minimum standard for efficient appliances? Carlos: They have already started to be developed, but theres a sign in that corner from QCC (quality conformity council) and the first conformity scheme they developed was for water fittings and fixtures. They are certifying products from a quality and a sustainability point of view. The sustainability part is taken from Estidama. So they are certifying products that comply with the Estidama requirements (liters per minute or flushing for toilets and so on). So we work kind of hand in hand in this. They have a committee for the built environment. They look at energy, water and waste. So were looking at water fixtures from usage point of view, AC units from the energy point of view. There is a lot of focus on street lighting at the moment with ADM. They are developing standards which are pretty complicated and very technical. Hopefully we will improve the lighting which is excessive. This new QCC has been in place for only a year or so. They are going to be looking at certifying products. Ismail: Do you think that Estidama is pushing the market too far or not pushing hard enough? Carlos: a bit of both. When it came into place, this mandate for everything it was probably too much. All parts of the world have done it and theyve started on the governmental level and tried and tested it first then moved forward to the private sector. It was a big shock in the beginning because every single villa and biggest building was required to comply which was probably difficult and understandably there were a lot of issues and legal issues and reluctance from the market that has been relaxed a little bit especially from individual villas but at the same time I dont think if you make it voluntarily or too voluntarily it is very difficult to be taken by developers on a voluntarily basis. So I think it has to be a policy. Let me tell you an example when you go to a doctor and they say you are sick. What do you prefer to get cured bit by bit or as soon as possible? We live in a sick world with fewer resources and less water so we need to find a cure as soon as possible because this is not slowing down. If we dont try to find a cure as soon as possible everybody is going to die. Ismail: what is in your opinion the reason behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings? Carlos: I think one of the main reasons is the lack of awareness of the general public and even at the government level of the need of living sustainable lives. And sustainability has a lot of different definitions and we need to take that into account of what it means for different people. And from the resource efficiency point of view I think that its
pretty basic. People dont understand that we are running out of resources. People dont see like I said before a bill of how much water they use. The main reason is the lack of awareness in general on the community wide levels, and the need for a sustainable living standard. Ismail: What are the advantages and disadvantages of the certification system? Carlos: the advantages of Estidama itself are that the construction industry is improving. From a policy point of view, this will resort in better living standard for people. They will have better quality buildings which could be more efficient from the resource point of view but they will also be better environments for people working, living to be outside or inside. Disadvantage: I think one of the issues was that they have to implement it from the beginning and mandated for everybody. Also the market place is a bit slow in catching up which is also a result of that impulsive implementation in the beginning. Ismail: How could you measure the certification system contribution to the built environment? Carlos: once we have the operational rating in place we measure in terms of resource consumption. There needs to be some sort of KPIs around living standards. How better people are living in an Estidama villa for example against a non Estidama villa or how students are performing in a school that is three pearl which most of new schools are at the moment, against typical school in a timeframe of 5 years or something. Ismail: How do you define sustainability? Carlos: for me its a mindset of living within the constraints of the resources that we have available and looking into the future in long term ambition. Because a lot of governments and policies have a very short term vision so its a mindset and a code for a way of living. For me the most important thing is resource efficiency. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Carlos: to begin with it needs the commitment and involvement from everybody. What we call IDP to create a development process. So everybody needs to be involved in the original vision and in the development and implementation of that vision, from the client to the government to the design team to the contractor to the workforce. So that why we need to implement Estidama from the very beginning of the planning process and by doing that its important to understand first of all the need for community, where its going to be located, what group of people it is going to serve and a contribution that will satisfy the needs of those groups for the next 20, 50 100 years and then come together and brainstorm ideas, get as much people as possible from the government level and community level to develop something that is going to be sustainable for future generation. Discussion with utilities, designers market place, developers contractors. Its a lot of effort and its important that everybody is aware of the issues and work towards the same goals to reach. Ismail: do you think education needs to change in some way? What would be needed? Carlos: yes, necessarily in the lack of awareness of sustainability issues. So right now any concept of sustainability or sustainable development needs to be part of any curriculum in schools and universities and at the general public level. This requires a lot of training and courses and needs a lot of education that continuous to make people aware of the issues. Schools and Universities should teach students tol be able to think about the implications of their designs. The faade for example if they put a lot of glass, does it make sense, does it work? Maybe it works somewhere else. And mechanical engineer will be able to say do we need those many chillers or can we do it differently or can I design a more efficient system from the capacity through the pipes. So this will have a significant input. I also think its more on the other side. Its on the developers side and clients side that they prefer this. They see a fully glazed building somewhere and say this is what I want and sometimes they will neglect to look into alternative solutions even if they look better. I think the client and developers side is more difficult. And they dont have any incentive to make it more efficient because they do not pay the operation costs for the buildings. They sell the buildings and the tenants pay the operation. So its not so much the issue of the architects being aware but more what they have to do because its the clients requirements. Ismail: are there any set goals for energy or water for the UAE? Carlos: at government level the only set level I am aware of is 7% for renewable energy by 2020. One of the issues in the UAE is the lack of benchmark data; there isnt enough information to understand how much water or energy is being used in buildings per square meter for example. Ismail: Are there any outcomes available comparing a rated versus a business as usual building? Carlos: Yes, very little, we did a comparative study between two health
Selected Interviews
Carlos: No but Masdar wants to control that. The government wants to channel that through Masdar because they own a solar plant. Ismail: whats the process of getting rid of construction waste materials? Carlos: Concrete is mostly crushed and used as aggregates for foundation work and things like timber, plastic, paper metals cardboard and all are recycled. As far as Estidama every building has to make separate operational waste to be able to recycle. I worked in the project management company between the contractor and Masdar so I spent 50% of my time on site. All materials had to be checked by me. There were many issues like the contractor wanted to use non-compliant materials until the contractor realized that its no use and he changed his attitude. Ismail: What is your opinion on Masdar institute? Carlos: There are two critical things. Its costs too much and the economics werent thought through. The business model wasnt good, in terms of sustainability it was good but to spend that much money for a project to show just how green it is just isnt a good example. The plan is changing now and everything has to be more feasible. Ismail: What u like most and least about MISC Carlos: What I like the most is the design of the building and that you see that it actually works. The passive measures are really working. Knowing what it costs and the lack of economic issues is what I like the least. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
facilities, similar layouts, one in al Ain one in Abu Dhabi, one Estidama and one not Estidama. We did it theoretically, so it is not 100% accurate, we do not want to release it without 100% certainty. Its been already 6 months, and we will have the full data package after 1 year. The theoretical study shows at least 30% improvements water and energy. Ismail: Whats the governments plan for water recycling? Carlos: The plan is to build a treated sewage network for irrigation and community developments. Some already exists but needs extension. There needs to be a water balance between buildings and treated water for landscapes. It cant be a 100% balanced. There are limitations because of the Emirati wide strategy. Until it is in place we assess buildings individually. People have to get a license from a regulatory body which is still difficult. They think there are not enough capacities in the market place to maintain and operate this kind of plants. They are afraid of contamination and health issues which they want to control. So it is partly positive and negative. Individuals wish to go decentral and have their own systems. But allowing that will hinder the individuals who wish to seek that. Not hindered by Estidama but other regulatory authorities. For villas for example the regulations say you have to build an underground and a roof tank.. the reason for that is that in the beginning there was not much pressure on the water supplier so they had to allow storage in villas. But that is no longer the case. Now storing underground there are issues like leakage which wastes water and it get contaminated and you cannot drink it because the cross contaminations. We are trying to work on a bypass concept in pilot projects in Estidama to change these regulations but its a slow process. Ismail: is it possible to buy renewable electricity? Or renewable certificates?
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Jean Philippe Coulaud

Position: Director Corporate Communications, UPC Country of Origin: France Biography: Jean Philippe Coulaud graduated 1979 with an MBA in political science from the Institute of Political Studies, France. He also holds an MBA in Communication and a degree in marketing research from GM Institute. Since then he has been holding different positions at General Motors in France, the USA, and Switzerland, highlighted by his previous work for Ferrari Maserati Group as a marketing and communication director. Since June 2008 he has been directing the marketing and communication department in Abu Dhabis Urban Planning Council.
Ismail: Could describe the role of the department, the communication department, and what your role within the department is? Jean: So I can explain to you about the structure, we have three Major departments: communication, corporate communication and marketing department. First one, is more of strategic its public relations and public affairs. Its works for example when we are presenting vision 2030 to foreign dedications, we are working a lot with all the embassies and most of the time we are developing this presentation with all sorts of government agencies, because when foreign dedication is interested to know vision 2030 its not only about urban planning vision its about economic vision. So the vision 2030 book, its a good example because as both urban and economic vision are fully intertwined. We decided to edit a book that is a kind of sum up of both visions and then we can communicate more efficiently to all the different architect audience because as I mentioned sometimes people are there to see the global picture and not only urban planning but to understand the role urban planning is playing within this global picture, this is the global approach. So and then we have what we call marketing, its mainly developing all the communication material; audio, visual and printing. Then we have third sector which is called event management, because its not only managing the events that we organize by ourselves but also managing UPC participation to all the different conferences. Also sometimes we organize investment from outside of the country and so we are preparing a receipt, briefing bag and contacting the media on site. This urban management part is quiet important for us. And we have another, an additional person that is playing the role of the link between all, its an editor English and there down stairs we have same person for Arabic because as you know our key target it was not there at the start of UPC when we started 4 years ago but now more and more we are communicating to the communities so we need to communicate to people in Arabic. Previously when we were establishing UPC and promoting the usage of strategic frame work plan I would say it was 60 percent English 40 percent Arabic, but now its changed to 80 to 20 percent , so we are communicating more and more in Arabic. Ismail: what is different in Estidama compared to other certification systems, I think before you started you said the cultural aspect? Jean: it is the integration of the four pillars; economic, social, cultural and environmental. The objective is to treat these four pillars with equal importance. So as I mentioned we are now starting because we have the requirement and urgency to deal with this, first we initiated the pearl system because we need people to refer to something concrete so that all the developers, all the architects, all the professionals know what Estidama means completely, they have to comply with this rating system, but above all that is that special type of communication what we really want to put as a role Abu Dhabi is playing on the regional level as a kind of benchmark taking the initiative promoting sustainability at large not only for cause of environment but because we know that they are linked together the four pillars. Ismail: what is still missing in the initiative of UPC or Estidama in the certification system? And what are the current plans for development? Is there anything within the communication department that you are planning to do in the near future? Jean: yes as I explained to you when we first started UPC, we start from scratch in 2007. The first 2 years we were asked to develop this overall
regional master plan, it means you know the capital for the metropolitan area , Al Ain for eastern region and Al Gharbia for western region it took as 3 years to develop this regional master plan. Then we enter what we call the second phase because planning approach we can divide it into 3 distinctive steps; first step frame work plan, second step we call it master plan which means we go to distinctive area for example we are now working on the Abu Dhabi island (5:49) so its part of this capital 2030 frame work plan its one area and then it was from year 3 to year 4. We are now entering third phase, developing what we call blocks. It means within this Abu Dhabi area for example, to give you a concrete example, we are now dealing block per block so it means the whole of UPC still strategic role because we are still at the origin of policy guidelines, but we go from regional plan to more local and clear distinctive area. Its logical in a way but sometimes its people that have difficulty to understand how our role is moving, this is the plan. And this is why if you look at this, because this is what we are promoting now what we call the complete sustainability concept. We already announced the concept itself but I think it will be officially announced in mid-November. You have for example the driving force Estidama, because it is the driving force of everything the UPC is doing. Sustainability, its at the origin of everything and then we have for example key policy guideline that UPC has produced, safety security manual, development regulations, community and facility standard, public realm design manual and urban street design then we have here the development code that can capsulate most of this ingredients at Emirati level. Its fantastic because its a walk like a puzzle. For example now we are producing a video and what we want is to demonstrate that like a puzzle piece after piece and then you have the whole complete concept. We also have now the ALDAR academy its 6 schools also and we are developing Estidama school program with them, it means we want to create kind of think tank but with kids. We want the kids also to start thinking about how they will envision their city in the future but in line with this key policy guidelines complete with the sustainability concept. Ismail: in your opinion is the effect of such programs such as Estidama and what you just explained about the education part of the urban planning concept on the society and culture? Jean: this is a key challenge that is why communication is important. It is important to engage with people and to make sure they will understand about midterm benefit of the complying with Estidama regulations and as you may know in the region people are not used to saving water or energy so it is all about educating peoplethis was not an update of the benchmark this was the first benchmark. So what we are doing in terms of communication, we are trying to use different channels. For example; we are developing a lot of this social media campaign, we have a program called UniverCity and last year, to give an example, the person in charge of P.R. she developed a targeted campaign dedicated to a university called My Sustainable Abu Dhabi, it was a social media campaign and it was like a contest, you know we want the people to generate interests so as to have maximum follow up on specific question and then to address key concern and to answer to this concern. Same thing same approach with this UniverCity programs we are now developing the webinar concept, so it means every time we have a press conference dealing with a new initiative developed by UPC we replicate it exactly with the same format same people on stage but we go on the campus and we have 50, because
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Selected Interviews
in 2008 but as a matter of consistency its the only way to make sure that people will be ready, will absorb the essence of urbanism. So we have to stick with it through everything. I was asked for an example they were sending a SMS for the new team because they produced a new tool same thing when just a SMS message 3 sentences they send me a proposal, I say no please it has to be aligned with our key message, and I think its start to work but its a long term process for the recognition on the ground, it is how consistent the branding is and how consistent the messages go with the same language the same quality, everything is very consistent. This is something that also makes people interested, makes people aware just when you see those two colors you associate them with UPC, Estidama and plan 2030. Ismail: what are the difficulties you face when dealing with the public, consultants and clients and environmental specialists? Jean: I would say that its all about making sure that, for example when speaking about Estidama, because in Estidama the key challenge is the perception of the initiatives and people, the key challenge is to make sure they understand that they will get midterm return on their investment, they are not convinced at all at the start so thats why when I visited this morning this villa mock up, the first that we have now, I thought this will help because now we have a concrete example people they can visit the villa and they will see ooh, look if we decided to develop this kind of windows or this kind of design for the way we are rotating some rooms. Everything is logical and its already explained concretely or it works to make sure it will save energy, water, everything. So this is really the key challenge to make people understand what concrete benefit it will bring to them on the midterm not the long term. And policies, you see also when you speak to the communities you see that our job comparatively is easy comparing for example to the municipalities, because municipalities when they contact the communities we are now entering the implementation phase, and the implementation phase may sound more sensitive than strategic overview, but not really because strategic over view people know more and more because all of the communication tools, they know that the decision that has been made at the early start will drive lots of things afterwards so thats why more and more they are questioning even the strategic plan. What is interesting for us because of the feedback, and also it helps to understand that its a long term approach. Otherwise, when you are only stuck to communicate when you implement its a different policy plan and guidelines its more difficult for people to understand what was at the essence of this new direction or new initiative. Ismail: how do you see Estidamas benchmark? Is it pushing the market too far or not pushing far enough? Jean: No, because if you look right now the moderate is only 2 pearl, we really want them to go step by step. I dont know you discuss this with the other team maybe they spoke about this pilot project from 2007 till 2009/2010 the first two years, they worked closely with developers on I think it was 12 to 13 projects because they wanted first to experiment the ingredient of this new initiative and not to come to the developers and say you have to comply without having experienced working on developing this with them. This was very interesting and sometimes we forget to remind this to people that during 2 years we worked closely with developers on selected number of piolt projects to test everything and to get their feedback. Ismail: is Abu Dhabi planning on having any incentives to promote their sustainability initiatives? Jean: I think I cant answer this question. I know they start to think about it but I dont know about any decision. Ismail: when do you revise the benchmark when do you start well, now we can go further and demand more do you have a preference of how this would go? Jean: I think that this will evolve by itself for example when I visited this morning this 2 pearl villa mockup, the developers also showed me a prototype of the 3 pearl villa mockup. Jointly they are all working, for them at a certain stage Estidama will become a marketing added value itself, they will sell this product Estidama logo and because of the recognition the brand is gaining year after year at a certain stage it will really become clear in terms of marketing and this example speaks for itself because we didnt ask them to start to work on this, but because there is a competition between all of them they want to demonstrate that they are the first to comply with a 3 pearl, which is not at the moment, but we expect it will become. We want to have the clear commitment and engagement of all the key players in the market and this example means it is coming. Ismail: In your opinion what is the reason behind not moving faster to more sustainable communities and buildings worldwide? Jean: I think mainly because of the financial crisis, I think this was a key aspect not here but certainly in Europe even in the U.S., I remember even reading a story in France when I was there 2 weeks ago they had this incentive when you wanted to purchase solar panels for
of technical constrains or because we can only meet with 50, we have 50 student who are interacting with UPC representative and to carry out this part of the subject and during two hours have like a seminar but online. Ismail: what are the outreach programs of UPC and Estidama and what are their aims? Jean: when we talk about outreach programs what we are doing is more and more with the 3 municipalities here in Al Ain, Al Gharbia and Abu Dhabi, we are developing the first workshop and also public consultation. So with public consultation we are used to do it for UPC because as you know, UPC prior to unveiling a new master plan, we first contact the community and we explain what we are planning to do and get their feedback. And I would say most of time we can manage to integrate some of their requests when it is realistic for sure, sometimes its not, but we never unveil any document any urban planning document without making sure that first we have contacted the different orients of people and citizens who are living in this area. And for Estidama we are doing the same now. More and more we hold these lecture sessions, we invite, I think last time it was a 120 persons coming from developers, from general public. Its starting to become a little bit more popular, but it takes time. Also because sometimes we have difficulties to reach, because people really do not read the press in the region some of them but not all, so we try with SMS, with this new tool but it takes time because people are not used to participate. Even if its with public consultation, for example if it is really linked to the area where they live they are very interested because they feel very concerned but when you ask them to come to discuss about sustainability its still pretty vague. Ismail: How do you inform the public about initiatives? And how do the specialists get their updates? Jean: its mainly first through a campaign, for example most of the time when we contact the press and we have different format of press meetings depending on the subject if its not a sensitive but a very technical subject instead of inviting 25 journalists we limit it to maybe 6 to 8 of the key influential media and we invite them here for exclusive media briefing different from other official press conference. Then we produce a press release and also a media kit, so it means when they go online when they go online when the go back to their office they have at their disposal a 20 page more detailed explanation of what the initiative is, but its a not a copy of the master plan it is something that we have chosen making sure that the visible media will find what they are looking for but its an extrapolation of the press release. And then what we do also one week or two weeks later through the social media campaign we also use this document for public if they want, they can go to the website and they can have access to it. For the first 2 weeks its mainly targeted to the media we want them to have this exclusive information and then afterwards we transfer to the public domain. So everyone can go and have access to this more detailed information about the initiative that was launched 2 weeks ago. It is interesting because first you have the media impact and then you can maintain this interest through the internet channel but towards the public and what we want is them to interact with us, we dont want only to inform them we want to get their feedback because if its a little bit new here, but sometimes when you have critics it helps that has not to be negatively perceived its an added value for us. Ismail: is social media usage part of the plan so you use social media? Jean: everything, yes. But at different level that for example now if we invite the media for media briefing or media conference we inform public at the following day we will find a story published in the media about the subject. We use it as a teasing also to create an interest because sometimes people maybe will not read the newspaper, so we use social media also to inform them this. We then monitor the result of social media, but we dont have the right support yet we do not have web master but we will get there at some stage. Ismail: How and why has there been a brand made for Abu Dhabi 2030 and Estidama? Jean: you can see it is something very unique; people can identify themselves to something. And vision 2030, when we explain it to them we also explain the communication strategy because the brand has to support and promote all the ingredients of your communication strategy, its like what we call corporate umbrella. So for the early start you have to integrate communication strategy key ingredients to make sure they will be reflected and they will be helped by the brand image. You know we have for example a clearly defined message platform and this was long before creating vision 2030, it was at the origin, the essence, this is why to create the brand. Desert and marine its something new, its a little bit but this was at the origin. Conveyance of the sea and the desert, this is Abu Dhabi. Ismail: is there part like of a legacy? Jean: yes, its logical but sometimes people they cannot understand that we are referring all of this 6 or 8 key message that we have defined

your home but because of the financial crisis it was too costly for the government so they needed to stop, but in terms of damage it was huge because you have a lot of companies who were born because of this incentive because the demand in the market was huge. People wanted to invest and because you know it was more affordable than before and then the government stops this incentive, so you have a lot of people from the company laid off and economically speaking it was a disaster and this is only one example you can imagine the rest. Ismail: How would you define sustainability? Jean: if you translate sustainability to French its long term development, it means you cannot expect to evolve without have addressing the sustainability factors. its part of the normal move to the future. This is why I like, dont think I am promoting Estidama, but I really like the approach of integrating these fourth pillars because it means sustainability can only be considered at large and its not the case most of the countries they are still focusing on one aspect. It was mainly at the early start environment, now because of the financial crisis they were forced also to speak about now about sustainability in economy but it was not of their initiatives. So what I really like in Abu Dhabi from the early start the leadership, this four pillars were integrated and treated with equal importance. So I think my definition of sustainability would be this integration of the fourth pillars and the way we dont have choice if we dont integrate this it will not work, your society or your development as a human as a company as an economy will not work, we dont have choice this is the logical evolution of the world. Sustainability, its not a choice its .. I would say a vital parameter. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? What do you think is vital to achieve a sustainable community? Jean: what we really want to achieve here, taking the example of Abu Dhabi, is making sure that we will provide the citizen with kind of harmonious life style so it means you will have close to your home all the facilities that you need in your daily life. Something to strive more and more to limit the use of the car, this is something, especially here, we are not concerned at the moment but this is also the evolution. And to make sure people know we love social cohesion (30:50) I think its also the final achievement of building or creating this complete sustainable community will provide to society to assert and to reinforce this social column. This is something very important. Ismail: what are the interlocking connections needed between the industries, consultants, the certification system and regulations all of those together to be able to develop towards sustainability? Jean: its exactly what Estidama is doing, because if you go to Estidama
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website they have this product database. This means we are more and more, not only selecting, but giving support I mean technical information to the companies which are developing this new materials to make sure it will help to comply with the new regulations. So this is a complete brainstorming concept at the early start. I think 50 percent of the meetings we have are even from foreign companies who are interested to know about this regulation to make sure they will develop their appropriate product and material to comply with it. Because you know when you have something coming from one initiative it may also help to play the role as an added value to your product if you are not only focusing on the region so it was most of them are interested in Estidama development. Ismail: how do you measure what you are doing? As the initiative, the plan 2030 is there like a milestone you set? Jean: yes, I would say for us right now the whole map of the long term vision is clearly defined. But what we do sometime is adjust it because you may have some new development coming that was not originally planned so if its relevant then we ask to modify the plan for this area and to make sure that in time of measurement all it could affect the rest of the area, so this is what we are doing on regular bases. But I would say 80 percent of the big picture will not change this is also the consistency and advantage of having this long term vision because its like a puzzle when its already existing and maybe you can change one piece, but you will know exactly where it can fit without affecting the rest, being fully integrated it gives you this flexibility if you dont have this long term vision its more difficult because you can take a direction that at the end may affect the overall development plan, and this is not the case with UPC because we already have this 3 key regional master plan in place. So now are job is sometimes we readjust is we have a specific request. But it works like this. Ismail: Is there anything you wish to add? Jean: I think its a terrific experience, because I think it happens once in your life to have the opportunity to be in a team that is working from the early start, started from scratch, its like creating not only a city, in the case of Abu Dhabi its creating the capital of the emirates. So we are also working with the same interest in developing the western region and the eastern region, so we have this I would say diversity that makes the job fantastic and also you are able to see from the other side the recognition of the Abu Dhabi map is gaining more and more momentum. But starting from scratch happens once in a life, its a fantastic challenge. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
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Selected Interviews
Michael Stott
Position: Senior Associate, Public Realm & Neighborhood Planning, Planning Policy, UPC Country of Origin: United Kingdom Biography: Michael is a qualified urban planner and urban designer with experience gained from Canada, Central Asia, the MENA region and across the UK where he has added value to a diverse range of project types for both public and private sectors clients. He has been responsible for the design and project management of numerous complex, large-scale, multi-disciplinary projects. He was also responsible for developing the award winning Abu Dhabi Public Realm Design Manual, and regularly advises public and private sector clients on opportunities for delivering public realm and green infrastructure benefits through the planning and place-making process.
Ismail: Please describe your role and your departments role Michael: Sure, our department is a strategic policy as well as a metropolitan Abu Dhabi planning, I work in both departments, so for the ad metropolitan Im the design team leader, which means that any design and planning project as well, any physical design we do inhouse I would lead on. Im also the project manager and senior advisor for the public realm, both the manual and all public realm projects, whether its street, park, waterfront, plaza, public space design. The department also has housing design guidelines, we have building design guidelines, local vernacular design guidelines, mosque development regulations, community facilities regulations. We do a lot of special analysis in terms of the level of service capturing the minimum distance between facilities, performance of those facilities, writing down to development code, how should Abu Dhabi develop and whats the next stage of built form going to look like, so here we apply this to the affection plan, what can you built on that plot, and how does that plot interface with the public realm. We do a lot of different things. Ismail: So, you were involved in the public realm design guideline from the start? Michael: Yes, from the very start, three years we have been working on it. its been live since last year and we are about to start version 2, which will have a heavier focus on Estidama and the integration of the community rating system directly into the manual, and have OPEX, CAPEX, cost, we would have a materials library, we will have a two tier rating system for the public realm in terms of whether its an Estidama rated park for example or not, and incentivize people to regulatory framework to use it. The manual is a government policy therefore compliance is mandatory, and what we are trying to do in version 2 is incentivize to go beyond the mandatory requirement and do something more for the greater public good. Ismail: How has plan 2030 been made? How is 2030, UPC, Estidama and ADM connected? Michael: The UPC is the strategic planning arm of the government, so we develop the masterplans, the framework plans, we are the owners of the vision brand and what we have is a process whereby at the very top we have Estidama and vision 2030, underneath that we have a separate 2030 plan for every region (al Gharbia, al Ain and capital). Underneath that we have separate development frameworks and masterplans which deliver the vision which in turn deliver on the principles of Estidama and the highest level of AD economic vision 2030. Working down, we then have the 9 policy manuals, which also deliver and tell you how to implement the goals and principles of vision 2030 for each of the areas, and again connected back up. We are currently in the process of quantifying the benefits of those manuals, again quantifying it as a strategic agency isnt necessarily to do within product in terms of how it is built, but we know from the start exactly how much things are going to cost the government in terms of water, in terms of maintenance, the ongoing operation of any public asset. The relationship between the UPC and ADM, its more so the relationship between the UPC and the department of municipal affairs which is the governing body of ADM, WRM and AAM. So the three regions each of the municipality governed by DMA. We work extremely closely with them, and they are also part of envisioning and formulating the entire documents are meant to represent best practice globally but best practice of stakeholder consultation governance, getting people
around the table to develop policies that will work on the ground and that we are all jointly buying into to deliver. Estidama in terms of an approach with the public realm design manual, if you work to the principle guidelines policies regulations within the public realm manual you are achieving the principles of Estidama. The future manual will sort of give you the ability to have a pearl rating for the different aspects of the public realm. Version 2 of the public realm manual will have a materials sourcing library and will have a stronger irrigation guidelines. One of the current ways that we control the development of the public realm is through irrigation budgets, business as usual you would see watering at 120 l/ m2/day, according to Estidama and the public realm design manual (PRDM) specifications we are watering parks no greater than 4.5 l/ m2/day, streetscapes 1.5 l/m2/day, so its a huge change and you can quantify that amount, you know that saving 18.5 l/m2 on a streetscape will save the government this amount of money, so there are things that we are doing currently that are changing how the public realm of Abu Dhabi is developed for the positive. One of the other things that we always tell people is when we talk about these irrigation it sounds low but you have a continuous street canopy at a 1.5 l/m2 you can still have a green park, its about the distribution of these resources within your plot, if you choose to just plant exotic plans (highly water intensive) you get little, however, its also your opportunity to choose differently. Ismail: How are the guidelines linked to codes? Michael: You have got Estidama and 2030, you then have the three regions, then it breaks down to Khalifa A Khalifa B, capital district, etc. (graphic online), so all of them feed into each other, all of them are interlinked. These are all done here, supported by Abu Dhabi development code which sets the plot size etc. Ismail: Who was involved in the making of the PRDM? Michael: About 20 different government agencies, public private, TDIC, DOT, AD police, health authority, AD sports council, etc.. We require NOCs from most government agencies, so we worked quite close with them and the actual vision of the Abu Dhabi PRDM was formulated by the municipalities through the DMA and ourselves, so it was a joint vision from the start. So we knew what we were starting with and it was up to the UPC to come up with a manual that says this is how we are going to deliver it. The public was involved, we had two surveys, one was the UPC style your life survey, which is a huge emirate wide survey, and the other one was a PR specific survey which was about what do you think are missing from the pr. One of the interesting things that we found out from the style your life survey was that the (forward by email the presentation) that one of three people dont have a park near their house, yet 30-40% of the entire population the one thing they do visit in the emirate is a park, which means that we are forcing people to drive greater distances. Ismail: What is being done in order to achieve the guideline? Michael: So the guideline is approved by executive committee for implementation, the DMA is solely responsible for its implementation, meaning that any project any municipal asset; the DMA is hold accountable to its development according to the principles regulations policies design guideline of the manual. We also review and approve

every park that comes, whether its through development review department or municipality, we review whether or not this meets the guidelines. We dont say yes or no, its a dialogue, and we say we would like you to look into this way or give alternatives, so there is knowledge transfer. We make ourselves available as an agency far more than any other government agency in any other part of the world. Ismail: How are revisions done to the guidelines? Michael: We update the manual in line with two years of feedback we have received from various stakeholders and private and public stakeholders. With all of our manuals we do an implementation, a live period, with the USTM it was the same thing, we have an it on the ground being used for a year and we look back with the agencies and the different master developers who were using it and say: what works? What doesnt work? And even part of our tendering process is a response from the various consultants about what they feel as uses of the manual works and doesnt work, we are not just getting the government sector saying we changed this or we didnt like this, we get the actual consultants who were using it to give us feedback, or review the manual on our behalf and understand how people on the ground are using it and whether or not its in need to change. As this happened before, people feel the policies need to be clearer, there needs to be a stronger regulatory framework so they understand exactly what they need to do, or dont, so part of the process of updating the manual in this sense is getting rid of the stuff that people dont necessary feel are working. If we are saying that its not clear at what the population triggers are for park provision for example we will take that piece out, rewrite it, consult with the municipalities again and put it back in. Its all of our policies and all of our manuals are live documents, so we actually maintain the ability to update them on an adhoc basis, when the DOT comes and says for example we dont feel that your guidelines covers this green infrastructure in the right way on a highway, we will revise it. Ismail: What in your opinion (regarding the PRDM) stands out compared to other policies worldwide? Michael: We have been recognized twice internationally, first price for urban design planning policy framework once by the Canadian institute of planners for urban design. One of the facts that we submitted is that nowhere else worldwide currently has a manual that covers an entire country, granted we are a smaller land mass, a single emirate, however most people would take for example Dubai downtown and write a public realm guideline just for that. Because nothing previously has existed in the emirate with regards to design of open space and improvising levels and things like this, we said no we need to write it for the emirate and set a high level strategy which includes best practice guidance and regulations, but also sets a tone for how we want to see the emirate develop for 2030 and beyond, so I think we have achieved and gained a lot of recognition internationally by the approach we have taken, the manual you see is about 200 pages, however there are 500-600 pages behind it, research and benchmarking that allowed us to write that shorter document, so we dont delve into the finite details of your paving patterns, what we regulate and get into is that the minimum acceptable footpath for example is 1.8m which allows two wheelchairs and two strollers to go by, that is more important to us than the paving patterns itself, although we do best practice on that. The municipalities in turn take that minimum width and best practice in terms of material selection and formulate their own identity and paving patterns they are going to use and adopt, which we also feed in as well. Its not a technical specification; its a policies and procedures and processes for developing the public realm to serve the entire emirate, so its a bit of a different approach that hasnt been taken before, its the integration of parks and recreation masterplans, the national parks association planning standards, its a federal level document, so its very strategic, and then each of the individual municipalities currently developing landscape masterplans further detail out the manual as it relates specifically to them. Its an ongoing evolution, and we have set the strategy and we think the strategy is right. The whole point of the update is to make sure we are staying strategic and giving people the framework in which they can develop more detailed tourist club public realm plan, Mushrif public realm plan, etc. one of my roles on the AD metro team is developing the specific public realm plans for the island and mainland, so we have manuals. The other part of my job is to work on a smaller micro scale to macro scale of the emirate wide policies. Its fairly interesting stuff. Ismail: How is environmental awareness incorporated into the public realm? Michael: Of course, we have wrote it with the Estidama team, so I think all of that is fairly clear when you read the manual which bits deliver on Estidama, and we have actually designed in a process of working with the ADM to build an Estidama park in Shahama, and that would be the sum total of all of our efforts in a single park, how we use these materials, how we use the design guidelines to actually get environmental friendly park, and hence the need for the rating system
14
to come about support us, know that if you in the same way if you go to a blue flagged beach, if you go to an Estidama park there is a minimum amount of things that that individual park will do or plaza or streetscape or waterfront. Ismail: Integrating the certification system in the planning process, how is it done? And how is it different? Michael: Its a life cycle issue more than anything, thats why we are updating the manual so we can move into the design and construction certification of public realm, one of the biggest struggles anywhere in the world is getting people to understand that the upfront investment pays, there is a cost to bad design and a benefit to good design, the cost isnt as bad (lets say 10% upfront) compared to ongoing operating and maintenance you are saving huge amounts, and water as well. Incentivizing the development of the public realm or any buildings, I dont think our role is to incentivize but its more of an education and help people understand through the various different dissemination projects we have, upfront 10% saves you 50% over the next 10 years, which is why we are in the process of quantifying the value of our manuals right now, so especially government and leadership could get a standing up effect of these costs, one of the struggles you constantly have is describing the value to a quantitative thing, peoples happiness and health, how do you measure that, its very difficult to measure, however, over the long term you can, people are more productive, but it doesnt have a quantity, tangible is always money. These are the kind of issues we are working on right now. Ismail: What are the difficulties you face when dealing with consultants, stakeholders and others? Michael: Its just generic, change is always difficult, when you have done something in a way for 30 years and then an organization such as ours comes along four or five years, what makes us any better at it than the way it has been done previously, this I think relates back to the quantitative benefits of good design. We get challenged a lot, for example our road width here is kind of 4-4.5m wide, we have changed that to 3-3.5m wide, if you are an engineer that has been working for 30-40 years on that level and we are saying no, it is different now, and here is why, the perception of road width has a great effect, we have been in meetings where people have laughed at us, but they have been working for 40 years with the same thing, and what we are coming in to say is that what you have been doing is incorrect. So, we always have to deliver it by saying what you have done isnt wrong, but currently we have to quantify and say narrower lanes slows down traffic, equaling less road deaths, check! Things like this, or greater access to parks and recreation lowers the obesity rates, check. The irrigation rates, has been a long term struggle, we have the support of leadership to do it, but again someone who has been watering a palm tree at a 180 l/m2/day vs. 60 they have cause to argue with us, but there are things at the level that we have in terms of benchmarking and research proofs the point that it can and should change. Ismail: What is missing in the manual? Michael: This goes back to why we are updating the manual, so we are updating the manual to allow for Estidama certification for the public realm in isolation of buildings, villas, communities, so this is the big change. Ismail: How have the benchmarks been defined? Michael: This is based on what we know plants need and trans-vaporational rates, plants are quite easy to understand (drawing of tree structure showing its roots) if you have a tree for example we can measure how much this tree need before it needs watering, and according to the horticulture experts we used in the development the manual is what you should be doing is measuring the stress level of the least versus the moisture of the roots for example, so we know that when the stress levels should be watered, watered twice a day with the same amount it is not good, so the roots actually get week because they do not have to look for water and tap, we are watering around the tree. We also know that when we water at 2pm you lose 50% to evaporation, so measuring this, the plants stress, the evaporation rate, allows us to arrive at a figure which we know works. Jeff Sanderson, who has been here long enough to have worked with sheikh Zayed and has a lot of experience here, he did a study in al Ain that showed that you actually help the plants and trees and landscape on the long term if you water them and wait till the roots dry, the values we have prescribed for the plants are based on some of the work we have done in the oasis in al Ain and international trans-evaporational studies and similar arid climates like phoenix, they have done a huge amount of research in turf studies, which say that for example if you are cutting your grass to less than a quarter inch the grass requires more water and it dies because the evaporation rate at an inch is higher. So, we know what we have been doing is not working, if we take the ideas that we know, palm trees need 60l of water every 3 day, you can then divide that into an interval rate and prescribe it to the irrigation, and using a stress test to know how much it will survive.
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Selected Interviews
again always come on the journey with us as opposed to a top down approach, because I think here especially in the MENA region a top down approach will never work, we can say you must do this, and then this part says we will not do this, and then you get conflict. With Estidama we have a schools program; we can start at the youngest age helping children understand why we are doing things and what sustainability looks like so that they can start to recognize things as well. It will be the generations that are in their early 20s that really take this forward and develop it into something, so change isnt easy and there is no such thing as a quick fix, because a quick fix generally has a knock-on effect in the future. Ismail: What are the advantages and disadvantages of CS? Michael: Advantages, it is recognition most of it more than anything else, which is insurance, assurance against defects and liabilities. Looking back to the blue flag example earlier, you know that this is certified to that standard so you know this is what you get, and people will choose to go places that are certified a certain way, just like in Freiburg people were given the choice, if you are not interested we dont want you, if you are interested and you want to make a contribution come on in! So Freiburg is obviously successful so people bought in and lived there and love it, or Bo1 in Sweden, all of these developments, so either you buy in or you dont, and offering people the choice is a good approach. Just like here, you have a choice whether or not you want to live in Masdar city when its built, we are not forcing you to live there, you have to buy into the lifestyle and the commitment to making certain environmental or sustainability choices, I would do that based on the certification, knowing that I was doing something positive. Ismail: How do you define sustainability? Michael: How do flexibly build and create communities now which also have the same flexibility and meet the needs of future generations, so what we are doing now not to compromise what our children are doing. My footprint shouldnt be greater than my childs. Ismail: What does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Michael: A lot, it takes all of the things we are working on, political buy-in, it takes government investment, buy-in from the people who are going to live there, it takes education, everything, its not just about design and getting it on tracing paper. There are so many aspects, which is why we use the four pillars of Estidama because we know it takes social understanding and a cultural shift in terms of how we live and what our expectations are, making an economic argument making it worth, it takes a thriving economy to push these things, and environmentally responsible buildings and a lot.
Ismail: How would you rate Estidamas current goals compared to other certification systems? And to an ultimate sustainable goal? Michael: I think we are doing well, and one of the current push we have right now is to get people to understand that Estidama isnt just a pearl rating system, it is something that is embedded in the government at the highest level so we have got the principles of sustainability according the Estidama program which sit exactly alongside vision 2030, as for all of our manuals, one of the ways we are achieving those is developing these policies and procedures underneath it to support it, I think its great, and in the last year we have made substantial increase, we have had much more buy-in in terms of how we deliver this, I worked for the code for sustainable homes in the UK and it was a similar process, it is very difficult to convince people to pay more upfront to get it in return, so I think this is the right program for the area, and as it develops more and more we have a version 2 of Estidama coming out sometime next year, which is an update, meaning the policy is the same but we might for example give you more approaches to how to achieve it. We are fortunate enough to have government leadership buy-in that says no, it is mandatory. Ismail: Do you think Estidama is pushing the market too far? Or not far enough? Michael: Not far enough, you still only need to have a one pearl villa, which is equivalent to standard building code in the UK. So this is why Im saying we are not forcing people, we have manuals and guides for villa owners, contractors, architects that show you just how easy it is. Really, achieving 1 pearl is achieving a level of standard which is status quo in the rest of the world. Not until you get to level three, then you really start to change fundamentally. Ismail: Whats in your opinion the reason behind not moving faster towards more sustainable communities and buildings? Michael: Change is difficult, people like to see tangible examples on the ground, and because we are still a very young organization here especially difficult, but, that said, a lot are coming on board, and the modeling for example done for the shading in the new Louvre building, this is groundbreaking stuff, we have got the evidence, but its a lot slower, in the UK for example I have worked on a building one of the new towns, Eco-towns and the government paid to build entire new towns, and this is an ongoing still 20 years away from being complete, but the government actually had to build them, on a scale of entire Abu Dhabi island we build new cities in the UK and western Europe, so it is difficult, and people like to see it working, living, breathing. This is the challenge and it takes a lot of government upfront investment, or a lot of public private partnership. Because everything is still quite fresh we are still just figuring out how to make it work so that people
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Peter Stair
Position: Associate Planner, Estidama, UPC Country of Origin: United States of America Biography: Peter Stair graduated with a BA in Human Biology from Stanford in 2003 and a Masters of City Planning from the University of California-Berkeley in 2008. He has co-authored books and book chapters on urban planning, public health, and sustainable energy systems, with the Worldwatch Institute. As a sustainability consultant with Buro Happold Consulting Engineers, he has advised on the design of sustainable masterplans and buildings in a range of different countries and climates. Now with the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council he is helping to implement and develop the new Estidama Pearl Rating System.
Ismail: what are the reasons behind creating the certification system? Peter: [The Estidama Pearl Rating System] exists both as a regulatory minimum to improve sustainability, and especially water, energy and waste performance in the government -- which is part of whats needed for continued prosperity in Abu Dhabi as there are obvious resource constrains -- and it also serves as a framework for pushing projects beyond the mandatory mandates. Ismail: what are the differences in Estidama compared to other certification systems? Peter: Estidama is a larger vision of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi government. And the particular manifestation of it today, which is being realized on the ground, is the Pearl Rating System. Its a rating system thats tailored to this region. Theres a heavier weight on water and energy, which are more crucial components of sustainability for this region: about 50% percent of the credits come from water and energy. And there is also a fourth pillar of sustainability integrated into the rating system beyond environment, social and economy. Its culture. This is [both] a foundation of the rating system harkening to the resource management of the Bedouins, who had to deal with very harsh and scarce circumstances, as well as credits that focus on shading (as an important priority component of walking, walkability) and innovation -- adapting traditional designs and approaches into a modern context -- and focusing on issues like privacy for women and children, active urban environments, or following traditional Arab designs for streets and neighborhoods. The second advantage to [Abu Dhabi having a difference certification system], besides having the credits tailored for this region, is our ability to implement it as government agency. Its much easier for us to implement while also training the [local] market and providing good customer service. As assessors here on the ground, we can meet with people and projects to discuss the details and the requirements. We are not relying on reviewers 3000 kilometers away or more to provide input via a cookie-cutter [generic, bureaucratic] approach; we can really customize our support. As a government agency we can also push suppliers to improve and provide documentation that their products comply with the Rating System. And we can co-ordinate with other government bodies, both focusing on aligning particular Estidama credits, but also on the larger purpose of sustainability. We are thoroughly aligned with the building permit process, [for example] so enforcement is much easier for us. So, aside from just having a rating system written for Abu Dhabi, its important that we are here on the ground. Ismail: could you explain more about the integrated design process? Peter: Yes. A key component to that is the phasing of the Rating System, which goes from Design to Construction then all the way through Operational Rating. These are a way of ensuring quality; that the best ideas were carried through; that the most efficient practices are considered from the beginning; that people are benefiting from the perspectives of different disciplines; that theres a thorough handoff communicating both the priorities of sustainability as well as the details of the requirements; and that ultimately more sustainable buildings are constructed on the ground, and then, 2 years afterwards, they are being maintained efficiently and sustainably. Ismail: whats still missing in the certification system? And how do you
see this changing? Peter: Well the Operational Rating System still has to be flushed out, and thats a key stage. It only becomes relevant 2 years after the Construction Ratings are given, so weve have some time to develop that. We are also improving our project and data logging. Not only do we monitor our own response time and collect information thats useful for future projects, but we are also starting to track the predicted energy and water savings in order to compare that, relatively, with building performance during operations. Also [we want] to map all our projects, so we can see them all geographically, and then this map could provide a public interface with information about each project, so people can understand more about the sustainable components of each building that has been built, and where they can see an example. An eventual part of the Operational Rating could be mapping ongoing building performance, and aligning more with the utility companies. Ultimately if Estidama is successful, neighborhoods built of Estidama buildings will require smaller infrastructure. Thats a much further stage in the program. [In general] I would say things that are missing are things that are naturally unfolding and are starting to happen. Ismail: the integration of the certification system in the planning process of a project, how is it done? Peter: Well we do check to make sure that they follow the IDP from the beginning, as part of the Design Rating submission. In terms of larger projects that come through [the UPC] Development Review [process], theres an Estidama component of that, and the [UPC] planners are familiar with Estidama. Even in meetings that are not about Estidama particularly, they are bringing up issues of sustainability; in a way [the UPC planners] function as a part of the design team through their comments. And obviously the larger vision of the Estidama is one of the pillars of [Abu Dhabi] Plan 2030. Ismail: what are the difficulties you faced when dealing with consultants, clients and suppliers? Peter: The difficulties now are different than they were at the beginning. At the beginning you can see that they went through the stages of grief. Initially it was denial, Okay, Estidama is planned for September, but we will see if that actually happens. When it actually did happen, consultants were caught by surprise and started negotiating the process of trying to get out of the requirements, to say that their projects were too far along , which usually was because they ignored the announcements of the Mandate. And then it was anger and then depression and then acceptance. At the same time, even at the beginning there were consultants who were very enthusiastic about Estidama, saying, This is so great. We have been needing a program like this. There are people who saw a lot of resource waste, or who have experience in LEED or BREEAM or Green Star and saw that a void needs to be filled here. Really I think the key point with consultants reaction was that there are so many different constituencies and levels of sophistication to deal with. Initially the biggest issue was the part of the Rating System that was enforced by the Municipalities -- smaller single-owner and villa projects. The villa requirements were at the same high level of the Building Rating System, and yet the experience of the architects designing those was limited. And simultaneously the Municipalities
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Selected Interviews
to improve their designs. Looking at sustainability issues in the Emirates, and what we can do, there is obviously an issue which is not yet part of the Pearl Rating System: the existing buildings. Improving the efficiency of existing buildings is an important priority, but it really requires a larger governmental coordination. We have been part of an initiative, but its not something that the estidama program is leading. Thats a huge effort that needs to happen Ismail: do you think Estidama is pushing the market too far or is not pushing it far enough? Peter: I think we can push further now. We want to be careful and be clear with design teams what they can expect and not always change the yard sticks, but I think we can push further. We are trying to push more sophisticated projects from a 1 Pearl to 2 Pearls and finding that they often can achieve that fairly easily just on the bases of their type of building and the owners project requirements We can push in the other efforts as well, I think there is room for that, Estidama acting as a coordinator between agencies, helping to make sure that different policies are aligned and not redundant and complementary. Ismail: what incentives does Abu Dhabi provide for the promotion of sustainability and water, energy and material usage, are there any incentives? Peter: The government already has a very significant incentive, in that it is spending a lot of money subsidizing electricity and water. So when government-funded projects save water or energy, they can significantly reduce the subsidy required. And the government builds a lot of new buildings, so theres a strictly financial incentive that the government (as a whole) has already. The payback period on better, more efficient design can be very short on such projects, -- if you spend this much on insulation, it will pay for itself in the form of reduced subsidy costs in a short period of time. Theres talk about other incentives in the future, for the private sector too. Ismail: but somehow what you said about the subsidies in water and energy, its kind of reverse Peter: The government is moving in the direction of Dubai already [where water and energy cost more]. The current Abu Dhabi utilities send out colored notifications. I dont know if you have seen this advertised, but, the bill will be red or green. If its red, it means you are using more than average for your type of building, and if its green you are more efficient than average. Its a kind of feedback. Its not yet an incentive, but I think that more of that sort of feedback is where Abu Dhabi is heading. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
were less equipped to provide them the support than we are, because it wasnt a rating system they wrote. That difficulty was the biggest risk for the program at the beginning, and its been addressed partly by time -- as people have become more familiar, attended more trainings -- and partly by the introduction of the Temporary [1 Pearl Building and Villa] Program, which focuses on just the basic energy, water and materials requirements. Still there are some who try to get out of the Mandate, but now its many fewer. Now the resistance is more credit specific, either consultants or clients asking a lot of CCRs [Credit Clarification Requests] that are not particularly clear headed about the intent of the credit. Then theres always projects that are fast tracked. A very high percentage of projects are described to us as a priority for some important person in Abu Dhabi, and therefore they want us to meet with them and tell them what to do before they really engage with the Rating System themselves. They want us to fast track our assessment process, which is already pretty quick. They want to get a building permit before they are finished with their documents, before they have had all their team assembled. But for the most part there is acceptance and even enthusiasm for the program. Ismail: Is there a database you are using? And is it available for public showing building materials, performances? Peter: There is the Estidama Villa Product Database, which probably others have described [to you] pretty clearly. The EVPD was introduced as a temporary initiative to deal with one of the key obstacles to implementation of the program -- communication to the suppliers, who hadnt been very practical about finding out what products the Pearl Rating System was asking for, especially products needed for required credits. Now [the EVPD] is functioning as a handy tool for design teams as well as assessors in the Municipalities. But its really only developed for villas, so sometimes it causes confusion as teams try these products for buildings. It was intended to be temporary, but we dont have any intention of scraping the EVDP right now. We will see what happens. In regards to [Masdars sustainable products database] The Future Build, weve been engaged with them since before they started. They have a questionnaire that they distribute [to suppliers] and it includes questions that pertained to some of the optional Estidama credits, which are not covered in the EVDP. So products can associate themselves with particular credits in The Future Build. But weve been very careful with the wording of that [association] and using of the Estidama logo on that site, because we dont want to give the impression that if somebody uses this product they automatically get a particular point, and also we dont anyone to call themselves, to market themselves, as having an Estidama Product -- its just technically compliant with Estidama. So if we move forward with maintaining products database like EVDP, one issue that wont need to be resolved is the impression that companies can pay money to have an Estidama Product. The EVDP is free to be listed in and thats really important because we are not trying to favor any particular suppliers: we are trying to improve the overall market. So any exclusiveness, or charging people, is against the mission were serving. Ismail: is there a database for measurements (Abu Dhabi wide) of building performances on a unit and community scale? Peter: Well the utilities have something. But its difficult to get that data and so far we havent been using it as part of the Pearl Rating System implementation. Theres privacy as well as security issues with sharing that. We have our own kind of database within our project log, but that contains only predicted energy savings according to the energy model and predicted water savings according to our water calculator, and targets for materials recycling. All of that might not be that related to the actual performance of the buildings. AS we look forward into Operational Ratings, tracking data is something we are keen to do, because we want the feedback comparing an energy model prediction to the actual performance and we are sure that the numbers would be very different and we want to know what the correlation is and how we can improve what we ask for in our Design Rating. Ismail: is there a database for measurement on a single unit and if there is a map? Peter: Yeah, thats second part of [data collection], the mapping. It would be part of [the UPCs existing] Geoplanner and depending upon how this evolves, it might, for example, map the predicted water or energy savings as a percentage [compared to a baseline]. Ismail: How do you rate Estidamas goals and progress towards the ultimate, how I call it the Ultimate Sustainability? Peter: I think its an effort towards sustainability that its not simply green-washing for public relations or prestige. One measure of success has been that its not necessarily simple for some projects to get an Estidama Rating. Especially some of these projects, they really had
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Talal Al Ansari
Position: Associate Manager, Urban Design, UPC Country of Origin: United Arab Emirates Biography: Talal holds a Bachelor degree in Architecture from the School or Architecture and Design, American University of Sharjah. He was working in the Urban Design Studio as an Urban Designer, working on different projects such as Emirati Neighborhoods Masterplans and open spaces. Currently he is a member of the Policy team working on creating policies and regulations for the emirate such as Public Realm Design Manual and Commercial Signage Regulations.
Ismail: what are the reasons behind creating the certification system? Talal: Basically the leadership and the government had a goal which is sustainability, so when they realized the importance of it, the UAE has had the highest consumption level of fuel, energy, water and waste productionetc. So the idea came that we want to be sustainable. Thats why we have the Masdar initiative. We have Estidama co-ordination, all the stake holders and so on. There was a realization about that you can have the system, but in order for it to be applicable you need to educate and in order to educate you need to train people, in order to train people you basically need to differentiate between people; those who know about Estidama those who studied it and worked on it and those who have general knowledge about it. So the certification system came from my point of view to give those architects, engineers, and those interested people like a certificate to announce that they are aware of the requirements, they know what the goal is, they know what the bigger picture is and they know technical details also. Because at the end anyone can claim to know about Estidama, because you have clients, developers, you have huge investments on, so the last thing you want is for them to be misled in that sense. Thats why the certification is not optional in that sense, now there is a direction that all government buildings will have to be 2 pearl, all Emirati villas 1 or 2 pearletc. since we are forcing a specific ranking, or a minimum requirements we need to make sure that everyone is qualified and the only way we can do that is by training them and certifying them. Because some of them just attend without really having full intentions on adapting it. Ismail: what is the highlight in Estidama compared to other certification systems? Talal: well, the highlight in Estidama is that you have the four pillars; social, economic, environmental and they introduced something important which is the cultural. At the end they wanted to tailor something for this region, something for the UAE and the Gulf area, because the Gulf area has that common culture and common weather in that sense. Thats why Estidama stands out from the LEED, BREEAM and the others, as those are applied as an international standard for sustainability. That might make a lot of sense in the European countries, because they have the available technology, materials, resources, educationand so on. But here we wanted to create something that was more for us, our heritage, our technology, and our techniques, how they used to live in the past, the courtyards they used to have, materialsetc. so we realized there is a gap in LEED. LEED satisfies the city overall principles, but when we looked at how we wanted to work here UAE, especially for Abu Dhabi. We realized we need to introduce other things, to look at things differently. Thats why they introduced the culture, because culture is something they wanted to sustain, to celebrate, to keep and maintain in the future as well. So culture was brought in as a main pillar of Estidama as well, thats the main difference in Estidama. Ismail: Estidama is setting three certification stages; design, construction and operations that is going to come next or really soon. Could you elaborate on the reasons why you chose to be in these 3 stages? Talal: personally I would say, the main direction you had was that. Its basically making sure that Estidamas principles were integrated from the early beginning of the early stage, even when it comes to conceptual you will always be thinking of Estidama requirements, because
Estidama sometimes covers the shading structures or the louvers like simple technical stuff that you can have on the building facade. So when you have that from the beginning, that sustainable energy will be part of the design integrated rather than forced on as skin. Therefore we monitor the design part. In the construction phase its like us making sure that whatever you are committed to in your concept and design is actually implemented in the site itself. Therefore we even wait; we dont give you the final certificate which is the operation up until, as far as I know, there is a specific period of time to make sure all the systems you have proposed are actually installed and functioning. Ismail: in your opinion, what is the added value of a certification system? Talal: I think the added value of it is for general population now, just like Europe; they are aware of sustainability and everyone is trying to support sustainability. So to me I see that value of it is more towards the developer himself, lets say if he has truly sustainable buildings it means there is more interest from the public toward this developer or the retail business, even like government orientation on how we can support you to go through that direction. I think that it benefits the owner of a building more and developer that can add a lot of value to them. What we gain from it is that we have sustainable buildings or sustainable community in the future that the whole Emirate would follow hopefully. But there is always that benefit for the owner, so yes its electricity, water.etc. but the added value is that they are certified, so its something to be proud of. Ismail: what is the connection between plan 2030, Estidama, UPC and the Abu Dhabi municipality? Talal: vision Abu Dhabi 2030 is actually two main visions; the economic 2030 and the planning 2030. The planning 2030 is what UPC is responsible for. So our role is actually to manage that vision into making it happen in reality. Estidama is the main pillar or feature that feeds into plan 2030 it basically controls everything else, so whatever we do; policies, guidelines, regulations, streetscape, anything you name, it has to be sustainable in that sense. So Estidama is the overall kind of principal that applies to everything we do. Now all of them they work as one unit even with ADM theres always that coordination support between us and them. It is not the official way, but its more like we are the planning authority and they are the implementation or execution kind of authority. Therefore, there is always that coordination of what is the best way of doing it, because you can plan stuff but in reality can make no sense or we can create stuff but plan better in other ways, so it is that constant communication. The whole thing, the combination of 2030, UPC, Estidama and ADM is literally working together towards one goal; which is that big umbrella of Abu Dhabi 2030 system. Ismail: how is Estidama embedded in the public realm design manual? Talal: both complement each other, the public realm is to cover everything that is public even if its privately owned but is publicly accessible in that sense, so the public realm compliments Estidamas initiatives and ideas in that sense, through the materials we use, constructionetc. Now that is even going to be a stronger merge, so the public realm hopefully at some time will have the Estidama elements that can also directed from the management itself. These two things work together all the time. We have Estidama for buildings and communities; the second one is concerned with all the open spaces, the parks, plazas, neighborhoods, streets and roadsetc. so those ele-
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Selected Interviews
cific period of time, I think three years they give a certificate and then five they give another certificate. They want to maintain the idea that the building will be monitored, if the building is not functioning as a sustainable building anymore you cant call it certified nor sustainable, nor an Estidama certified building, so that license or name will be taken away from you, up until you put it back to its agreed upon condition or performance. Ismail: How do you define sustainability? Talal: sustainability, to me personally, means us living the lifestyle my grandparents had but in a modern way. Meaning, they were raised in a harsh environment with limited resources, materials, technologies, education and food supply so they knew in order to for them to survive in this harsh environment they will need to adapt. And sustainability means, you dont exhaust your resources it means; if you have 10 palm trees I will cut 4 of them for my house ceiling and flooring, maintain the others for food and shade. If I have 10 goats I can kill 2 or 3 to be woven as tents and I can eat, while the others I can keep for milk and so on. We are a wealthy country, full of resources of oil and gas and so on, therefore we are full of electricity and water especially desalination from units are amazingly supplying us, thats why we got used to it and we dont need to feel that we are aware of it, thats what we are trying to do bringing that awareness. We are lucky to have the technology we have and the resources we have, but we have to maintain it, to consider it and think of the next generations. One day all will be finished, one day we wont have electricity to run 24/7 like we do now. So why bring that one day tomorrow when we can have it a hundred years from now, because we are more aware of that. Its literally working with the environment, as the environment works for us. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Talal: I would say awareness, if everyone was aware of the importance of sustainability as in Estidama or sustainability in general, it will be an easy job, because it will be taught for a child, cutting flowers, throwing stuff, throwing gum on the floor which is to say not sustainable, so this behavior is the parents who are the owners which means they want to build houses or buildings, its the work its everyone else, its more of that the awareness thing. If everyone is aware of, at least the general principles of what sustainability is, that will reflect automatically as a natural behavior to a sustainable community. Ismail: what is needed to make a paradigm shift to convert the built environment into a sustainable one? Talal: its more of the education level, educating the public about it, its creating the realistic policies, guidelines and regulations that support it. And basically time, you need patience with it. Ismail: what are the interlocking connections needed between industries, consultancies, and regulations for a certification system to work and develop well in the market? Talal: if you dont have one of those that you listed, the whole thing fails. The industry will produce these sustainable materials and sustainable technologies, the consultancies are basically the knowledge that they know how to use these elements to create something new, modern and creative. Regulations is basically complementing what should happen in that sense, so its more like guidance; saying if you want to have, and should have, a sustainable building these are the minimum things you should do. Its guiding the people to what is best and how it should be done and then its that, should part of it. Thats why the government decided all government buildings are to be 2 pearl minimum, we dont care you have the technology or not, work it out and make it happen. The government should set the example, government buildings should set the example that all developers and owners should follow at the end. So there is that enforcement, but its in the sense; we dont just sit at our desks creating policies just to make peoples life hard. That we set to meet every stakeholder, even developers are involved in it, asking them what the complications are. etc. So that when we put those enforcements, everybody is aware, therefore; it has an impact in the sense that we know that its a must and its a should but follow it on your own ease and pace. We have the system here. Ismail: lets say you have a design workshop for example, who is involved in them? Talal: it depends on the skill, for example; if it is about Emirati housing then its internal meetings, so meet with all the representatives of each department, we sit and discuss. The meeting includes departments like; transportation, GIS, sustainability, public realm, policy team and planning teametc. we do the design, we sit with them, they give us their briefing and ideas and we work together in that sense. Ismail: do you ever take opinions from Emiratis who might live there, like the housing project you mentioned? Talal: It is the other way around, what I am talking about is a small thing, the bigger thing that we do is public outreach, so when we come saying we will do a Masterplan, which is master planning a huge
ments that count as community, sustainable community in that sense, has those elements which are covered more in details in the public realm design manual. Therefore; this will have these guiding principles that if you follow in your design for streetscape, park, plaza or water front connectivity those would count as points for Estidama as well. Then you can say my community design is 2 pearl or 3 pearl depending on the criteria you reached at the end. So thats the aim, to bring them back together. Ismail: do you think Estidama is pushing the market too far or not pushing far enough? Talal: what I am saying is what the UPC is doing, generally what we do once we introduce something new; whether a manual, a guideline or a regulation. We dont hit the full extreme in that sense because we know people need time to adapt, developers, architects, engineers and owners as well; even material providers or construction workers. So we dont put what we want; the ideal perfect manual situation right there. But we create those baby steps so that we phase it out; phase one, we do the things we know is doable and achievable that can satisfy people without taking time to adapt. Once we reach that target, thats when we revise the whole thing and then start pushing it a bit further and so on. Because the culture here is used to a certain technology, certain materials and design ideas, so when you force something new, even when its about setbacks which is the easiest thing. If you tell an owner of a land that we changed the setback from 3 meters to 5 meters, and you will give him all the justification; you will have more parking space, the kids will have more breathing space, you can do this, and you can have a ceiling outside, you can have a garden.etc. they are naturally used to reject. Instead of saying it is 5 meters deal with it, we say lets push it 3.5 or 4 meters. And then sometime later we would go for the 5 meter, so people would gradually understand and grasp it. At the same time its good for us to assess the impact; is it really going in the right direction we hoped for? Or is it causing problems in technicalities? Are there issues that we neglected we are not aware of that are suddenly arising now.....etc. So its good for both parties, as the public get used to it and adapt it slowly without shocking them with new regulations and manuals, as for us to assess what we are doing and what we are proposing. Its more like testing a certain area with a couple of buildings, to see if it works or makes sense, perfect then adapt, improve, enhance and push. Ismail: when do you decide to revise a benchmark? Talal: I would say reviewing is always there in that sense, its basically as soon as we issue something we keep track of the implications, developments and the constrains that come with it , the pros and cons. So we are always aware of what is happening, we dont just issue something, hand it over and its done. No, we sit with the stakeholders after a certain period of time; we say what the implications are? What are the complications you are having? We always listen to them. That is why we always have this communication with the stakeholders. So once we issue something that everyone agrees on, we know some problems will arise like benefitsetc. Lets say its constantly communicated between everyone; like regarding this specific policy they say we are facing those issues. How do we deal with them? do we just ignore it and force people to work with it or do we give exceptions in that sense? So whenever that benchmark comes at the end and its time to see and revise everything, you already have a good collection of data from owners, developers and consultants. These data we can look, see, adapt and try to work with it at the end. As long as it doesnt impact negatively a specific policy that we think is good in that sense; lets say we want sustainability, but the public are refusing sustainability, we can just go with it. Ismail: whats in your opinion, the reasons behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings and communities? Talal: I think it is adaptation; we know and realize that people need to take some time to adapt to it. Plus sometimes we do not have all the technologies available or we dont have specific materials. That is why now maybe even Estidama could advise on that, to try to create a list of suppliers that are certified as Estidama suppliers for specific materials. At the end the suppliers are always aware that this material is sustainable, this means there is a demand on him as well. How is that going to reflect in the market and the prices? I think they are trying to maintain the prices as it is. But the idea is; dont force big changes all of a sudden; like one day you are not sustainable, and the other day you are just completely sustainable. Its hard, people dont change that way. Everything takes time in that sense. Ismail: how can you evaluate and measure the contribution of certification systems to the built environment towards sustainability? Talal: as far as I know, we do monitoring. Design phase, construction and operation. But there is always constant communication with the buildings owner and buildings performance itself. So that we can make sure whatever you put in the drawings, is actually constructed, whatever is constructed is actually functioning. And then after a spe-

district, thats when the whole of UPC organizes public outreach, its a huge tent inviting people from the neighborhoods asking them; what do you want? What are you needs? What do you expect? What do you think about that design? We even put pictures of spaces, even in Europe, if you like that put like a red star beside it, if you hate that put an orange star next to it. So we have that therefore; from what we get of this we have a lot of ideas about what is needed in that sense. Thats why you have the policies and guidelines reflecting the needs of them, literally its a relationship going back and forth with them. These things influence what we do, thats why we do all these concept research about how do we orient the plots before it was a standard grid, but now its about creating a more neighborhood feeling, so lets break that and shift, introduce a park, why not try a triangular shape to break that dryness of it, why dont you create that opportunity here as there is shortage based on GIS information for example, and day to day retail spaces like laundry that we need to in cooperate. We do all that so that we can have a sustainable community; they basically live and they have all the daily uses with them. That is why our job is more challenging, we bring everything together into a neighborhood form maybe for 200 plots sometimes, and even though its small we continue to make sure its sustainable. Even though you are doing it by yourself, we are still considering all the neighborhoods around it and how does it work. Because if you realize there is a shortage somewhere there, it doesnt mean you just neglect it but actually you introduce the quantity there so it satisfies here as well, if they dont have the everyday space or the possibility of it, we retrofit something within. Its a really bigger challenge I think and then we have to bring the 2030 plans and the transportation 2030 plans for metro and trams so we have to reserve the connections. Its already complicated enough, but that is the fun part of it. Ismail: is there anything that you wish to add? Talal: all I want to say is generally speaking, as an entity, as UPC once it was established it was always a unique thing within the gulf and the Middle East. It is literally a planning agency that is looking at the big picture. It wasnt like lets look for tomorrow, that kind of thing; we are also looking at the past whether it was good or bad, how the families used to live, the fabric, the culture and the need. How things changed with time, and how things are evolving and so on. We study the past we see todays needs and so on and we predict for the future and work
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for it. So that, by itself, is a unique entity that luckily other countries are looking at as an example saying what are you guys doing issuing something like public design realm manual? And what is it about? Its uniqueness is challenging because the culture was not used to it, when you go to London, it has hundreds of years of planning whether it was officially, formally or not. But people got used to that there are specific qualifications or specific qualified people with specific backgrounds and studies, we are doing that. We are always relying on consultants; like international expertise to come and advice consultants to come like; I dont know in 1970 back in time the Japanese guy, back in the seventies, he came and did all the roundabouts in the municipality. But now is like the time of changes, people within the city itself trying to influence whats better for the city. Thats why it is important to have people involved like the Emiratis, foreigners no matter how experts they are; they will get you the international knowledge, what they think is best, they will take the idea of home, whatever home is Sydney, South Africa, the states or its Europe. They will bring it here and try to tweak it as much as you can, while understanding the culture and needs to propose something, yet its more of us and when I say us it is not just Emiratis who lived, but also the experts who lived here for the past 20 to 30, years they are part of the culture now, this is the culture; a mix of diversified people here and there basically. So no one really knows how things should be or what is best, better than that people who lived and will always live here. Because we do not see it as, here its ok I will for the UPC here for 5 years then I will go back home to London and you know thats it. While I look at as I am doing something that will impact my life right now and my kids which mean I will be even influenced by it. That is way its unique for us, thats why we are always happy with what we do. There was like international awards with Estidama and the public approval because these manuals are just tailored for us, we look at our needs, our situation; economical, cultural and religious part of it, everything. What defines us as an emirate of Abu Dhabi, with all nationalities, all backgrounds, all economic situations; poor or rich, is to create something that is more tailored for us. That is what I think is the success of UPC, its challenging you have so many variables to consider, but its fun. And if we do it right hopefully, we will get to something that will lead to that vision 2030, which is that complete sustainable environment and developed, hopefully.
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Selected Interviews
Camilo Chacon
Position: Senior Design Consultant, ADM Country of Origin: Colombia Biography: Camilo Chacon is an Architect by education with 17 years of extensive Interior Design experience especially in Corporate Design having successfully completed over 80 projects. He has performed successfully in management and strategic planning roles with solid PM abilities within a PMI environment. A charter member of the Colombian Sustainable Architecture Council, he moved to the UAE in 2007 where he led the Interior design team in Burthill. Since 2011 he is a senior design consultant at the Abu Dhabi Municipality, working in the strategic design team doing projects for the 2030 plans, rehabilitation of communities, regulations to enhance the city image and the way people function in the city.
Ismail: What defines your design sustainability level? Camilo: Well, Id say my design sustainability level is defined and legislated by having to achieve at least a two pearl rating. So we need to start with that. Even though I do not design the buildings, I have to have certain things into consideration, to make it easier for the designer and developer to implement it in a sustainable way. Those things are basically taking the massing and amount of levels and orientation, how they interact with the city. In Abu Dhabi it is very confusing, there is no social integral approach to sustainability, so I think sustainability is just understood from a building point of view, not the community, not the city, not the urban planning, and that is basically based on politics and land use, and how land has been divided, and who is going to develop the land. Ismail: Where you involved in Estidama rated projects or other certification? Camilo: Yes, all of the projects developed in the municipality have to be pearl certified, I do not personally go through that process, but I do have to set it up for that to happen.so we study the site, we have different types of sites, for example Musaffah which is the industrial zone of Abu Dhabi, there are lots of problems in terms of waste, in terms of social things that are going on, so what we are intending to do is make it not only beautiful but also sustainable in terms of waste management, and social relocation as well. People are being evicted from their small stores, the conditions where they are working are inhuman, and so it is not just about the image. We are going from the level of interior design to urban design in those projects. Other projects are the new plots, which are going to be developed, what we do is we study infrastructure, access roads as well as all the investments that are going to be there, and how to involve the investors and make the project happen. Therefore, we have to set the path for the project to become at least 2 pearl Estidama, even if the project will be developed by a private investor. For example: there is a plot on sheikh Zayed road, and we see the need for drivers to have a rest area while they are driving (ex. From Saudi Arabia to Ras al-Khaimah) to lower the accidentally rate, so we start building the solution: making an affordable place to rest with the amenities that need to be in place. We start thinking about doing the area with the amenities and maintenance of the cars, and that it could be economically viable to a private investor, thats one of the huge things about the municipalities, they cannot bear to have so many assets, because maintenance takes up all of the resources. What the municipality does is set up the plot, set up the malls and then call up the private investors to invest in that, and the land is still from the municipality, the project still from the municipality, and they make an agreement, lets say, to run the facilities for like 30 years. Or, they can renew it again to a different person. All of these settings need to have a lot of sustainability involvement. Im not going to go through the problems they have, the amount of the rubbish in politics thats involved in that, why the projects dont get the certification, its money, the Wasta (Arabic for: using ones connections and/or influence to get things done). Ismail: What types of meetings did you participate in? And what was their occurrence? Camilo: Like I said, meeting with private investors, stakeholders like the municipality representatives, people from the UPC, and people from Estidama but not very often, it is definitely multidisciplinary, but
for regulations in terms for the industries it is always a top down approach. So the community is not very much involved for that, but for the commercial activities the community is going to be involved. The process is the opposite of what should be, we regulate and then involve and ask the community if it is alright with them. So we should have it the opposite way, but at least it started to happen. Ismail: When you use a certification system in a project do you prefer one over another? And why? Camilo: I think Estidama and leed have a lot of voids here in this region. So, I really dont have any preference, although I think leed is a little more consistent, but none of them are very well adapted to the region. Of course Estidama is more adapted, but I do not go a lot into depth into the certification. Ismail: How would you learn about Estidama? Camilo: We have an overall knowledge about Estidama, we do not go into the certification because it is not part of our work, so we do have the principles and apply them, which are the same for any project in the world, and they are exactly the same. Ismail: What are the fees associated with certifying a project? Camilo: When I was working in Burthill, I know the extra cost for the certification was 20% on the consultants side. Ismail: What do you have to change in order to reach the mandatory Estidama requirements? Camilo: There are differences, I had to go through a project that was not designed for the certification, and in the middle of the road the client decided to go for the certification, so there were a lot of things that change from the conception of the project, basically you lose about 50% of the work, unless you have started with a sustainability concept. It has a huge implication in terms of going back, and clients only see it as a marketing benefit, so it would have been better to have a clean start and have the cards on the table, knowing what your goals are and what you have to comply with, and what will affect your design. Its very hard for designers to change their designs, once they have designed something it becomes more difficult to give it away, because it is change. Ismail: Do you think certification should be mandatory or voluntary? Camilo: I have a divided opinion I would say: one me, says all of the projects should be sustainable, and the other one says, in this country, starting from the fact that people are living here and having this kind of environment it is not sustainable. So just to start with that, we are completely screwed, the rest are patches, what we are doing is patching, so the most sustainable thing to do is not live in the desert, it is a rough environment. I think it should be mandatory, at least while the problem of losing energy in a clean renewable way is politically available, economically viable, so yes, I think it should be mandatory until we can overcome the controlling base energy usage. I think half of the expenditure in sustainability is trying to cut off the energy consumption and the other half is renewables etc.. If you have a clean zero impact energy source, then half of the problem is solved, until then it should be mandatory. I do not think it should be phased by having it lean to strict, I think it should be the opposite, start strict and gradually become less and less, it will be embedded in the minds of people, and when you have the

sustainable energy then your problem will be solved. Why would you not use the energy if it is renewable.. Its a power game. Ismail: The integration of the certification system in the planning process, how is it done and how does it differ? Camilo: Of course you have to set up your goals and methods, and then incorporate them into your schedule and workflow, you involve different stakeholders in different stages, the integration of the different disciplines is completely different from the traditional way. There needs to be a full integration from the start so that all the parties are involved and know about the project and have a saying in how the project can be improved, and then everyone goes and do some work and then they come together and double check that their initiatives are being achieved, thats the way I see a sustainable project should be, which is not the case now, it is a different way, it is a matter of human ego. To be honest, if you have everything clear from the start not only will it enhance your workflow, but everyone will work in a more relaxed pace, more room for thinking rather than produce produce and redo, everything is thought through from the beginning. I do not see any cons in that. Ismail: What would you do differently in order to achieve a better sustainable design? Camilo: Like I said before, early involvement of the stakeholders, and I think there is always a lag of resources in the project, you always find that research is being neglected, not bringing in new ideas, new technologies, new things around the sustainable design to integrate them and being part of the team. And this is how I see a better sustainable design, combined with education of the client, the government entities, the community, everyone. Educating people about sustainability is very important. Its a zeitgeist! Ismail: What are the difficulties you face dealing with Estidama, UPC and ADM? Camilo: There is a mess situation right now; its a political struggle of power right now. UPC and ADM should be one, the UPC of any country in the world should be integrated in the municipality work, we have a department of urban planning in the municipality, why?.. I dont understand, it doesnt make sense, so it is difficult. The fact that Estidama at some point made it so difficult for people to certify projects, construction has been halted, and in the middle of a crisis you cannot afford that, the whole economy goes to a drain. Its true that people do not change easily, Wasta is used, people who had been working in projects for 3-4 years ad Estidama comes in place and you cannot pass your project through Estidama, the concepts of the projects were just designed earlier than Estidama, and they cannot get certified or any pearl rating. You have to look on both ends, people who have invested a lot of money in projects, and people who have just started developing projects now, you have to take the first ones into consideration even if it is wrong, but still, they have invested off a huge amount of money into doing something and they should not be halted. There should be a clearer cutoff point. Ismail: So, is Estidama pushing Estidama too far or not far enough? Camilo: The market is not ready for Estidama; the economic implications are far too big for the sudden change. You have to consider the whole economic system in place, it is driven by a lot of small companies that have stock materials, that sell products and suddenly they are out of business, or have to go get other materials to put them into their portfolio, so it is not only the consultants and investors. They warned and said Estidama will take place, but the awareness was too little, and people were unprepared for the change. Ismail: How do you set a benchmark? How do you set it? Camilo: In terms of benchmarking, I know Estidama is based on other certification systems, and you cannot expect the same compared to other countries. The country has lots of factors that make it a very unique place to be at, it has very limited resources, it might have the money, but the resources to build a solid economy is limited. A country that cannot produce and only extracts, what happens is (my thoughts) its a very fragile economy dependent of the variables of
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other markets. With this type of economy, that has to ship everything here to process anything, it is not sustainable. Perhaps now it is running, but it is not sustainable. Ismail: When do you revise the benchmark? Camilo: Thats a difficult question. Whenever the community is able to produce, and has come to a certain grade of sustainability, which will take a lot of years. As it gets implemented gradually it will happen, because it will be in the minds of people, its a big thing now but will become a norm later, in the future will be a part of everyday process, as well as the way of thinking, so later you will not even need a sustainability team. Ismail: How would you rate Estidamas goals to other certification systems? And to an ultimate sustainability goal? Camilo: Id say it is a copy of them; it is still in the development. I think Estidama is going in the right direction; it is still baby steps, as I said before you need the involvement of the community, not just a promotional marketing thing, rather live it. Once the whole community gets involved it will happen naturally. Ismail: Whats in your opinion the reason behind not moving faster towards sustainable communities? Camilo: Well, there is still huge economic implications regarding doing anything sustainable, the initial investment is higher and the economy is not that good, so you see that people are more willing to work through sustainability when the resources are there, and you have the money to invest in something like that. But, when you need at this time fast solutions and projects, people will avoid any initial investment, so it is an economic factor. And some people just dont care, it is sad but true. Ismail: What are the advantages of using a CS? And disadvantages? Camilo: A lot of advantages, everything that goes into integrating new ways of thinking will eventually turn into new initiatives, these initiatives turn into development, development turn into new ways of thinking, new thinking creates new technology, technology helps man evolve. A disadvantage is that they are monopolized by certain bodies and privatized like LEED. So in terms of the spirit of the certification, I think Estidama is going to be a better system simply because it is not set-up as a business model to profit. Ismail: What does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Camilo: Well, for me its the most important thing, communities, its the zeitgeist! Ismail: What is needed to do a paradigm shift to turn the built industry into a sustainable one? Camilo: A shift of the government policies making initiatives the world needs, such as education, and an evolution of the economic system and how it works. Ismail: Whats the added value of certification systems? Camilo: I think from a broad perspective the CS adds another layer of knowledge and will to research and advance into change the mindset of people, it opens little doors for your thought process to come up with different solutions. It adds a huge layer into society. Ismail: What is still missing in the certification system? Camilo: Its the failure to involve communities, only considering the environmental part of sustainability. It needs to involve the community more. Ismail: How credible are certification systems? Camilo: I think they are about 80% credible; the rest is rubbish just to promote products and businesses, which are being developed by the sponsors. Ismail: How do you define sustainability? Camilo: For me sustainability is a collective consciousness that we are part of the ecosystem in the world and we should integrate with it in a less or non-intrusive way. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
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Selected Interviews
Carlo Thomas
Position: Senior Associate, Discipline Lead - MEP, Stantec Country of Origin: South Africa Biography: Carlo Thomas is a Mechanical Engineer, who oversees the coordination of all engineering disciplines with other disciplines such as architecture and interior design. He is working as an MEP discipline lead in Stantec.
Ismail: what defines your design sustainability level? Carlo: the budget; it is one thing that is never clear. What I tend to find is that a lot of requests for proposals tend to indicate that they require sustainable design or a sustainability rating with respective systems, but the clients themselves do not know why are they including it in the RFP. And when it comes to discussions on that this may cost a little bit more money to implement, the team collectively cannot easily establish what the initial cost is to provide this sustainability service. Above that one of the comments I always make is approximately 90% of what we do is inherently sustainable, so it becomes very difficult to quantify where the money actually is, because for me to design an efficient air conditioning system with low energy consumption, for example I would need to consider the lighting, I would consider the fabric, the glass, the walls, the materials used it is a string effect, so I cant quite say that it is this element or that. If I have to pay more for building fabric for example to reduce the size of the air conditioning system, so everything is interlinked and you cant quite quantify it. Simply looking around in the Middle East and I do think that the UAE is leading the charge because with Estidama being a very good vision for Abu Dhabi with regards to the UPCs 2030 vision, looking around the middle region because this is so new there are not enough historical data to understand what it means. Numbers typically of 5% ,7% or 3% are thrown around to provide, for example an Estidama complying to the project you need to add 7% on your estimated construction cost and people throw numbers around like that, but they are not quite sure what it really means or where is it coming from. Ismail: so you were definitely involved in a project that had to be Estidama certified. Carlo: yes, SKMC mosque, SKMC dialysis but the Mafraq hospital wasnt, they wanted to be an Estidama pilot project but at that time Estidama was not setup, it was pretty much a cut and paste from the Australian Green Star system for office buildings, at that time. What I found when I got here that LEED is pretty much associated with Dubai and maybe about 4 years ago, the UPC started pushing the Estidama and we were very much involved with the assisting them with developing their calculators, so a few engineers from here went there to assist them and also I was there on a few occasions. But since then I have never had face to face interaction with them, its mainly with engineers. So there have been a couple of Green Star buildings in New Zealand that I have worked on and I mentioned Mafraq hospital which won interestingly the best sustainable design hospital award for 2010 from entirely the Middle region. But the client simply wanted a building that was cohesive of sustainable design initiatives. Ismail: what type of meetings did you participate in? Who was involved? And what was their occurrence? Carlo: obviously because I manage a team of engineers, my position is mainly management. I recollect that the process with UPC was an interactive one; in the beginning we met with them on a few occasions where they tried to set things up and get involved, but overall with SKMC dialysis we never met that many times so I can only recollect in total maybe between five and ten times that we met with UPC. I think that at the time the respective Estidama guidelines were not in well shape and there was a lot of confusion. Now because they have been around for a bit longer; for a few years things have become more efficient. And I did sense that there was a lot of frustration, so did
we meet enough times? Probably not, were they responding quickly enough to match the rate in which the design was progressing? No, so because they wanted a good position, back at this time, in terms of an organization they were struggling with calculators and we were running backwards and forwards, it was more of hindrance than help. But we supported them because we knew that the idea was the correct one, so we didnt have a problem with them it was simply ligaturing into their position. Ismail: so when using a certification system in a project, do you prefer one over another and why? Carlo: if you look at LEED credits it is not that conscious of water, so simply based on location water is a key resource here. You should look at water because now we are desalinating to provide drinking water or desalinating to provide water for processes, so logically the respective sustainability system would need to be respectful of the local condition and otherwise it would not be really applicable. So LEED associated with Dubai is more of a star that somebody got for doing something, but Dubai never really understood why they were doing it, it was simply sold to them by somebody. Abu Dhabi in contrast to that has a real vision for Abu Dhabi, simply looking into the way they are thinking. The UPC, from the vision their website, its clear that Abu Dhabi is the city of the future here and then speaking worldwide and in 20 years time or when we get to 2030, there is no doubt if they continue the way they are, that it will be the best city in the Middle East. So simply, Estidama is an applicable guideline because it respects the local conditions. Ismail: do you think plan 2030 is economically and time wise viable? Carlo: in order for something to work; you have to get the people involved. What I am seeing here is that, with all due respect, the expatriate consume a fraction of energy of the locals, the locals their biggest properties that they consume multiple the energy and the resources of the expatriates. The local number is quarter to expatriates, but yet they consume probably a similar amount. What needs to happen is, I think in order for it to be successful and Abu Dhabi being the cultural center of the UAE and to lead by example the people need to be involved and I think that is where the short coming is. So you can lay out any plan and the steps with regards with 2030 vision any steps are possible, but it requires commitment from people for someone to lead by example, I think thats really it. When we look at Abu Dhabi it is not much, yes there are expatriates there, but it is locally driven, so if you change the people it will work. Ismail: are you and your team certified? Carlo: yes, I am a Green Star and my team is PQPs and LEED APs and Jason is certified from QSAS. Ismail: do you think this process of getting certified is good? How does it help? Carlos: I originated from South Africa, then I moved to New Zealand when I started my engineering career after graduating 17 years ago, nobody was really interested in anything sustainable, it was not heard of, it was not taught at universities and it simply was not there. In 2002 I immigrated to New Zealand and maybe after 2 to 3 years in 2005 I first heard of Green Star. So in education it is something that is very new, but prior to that Green Star has started 5 years before that in Australia. The key with New Zealand, they sort of observed it for a little

while, it was always a bit behind the bigger brother. So in 2005 was the first time I heard about it there and even at that time not many knew about it. Then I came to the Middle East in 2008, at that time LEED was running here, it was simply someone selling them a badge to do something, at that time the UPC started to put much thought into it. So simply looking at those dates in 2008/09 when UPC started, 2005 in New Zealand, in 2002 nobody knew about it in South Africa, 2000 they were doing something in Australia and maybe 15 years before that it was in America. The concept of providing a credited professional is delivered from a new one, but I have come to believe that people who are now accredited, are more than those who are not. So its definitely a way of the future and it is something that we endorse. Ismail: what are the fees associated for a consultant to do a sustainable design? Carlo: it is something very difficult to be determined; if you look at the capital cost associated with providing an accredited building range from 3% to 7%. When we did the Mafraq hospital I recall that the BOQ indicated an allowance of 7% simply to provide an Estidama accredited building that fell away, that same allowance was there for sustainable design initiatives. If you were to try and determine what or how much additional work it would require a consultant to provide a building that was accredited in some way, I think that would be difficult to determine. I think if consultants were to impose fees then it would have a negative effect on the market, it is simply something that consultants should provide but not as a service but as something that is part of the package offered. Because as I mentioned before 90% of UAE will be sustainable anyway, we provide the photovoltaic cells, the grey water recovery systemetc. all the simple things its there anyway we were running energy recovery units, we are looking to find wasted energy to recover that energy. So that is done regardless so it doesnt really require additional fee. Unless there are certain processes or certain parts of the scope or contract that would be associated with you in giving post contract, and obviously is part of your service. But during the design phase it should not be part of anything, the only part that would require would be the time spent meeting with UPC for example, so there would be an allowance for that, but simple sitting at desk designing, there is no way you can determine what that actually costs. Ismail: the integration of the certification system in the planning process of a project, how is it done and what is different compared to building without a certification system? Carlo: the logical process would be to identify the credits that you intend targeting. Certain credits are mandatory, other credits are nice to have and others may cost you a little bit more money to achieve and obviously its exponentially expensive as you proceed to achieve higher ratings. So the process through which we go is; first we identify the credit opportunities, provide two or three options to reconcile with the respective request for proposal and in consultation with the client we agree that those are the credits that we intend targeting. As a result of that is there maybe some CAPEX/OPEX resizing that we go through to prove the specifics of certain credits or maybe if the client is challenging the more expensive option then we will do some sort of feasibility analysis and once there is approval with the client, we integrate that into the design. The UPC will have certain requirements with regards to asking to meet with him, jump through certain hoops and if that is the case then we follow that process after that there is nothing much too different to the design process. As you know the normal design process is in a much similar way we agree with the brief for the client and we design through the respective design phases would be pretty much the same in any certification system. Logically, once you have established your credit target and the client has agreed to certain credits based on certain studies then it does not end there. These certain credits which will pass multiple departments throughout the design phases especially the initial design phases, the later design phases the credits are already understood to be included in the respective documents. There are normally meetings that happen weekly or bi-monthly to check out what is actually implemented and how is this going and to whether it is actually possible, because many times we find that it is not possible for example; they want district cooling associated with a particular site but the same time they want LEED for neighborhood, now the right way in regards with infrastructure below the roads and the walkways is already pretty jam packed and now the client is saying give me district cooling and at the same time he is saying I want LEED certification and for him to get district cooling we have to put more pipes in the ground and if we did that we will remove the trees from all the walkways, so there are clear contradictions, the client wants both, but he can only have one. So logically we could not have known that up front because we did not plan the services underneath the roads or the size of the pipes. So the weekly coordination meetings or bi-monthly meetings tend to pick these items very quickly and as a result there were certain credits that are sacrificial and other credits which we are pushing really hard
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to target and achieve we also plan like this, things we are chasing and things we can give away. Ismail: what did you have to change in order to incorporate the mandatory certification system requirements? Carlo: you would not necessarily have to change something; it is included from the start. We didnt really have to change anything 90% of what we do is the same anyway, so this 10% possibly comes down to the selection of specific equipment items that may not be commonly available, selection of items that relates to specific energy requirements and sometimes, if I recollect correctly, some of the requirements are not even possible as indicated by Estidama. Other than that I think it is pretty much the same there is no significant difference. Ismail: is the Estidama process easy and clear? Do you struggle to do any Estidama related work? Carlo: originally we struggled, but now I think we developed the process and you look at Estidama documents that we now submit to achieve Estidama, what you will observe is that they tend to polished, maybe they tend to be over the top, but with regards to documents submitted by other consultants to UPC, I think we are hitting that category and even to the point that UPC commented saying the same. So the process is now pretty well understood by us, as a result of being involved with the UPC through the development of Estidama. So we have had an advantage over other companies who have not been as involved with them. So originally yes it was difficult, but now I dont think it is that much of a problem. Ismail: so what are the difficulties you face when dealing with Estidama? Carlo: when I was involved, there were always those key people that we were meeting and I was always under the impression that UPC would not be able to cope with all the projects coming through the office to certify them. And it was clear that, at that time, they would not have the resources to push what they were preaching. Since then they have grown so I think maybe that was the real obstacle, anything else in terms of performance a project technically we can resolve that, it is not a problem. When it comes to Abu Dhabi municipalities, I think they require a lot of help in terms of being more consistent. I think this is what they do lack; you go to a the municipality today they tell you one thing and it wouldnt be written down and you come back tomorrow and the same person will tell you something else, and I think in there lies the solution, in that they need processes that are documented, which are clearly not documented now. So simply looking at those 2 comments Estidama and UPC and you look at their website things are well documented, it is clear. If you look at any of the municipalities it is exactly the opposite, so between the two its clear which one tends to struggle. In the beginning they were not that good in terms of documentation with the UPC; they never had a clear plan and it seems the municipalities still dont have a good plan. I think that this is really where the difficulty is, they have no systems or standards in place. One thing is that if you go to Al Ain civil defense what you will find that, and you have an appointment and you come to their door step to the appointment and they are sending you away and there a lot of frustration that goes along with that and thats maybe where things could go a lot better, simply being consistent. Ismail: do you think certification systems should be mandatory or voluntary? Carlo: sure it can not be mandatory because certain clients cannot afford it, certain projects cannot afford it. I think certain parts of it need to be mandatory, when it comes to resource consumption it needs to be managed, but to have a certification system imposed on you, I cant see it makes any sense because if you look at the products, the cost of materials, where you get materials from, if they are normally associated with anything sustainable they tend to carry a cost premium and projects tend to avoid those elements or materials. To have something imposed not yet, but to have parts of it mandatory it makes sense, so I think a mix of both. Ismail: what would you do differently in order to achieve a better sustainable design? Carlo: first of all, sustainable design is along piece of string; logically the end must meet the brief so if the design needs to be sustainable it would need to be targeting a brief. What I find is that clients want it, but they do not know why they want it. The sustainable design that needs to be produced needs to be associated with the proper brief and the client would need to know what it means. We need to educate the clients and I think we need to do what we need to do as opposed to doing everything, so yes many things can be sustainable, but you simply need to design to a target. Ismail: who do you think is responsible for educating the client? Carlo: UPC is doing an excellent job; making statement and try to chase the dream. In the industry as a whole, the mind set needs to change. The responsibility of consultant is to provide professional
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Selected Interviews
Ismail: in your opinion whats the reasons behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings and communities? Carlo: it always comes back to the same thing and the answer is the simplest explanation is the truth, if the explanation is elaborate then probably it is fabricated, because it has to be fabricated to be elaborate. I think the reason is people; it is education. Once people catch up with that mentality, for example; children should be taught that it is important not to leave the tabs running or the lights on or not to litter outside. So it starts pretty much there, right from the bottom and up to the top. If we want to go faster, because between now and 2030 is one generation, if you educate the next generation and you change their mind set, at that point you tend to move faster because you have duplicated yourself. So you are doing a very noble thing by seeking this degree, but in order for your position to be compounded you need to duplicate yourself. I think education is the key, if you want to move faster, you teach people right from the start and logically if there are intelligent people and there are lots of intelligent people around they would question and you would provide answers and it stands up to their questioning, then its right. It is simply educating people; providing more courses in the universities because when I was in the university this was not available, and nobody was interested, it simply was not there and I do know if it was there, it would have been something that I had taken. Ismail: what are the advantages and disadvantages of certification systems? Carlo: it is a structured approach to doing something right; it allows people of similar minds to work in the same direction. The disadvantages would be the resource challenge or the energy challenge, so things will cost more, there will be more disease for example. But at the same time there are lots of contradiction; Estidama good thing, UPC good thing, look outside the window you see the biggest trucks in the world running up and down the road, emitting all kinds of gases as a result of incomplete combustion, you see black smoke everywhere. So the contradiction is very visible; on one end you do the right thing at the other end they do not care. The disadvantage is if you never had a certification system the future may not be a good place, we would be resources short. Ismail: all the certification systems are now going in the same way; is this the right way or is there another way of achieving the goal of sustainable communities that is different than pursuing or upgrading these certification systems? Carlo: if you answer this question completely you need to know what the future is like, you will need to know where the short comings are in the future. But the certification systems tend to try to determine that anyway, it is better to have any plan than no plan, as there no such thing as a perfect. I am definitely fine with this way, if you never had police you would have chaos, if you would have never wrote anything down, in regards with the municipalities, you wont have any order. The check list is simply a method of keeping your targeted objectives in view and keeping common sense in one place, because common sense tends to be all over the place. All common sense items are recorded in the respective checklist and logically the checklist tackles or targets the big items that relate 99% of it. Is there a better way of doing it? I dont believe there is. Ismail: how do you define sustainability? Carlo: not using more than you can replace. You cant take anything away if I cant replace it, so if there are all the resources and I am using it all than I am taking the wrong approach, because I cant replace it. If I need more resources to develop something; plastic for medical research and that is their way of doing it, then it is important for me to use this to do that rather than providing fuel for a combustion engine and there is a better alternative, then maybe I should not be using it for that purpose. Resources are fixed and should be for the appropriate purposes, where there are alternative approaches that are equally viable then logically it would come out as a cost premium they should be promoted. Sustainability also relates to not damaging what is already there, because it is very easy to damage for long periods and to do that pretty quickly. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Carlo: interest and awareness; people need to be aware that they are part of the system people tend to act like they would exist forever, while they are simply part of the process, the process of life; you come and you go. What you need to do for those that come off to you or even for those that exist with you, you need to go to them to always leave the place in a better state than when you joined in. I think that they need to realize that they are part of the process, there needs to be awareness that resources are limited and damage is long lasting. I think they need to be interested, they need to participate because if you are not participating then you are not involved, you are simply an observer and there are too many observers around. Logically if I was not participating, I wouldnt care about throwing a bottle in the desert,
advice to the client and it is not one the expectation that the client knows all the answers, he simply wants a building or a green building, they want something like the market again, or whatever the objectives maybe, but many times they want something for the sake of wanting something not knowing why they want it. Clearly it is the consultants responsibility to educate the client with regards to the appropriate certification system, with regards to the credits they should achieve to maximize the economic benefit to the client and to the attendant who occupies the space and also to educate the client with regards to the longevity of the choices. For example; if the client wants a certain type of air conditioning systems, but he would not understand that this systems only lasts for ten years and very often you have to replace it, as a result I would do something else. Certain systems, certain materials have longer impact than others. It is those under the skin aspects that the consultant would have to provide professional advice on, the client would not necessarily know all these things. Ismail: when do you revise the benchmark? Carlo: when what was real in the past no longer applies to the present, for example; natural resources with the exception of wind and sun are limited, there are fixed quantities, so if you used half of what you have then logically your bases cannot be the same anymore. Simply benchmarks need to be revised when the indicators change as soon as the conditions change, they change, For example you have a building that has been certified ten years ago and it had 3 pearl rating, a 3 pearl rated building this year may not be equivalent to that building even if they were identical in appearance. Logically benchmarks themselves are dynamic there is nothing static about them, so they need to be revised as soon as the regulation that makes them real changes. Ismail: and what reactions do these changes cause? Carlo: you will simply have to move along with it, but the client of the past may not be happy that his building is not as good as the one that will be designed tomorrow. Consultants as well as contractors and as well as clients need to all bind to the process that sustainability is new and to build a sustainable future you have to progress, simply based on that I think it is clear that the commitment from either parties is needed, they need to be committed to the process its not something that can be separated out. Ismail: how would you rate Estidamas goals to other certification systems? Carlo: the first one that would come to my mind is real; if you look at Abu Dhabi and you look at Dubai, Dubai is very much a city built with many fantastic landmarks, but at the same time it appears a little bit disjointed pieces quite dont match and it does not appear to be built with a master plan in mind. Abu Dhabi is very different in that regard, as we all know they have observed Dubai for many years and as a result they worked out what works and what does not and does appear to be the small term approach. As a result they put the UPC in place and it has developed visions as a result from learning of Dubai. People who tend to see furthest; are those who stand on shoulders of giants and Dubai is the giant and Abu Dhabi sees it a bit further as a result of learning from Dubais experience. As a result of that education, they have established the 2030 vision and its real, providing that they can make it work and to make it work they need to educate people to change the way people think, I was in the desert the other day and was actually very disappointed and what I noticed in the desert was plastic bottles thrown all over the place and that is a result of people not respecting the local resource, it is a beautiful place why would you even think of littering it and spoiling it? People tend to have that disrespect for the environment and I think that needs to change. So yes, Estidamas goals are real but, they need to change the way people think and act. Ismail: is Estidama pushing the market too far or not pushing it far enough? Carlo: the western countries tend to be ahead; maybe not ahead, they are just different. Where does Estidama come from? I am assuming comes from the Australian Green Star because if you look at the calculators the are very similar originally, but they have changed things and modified and it makes a lot of sense because the Australians they water resource constrain, the UAE is definitely similar, as opposed to LEED which has less water resource constrains. They have the right idea, but at the same time they put something into place which is further ahead of where the people are locally for example; Green Star is ahead of people in Australia or LEED in America or BREEAM in England. So is Estidama pushing too fast? The distance between where the people are and where they are is greater. So they are very much out there, so I cant imagine they need to push faster here, they would need to manage the culture and the people to get them up to speed. They are setting a very tough target but the real objective is to get the people to where they are. In my opinion, they shouldnt be pushing more, but they shouldnt be pushing less either. I think they are a leading example of vision and where they want to be, I think that is true.

but if I was participating in some community program then I would have never thought of discarding a bottle in the desert. Ismail: in your opinion what is needed to make a paradigm shift to convert the built environment into a sustainable one? Carlo: technologically I cant give them anything because technically there is no good solution, if there is anything that doesnt cost money it does not exist; the damage is being done by the people. The paradigm shift can only come from within, it comes to involving schools, to involving universities, you need to educate people and a paradigm shift does not help does not happen over night, it will happen over generations. If it becomes mandatory that sustainability classes be taught at primary school, at high school even if it is just a simple thing, there has to be some sort of communication with kids and throughout university. Within 25 years this place will not be the same, the world wont be the same. And there is no doubt that this will change everything; you simply started grass routes all the way through primary, secondary educational school. Ismail: for the higher education like architecture and engineering and all related project education, does it need to change? Carlo: absolutely, it needs to change because it needs to be more real. Universities are often disconnected from the real world. There are people who mainly hide away in campuses, because they are theoretically gifted and they are really good at educating others, but when it comes to connecting themselves to the real world, there is no real practical connection. What makes absolute sense is that the practical connection be made from the real world to the university, so we need consultants, architects, engineers, and people with talent in the field who are promoting sustainability to go to schools to go to universities and teach. It is as simple as that. We need to give back as opposed to taking and I think that would be part of it. Ismail: what is still missing in certification systems? And what do you expect in future development of certification systems? Carlo: you can write the perfect sustainability system, but if you cant implement it you are pretty much lost and you do not know if you have the perfect sustainability system if you have not implemented it. It simply needs to be supported; it is not the matter of one item being missing or a step being missing in the process. The certification systems themselves need to be supported by somebody; client, consultant or the contractor it can even be the industry or community and thats the only way it works. Simply saying that one item is missing or the process is not effective or maybe I should meet with the UPC more often, yes these are still valid, but if you do not have support then you are lost anyway. If people recognize that certification systems are important and imperative to our future, which they are, then by implementing a certification system even if it is not perfect and people are committed to it the same then they will logically work out the problem. Certification systems need to be applicable to the local environment, if they are not like LEED is not applicable to Dubai and the UAE, then it is not working at all. Ensure that the respective certification system is as best appropriate to your local environment. The theme is common, if you look throughout our discussion, there is one theme that exists here; technically you can resolve everything, but if nobody is interested then you are lost anyway. Along with developing interests people have to understand what you are doing. As soon as people become interested, industries and trends change things become more common as a result of becoming more common they become more commonly understood, they become cheaper, they become more accessible. Certification systems will only really gain attraction, once people become more interested and once technologies are more common placed and easy to implement, then like a snowball it will run away. I think that certification systems cannot simply or bodies pushing them cannot simply stand the coefficient performance of 2.2, they need to understand that technologically 2.2 is not possible in the perspective of being indicated as it has to be achieved. So there
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needs to be a connection between the bodies that push this and the industries that produce that, and maybe there should be incentives given to people who produce things that are affiliated with being sustainable; it could be tax breaks, it could be advantages given to respective companies and some governments do that. People that work in the UPC should be dreamers, they should aspire to making things better to being out there, to challenge those around you, to challenge governments, to challenge the way people think. But to do that you need to be very committed, very determined because you could change the mind set and the inertia of thousands of years, which is a considerable effort. And things will change once results become obvious; somehow they need to make the results and performance of what they are doing evident and in that way people will buy into what they are selling. Simply being a building in the corner having a guideline, having a fantastic vision, and not making their achievements and successes obvious does not help them. They need to be out there showing people that it really works and people will follow, they need to be right in the middle, so they are on the right track. Ismail: is the adoption of certification system approach is affecting the built environment and the design consultancies in a positive way towards more sustainability in energy, water and materials? Carlo: yes. I have a few points, I will read quickly: Cost, cheaper products, the market needs to come more competitive in terms of sustainability, products Currency fluctuations; if I am buying something that applies to everything Incentives Submissions with Estidama, contradictions Marketing, packaging, market produce products that have less environmental impact or promote the purchase of such products. Retaining talent, so companies should retain talent and foster and promote people who think this way, companies should build effective partnerships with other companies that are like minded because logically if STANTECH is pro sustainable design or pro certification systems and they stand alone they voice as one and they should have partnerships with other companies who are similar and collectively their voice is exponentially louder. Educate schools and next generation, 2030 vision and obviously everything that gets done in this with regards of sustainable design which needs to economically and socially sustainable, if I can afford it today maybe I cant afford to replace it tomorrow, then it makes no sense. Things need to be cheaper, need to be in more common placed and needs to become better understood and socially people will accept it. Again it comes back to people and education and obviously because we are in a very interesting part of the region we need to be culturally respectful; you can not simply impose the wrong things and vice versa. The UPC seems to have all the pieces, its only the matter of managing those pieces and I guess changing the size of the picture to match what is really happening, the municipalities do not really care, the mindset needs to change and it is changing otherwise you would not have had the UPC in place, that is an indication that something positive is happening. Disease as a result of the poor environment. It is clear that Abu Dhabi is the city of the future and in 20 years time I will check to see what is happening.
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Selected Interviews
Charles Blaschke IV
Position: Project Manager, iTech - General Manager, taka solutions Country of Origin: United States of America Biography: Charles is from Kansas City, Missouri, USA. He graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering with honors from Missouri University of Science & Technology in Rolla, Missouri, he is a LEED AP and currently General Manager of taka solutions, a UAE based energy Services Company which specializes in Energy Performance Contracting (EPC). Prior to taka solutions Charles worked in the automotive, mining, process & industrial, construction and technology consulting industries. His time in the MENA region has been focused on MEP system design, sustainable design and technology integration with design and construction using Building Information Modeling (BIM) technologies.
Ismail: so first thing, explain to me what you do. Charles: I am a project manager for ITECH; which is a technology consultant specializing in BIM technology. I focus mainly on the engineering and MEP disciplines because I am a Mechanical Engineer with an MEP design background. My experience comes from designing large projects in the Middle East. At iTech we work with anybody related to any type of building; consultants, contractors, owners, project managers and suppliers to help them integrate and use technology, whether its BIM or otherwise, to help them deliver their projects better and more efficiently. With that comes a lot of change management within the structure of the company and the way the projects are delivered using the technology. It is not as simple ASHRAE is your software use it; for the managers and engineers its all going to change, this is how we do it. So that is what I have been doing for about 2 years now. I am also involved with Emirates Green Building council now locally, through that I am helping them with their overall goal which is to reduce the energy intensity of the built environment in the UAE,. The carbon output and energy consumption of the buildings is very bad, one of the worst in the world. So through that I am involved in education in advance which could be of one the many examples of the congress coming up, attending technical workshops they hold about every month and round tables. As well as working with them to produce a green guide for existing buildings in the UAE; basically its a guide to be used by existing buildings owners, operators and designers tailored for this local market for them to take their existing building stock and make it better. The guide is very simple, straight to the point and focuses on the very direct beneficial things. In conjunction with that we are working to provide a finance mechanism to the building owners to finance energy upgrades in their buildings. Personally, I also do some energy modeling and energy auditing on the side through EGBC and on my own via takasolutions.com. Ismail: what is the best thing you like about BIM? And how is BIM incorporating and helping sustainable design? Charles: BIM can be this amazing tool that can drive everything as provides the information needed for every aspect of design, construction or operation. So we see this societal shift in the way we operate based on technology and information. I always like to use the example of Facebook, LinkedIn and twitter. These companies have completely changed what we think of social interaction both professionally and personally. I see BIM as that advancement in to help the built environment and I dont like to use the term built environment but buildings, assets. It can be that collaboration to facilitate this information, to make buildings better.BIM relates to sustainability in that it provides the information to the right people earlier in the process to make the decisions that are needed to affect the building in a positive way. This information is needed to make it better from a sustainability point of view, whether it is energy, construction or materials or even not just quantitative, but to make the design better for this fully coordinated building for them to facilitate that. Then you are saving all the time, resources and changes on site. Which if you trace all that back it is material, cost of energy and embedded carbon and all of this. So on a big scale it is hard to quantify that from a sustainability measure, but it does. If you had a building that would take 2 years to build because you had to wait on site because something had to be changed and cut then re-fabricated then delivered onto the site and 10 people had to come and drive to work every day, and you get 5 more people in
the office working on design changes. All of that is extra work that is not necessary you can go out fishing while installing something because it has been coordinated beforehand efficiently with a computer using BIM, you saved a lot of energy, money and carbon. Thats how I see it that you can accurately plan your procurement for materials which is huge for sustainability. Ismail: what are the advantages if BIM in each stage of the project? Charles: BIM, in the very early stages of consulting, I think its a visual tool for architects that they can use to know what they are actually designing and they are using that to drive their design from pure aesthetic architectural point. It can then be used as a communication tool because then they can communicate that to the client earlier then the clients know what they are getting. This reduces the risk of change in the future. They then have this digital object they can use to communicate their design intent and their architectural desire, but its there and can be used for other things. In the early stages building siting and orientation; they can look at the relative energy save based on the siting which is at this point is an architectural mess. Then you start to get rough energy consumption, the cost, solar radiation, the shading and solar analysis these things that can really drive high level decisions that can affect the overall sustainability and impact the building. And given that in the early stages to the engineers to understand what kind of equipment system will best fit this building based on the buildings type. Right now the whole process of design is wrong, and the way we go about it is wrong. Even within same companies we have architectural, structural, and engineering teams who just take a certain fixed input from the other group and design around it, while it should be and integrated design effort where everybody understands how and what they need to do to make a better building. You take that on to the contractor, thats when they start getting into the real coordination aspects. You have these coordination abilities using BIM because of the 3D aspect which really helps for delays on site, accurate drawings, fabrication and then procurement. They can know precisely what they need and when they need it and based on their planning teams and procurement teams, they can do this stuff accurately and plan the resources needed for that as well. Traditionally and now they face the problems when they get to the site then they cant fix it and then this causes delay, which is money, but also a lot of time and material is wasted. Then theres the owner, who in my eyes, as we go on is the one who benefits the most. If they can define what they want of BIM and why they want it, they can get this super information rich accurate visual asset that represents what they have in reality. It is like a key to their building where they can walk in, they get a DVD with their BIM model that if they define it correctly and the designer, consultant, contractors, subcontractors and commissioning agencies everyone along the line, did what they were supposed to do as defined by the owners through their BIM specification, the FM now has this invaluable piece of information that can be used to run and operate the building throughout its life. This is where the true value lies. Having accurate information is key and integrating all of these aspects is very powerful, its a lot of work and thats BIM; it helps in design, construction but also operation and the owners see that. PMs as well can use this tool, because their job is to make sure what these consultants are doing is right so they can use this tool to verify in a very fine detail what the team is doing is right. We have seen PMs take the design drawings and build them in BIM and find all of the problems.

Right now, in the industry whoever understands BIM has the biggest stick to use to beat the other people on the project. If I am a contractor and the best with BIM while the consultant and owner arent, I can use that to get the consultant in trouble. If I am the consultant and the contractor tries to come back on my design I can say you know look, here it is or you can take that to the PM and say here is the quantities from our model or if you are the owner you can say No, Mr. contractor you should build it like this, I know it shouldnt be that much, because I did a model come here I can show you. To see some of this coming out of the U.S with the forward thinking firms. There are examples of projects where what they predicted in BIM in the early stages of the project is very close to the final construction. Now you can tell the contractors to do the same as you put together and say here is our job, you are doing this which is wrong, we can show you visually. It promotes and allows much more transparent pricing, scheduling and project bidding earlier in the project. So whoever is using the tools the best now, has the real upper hand. It is bad to plot against each other and use it as a weapon, but because the whole system is wrong, right now that is just how it is. Because this is how they are used to doing it; pushing responsibilities and blame on the other party. Ismail: what are the disadvantages of BIM? Charles: disadvantages of BIM; there isnt strong regulation surrounding BIM and it is very new to most people. A lot of education is needed. You have inexperienced people that are required to use BIM and this means they are changing the entire way the business is ran, that is scary to people. If I am a company trying to survive and I have a certain way of doing my work that I am comfortable with , , and now I have to change the entire process, I would get scared. I know these people that are hired and trained to do this, this is the time it takes do it and I am just trying to do a project to get paid to keep my business flowing and someone says nope cant do it like that, you have to use this BIM stuff , and I dont know a clue about it and they say you need new computers, you need new software and probably training, your people probably wont know how to do it and you are going to fail its really daunting. I can see it from their perspective and then when they say ok, how do we do it? What are the rules? What are the guidelines? You come and say well there arent really any and then they say who do we go to? They reply well no one has really done that before. You sit there saying what do you expect me to do on this 2 million square foot hospital if you are telling me I have to do this? and I dont know there are groups out there like; building Smart and GSA, and private companies like iTech. Some of these government agencies in the US, UK and Australia are starting to lay the infrastructure to a certain criteria, but is not in a unified way to define what is needed. There are people who have used BIM like us to do projects and have gained knowledge and experience, they can go out and show people how. They think its the best way but it isnt the best way and how do you define the matrix to a company on how to do that. . People come in and say surely have done this before in the past we say no, because no one has ever asked. So people get sold on this magic package and capabilities of BIM, thinking they can do 3D, 4D, 5D loads, energy analysis and FM. In the end of the day nobody has really done most of those things successfully, especially for big projects. Maybe on small projects back in the West, but no one has done it for big projects like we see here in the MENA region. It can fail miserably, that is its biggest disadvantage. I really cant speak for other software, but there is Revit which has lots of advantages like; transferring from CAD to Revit and cost wise compared to other software it is not that bad. But the hardware cannot keep up with demands of the software; there are big limitations still, which are amplified when applied to large projects. This is most true with MEP. With an MEP project you can have a company go out and buy new computers with 16 GB 3 GHz quad core, great graphics card and dual monitors, awesome setup and you brand new server with a dedicated BIM server direct connect. But when you start looking at huge projects in linking architectural models, structural models, facades and all the interior models, just to get your MEP started you are looking at a GB or two of models transferring across networks by multiple people at a time. This does not work well in many cases. I dont care what IT infrastructure you have, you just cant handle it right now, and this means it will be slow. So now the advantage of BIM is lost because you will spend so much time just waiting, and there is only so much you can do with splitting model files before it becomes inefficient. So, yes BIM is great, but it is still limited. The real value of MEP is to use it to get engineering data to have it act as a centralized database of project information. The problem is you cant do that unless you have a really good architectural, structural, interior, facade models. You then need really well setup MEP model, really good, standardized content that is accurate, and model management processes. The lack of experience, education and formal training and a real understanding of how its used in the big picture, how others really use it. It will take time, but its possible, it is not rocket science, it can be done. For people it has to be the norm. Whenever the MEP people can really start using it as an engineering tool we will see its true value. With
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consultants, they usually dont know how to do coordination; they know how to draw straight lines and put it in equipment and then make a schedule. They dont know how to look at 3D and coordinate because they always say its the contractors responsibility. These guys are trying to do stuff they dont know how to do and wasting their energy and time and they are getting the value of engineering calculations capabilities. I think that is more preferable in this region because the projects are way too big, whereas if you have a more reasonable size project you can manage that, you can still do it. That also helps the engineers and the project managers all the way up the line to see the value and the benefit, so if you are an engineer you see ooh I can get on this model get all my air flows, click on the duct, all the pressure loss and this information thats huge, thats great for me so that helps them say yes, Revit is a tool that can helps us make my job easier, increase our quality, and make better projects The opposite is true when we have a huge projects with constant delays and problems, then BIM is the reason, it gets blamed a lot for problems that are not necessarily due to the technology. Ismail: are there any governments standards incorporated within BIM? Is there an easy way of doing this? Charles: locally, no. There has been talks and work done with the government of Abu Dhabi to start making BIM a submission standard, to basically have the capabilities in-house to take BIM from consultants, contractors bring it into their custom software and checked based on their building codes. They have not required it on a government level for any project. There are quasi government institutions that are somewhat enforcing BIM on other projects, but its not code. We arent there yet, we have gone a long way as there are software packages that private companies have made to try to do that and the Abu Dhabi government with their ICC adoption in their codes and they want to be able to do that and they thought about it. This brings in this information should in a model should be built in a way that their system accepts it, it can read it and they could check the U values of the walls and it goes and checks minimum U value 0.3 you are 0.4 reject, they could see the ADAA accessibility, they could check the overall energy consumption. I dont think there is anybody in the world that can actually do that. There are some companies now that are starting looking in BIM model health checks and BIM quality and starting to rate BIM models saying this is high quality model, or this is a poor quality model. This is a good step to standardize the industry because it does need to be standardized you can open one from another and at least tell that that is the future and that would be amazing. First you have to be able to run energy models in the BIM. We have done a little work with it but its a monumental task and thats the thing, who is going to invest in that? A private company can invest the time and resources to make that while a government probably is not going to do that, on a government scale it is a lot of money. I dont know if there is enough money in the industry to do it, unless there is a real demand. So I think its one of those things whoever has the vision to do it and does it first it, others will then start to follow. Ismail: you were involved in projects that had to be certified; LEED and Estidama, right? Any other certifications? Charles: Yes, both, and both didnt go forward. Both were done with BIM, one was a hospital that was just being designed just as Estidama was being rolled out and then the project just stopped. So we havent got to use BIM for green building certification, but there are always good tools you could really use to help drive that the design and certification process. Ismail: was the certification system integrated in the project process from the beginning? Charles: I have never seen it be a priority from the beginning, it has always been they need to get certified to pass permitting. So we need to put a team together that does it, not we are starting a project we are going to make it 2 or 3 pearl, this is how we do it. Those goals have never driven design. Ismail: do you think the outcome would have been different? Charles: yes, if you had a team that understood and cared to do it, definitely. A team that knows how to use the tools available to do that, I think it would be completely different. It always comes at the backend yes it needs to be LEED, where are we? What can we do to get a few more points to get LEED certified or Estidama? its never been thats an Estidama project lets make it a good project. I think everyone is so caught up in just doing their job and they dont have enough knowledge, control, time and resources to do the bare minimum that they dont want to step out of their comfort zone and do something that they dont have a clue about and add complexity to a job they already dont feel confident doing. MEP is more than architecture but I feel that the MEP professionals are not confident or experienced enough in the basics and what they need to do is to add something else to it that they dont have any clue or care about, as an add on. Which is sad because those are the people that could and should be driv-
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Selected Interviews
Estidama is a good start for the UAE and UPC is quality as far as business in a presentation and thought process and the whole existence, it is high quality. But like with any rating system, especially in a developing country, its just going to take time to develop into something that is really good. It goes back to enforcement and making sure that quality thing that does work for the region that people can adopt and some can accelerate with. They have to be there to support it and take it seriously. They need to enforce it they need to make sure that what people are doing is right and being done correctly. Ismail: do you think Estidama is pushing the market too far or not pushing it far enough? Charles: I think they can make a little tougher. Why cant the consultants design, build and operate building to ASHRAE 90.1 minimums? It has been out for years, its pretty standard and I think that if you do that with the weather data of this region, its somewhere around 140 kWh per square meter for your typical office building. This is not really that ambitious but its not that bad of a place to start. Why cant they expect that out of everybody, out of all the buildings? Why do buildings need to be better or worse? They should be able to do better. Ismail: so whats in your opinion, the reason behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings? Charles: in the UAE specifically its manufacturing standards; they dont manufacture many products around here, so lot of these materials have to be sourced from outside that drives cost up. Couple that with the lack of education of people to know where the source of material and then the experience of doing these type of things. Energy is so cheap here and clients are inexperienced they dont know what they are gaining, they see design drawings and say yes, looks like it works little do they know the system is twice as big as it should be so that the consultant would cover themselves and the contractor can make more money. If you had a PM or a client that understood and was educated he will see that and get rid of it then it would be more efficient. When you get into the operation of the building and it is cheap because the energy is cheap, there is no reason to do any different. Ismail: how do you define sustainability? Charles: Operating in a state or condition that you can continue to do so without relying on anything else. Whether that is buildings, food, transport, you dont rely on another input to survive, it is something you can do for a long period of time. Ismail: what does take to plan and build a sustainable community? Charles: Any small or medium group of people trying to coexist need to have collaboration and real understanding of what the needs are of those people of that area based on the geography and location. Sustainability; it is one of the few problems we have now that we know how to fix, we are here today with these energy, climate and social problem because for the last 100 years we have developed without thinking about sustainability. Our ancestors lived for thousands of years the right way. All we have to do is look back and see how we did it before. We have to strike that medium, that balance and break peoples mindsets and do the research and invest in and really understand how we can design buildings, build and operate buildings. We need to make these products like lights; we are just so used to having lights that are inefficient because they are cheap to build and power. Find the next product that can provide the same thing without using energy, resources and materials. Ismail: what are the connections needed between industries, suppliers, consultants, regulations to make the certification system work better in the market to achieve more sustainable buildings? Charles: here the lack of materials and supplies needed to accomplish the goals creates a barrier. Sometimes the consultants want to do the best they can, but the contractors cannot accomplish this. I dont know how that could be solved. The consultant and I run a great energy model, reflect this in the design and analyze the best options, but if the contractor cant get the materials, or doesnt not know how or why to build it in a cost effective way, it is all lost. It is another hurdle that needs to be crossed from financial stand point, and from construction progress stand point. Ismail: Does architecture, engineering and all project related education need to be change in order to prepare students on how to deal with newer requirements? Charles: yes, I think it starts there to really understand from a theoretical and fundamental background. I think everyone is so used to in their expectations to a certain way how things are operated; this is where we should get out because that is how its been done for whatever reason cheap energy and products whatever. But if you step back and you look at it the question of fundamental shelter and what it should provide and I understand how that affects the environment. You can see from a very high level that it doesnt have to be like this, it doesnt have to be a full glass building you are going to have something that is nice and provides that kind
ing and helping this. This is not a problem at one company, one type of project, one department, it is everywhere. I have been in multiple consultant offices and its always the same, even now, I am not going to name any names but these guys dont know what LEED is or even Estidama. Ismail: when designing a project with Estidama, is there anything major that needs to be changed in order to incorporate Estidama requirements? Charles: Sustainable designed buildings should be nothing above and beyond business as usual.. The consultants are so inexperienced and frankly dont care about sustainability that they would have to take the time to investigate and see what they need to do to comply and then to change what they have already done They will not take the time or energy to do that. Because they dont do it from the beginning, they do their design and then say oh, it needs to be this so it means go back and change this and I think thats the problem, they dont have the knowledge to understand that its not complicated doing it right from the beginning. Doing right from the beginning is nothing above and beyond; its standard stuff. I dont know how the government and the rating system can get people to recognize and make this change on their own. In the end they do have the power if they wanted to bring out their big sticks and say you must do it or you are not getting approved. But then they will have the whole industry up in arms saying you dont approve my building, you are causing delays and you are costing us more for a project. Its not an easy position from the governments stand point, but code and enforcement will be the only way for it to work here until energy prices are high and the owners feel it in their pockets. Ismail: do you think certification systems should be mandatory, voluntary or a mix of both? Charles: if I am an owner or consultant, I can design, build and operate the crappiest building in the world and whats the harm? I pay more in utility rates; I pay less at front and if the demand is there and people pay for my building even though it is crap, and I make money, why should it matter? But looking on a bigger scale from the governments perspective, to enforce it you can control and ensure the supply of energy on a country wide level, and have a vision of what you want to create for the people. If you know what the building should be using you can plan and deliver accordingly. The more I see the bigger picture from a government level and their need to create a healthy building stock; I understand why there is enforcement. The government is the sole supplier energy and electricity so they have a vested interest in having an efficient building stock. So should it be mandatory? I think there should be a minimum code that ensures health and safety, fresh air indoor quality, fire safety on the facades as seen here, structural integrity and water drainage. But outside of that should they enforce it? Only if they have an unbiased, legitimate reason that will make the country a stronger, more enjoyable place for the citizens. Ismail: what would you differently in order to achieve better sustainable designs? What do you think would be the right steps to take? Charles: Education and awareness. In the sense that if all those involved understood why these rules were being adopted, and how it benefits them. Do you think the consultants , contractors, PMs, FMs in the region would come to seminars to learn about these topics if they are free? If UPC,ADM, DM, DEWA, taka solutions said come learn about this stuff, I dont think it will be effective to truly educate the market, yet education is whats needed the most. I think so many people just dont understand exactly what it is and why it is being done. I remember the first time I read the book for LEED and I thought this is common sense why not do it? It was nothing over the top or something that seemed unreasonable. So many people come and go through a job this how you do it, do it like this, do it like that they really just go and do it they dont understand the implication of what they are doing. How are others are doing it, how it can be done better, how it should be done to get a good outcome? I think thats a big part of it is education. I dont like the idea of enforcement, but it is a proven means to get results Ismail: what are the advantages and disadvantages of certification systems? Charles: if there is no proper verification, I think people get certification just to say they have them. There is a lot of this coming out now because of LEED and these other ratings systems. You can design a LEED building, that doesnt mean its a good building. Just because you tick off the boxes and you pay the fee doesnt guarantee performance. LEED is starting to address these problems where you can design with best intentions in the world just like any design; design can be great or completely different in this direction. People think that its a good building because of that and you take that to market and in some places if you show that it is a LEED building, people are going to pay more for it, and you get it and realize its no different than any other, that could be a disadvantage.

of atmosphere that doesnt have an impact. That starts with education in the schools but if you completely change the way that you think of what it is you are providing, and dont think of the old ways of doing it. Get out of the industry if you havent been taught that. You just do business as usual, come in this is how we do it, thats it and then you look back and history and say yes thats how they have been doing this this is how it just turned out. Ismail: what is still missing in the certification systems and what are you expecting in the future developments of it? Charles: an ongoing verification either through the rating system or the government to insure that these buildings and developments are operating as they should be and meeting the goals of the country wide planning. If they are going to enforce these things; codes and sustainability for the greater good of the environment and the country, they need to make sure the system and infrastructure is in place and that it is done right and is maintained over time. I think it would progress, the owners and people are going to understand and the utility rates are going to be high enough that the cost of running the building will be affecting them if they dont do something about it. The utility companies here are exploring in the introduction of rate structures and demand response. This is part of their strategy to reduce the demand of the country energy usage by 30% by 2020. They are having a hard time keeping up with the growing demand of energy of the country and the people do not understand that. Most owners understand that by the middle of the summer that DEWA is dying to supply their electricity because it is in the middle of the day the middle of summer they start to realize DEWA needs help here so putting a strategy on the demand side of the building to curb their use during these peak hours. DR is being tested in Abu Dhabi, but no official plan to implement it. Ismail: what are the added values of certification systems and how credible are they? Charles: I think one added value of certification system is its an ability to educate. If I had not been told to get LEED certified I would have never known any of the principles in there. I would have known that this is a building we get from architects, this is the system design, this is how we design it and these are the rules of UAE, now go design. I wouldnt have understood the building as a living thing. So I think that brings a lot of added value people are forced to learn from that we can apply and analyze the buildings, whether its working, living or design and build. So I think that adds a lot value, it has for me. I always tell people, who say I want to be LEED certified read the book, understand and then apply it a project and then you really see if you should be using this system, because ASHRAE 90.1 says thats the minimum. And you go look at your building and you are using something worse you ask yourself why? But until you have that knowledge, you dont know. Credibility; I think they are good enough, they are done with the right intentions, sometimes I wonder if I would ask the UPC have they over grown their core responsibility to become this political movement and money grabbing organization, and if thats the case what does that say about their plan and goal from the beginning? I think they have the right intentions but I also think these people bring in experts and they use credible codes that have been verified, tested and used around the world to work, it is something good. Its not just a couple
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of guys in the basement that puts them together and tries to do it. Ismail: is there anything you wish to add? Charles: I think in the world, we are getting to a point in history where this population growth and this type of development is taking its toll and we are starting to realize we cant do this forever. Our buildings need to be better, and they can be better. It is relatively easy and there are a lotof ways and mechanisms to take the existing buildings and make them better easily. At the same time we need to ensure that the new building are being done correctly, that is where the rating systems and codes help. The rating systems are tied to government codes and the technology like the BIM and energy modeling; all these tools that we should be able to use. The construction sector is so slow to adopt new things, there is not that much money in the industry compared to other industries like finance and gas. These industries have a lot more money to spend on research and design for their projects they have budgets to do really useful things that drive to the top of the market and provide efficiencies. While design sometimes is used is just to squeeze people with design fees and contractors get squeezed, they are not using the right tools so your impact is not accurately predicted so there are unrealistic budgets and schedules. So I think in the next 10 years we are going to see a 30% reduction of actual building energy consumption around the world on average. This is very possible to do right now with existing knowledge, technology and financing.. I just saw a presentation, of basically the Godfather of energy management, from ASHRAE who worked the code in the technical committee. He thinks that 30% reduction is possible in the USA, I think in the UAE 50% is possible. In the UAE let say70% of the countrys energy goes to buildings and you say 40% of the energy spent on buildings can be cut, 28% of the countrys energy needs are reduced. Now thats pretty powerful and if I am DEWA or Dubai Supreme Council of Energy I want to learn how I can make that happen. That means that the 7% renewable I want to have in 25 years is more than double taken care of without any investment, literally you dont have any CAPEX. Now if you can find mechanisms that you can release the private industry on to get to drive that 28%. Then you can get there in no time, I think it is coming. It will be cool to see how this all plays out in 20 years from now, my vision personally is; going into an existing building ,analyze it, we come in with a performance contractor and will fix it, hand it over, it will be optimized. There you go you are happy, you make more money, your assets work more, you have better systems and you continue to do that on a 2 to 3 year chunks in phases. Because as technology progresses and this becomes more main stream its going to drive the knowledge and technology even more to every 2 to3 years you can implement new measures to create these buildings that are more efficient, and in the end what you have is another building that does not rely on any input, so its sustainable and long term, it can survive on its own. You use this technology to make its own manageable micro grid then it becomes its own power generation that they can sell back for other uses on public scale and it has its independence and is ran so optimized. Thats how I see it, thats what I would like to do and I hope it happens. You have to have AC here, so why cant they use condensate water, grass and create green sustainable spaces. It could be cool. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
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Selected Interviews
Chris Wan
Position: Manager, City Design, Masdar City Country of Origin: United Kingdom Biography: Chris Wan is the Manager of City Design at Masdar City, a major sustainable urban development in Abu Dhabi. Graduating from the University of Bath, Chris is a registered architect in the UK and in Hong Kong. He has worked for Richard Rogers Partnership in London and for Rocco Design Ltd in Hong Kong. Later he moved into building development working for Sorouh Real Estate in Abu Dhabi before finally joining Masdar City in 2008. Chris has talked widely on the subject of sustainable architecture including lectures at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and the Masdar Institute.
Ismail: when you start with a project what defines your design sustainability level? What defines the aim of the project, the level which you try to achieve? Chris: the nature of sustainable development is that everything is connected to everything else. Its difficult to isolate it. In fact isolation is probably one of the biggest challenges we have in dealing with sustainable development. It is not simply bringing a group of people together, sitting them in the same building and saying lets design a sustainable city. Everyone has a little bit of the story and I suppose that when I joined Masdar, I was one of those who had a little bit of the story. I have been working as an architect since the late 80s and I have been in the market for 25 years now. I have had my share in designing buildings, running jobs and working with contractors on projects from demolition of existing buildings all the way to hand over to the client, before joining the world of development. When I worked in the UK I worked for architects including David Chipperfield and Richard Rogers before moving to Hong Kong. After working for Rocco Design I spent 3 years working on the client side building Hong Kong Disneyland before coming to Abu Dhabi. There are two elements here that I would like to raise; the first element is that during my Richard Rogers days I was part of a team that looked into energy efficient buildings. We took part in a series of competitions and submitted energy efficient designs, this was around 1991. We experimented with different buildings forms such as airplane wing sections to create differences in air pressure to encourage air movement through the building. We even designed a building around an air turbine employing stack effect to drive the turbine blades. Well, they were competitions and there were all these exciting ideas to promote discussion and debate. The second element for me was building Hong Kong Disneyland which conceptually is partly relevant to what I am doing today. Hong Kong Disneyland was built on a piece of land reclaimed from the sea. So it meant that we started on a flat piece of land without infrastructure. In a way Masdar started with similar constraints. The theme park functioned as a small city with parking on the periphery, its own infrastructure and a railway connection. Meanwhile, inside the theme park is 100 percent pedestrianized. You have all of your attractions, you have your office buildings, you have your retail and its all pedestrianized except for some electrically powered vehicles serving as additional attractions and serving people with special needs. Transfer such an idea to Masdar City with the infrastructure, transportation and pedestrian friendly streets you can see there is a kind of parallel. So those two prior experiences have actually helped me to contribute to Masdar city and to participate in this forward thinking project. So I come with my little pocket off architecture and I see a lot of other pockets of expertise including engineering, energy, water, waste, development management, project management and construction management. From the early days we started on a journey to define what a sustainable city meant to us. Two approaches were pursued. One was proposed by the Masterplanners appointed by Masdar City: Fosters + Partners, and the other was from Masdar Citys in-house team. Foster + Partners proposed a green city which went tested the limits of sustainable development with concepts including zero emission, carbon neutrality and zero waste. In parallel, the Masdar Citys in-house team applied the principle ideas of One Planet Living. These
combined ideas gave birth to the vision of Masdar City. We were designing a green city. While we had never designed such a green city of this magnitude, it generated a lot of discussion and debate. We talk about the original intent of One Planet Living which is more of a conceptual direction rather than finite requirements. It was not necessarily proven because we have all these zeros to contend with so what we really think is that One Planet Living is promoting the way to move towards zero. One Planet Living does not say you have to be zero, because when we think about it, you dont have to be zero, you have to be one planet, one planet is not zero. Zero is no planet, right?! So we understood that the vision requires further development. Meanwhile, our first project was built, being the Masdar Institute designed by Foster + Partners. We had a certain level of success from an environmental sustainability point of view, but it did not represent our views on economic sustainability. This was partly because of all of the experimental features in the building, combined with a construction industry that was still on the learning curve of sustainability and building in the middle of a real estate boom. All of these things came together combined to distort our ideas of an economically a sustainable city. The higher cost was not a true reflection of the cost of environmental sustainability, but nevertheless, we still built our first building at Masdar City. Technically we had some good results. Energy and water savings were half or more. Embodied carbon was reduced by over 30% for key materials. Construction waste diversion from landfill was over 90%. And then we sat back. We said alright, we have some knowledge but how do we commercialize it? We looked at what worked and what didnt work? We threw away all the things that didnt work, and kept all the things that did work. In terms of the sustainability we were partially fulfilling some of the criteria of One Planet Living. Meanwhile, there was a still team working on energy, a team working on water and a team working on waste. Each of us was working out the goals, indicators and benchmarks but we were still working in pockets. Shortly after, the economic downturn hit the region. Demand was reduced and this caused us to re-examine the overall schedule. This was actually helpful for us because it afforded us the chance to sit back and reflect on where we were what we actually have achieved to date. We took each all of elements, put them in one big pot and then tried to work out what this all meant to us from a commercial sustainability point of view. Our parent company and shareholders reinforced the vision of Masdar City being about energy efficiency, water efficiency and green technologies, but overarching all this was the fact that we wanted to make this real. And the way to make it real was to work out how to make it commercially viable. If we cannot make a commercial case, they could never become real beyond the boundaries of the city. So from that point of view we started working it out from virtually from ground up. We were not zeros but we were going to be a percentage reduction of this and percentage reduction of that. A lot of studies and research took place involving many consultants. For example, we started at, say, 30 percent reduction in some environmental aspect. Was that a good number or not? We did some modeling and then we tried 40 percent. So these sets of figures, we may call the KPIs, were like how to be as green as possible without breaking your back. Or another way to put it was how to be as green as possible and still

be commercially viable? And still be competitive in the market? It was a balancing act. In the case of energy this balancing act started off with a target 50 percent reduction from business as usual. That was compared to Abu Dhabi averages, which was defined by UPC through a study carried out by ARUP. We found out that we could beat the target quiet easily, and when compared to ASHRAE 90.1 we were around the 40 percent reduction range. When we talked to other architects and consultants, we communicated how our buildings energy reduction were ranging between 35 to 45 percent. We also found out that other architects were generally hitting the 25 to 35 percent range. Why the difference? This made us think. What were we doing to give us such reductions? Then, what we realized was that because of our concentration to do certain things as well as possible, we were instilling in ourselves a natural thinking process. We were actually carrying out an integrated design process without realizing we were doing it. It is helpful to have the urban planning, architectural, energy, water, waste, infrastructure and transportation expertise all sitting along the same corridor in our offices. Integration happens intuitively and as a matter of convenience. An architect discussing design issues with an energy engineer 3 times a day is not business as usual practice in most offices. So in my mind this kind of relationship we have set up is the basis of an integrated design group and that is one key aspect of sustainable development where I believe can make a difference. I think we have the advantage of understanding how to put a team together. So what I am trying to say is that we are an integrated client providing briefs that are commercially viable while maximizing the environmental aspects of the design within that commercial framework. So back to your question of what defines our design sustainability levels, I have gone quite a long way to answer you, but this is where it comes from, and it has been an iterative process. A real estate developer may come along and declares I am a green developer. Ok, it is a great start. And then they says so I will develop a green building. That is great too. He goes off and he finds himself an architect, and he says give me a green building. The architect asks how green? The developer says what do you mean how green? I am a green developer, I need a green building and I will give you one month to come back and show me what you have got. Thats mistake number one: zero involvement from the developer. One month later the designer comes back with three options: option A, option B and option C costing 100 million, 80 million and 60 million respectively. The 100 million scheme is all singing all dancing with every green technology you can think of applied to the building. The 80 million scheme; most of the technologies are removed and the 60 million version is a normal building painted green. Then the developer comments wow, I love these wind turbines on option A. Oh I love this. It looks great. It looks like a real green building, I think I will take option A, but by the way I only have 60 million for this project so option A is approved with a budget of 60 million. Thank you very much. So there is no interaction, no process. The first thing that happens is value engineering, and what happens at value engineering? It becomes a normal building again. So, we have set some processes to prevent this from happening. When you set a brief we dont try to change it afterwards unless there are some material change of requirements. When you have a budget you dont try to value engineer it afterwards but stick to it throughout the design process. You have to fix these parameters as far as practical from the beginning. If you dont fix the budget then it will tend to move around because you are trying to optimize your budget. In you do fix budget then you can concentrate on optimizing the technical parts. There is a fundamental difference in trying to shave 5 percent of the cost while attempting to maintain the performance compared to trying to improve the energy saving by 5% while attempting to maintain the cost. I believe that the processes can arise from the questions that one asks: is Masdar City different? and if so how is it different? To me the difference is a human thing rather than a technical thing. It is about working together in a certain way that gets us to our goals. Sustainability is a complex subject. I talk about it a lot and I so far I have found out that one of the better ways to explain it is through stories. For example, it may not be easy to explain to someone that the higher cost per square meter of a building does not necessarily mean a less economically sustainable building. They will compare one of our buildings to someone elses building and say your building costs 6,000 AED per square meter, my friends building costs 5,000 AED per square meter, yours costs 20% more, how come? Is it because of the sustainable features of the building that is creating a 20% premium? And I would say you know what, you can add 1 km of needless corridors, cheap corridors, then, you work out the area and the associated cost. You would find that your cost per square meter will go down but your overall cost will go up due to the additional corridors. On the other hand our building has a higher cost per square meter because its designed to be efficient and I dont have all this needless corridors lying around. This dead space is construction and carbon footprint
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and cost. So what I am trying to say is when you push a designer to be efficient in his design, one of the side effects is that the cost per square meter will go up. The net to gross efficiency is what is missing in the equation. A typical office in Abu Dhabi has 70 to 75 percent net to gross efficiency. Siemens office building is 82 percent efficient so we only have 18 percent of un-leasable space while a typical office buildings has 25 percent of un-leasable space. So when you reduce that back of house area and reduce the corridors, you not only save money but you are also improving sustainable attributes of the building. This is because you are building less, using less material which also results in less embodied carbon. Therefore, higher efficiency means you can be more sustainable and actually save money at the same time. Then if the owner does not reduce the budget I guess we can put our saved money into high performance glass, insulation or better performing mechanical equipment. This is the art of being more sustainable without increasing the budget; it is managing how the money is used. And this is one of the role that architects should perform. The first discussions we had regarding the design of the Siemens Middle East Headquarters project was are we doing a diamond building, square building, rectangle building or what? And why? What is the wall to floor area ratio? What is the volume to floor area ratio? And how do we get light inside one big atrium, or should it be 4 atriums, or 9 atriums, and what does this do to the floor space? What is the preferred floor plate widths for Siemens? What is the size of the windows? All these questions and much more before started talking about the look and feel of the building. Theres an optimal balance in all these things coming together. In Siemens HQ we studied these issues carefully. For the floor plate we went over 100 permutations with the cost consultant in the room. It was not difficult. It was about getting the right people in the room and asking the right questions. Once you know what the questions to ask then you already half way there. The Siemens HQ started life as a financial model that satisfied economic constraints from both Siemens and Masdar City and it ended the design process targeting LEED Platinum. It means that that the building is commercially and environmentally sustainable. So the trick is how to have commercially viable green buildings because that is where the future is. And thats what we are here at Masdar City trying to find out, its an ongoing process and there is still a lot of work to be done. Ismail: Do you think Masdar city achieved its predefined goals in sustainability, social, economic and urban design? Chris: I think its on the way of achieving it, and here I am referring to the original goals. Our vision includes setting the worlds benchmark for sustainable development. What is a worlds benchmark? Well, first and foremost a worlds benchmark means it is something that has to be built and not just an idea on paper. Unless we build it, it cannot be a benchmark. We are aware that there has been quite a few green city proposals which have been shelved for indefinitely, and we also understand from talking to some of the participants in these projects, that a lot of them were shelved because of financial issues especially with the onset of the economic downturn. This indicates to us that the barrier in turning a paper project into the built form in most situations is very much a commercial barrier. Theres plenty of willingness to build great developments, nobody objects to green development, no one objects to sustainable cities. Every architect and engineer you talk to will tell you that they champion green development. Every developer will tell you he is a green developer, and every tenant will tell you that they have their CSRs green policies in place. So the majority of people as far as I know are pro green. Have you ever met anyone who looked you in the face and said no, I am not sustainable and I dont believe in sustainability? Even if you ask a 4x4 SUV driver do you support green policies and green ways of living? he will say yes. But in case of the SUV driver they also believe in something called free choice, and they probably also believe that on the whole they are not having a material impact on any significant scale. This is the issue when everyone thinks that they dont have an impact then collectively it becomes an impact. Generally we have a very high percentage of the world population saying green is good, but the results are telling us the exact opposite. If you look at new buildings all around the world built in the last twelve months, look at how green they really are. Whatever metrics you like to use for energy or water or embodied carbon, you will find that only a very small percentage are actually have some kind of meaningful reduction in these metrics while most of them do not. This is a complete opposite of what people think we should be doing. What people think and what people do are actually quite different. Is it due to a lack of awareness? Maybe that was true not so long ago, but today you cannot say that anymore because there is so much media enforced awareness going on. In fact in some ways the problem is the word sustainability itself. Nowadays the word is so over-used that it has reached a point where people use it without really understanding what it means.
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Selected Interviews
to get people away from the mindset that helping the environment is a voluntary thing. Just as structural stability, life safety and health requirements are mandatory, making a certification rating system also mandatory is a great start. Once this happens, there will be no such thing as premium for sustainability because it is the new standard, it is the regulation, and we have to do it. It will no longer be an added cost. It is just a regular cost of doing business. If you leaned against a wall high up in a business as usual tower you dont expect to fall through the wall and land on the street. This is because this is a minimum structural requirement that prevents this from happening. But why is this business as usual? Hundreds of years ago, the business as usual building was much weaker and such accidents probably have occurred. The buildings were less safe. That was business as usual then, but through progress the bar set by business as usual gradually moved up. The same principle should apply to environmental requirements. What I am saying is that the environmental aspect of a building should also be embedded into business as usual practice, as part of the regulatory requirement. If you do not do this then it will end up being a niche market activity. Ismail: when using a certification system in a project; do you prefer one or another? Chris: No. First of all, I think a certification system should be one that is adapted to your region because environment is regional. There have been problems implementing LEED certification here because of where the system originated from. Moving one step further BREEAM adapted their system for this region to make it more relevant. This is why Estidama Pearl Building Rating System in Abu Dhabi is successful because it is designed specifically for Abu Dhabi. Relative to LEED it carries a bigger weighting on water than on energy. This makes sense because you are adapting yourself to a local region. You may ask why the Siemens MEHQ is pursuing both Estidama PBRS and LEED. It is purely because Siemens has a global policy that they want all their staff to be working in LEED certified buildings as it is an internationally recognized standard. Meanwhile Estidama PBRS is relatively new and so Siemens do not have experience with this system. But once we have more Estidama PBRS rated buildings people will understand it better and the time for recognition of Estidama PBRS will come. Ismail: in the meetings that you conduct within the team, who was involved in those meetings and what was their occurrence? Is everyone present? Chris: the short answer is yes. We had many meetings with us as the building owners participating in meetings, with architects, structural engineers, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, cost consultant and other specialists depending on the subject matter. We always have key people present in the key early meetings. We go through a lot of brainstorming sessions, with a lot of questioning and a lot of re-starts. It was all good and positive. But I think it is slightly nave to think that you just get a group of dedicated professionals, put them in a room and expect some magic to happen. When you read about integrated design in text books, it tells you to get everyone in the room, have a brief, brainstorm, synergize and hopefully you come up with some conclusion. I think, from my experience, it does not happen like that. In reality there is still a need to have a lead, someone, a thought leader. A thought leader is important because this person, or this body, or this entity has to have an overall understanding of the driving factors of sustainable design. Very often he is the architect, but that is not a necessity. This is partly because architects tend to have the closest training that suits this role. He is a kind of facilitator, he reconciles the differences between the different discipline. It is not practical for everyone to start talking all over each other, there has to be some kind of structure and strategy to it. The downside of that is that the thought leader tends to drive the design in a certain direction, and everyone else tends to tag along a bit. This is not the original intent of integrated design but in reality that is what I see happening. Usually it doesnt impact the project too much but it really depends on who the leader is. This relates to another issue: the reason why sustainable design struggles so hard to get off the ground. You could say that in our education system we are missing a certain discipline or training. You have the engineers and specialists who usually see just one aspect of the building and expect somebody else to coordinate it all together. Then you have the architect who is trained to have a partial understanding of the different engineering and specialist aspects of the building and is tasked to coordinate all these various disciplines. But often the reality is different because he is also wrapped up in the world of aesthetics. However, he remains the closest thing to trying to pull all these strings together. It is an incredibly difficult job just to pull the building together to make it work let alone trying to synergize and make it more sustainable than a regular building. It is very difficult indeed. The understanding of the drivers of how to bring a building together to make it sustainable and within a commercial framework, I think, is a skill set that is not taught sufficiently. Maybe one of the reasons that it is not taught is that there are not enough people around to teach such a subject a kind of
Therefore, one of the conclusions is that sustainable practice boils down to economic viability. You can say yes, I do support the green idea, but you know what we just cant afford it this year. That is what we need to overcome. We need to know how to make it affordable. At first we started off with green without fully understanding the affordability, but I think we have already moved on to understanding what is green and affordable. The buildings currently on our drawing boards and under construction are demonstrating this understanding of commercial viability. So I would say we are on our way to achieving it. The more interesting question is what comes next once Masdar city has achieved its initial goals? I am already thinking about whats next. Ismail: how could Masdar be used as a model, so that the general public or that the developers could learn from it? Chris: I dont think anyone would expect a Masdar City Mark II built in northern China to look like the Masdar City of Abu Dhabi. Even if it was designed by the same group of people, they will still look quite different. If we are achieving 50 percent energy reduction here, then should we use the same target in Russia? We talk about knowledge transfer. We talk about how the rest of the world can benefit from the knowledge and experience we are gaining here. So, lets say we finished building the first several phases of Masdar City. In order for the rest of the world to benefit from our knowledge and experience to make their cities better, what do you think is the best way of doing that? I can just pass on a set of the plans and specifications of the city and say just build it accordingly and you will have a sustainable city. Well thats one way. They will come back later and say you know what; we copied as much as we can from your drawings but we are just not achieving that kind of environmental levels that you are achieving. So we can work it out in a different way, they can say why dont you bring the team over and join us and we will do a second Masdar city. This way we will end up with a city that looks completely different compared to this Masdar city, but achieve highly respected targets. So whats the difference? The difference is that in the first scenario we shared an end product, while in the second scenario we are effectively sharing the process. I am often asked what is transferable from Masdar city? and my answer is the design is not transferable; this design only fits here. But what you can transfer are the means, methods and processes that we went through. Actually you can create 20 questions to ask how to build Masdar city and ask the same 20 questions for a project in the UK, and you will get a completely different sets of answers. This really leads the way to a sustainable design. So it is about what questions that one asks. The answer is, I believe, that it is definitely transferable but not in the way people normally think. It cannot be replicated as a design, but the thinking behind it, the approach and the methodology can be. Ismail: do you think that certification systems should be mandatory or should be voluntary or should be a mix of both? Chris: I want to look at it in another way: once upon a time there was no such thing as building regulations and they would build buildings from their experience. And that was fine, but as structures became more complex, every now and again a building would collapse because you were pushing materials to their limits. They were also probably trying new things as you were going along. When enough buildings collapsed and enough people were hurt, some people along the way decided agree on some standards so that when someone lived in a building they could be sure it would not collapse. So they created minimum structural standards. At the same time some of the buildings burned and more people were hurt. What do you do then? You start using fire resistant materials and figured out ways to escape from the buildings in case of fire. These ideas continued to be developed based on experience. When a new type of fire incident occurred, you modified and improved the fire regulations to prevent such incidents from happening again and so on. Now you have a damage of a different kind, damage to the environment. The environmental certification systems are here to address this situation. These are generally voluntary systems which is a reflection on how important we see the impact we have on the environment. A voluntary system means that its purely voluntary choice to save the environment or not. There is a perception that it does not matter because it is voluntary and therefore it cannot be that important. Meanwhile fire is important and structure stability is important, but the environment is not. That is the message when a certification system is purely voluntary. Abu Dhabi has taken a further step because they recently made the certification process a mandatory requirement. The message here is that the environment is important. It is as important as the structural stability and fire life safety, because protecting the environment is also protecting the occupants but in a broader context. The question goes back to what value you place on the environment yourself. In my mind, voluntary systems place a limited value on the environment. In response, Abu Dhabi has taken the step to make the system mandatory, which is the first step to rank the environment ranks with all the other building health and safety issues. You need

chicken and egg situation. Ismail: what would you change in the current methodology and education for engineers, architects and anyone who is related to the building industry? Chris: the change you are talking about is setting up what we call integrated design. We kind of understand what it means, but often it is not taught effectively. For most people educated in design it is something that happens inside their own heads because they read about the subject, have an understanding about sustainable architecture, then create a building incorporating all these ideas and then call it integrated design. That is not integrated design. That is still one person designing. But when they start talking to other people, trouble may start as people may have conflicting views. Differences of opinions arises that may not be easy to resolve and sometimes the easiest way is to return to their own room, shut the doors again and do their own thing. What I do sometimes is use this simple word why? Once I was in a discussion with a student, and I asked what is sustainable design for buildings? he said Oh, a sustainable building is one where you save energy and save water. I said is that all? he said No, there are other things as well: reduce carbon and create better living standards I said well, ok. What about things that are listed in the rating system? he said Yes yes, thats one part of sustainability I said What are the key issues for you in sustainability? he said Save energy, save water. That is actually a good answer because that is what really matters. Sustainability can be seen in two parts; there are those things that if you are a believer in climate change you must do to save the planet, and there are those things that make life more enjoyable to live which are the social and community aspects. But the latter are really not about saving the planet; it is about life style, a healthy life style. So lets concentrate on one of the important ones first being we need to save energy. The next question is why? he said Why what? I said Why does a building need to save energy? He was slightly stunned and said Because thats what we need to do to create sustainable buildings. Then I said Why do you need a sustainable building? Why do you need to save energy, there is so much energy around us. He said its good for the environment. Why is it good for the environment? Is it really good for the environment? So I am just doing this repetitive why to start peeling the layers away one by one. You see suddenly we are saying that we are doing something for the environment whereas what we are really meant was that we are doing something for mankind. The environment is fine, the earth is fine, but it is mankind that is in trouble. We reduce energy for something else; we are not reducing energy use to save the environment but we are reducing energy to save mankind. The environment will be here for a long time to come, even after all mankind is gone. I like to quote a story that was given to me by William McDonough. I was very fortunate to share some time with him. He compared the planet to you driving a car towards the edge of a cliff. You keep driving and eventually you will fall off the edge of the cliff which is the end of the environment, well, actually the end of mankind not the environment. So let us get our facts right. You say you want to reduce energy, what happens when you reduce energy? You slow down the car, but you have a problem. The car is still going in the same direction and eventually you will still drive over the cliff. The only difference is that it will take longer. So why do you want to save energy? You are going to go over the cliff anyway, even after saving the energy. How is saving energy that going to help you? Even though you are reducing energy use you are still not saving mankind. You are just prolonging the agony that is going to happen sooner or later. Yes, reducing energy consumption in buildings is not going to save mankind. But what it does do is to buy more time to sort out the problem. When you look at it this way, suddenly this student started to think about buildings in a different way. Building off grid and employing renewable energy for example will take on a different perspective. If you take this to a conclusion you find that the only way you can stop falling off the cliff, is to stop the car and when you stop it you are effectively at net zero emissions. And for a building to contribute to the environment you need to do a three point turn and start driving in the opposite direction, maybe then you are talking about regenerative architecture. Ismail: How do you rate Estidamas goals to what Masdar has achieved? Is Estidama pushing the market too far or not pushing far enough? What defines the benchmark? How do you set it? And when do you revise it? When do you start going higher? Chris: the first set of benchmarks we had were partly created on ad-
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visement, working with some of our design consultants and partly from what we thought we could achieve in a commercially viable framework. When we designed a building we shared these benchmarks with fellow designers, telling them what we thought we could achieve. And only when the buildings were designed we could start testing if they were achievable or not. What we have found, within the cost constraint, was that we were able to achieve most our benchmarks and in some areas beat them by a wide margin. So the idea was that once we got the results from the next building we would revisit our benchmarks and adjust them upwards accordingly. The challenge was trying to work out if our methods really worked, or was it a stroke of luck, or were our benchmarks too low. However, the feedback from the market was that our benchmarks were pretty high in the first place. Maybe what was said to be high was not so high after all, partly due to the way we were working. It was becoming business as usual for us. Like I explained earlier our approach to design and the way we get our hands dirty, pull up our sleeves and involve ourselves all helps. This is how we set our benchmarks and of course it is live and ongoing. We do not shoot for the stars from day one, but we are now looking at a second set of goals. For both energy and water we are pushing the bar upwards with our experience. Ismail: how do you define sustainability? Chris: Rather than trying to define it, my day to day work already covers all the things that we normally associate with sustainability. It covers the environment, the economic and social. What project does not look at these three things?! Even in our site accommodation which has air conditioning, which may not be that energy efficient but it still has a controlled environment and so it is environmental. We still have to pay for it so it is economic. Inside this site accommodation I am more comfortable sitting in here than sitting out there, so it is socially more acceptable. Therefore by one interpretation I can call this a sustainable space because it improves the environment, is low cost and creates an environment where we can work in relative comfort. And that is what sustainability means for me, but in terms of the bigger picture of mitigating the impact of changes in the climate, this does not help. Sustainability does not help us in the fight against climate change. That is my view of it. What will help mitigate climate change is addressing directly those causes of climate change. Unfortunately we do not know all the causes of climate change. We talk about emission of greenhouse gases and we know a fair amount about co2 and methane but there are many other greenhouse gases that we know much less about. We must address these issues by learning more about them so that we can find ways to avert some of the damages that are currently ongoing. This will be very critical for our next generations to sustain their way of life. When viewed from this angle, energy and water are the critical issues because those are the 2 elements have a greatest impact on the emission of greenhouse gases. Yes we are learning to switch of a light when not in use and yes we also switch off our car engine when idling. However, this is not tackling the root issue. For example, separating waste for recycling is a sustainable action, but in reality what we should be doing is actually trying to avoid having this amount of waste in the first place. Our left hand is telling us to recycle waste while our right hand is telling us to consume to help the economy. These two things are completely at odds with each other. Rather than talk about waste reduction, we should look at the route issue and talk about how to fix human appetite for consumption. So the whole issue is very complex with everything having an impact on everything else and all related to sustainability, that is for sure. And because everything is related to sustainability, the word sustainability loses its grip on the issues we think we are dealing with. It is a kind of elusive term. So, I am very careful when it comes to a definition, because there are many definitions out there and you can say they are all correct. The more general the definition the more correct it becomes, until it becomes so general that it loses any useful meaning. I like to be more focused on some very key issues and specific problems and on how to deal them. So what are we going to do? We go back to why? Oh, I still have not offered you a definition of sustainability. In reality, I have not seen a definition that is really satisfactory, and this is partly because the word has somehow lost its meaning due to its over-use. Think about the word carefully, it is related to the expression to sustain. Everything that we do, to try to sustain ourselves, is in a way part of sustainability. After all, we do not do things deliberately to harm ourselves, do we? Or maybe we do, but unknowingly... Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
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Selected Interviews
Daniel Frawley
Position: Regional Design Technology Manager Country of Origin: Australia Biography: Daniel Frawley holds a Diploma in Civil Engineering from RMIT University, Australia. He was managing BIM capabilities across Stantecs practice, and has over 17 years of experience in Engineering, Spacial and Building Information Modeling fields having worked in Australia, UK and UAE. He is a qualified Autodesk Revit professional (Training and Implementation) and uses this experience to educate others in structured educational programs.
Ismail: What is BIM and how is it incorporating or helping sustainable design? Daniel: I mean BIM (Building Information Modeling or Management), is essential as is looking at the information or the meta-data that is surrounding a building both at an elemental level of the building elements and also the spaces that it encloses. So from an environmental sustainability point of view, you can actually have an object which is a void in space which can have properties, parameters of heating and cooling, you can have relationships between spaces as well as the embodied energy in the properties of the building and those type of things. In terms of helping sustainable design, I think it can do a lot, to make these decisions a little bit earlier. It can help you make better informed decisions earlier, the possibility is there to work in an optimal perfect world scenario, but there are so many constraints put on a project that take away from that sort of optimal work flow, with its client demands, fees or lack of client demands. Whether theyre trying to meet certification systems as opposed to them wanting to do it because it makes a good business case or they just want to do it because they want to be responsible to the environment on top of things. In terms of BIM, the software can do it, but whats happening is that were using the software to about 5% of its potential. We are probably using BIM software ahead of a lot of other firms in the region, because we have got multidisciplinary in house, so we have the MEP department sitting next to the architectural department, so we can talk about a lot of those things. And I know they understand the systems that working with and that type of thing. As an example, lets say for mechanical engineers when rough sizing mechanical equipment, we can export from our Revit model or we can export the GBXML model, which is the internal spaces, we can export that to try and trace them directly to put it into Trane trace (6:17) so they can quickly be generating the rough sizing from Trane trace. Weve also got using a GBXML model exported from REVIT, which is still BIM just not BIM modeling, but its using the BIM data we can be importing that into IES so that we can be creating heating and cooling loads and looking at those sort of things and working out the spaces and have the buildings sort of fabric affects the optimization of the design I suppose. Even at the earlier stages, we would be looking at Ecotect and these types of softwares. But when we talk about BIM models maybe we using different BIM models, maybe we can use sketchup, maybe we can use studio max or maybe just Revit we can make and create a rough mass. Its not always a design model, it is being used for everything, maybe we can have a different model of the same building, but you need to manage that as well and make sure that they dont get out of synchronization. Even in terms of that it really is about how you adapt your work flow to the software, so you know the software are there we dont have every software, but we have a few and we need to try and match the best software to our process for the project and thats a bit of a juggling act I suppose and then you got to make sure that everybody is trained out, youve got the skills in the house and that you are not over capitalizing; we are not training everybody up and then we dont have a client thats paying for it, so theres a lot of things like that. I think what can happen over the time is that, it happens in the industry now, you see your part of the project and you think that thats all what the project is, like a structural engineer looks at the building and
says my responsibility is the structural integrity of that building thats what he concentrates on and all architects is looking he thinks hes looking at every single aspect, but generally architects arent looking at cost and thats an argument, unless he is the project director or they are away from the design. Once you start to segment up a project like that, thats the way we work at the moment, everyone looks at his particular scope, so when you start talking about introducing a software; that could possibly manage every building element for every discipline then it becomes as a bit sort of like weve gone from sort of putting our toe in the water to jumping into the ocean and it can be a bit overwhelming, thats why there is a lot of papers that are very negative on BIM saying the software is not ready or the process. From my perspective, the software is definitely ready and its been proven, theres so many project that have been out in the world. Whats not ready is an old industry, professions and their relationships and theres no guarding body to say architects must talk to structural engineers like this, this is a new process. Theres the buildingsmart organizations, if you heard of it, buildingsmart alliance, you should look them up because they sort of the guiding body for what is BIM. They used to be called the International Alliance for Interoperability. They make sure that all different software, any BIM software can talk to each other; structure analysis software can talk to Archicad, Revit, MEPs, echotect, IES all those ones can talk together. In terms of how do I explain BIM simply to somebody, like when I try to explain what I do you, they always say you should be able to explain your profession at a party like really quickly. I always said I create virtual buildings, virtual architecture and to that we create the building elements, but then we attach information at those building elements and that can be the materials they made of the color, 3D styleetc., but then 4D for time and then 5D cost, 6D its thermal installation properties, its embodied energy its actually exponential the amount of information we can put on there. Then it comes back to, are we managing the design or are we managing its efficiency? Or when its build how its build? essentially in the data base; its a true data base where we have each building element only exists once in the data base, we dont have duplicate information so theres no redundancy, so in an ideal world, we should be able to create a perfect replica of the optimized building before its built. The building side of it is another thing because the contractor wants to possibly use that same building to create shop drawings, schedule coordination, testing different methods and scenario, so then it becomes back to a professional practice, is that the architects responsibility to give that model to the contractor? Or is it the contractors responsibility to build a new model? If he builds a new model he might not put as much hidden information in as the architect puts in. Then it becomes it comes down to what is the owner or the client want or do they know, do they care and if its the architects responsibility, maybe he should inform them more. Theres big disconnects happening in the industry at the moment and the places where its working well, places like Singapore where the government stepped in and said we will accept BIM models as deliverables for planning purposes and for sign off . Scandinavia and places like this, theyve got a lot of design built, so you get the contractors they have their own joint venture or in-house design and the government is supporting them. So its a bit of a shake up for the industry I think and some firms that understand, to others its pretty scary, they dont know what to anticipate or how to change it and what to do. I think it has gone from

600 people to a part of a public corporation which is 15,000 people; were just becoming a design part of a bigger firm. Stantec doesnt do construction, but some of the other firms; Aecom, URS they are the biggest contractors in the world and they have their own in-house design teams, so for them they are looking efficiencies where they can decide. Data models, we dont have ten different data models, we have one data model starts off in planning as like a rough mass and we get more accurate until it becomes a shop drawing till it becomes an as built model till it becomes a facilitys management model. The problem weve got is that theres no architects that want to take responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the model, thats a big problem. Once you start off with that, you got to start with the end in mind, you cant get half way through and then say actually were going to use this model for quantity surveying the problem is we are generating models for the purpose of creating 2D CAD files. That will change eventually, it will change somehow, theres a lot of demand at the moment; clients are asking for the design to be done in BIM. Whats probably not happening is them saying how to do it in BIM and what the deliverable should be, but the UK government is addressing that; the inputs and outputs you want to get and data drops at certain points and that type of things. The other big thing is helping sustainable design, I mean really its just the design we are talking about, because what Im saying is BIM models, virtual models can be used right up to the FM stage, imagine you got BMS, put a management system thats built into the building, you should be able to have a virtual BMS and an actual BMS and to be optimizing the actual BMS based on the optimal, thats not happening. What you are having is people spending all their money on a design they think is optimal, they can never test it, but the whole time they have a baseline model sitting there, by the time it gets to that stage no one cares, because theyre going to sell the building and theyre just paying the bills. I think thats where the demand will come from is building owners at some point are going to start saying we want to have a properly working FM BIM model, and once you get to that point its like the very start to produce that, thats what will happen. Ismail: what are the benefits of using BIM? Is it better for the overall integration of all of the disciplines? Daniel: I think its hard at the moment to really evaluate something like BIM, its really early stages. The software is there and I think the different professions, the industries are still a little bit in the stage of lost about how to use the software, even if people come out and say its BIM, were doing these projects with BIM and everything else, at the end you still have to say nothing is settled yet. Of course it does work, even what you are asking here; is CAD going to vanish? What is the disadvantage of BIM? I think its going to be a slow process before BIM systems are fully in place. Its the industry changing, its education, as an example of trying to find stuff that are capable of working on big project in BIM, it is a big knowledge jump to the old good architect or good engineer, but also to be good at the software, is a big jump for firms and for staff. I know with the universities trying teaching them software and trying to integrate BIM, but the software is moving so quickly, how do you teach different software? Is it the right software? Is it going to change in a few years? So a lot of them have been a little bit reluctant to look at all the systems or software, so it is still industries training on the job rather than using the software to do drafting, so you end up getting students out of thinking its a software for drafting. In terms of CAD, I dont think itll vanish completely for a while, and I think CAD will probably never sort of vanish in that sense, theres always going to be a few industries that will use it like landscape architects and these guys, they probably dont need to be doing full blown data models from day one. Ismail: how are government standards being incorporated? Daniel: there are a lot of different things, in Singapore they have got some good regulations, the United Kingdom is going to have mandatory BIM for all government projects, so you have to be using BIM models and up to a level where it can be interchangeable with other consultants, that its for all government jobs for UK from 2006. Australian government is doing the same thing, theyve got working groups that are doing that and they are putting in standards and sort of working papers to help universities, different disciplines understand whats going to happen and same thing we are talking about mandatory for government projects. The US has got something that is like for the US army core of engineers, so for the army projects it is made mandatory. So they have got some of their own standards that can be a little bit obsolete straight away, because if you get too specific on the software, like in the US in the army they talked about Bentley and then they even changed and made a little bit more about Revit. That where the work started with the governments to talk about how to run specifications and that type of things, the software is interoperable or the people can use whatever software they want, and still produce the right output. I was just hearing the other day actually, that BIM is starting at Qatar at the moment and that Qatar is considering from differ-
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ent sort of government departments making BIM mandatory for one of the 2022 world cup stuff. Ismail: were you involved in any projects that had to be certified? Daniel: yes, weve got a few ones here with Estidama; Mafraq dialysis and other few ones here that have gone through and they have been using IES for that, because IES has got the PRM tool; Performance Rating Method tool I think for LEED, they are talking about one for Estidama. Ismail: what was your involvement in these projects? Daniel: practice technology BIM manager, lots of confirming the models are correct and the actual end exports; preparing exports for the IES. I wasnt really involved in the IES modeling, just helping the guys out with this stuff. Ismail: what types of meetings did you participate in? What was their occurrence and who was involved? Daniel: we probably dont have as good a coordination meetings should, they are still sort of a bit old school in that sense; you got layout plans and they working like that rather than looking at the 3d models. Even in terms of the Estidama stuff its with the PQP (Jason) and I wasnt really involved in those sorts of meetings, other than the technical side of it. I was not involved in many meetings; a little bit with MEP or the mechanical guys. Ismail: what did you have to do differently in order to incorporate the mandatory requirements of Estidama? Daniel: not really that much, other than getting to understand the IES model and when could we use it, how we could use it and how much work is involved in it. There was a fair bit more work involved in generating the models from that and inputting a lot of the data, mechanical sizes and stuff like that. Once you had it and you are doing the runs, the runs can take a lot of time to actually run the models. Ismail: do you think certification systems should be mandatory or voluntary? Daniel: I would generally say voluntary, otherwise its a line in the sand that has to be obligatory; it cant be all inclusive theres no system in the world that can be completely all inclusive and taking in account everything otherwise it will be fairly vague and non descriptive. I was reading that in the UK this week, they have come out with design guidelines for schools and they tried to spell out this is the design guidelines for any government schools and obviously straight away all those architects are reviewing it and things like the rule out; say if youve got a design that goes around a curve, that doesnt meet the design guideline, so we cant build schools that are actually on a curve anymore. So I mean you can put in rules, but unless they are adaptable and can be interpreted then sometimes they can be just too restrictive. I dont think theres anyway to regulate that, there are already regulations now. Its a little bit of a bad area to be talking about this topic and I think thats where Estidama falls down, because youve got subsidized water and electricity and thats a completely unsustainable part of this environment here. In terms of how buildings are designed, its built on the fact that water and electricity are so cheap. If you had the real true cost of water and electricity, then there wouldnt need to regulate because every building owner would be saying I need solar powers on the roof and I need grey water recycling systems it has to be put in at any cost because the cost of the water so expensive. So when they talk about the operational cost of building and its inefficiency of course, because everything is subsidized and so cheap. I think in my perspective, Estidama is a bit of a waste, because its putting the owners and the architects to create an optimal design that has very little energy wastage but its not feasible. It is still ridiculous, there are no incentives, its too ridiculous to check the wasted water, for example we might have the most energy efficient building here and then out on the road they are putting grass and water it during the middle of the day, it just completely evaporates and its grass, we really do not use this here, but you know it still meets the criteria it could be a platinum rated building. Things like that really make me angry, thats what distorts the market. I think definitely Estidama and these types of things are good and definitely they should be voluntary. Ismail: what would you do different in order to achieve a better sustainable design? Daniel: I have been studying a bit lately some building BMS systems; and I think thats the ideal way. At the moment theres no feedback of understanding how efficient buildings are, you know youve got the software on the design side, but were not looking at the real cost and the real operational efficiencies of a building as it works. Thats a shame because we have got these BMS systems that are put in place and they are not really not fed back to the architect to optimize the next design. So its a little bit like we just keep designing without stopping to look and say ok that design that I did 10 years ago, lets test it, lets have a peer review, lets critique how its actually working and
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Selected Interviews
sustainability to that level, but I think thats why these certifications; Estidama and these ones can be a little bit sort of tricky to implement. Its a good Idea, its good guidelines, but they need to let it a little bit open ended. Ismail: in your opinion what is needed to make a paradigm shift to convert the built environment into a sustainable one? Daniel: its got to be market force, thats going to come from governmental level. Even in Australia we are introducing things like a carbon tax, there are industries that are meeting large amounts of wastage of carbon, bad energy usage, the brown coal and this type of thing, that we charge a tax and they probably pass that on to consumers and then consumerscan will probably choose not to use that product, electrical products. I am usually going to be one for privatization, but I think in terms of energy and water, not. I think in terms of the prosperous of the market it works well, thats what people understand, thats the culture, are we going to move away from capitalism? I think capitalism is here to stay. China is introducing capitalism as well in the markets, so yeah I think it needs to be hit people in the pocket for what they use. I am not sure what sort of incentives you can give people to save, thats probably the tricky one. I think one thing they do here is that they have different costs for different levels saying a thousand liters is this amount of Fils and another thousand is a different amount that type of things. So I think bending the prices is a good thing like that, but it also leaves it open, what we got in Australia is like an energy market and the same in the US; actually people are trading, buying and selling energy. So that can be bit of a problem, always someone is going to take advantage of it. Ismail: how does the certification system affect BIM? Is BIM changing because the demands are changing? Daniel: the only reason why people are designing efficiently here is because of Estidama, because they have to. If they had the choice, they probably wont do it, they say theres an extra cost, even if you could prove it is a less cost overall. I think the system is set up here for quick turnover buildings, you know develop and build, I dont care how it operates as long as I can sell it for a particular price, which is a shame. As I said places like Scandinavia and stuff, where you might have a developer that actually goes on and operates the building as well, so that they can get something out of that, but there comes a bit of a business mix and what they do. Ismail: does the architecture, engineering or any project related education need to change in order to prepare students on dealing with the newly founded sustainability requirements? Daniel: I think the industry it is much segmented, everyone is looking at how to make a dollar out of the other persons mistake, thats the way the industry is operating at the moment. Nobody wants any liability on themselves, so I think definitely multi disciplinary firms are going to become more and more because of the efficiencies in the software and you are going to see more design built. I mean definitely universities are starting to address it as field to go for post graduate stuff in BIM, and a lot of the students are learning software depending on the industry, even the American university in Dubai here, we have Revit groups down there and we talk to students and they trying to get different disciplines working together even on cross projects, so youve got interior design with architecture, architecture with structural so they start to talk and to think about the processes and software, they are all using Revit down there. Ismail: what do you think the true or the added value to certification systems is? Daniel: its probably good in terms of getting people to think about this and an initial set of guidelines maybe it just needs to be an initial set of guidelines to help direct industries, to help them focus on. Do they need to be there forever? I am not sure. In terms of the added value of certification systems, until you get the operational certification, thats the one that matters, you can say it was designed to platinum or whatever, but thats only good for the architects marketing, and the client. It is still a guess, whether its going to be operationally efficient, they think it should be because its been designed to be, but they cant prove it. They will be able to say in terms of measuring in metrics of the project, and even the contractors got some metrics, he quotes a particular price and he knows at the end of it in the sign off he built it for this price and the rest of it is profit, hes got metrics to measure all that. The owner has got metrics; how much hes paying the contractor to build it, how much he paid for the design, but at the end of it the efficiency of it is a big question mark, the first electricity bill comes in and its rather higher or lower than the estimate, but what can you do about it? you get your FM guys to go downstairs, turn off all the basement lights, thats the way they sort of manage it rather than going back to the architect and saying can you help optimize it because you had the original design. Ismail: What would you change in the certification system? Daniel: Maybe that is going back to the education system; students
if its cost efficient for the owner. Obviously the owners going to do that, but then as I said if they are getting subsidized power and water, then they dont care about the results. So where is the feedback loop? It just stops, I think thats a shame until we address that sort of thing, sustainability is going to be materials, location on site and even things like passive designed and stuff like that. Its all good and well, but high performance buildings, we should be out and test how high is the performance level, we have got the software to design we should be doing the same testing at the other end. I think that will start to get a lot of new businesses pop up out of it, like BIM is a new sort of business, you get to sign for FM businesses that it will pop up and start doing that sort of thing. Ismail: how do you set a benchmark and what defines the benchmark? And when do you revise it? And what reaction does it cause? Daniel: its a tricky one; it needs to be constantly adapted to whatever it is; new technology or something else. You cant make a benchmark, put in place then its too cost prohibitive. Definitely in terms of energy and water it is distorted by the fact that there is subsidizes on both, which is unfortunate, I mean if there was a true cost then I think it would make a big difference. I think it should be reasonably open ended but not too restrictive; as a certain amount of water per liter, per person, per foot print or whatever and same for electricity as well, depending on the building type. I think what they have got at the moment is reasonably good, certain amount of daylight and things like this coming through and it still gives people an off scope to design something that they want or use existing systems. It is a fair bit of work, Im probably more of a leave it open to the market and see what happens rather than trying to be too restrictive, because it then becomes bureaucracy just for bureaucracys sake. I think bureaucracies like this, they should be in place for health, safety and for disability access code those should be the sort of benchmarks, but in terms of environmental sustainability, its got to be the market deciding at the end. If we are talking about benchmarks and what are certification systems, what we should be saying and comparing the design model heating and cooling and as built, then architects can come and say we are within 10% of what we said we would build. I mean theres no architect that can say that at the moment, no body can go out and say we built a building thats within 10% of the cost and operational cost to what we design it at they will just go yeah looks cool or its busy, all spaces are rented out is it cost efficient? We say the numbers coming out, but you cant prove it and I think thats a problem. Ismail: whats in your opinion is the reason behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings? Daniel: it is definitely cost; I think it is the cost and the client. They have got no imparity to change the system because you know its a known quantity for them too, knowing concrete costs this much. There might be a more efficient product, but they are also relying on things like the fear of the unknown and that type of things, I think thats why the industry is so slow to adapt. Ismail: how do you define sustainability? Daniel: My idea of sustainability, its almost like a snapshot within that spectrum of time in that environment. So we cant say sustainability forever, because the world changes and everything is in a constant state of change from a Buddhist perspective. On a certain level everything is changing and everything has to change to maintain that sort of flux in the world. So sustainability for me is a time frame, you are looking at whats the time frame of it? If we are talking about buildings whats the insurance guarantee period of a building? Is it 25 years? So it means it is sustainable for 25 years, after that it can break down, it can decompose, it should be, because its only been built to meet that criteria or we say a longer period or whatever. Within that period of sustainability, we should be looking at symbiotic relationships and like you said about 3 liters of water per person per day. Thats making the assumption that the person in the building contributing back to the three liters of water per person, if they are taking it out, then they should be putting it back in, its got to besome sort of symbiotic. Whereas if they just evaporating, even evaporation is not a bad thing, it is wasteful, but if its drinking water its different, thats the sort of thing I am talking about. Sustainability its a bit of a tough call I think, even waste, I think wastage of embodied energy and that type of things, for a little gain back is a bad thing. Its a hard concept, but I am sort of thinking about symbiotic relationships. Ismail: how do you measure sustainability? Daniel: I think from society or community, that topic is completely hard to define. From a technical point of view, as I said it needs to be symbiotic; I think embodied energy is a good starting point for whether its square concrete, you work out how much energy went in to produce that particular product and how much future energy will it support thousand cubic meters of concrete. Ok maybe thats bad, but if its put into a community center, its going to support something else, so its a little bit hard to define. I think in terms of how to measure

preparing them and maybe sponsoring from that point of view, getting it implanted at that level and how to fix the process. You are right, when you think about it from that point of view; I think Ive been working for good consultancies for a long time, that you sort of forget that a lot of people that are working very old school. There are other things in the west that was gradual climbing to growth of understanding it and put in place, but then Ive seen it over here as well, even big firms are still prepared to wait for it rather than jump straight in. Then there are some contractors, specific contractor, probably one of the biggest, and with their public works, department head and they do public works in airports, big firm. And talking to him and explaining the concept of BIM like multidisciplinary and everything else, hes like yeah we have to do it. I think some people understand, I think it depends on where the business is, like your saying if youre a small firm and you only got a few people and you are running on not much profit, you dont really have the capability to put a lot of risk on your firm and to change everybody to a new technology. Whereas if youre a bigger firm and youve got you know a bit more backing, weve got other offices, different support networks, then you can make that change. So maybe thats where the small firms might find it very hard, but it definitely at the universities its the best place to put into place. It needs to be quiet systematic and I think thats whats not happening, theres no guiding principle. I always think about structural engineering, if you study structural engineering anywhere in the world, youd pretty much be learning the same curriculum, because there are certain laws of mathematics and physics that govern the way we learn, but then when you get in sustainability its such a grey area of what you know what is sustainable, its just too grey I think at the moment. Then sometimes you get other things that are like they are very well meaning, but the may not help development, like going out and saying lets invest a heap of money in wind power, maybe thats a good thing, maybe its a bad thing, maybe we should have a mix of things, maybe we should have one thing, I dont know. When they were building a nuclear reactor in here, just outside of Abu Dhabi, thats sustainability in a sense, its not renewable energy, but its the most efficient non renewable energy, but it costs a lot of money to build it and maintain it, and then get rid of the fuel. Over here the logic is, how much is it going to cost, once its up and running and generating, obviously the cost to build it. I am doing a project, its like, its by 1x1x1 meter, they carry liquids in these things, like these big drums, I bought one of these drums, and the idea is that you cut off the top and you turn the top upside down, so youve got like a 500 liter tank in the bottom and like 300 liter tank in the top, then the idea is that you fill up the bottom with water and put fish in here and then the fish waste, you actually put a pump and pump it up to the top to a bed of vegetables like pebbles (1:02:40) so the fish waste goes up to the top, and the pebbles with the air and the water and the plants, they create like a bacteria and so goes ammonia, the nitrogen cycle; ammonia nitrates into nice bacteria, and then the plants will filter that bacteria, and the ammonia and when the water drains out it creates fresh water for the fish, so its a close loop cycle. Its called aqua-ponics because its got aqua culture which is like grown fish, and hydro-ponics and those two like pretty well established industries, but aqua culture is pretty bad for water use, because essentially you pump a lot of chemicals and you get a lot of fish waste, fish producing waste then youve got to like get rid of a lot of water and you cant really clean it because its full of ammonia and full of chemicals, its actually really water intensive, aqua culture and same with hydroponics, because you are just pumping chemicals in the plants need. So
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they are both actually really bad bio systems, they are really bad, but if you put them together they become like symbiotic with the plants and the fish together. So thats what I am creating, I think in this region its a big thing because you can desalinate as much water as you want, I dont know if you know that, but most of the desalinated water comes from the plants here, so like 70% of the desalinated water in this region. And the stupid thing, the energy that they are using to generate is gas and they dont even get it from Qatar, you think they would be buying gas from Qatar because its the closest and everything, but they get it from all different places because of the price, because you know they locked themselves in different contracts, different prices. Same thing like Saudi; is like the net exporter of oil energy, so they actually have to import like fuel. Its just all these crazy things I think in this region, getting themselves into a corner where they are wasting so much energy, and wasting energy to produce water and they are wasting the water and they are not getting anything back from that. So I think thats crazy and subsidizing everything, which only makes it quicker. I was reading the paper today actually they were talking about aquifers like putting bores and they said at the right the bores are going in, I mean whose using bores like agriculture, so at the right they are putting bores in and all the water will be gone out of the aquifers in 20 years. 20 years? Were going to have no ground water. What does that mean? Theres no rain, so they need to address it really quickly and its not happening. Things like Estidama are great, but you got to get to the real cause of it, things like grey water systems, compulsory every single building and just do it. Compulsory by the government, by the building code, has to be, hot water systems; they need to be solar hot water systems. In Australia, in the desert, everything is solar hot water because you are in the middle of no where. They just got to do it, they got to do it really quickly, grey water systems definitely, landscaping; if you put grass at the front, that doesnt pass, things like that. I think thats where they should have gone all the way, instead of copy LEED or whatever and adapt it. In Dubai they say they want to make it compulsory, rooftop gardens, thats good sort of logic, thinking about it, thats the sort of thing they should have done instead of everybody has to have rooftop garden, everybody has to have grey water system and you get charged on the grey water coming out of your building. I know they have charges for sewage here, but its nothing, its too low. It is an argument in Australia as well, at the moment, I used to work for URS and we are environmental consultants as well, and a lot of that water treatment and couple of my colleagues their job is designing water treatment systems; really super efficient ones, it sounds bad, but even like black water, like proper sewage waste if you aerate it enough it comes clean again, get all the microbes out of it and its clean and its cheap and you got water you can nearly drink. Thats like a big thing in Australia, is like you could drink it, but can we make people drink it, and a lot of the local councils are trying to work it out, its a slow process I have to say, but weve got no water and your wasting water when your flushing your sewage down you have to keep reusing it. Ismail: is there anything you like to add? Daniel: my logic is that weve got this amazing high technology software that gives us all of this and were using 5% percent of it and we are using it for just to have a look. When I think of design, thats what I think about, design is just like 20% of the process, I think architects have the idea that design is a 100% and the building is just something that happens afterwards, whereas it should be the other way. The performance of the building should be the thing that they should want to know about it, but I think theres a little bit of a disconnection there. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
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Selected Interviews
Dharvish Moinuddin
Position: Mechanical Engineer, LEED-AP, PQP, Stantec Country of Origin: India
Interview with: Dharvish Moinuddin Country of origin: Position: Mechanical Engineer, LEED-AP, PQP, Stantec Biography: Ismail: what defines your design sustainability level? Dharvish: we have designed 3 to 4 buildings complying with Estidama. Mostly the client is the one, who defines the sustainable level to achieve, but we always have a general practice of implementing certain techniques as a normal thing, for example; energy recovery from air we take it as a normal practice and we use high efficient equipments, we use better lighting we also use solar panels. But other than that this is a minimal requirement we always do. But even if there is no body existing, like no Estidama nor LEED existed, we still put to the client the options, for example; the type of cooling system, what does he want? It is the clients call, because it is related to money and the budgets, so its his call whether to implement it or not. What we do is propose them with pros and cons with the payback period and calculations, so that it is very clear and definite, it helps him make a decision better, but eventually he should be aware that this payback period is like 2 years. This is what we normally do, even if there is no LEED or Estidama, there are certain practices we adopt without asking the client, because we feel it is a mandatory thing as its very basic. We do that, its a normal thing and anything added we feel it can be done but will probably be of higher cost, for example there are certain regions for Saudi we dont propose such thing because it is a dry climate, but there are places where we find the humidity is very high we propose to the client, its not a mandatory thing and we say that if you want we can collect the condensed water using it for building use in anything, even toilet flushing. We have to invest at separate money for separate times, separate pumping systems separate riser, which will increase the floor area of architecture, but you can reduce the water consumption which will help you, as the money investor, to get it back in another 4 years time. After the 4th year its a profit making, so all those things we dont implement it, but we will propose to the client. So these are the 2 stages we always do for designing a building; first implement the basic requirements, second propose to the client. Ismail: were you involved in any projects that had to be certified? Dharvish: yes, but not LEED, but Estidama yes, there are 3 projects; SKMC mosque, SKMC dialysis and SKMC these three were designed here. Ismail: what was your involvement in those projects? Dharvish: I am a mechanical engineer, here. So I was mainly into the mechanical stuff, to be very specific HVAC; like the air quality, meeting ventilation minimum requirements, and water consumption reduction, the one more added thing was the energy modeling. We had 2 to 3 people as sustainability group to do the energy modeling; one from mechanical which is me, one from electrical which is Sangita and one was Arshid. We 3 we used IES software to do the energy modeling, because one of the minimum requirements was that the proposed building should be energy efficient then the baseline building. So in order to do that there are two things; one is the prescriptive method and the other is the performance method. So opted for the performance method which easier but we used software called IES to do that.
Ismail: what type of meetings did you participate in? What was their occurrence? Dharvish: there were coordination meetings with architects and other disciplines. We had a meeting with the client. The internal coordination meeting it included; architects, electric engineer, mechanical engineer and of course the project manager. So we sat and coordinated doing all these things. We had meeting with Estidama, where we were given classes on how to do the document, how to present it. The one pearl training we had with Estidama. Then we had meeting with project manager to say if there are certain cases where we have to change the equipments capacity. Then we had meetings with clients, and the project manager as well. The Estidama training was once. The coordination meetings during design were more frequent, each 2 weeks we had one. It is not a regular meeting, when we have an item to discuss then we raise a flag and we catch up, just three of us. But the meeting with Estidama, the project management was once in a month or something. The first meeting with Estidama, was a training initially and the occurrence of the next was 2 month. Ismail: when using a certification system in a project, do you prefer one over another? And why? Dharvish: You should have a certification program at least to set the minimum standards, because this provides guidance for us initially as you know about the baseline building if you actually have one, it is already set. But it is not applicable to everything, like there are pros and cons for that one. So I would say if its a local certification program, for example; LEED talks more about rain and harvesting to a region where there is no rain, it cannot be applied to this region. So I would use an additional local certification program which understands the region very well, also locally manufactured materials usage, but in this region there is hardly any manufacturing. Certainly that kind of standard wouldnt help us, but a local certification system will help us to see at least how a building can be minimum efficient. Because that should be made as mandatory because coming generations should have some kind of awareness, should be a part of normal practice. All this is guidance for me, the certification and we know where to start where to stop and what level to achieve. It should be clearer, I know this is just the initial introduction stage, but it still requires more refinement, but I will say it will always help us. The experts should think of all these things they can do from a different angle, but generally for certification process I would definitely say it always guides us. So, there is a need for the certification system, there needs to be a set minimum standard, and it should be a local one because the international ones do not fit the local climate (where the projects are). As for Estidama, it is a good start that needs refinement. Ismail: is the Estidama process easy and clear? Did you struggle during any Estidama work? Dharvish: I really appreciate those guys because it was not the same as LEED, there are many things which they made which are very useful, but of course we did struggle at many parts in Estidama submission. One of the things was the building envelope, we had a minimum energy performance and cool building strategies. So the minimum building performance should show how many percentages we had in reduction, but there are other things, for example from a baseline building if you just change the orientation what is the improvement you are getting?, so this was not available in the energy model soft-

ware we had, they wanted it in steps. Which is actually is not required for anything, the whole software already gives an output it says that your building is that much efficient than the baseline building, this is what they required. But they are asking mainly to see hey, why should I change the orientation if I am not gaining more energy? stuff like that but this was not in software system, and manually we cannot do it. With that kind of thing we struggled. I think there is a reason, there might be one, which is the authority would like to know what the incremental energy we are getting is. For example; changing the orientation or a U value its not gaining importance as a drastic change in the performance, but financially it will have a big effect. So I mentioned the payback period is very high, so why should they invest so much money initially just to get a minimum fraction, rather than that, you can put the same money on some other system and make it more efficient. I mean its there, its a good thought. But the software is not helping us to do it and manually we cannot do it. We struggled to do that. Ismail: what is the process you had to go through to learn about Estidamas submission? Dharvish: when Estidama was launched we didnt know about it. There were workshops and training from Estidama, thats how we came to know about it. Then we studied and had inquiries and went and asked them. There were workshops back and forth. Ismail: what are the fees associated with certification? Dharvish: I would say 15% more in design and for construction, including material cost it would be probably 40% more than a usual building, because they are asking for very high quality air chillers. Ismail: what did you have to change in order to incorporate the mandatory certification system? Dharvish: this experience we had in SKMC, basically because Estidama was not there initially when we started designing. So the energy efficiency ratio of the chillers and the COP, Coefficient of Performance, we changed it to a better one. Ismail: what do they ask for the COP? Dharvish: around maybe 3.8 maybe but initially we had 3.2, we had to change these equipments. Cost was high. Then the fresh air quality, the minimum requirement was above ASHRAE but they were saying increase ventilation requirement one requirement from Estidama, in this region more fresh air means you have to treat it down to a particular temperature, the major load in air conditioning is the fresh air load. So that changed for us and obviously the chill water loading increase in chiller sizes, increase in everything just to meet that requirement. Ismail: does it contradict with energy efficiency? Dharvish: No, actually they are looking for peoples comfort condition, the fresher air the more they will feel better. Ismail: do you think the certification system should be mandatory, voluntary or a mix of both? Dharvish: I would say it should be a mix of both because there should be a minimum side like 1 pearl to be done for all buildings, which pushes you to use better material, better glass with a better U value, the use of good fabric, the U value of the wall, the outdoor air monitoring; the co2 monitoring system all these kinds of stuff is better being mandatory. For example; the smoking ventilation requirement all of these things as a prerequisite are as mandatory. If you make it as a one pearl and put it as a must to all the buildings that will be always be better. LEED says if it is LEED its LEED, otherwise you can do anything. You can use all the cheap material which I would say the authority should have a control of. Ismail: the integration of the certification system in the planning process, how is it done? What are the differences? Dharvish: from my mechanical point of view, yes it should be done in the planning process itself because all the estimation of the equipments happens in the initial state of the planning itself. So if we know that we are submitting for Estidama, then we should consider the additional loads, we should consider using higher quality equipments, we should have the specifications updated, we should look at the lighting levels, the flux densities and the lux values we should put them to base. Regulation requirements should be looked upon, because implementing data is completely new for us, so if we know initially in the planning process then it would be helpful. The outcome would be certainly better; if it comes later it will basically change the design. For example; initially if we know that this is an Estidama building then we would go to take into account the shade, which increases the size of the atrium, then architecturally and structurally we have to coordinate it. Then the chillers will get upsized, and then installations will be updated, stuff like that. Ismail: do mechanical engineers over size mechanical equipment? And why?
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Dharvish: yes. Its a safety factor, because that is actually a research subject. Because the last week I was in discussion regarding this, because somebody is making a research on why should we oversize? I mean can the oversize factor be less, so that we dont waste a lot of energy. Do we oversize? Yes we do, because of the uncertainty for many things. We know that this particular region and I am not comparing to India or something but compared to USA countries and Europe, the construction is not up to that mark, they dont have well trained or qualified professionals in the contractors site to do the installation probably. All kinds of technical knowledge is not there in the proper system, because they say this would work, and this is how it should work, but they dont know about installation. So these things put us at very uncertainty with climate condition here, the humidity fluctuates from 9 to possibly 99%, so the worst case is you will be oversizing. You know about the peak load and block load, we always go for block load we dont go for the peak load even if we estimate for peak load we size it for block load, but still we have factor of just 10% to incorporate for this one, just a 10 percent. That is the max. 10% is sensible if for example; for a latent it is 5% just like that. Ismail: could tell me about the uncertainty factors you talked about? Dharvish: leakage is one, the improper construction, the material availability; like we should set a range then it provides us, flexibility; for example you are not certain about the load, so it has the flexibility to take some load sometime, these kinds of things. Ismail: what would you do differently in order to achieve a better, sustainable design? Dharvish: I didnt implement it, but there is now something called PV cells for hot climate places, because this region we have a high amount of heat available. I mean not just because of the light thing, we can even generate some power because of the heat. These are very expensive those things. If in case we can get it in a nice way, nice appearance way, some kind of shiny wall used as a faade. But it should generate on its own, because in this region out of 12 months we get 8 months of good heat and light. So that would be one design that I would definitely think of. I think also the process, I know its an internal issue, should be handier I presume. Like implementing sustainability, Estidama should have a website, we should be easily guided; like if someone wants to implement a storm water system or a grey water system they should have a link supporting an article with calculations. Because of the research factor, people dont go and dig up for monitors, because in this region sometimes its fast, not in a right way, its just fast. If somebody can direct them that could help. So I would say Estidama should have more easily available documents, links and calculations to all systems available it should be part of the people adapt to see what they want. If I want to use something better then there should be some guidance. Thats one thing I would say. Ismail: how do you set the benchmark? What defines it? Dharvish: I dont want Estidama to put a figure that is just not achievable. Is there a technology that is available or is there something we can develop from the existing technology, or is there a cost associated with that? If those kinds of details they have then they can set a benchmark. Ismail: how would you rate Estidamas current goals compared with other certification systems? Dharvish: I have come across only LEED, but from my point of view Estidama is really good. It is higher; it is not as what I thought. I think there are a lot of statements that initially you dont feel appropriate, but it is making some sense at some point of time. I feel there is some kind of research time. I really found that there are initially things that dont make sense, no offence, but preservation of natural habitants?!! When I look out here its just desert. Have you seen this part about protection of wild life; because I dont see the tigers around. But when I go into other details there are many items which convinced me; many things have been taken into consideration. Some of them LEED doesnt have. I was impressed when I saw it. Ismail: how would you rate Estidamas goals to ultimate sustainability goal? Do you think its going well? Dharvish: so far yes. As I told you before there should be some refinement, but they are certainly getting close. Ismail: do you think Estidama is pushing the market too far or not pushing it far enough? Dharvish: I would say they are reasonable. It is not like a LEED, it sets up standards which is very nice. Ismail: in your opinion, what are the reasons behind not moving faster towards more sustainability? Dharvish: it is lack of knowledge, old schools thinking, its not important on the other hand technology is going very high when we are capable of so many things, so many electronics, like monitoring things, controlling things. So we can make good use of it to do a sustainable
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they put it, it should be easy. Ismail: what are the interlocking connections needed between industries, consultancies, and regulations for a certification system to work and develop well in the market? Dharvish: sustainability can be implemented like a regular thing part of the subject, its not saying what are you specialized in? Your answer would be sustainability. It can be part of the normal education system; it can be educated not only to children, but even housewives. Like you save fuel, it can be natural gas or anything. There are ways of conserving it also. Somebody should make it reach all of these people; you can use the media, advertisementsetc. for such a thing. Sustainability is not solely to engineers and architects in building design thinking about it. It can be like a normal thing. Let me give another example, we just walked through the main hall, right? You can notice people switching off the light, its to save energy, but in order to do that he raised the curtains, and there is ok, not great but okay glass. Its getting in light and heat also, so the load on the AC is pumped up to 20% just to save 10% on light load. So they dont understand, what I think in this region you could pull down all curtains, put regular light and you can run the AC on very low electricity. That would save energy more than anything. In a certain regions like India, it gets very hot and in the summer its 27-30 degrees, its not that hot but its bright, so you can pull up the curtain as there is not much transmission gain, theres light only but no heat gain. It can be done there. Ismail: do the engineering and the architecture education need to change in order to prepare students for the newly founded certification systems? Dharvish: like I said before, it should be changed, they talk more about design direction, but sustainability should also be part, should be integrated in the normal education. Physics student should know about that since they study light, I mean anything that is related. And you dont need to get to low level, it is high level education. But there are many things that can go; they should get the basics of sustainability integrated into everything. So for them its already open that window, his brain is already open he should know. Its not like sustainability is a matter only an engineer should worry about or the architect or the designer. It should be part of the normal education, the why and the how, just the minimum things. I think it should be already there in the schools. Ismail: what do you think is still missing in certification systems? And what do you expect in the future of it? Dharvish: I am not saying its a final book they have published, but I cant say specifically what they missed, but I can say there are a lot of things you can add and suggest, giving them the chance to think. As I told you they should have easy accessible guidance, applications, calculations and materials. It may not be only into the book range, it might be outside the book also. They can give other options; like this can be done or this can be done. They should have an active forum, for people to communicate with them, to ask them about the cost issue, because even if its highly expensive, the payback period in this region will be short because it is very hot. They should have a research entity or something that can analysis on something, saying it could be done providing so and so, and give some information on the cost approximately because that will help us, not only us, but anyone to go to them and see that, it shouldnt have to be figures, but saying for example; 2 dollars means affordable, 3 dollars high, 4 dollars very high, 5 dollars super high, 1 dollar is cheap. Some information on the financial things and the some calculations, guidance will be helpful. Ismail: are certification systems credible? Dharvish: yes they are credible. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
design. The other thing there is a lot of scarcity we are going to see in the near future). So this is really pushing us more towards sustainability, but why is it not moving? I think because the client should be educated, and its the consultants job also, he should be able to present it to the client in a nice way what the effect of sustainability. For example; somebody on a business partner view, why should I pay for an energy reduction when I get nothing in return?, there is no incentive or anything. But if he is really thinking of human comfort condition and he can market it that way, saying its a so and so design building. But the client should be educated first, and its our responsibility also to educate the client, because we dont expect him to be a technically advanced guy, he is the guy who has money. So its us that should educate them in a proper way, working through that barrier. Nowadays, sustainability is a fashion term, saying the building is sustainable is a market ruling. If you see something that is LEED certified it sells out like hot cakes, but how do they know about these things, and what is the importance of sustainability, how significant is that? Those kinds of things should be known. Because somebody knows if you dont conserve water, your next generation will not see water. They should know stuff like that. So it is knowledge and money, they should look into the payback not the initial investment only. They so its so expensive, what is the return I am going to get out of sustainability? Ismail: what are the advantages and disadvantages of certification systems? Dharvish: advantages its a very good guidance for everyone, it improves your knowledge, enhance your technical skills in doing that as you research and it sets up a minimum standard of energy performance for each building. Disadvantages; I dont know. Ismail: how could you evaluate and measure the contribution of certification systems to the built environment? Dharvish: I would say there should always be a certification system for sure. I know I am repeating it a lot, but there always should be a minimum set, a minimum line should be drawn, then strongly implement it to set a minimum energy performance. Because that makes people aware of sustainability and energy conservation. So the certification system will make people think and also think in a positive way. Implement things that work for a better environment. That is my evaluation towards the C.S. the measure of implementation of C.S. contribution is very high towards sustainability, because it doesnt only set a minimum standards, it is also made locally and its a big contribution the way I see it. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Dharvish: the first thing is the knowledge of it; people to make sustainable community will need mostly cooperation. People should understand the concept of sustainability, why they are doing it? I mean they are not doing it for the sake of the government; they are doing it for their childrens future and their own future. This is going in such a direction; that if I save a cup of water, will I get it? No thats a different question, but if you save it somebody will get it. What is your approach, first thing; this should be there in everyones mind, the stakeholders; the consumer, the occupant, the housekeeping guy, the maintenance guy, the consultant, the client, the project manager and everyone should be aware and knowledgeable. They should know what sustainability is, and why they are doing it. Thats the first thing and then comes the cooperation. If they know why they are doing it and how they will benefit from it in the future, then it is very easy. Then technology and money comes later, because if the consumer is planning to buy a villa in a community that is not built yet, and he knows about Estidama via the community then of course he will invest in it. To do that also, you cannot force anyone but there are many kinds of ways we can reach the people. I feel it should reach from the bottom level to the top level. Everyone should know what they are doing and why they are doing it and what sustainability is. That is the drive, once
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Dina El Karimy & Ansam Ahmed

Dina El Karimy Position: Architect, Burthill Country of Origin: Egypt Biography: Dina graduated in 2003 from Alexandria Faculty of engineering, architecture department, started her career in Egypt, worked on residential projects, moved to Abu Dhabi in 2008, resumed her career working on hospitals and was in charge of getting Estidama approval for a residential compound in Abu Dhabi
Ansam Ahmed Position: Senior Architect, Burthill Country of Origin: Egypt
Ismail: what defines your design sustainability level? Ansam: we can say if the client states that he needs a certain level of sustainability, also if there are environmental laws that also defines the level of sustainability. Dina: with Estidama now its compulsory to go towards something sustainable. Ismail: were you involved in any projects that had to be certified whether LEED, Estidama or any other certification system? Dina: I was in charge of getting the Estidama approval for the Bloom Gardens project Estidama; its a Masterplan for a residential compound consisting of 300 villas, club house, retail and a school. It was a special case because this project was designed previously before Estidama became compulsory, so what we had to do is try to manipulate the design to make accredited by Estidamas 1 pearl without having to change a lot. Even though in the design phase we had in mind that the project would be sustainable and energy efficient, like we did studies for the flora and fauna on the construction site and how it would be affected by construction. By that time when we were designing there wasnt a credit system that we should follow. So after that we needed to make some changes in the design. Ansam: I worked on a LEED project workshop and I was responsible for like research and efficient fixtures for water reduction in a building. Dina: the bloom project I talked about, I was in charge of tweaking the design of the whole 10 types villas and clubhouse and two retails to match Estidama requirements. And since we had already put in mind to be sustainable, for the project to be sustainable, we didnt have to change a lot. But still we had to change the AC systems, we had to change the size of the openings, the type of the block work and the thickness and things like that. We had to add more shaded areas for playgrounds. Ismail: what type of meetings did you participate in? Ansam: we used to meet weekly with the whole team to discuss strategies to pursue for the LEED project, the civil engineer, the architect, the landscape engineer and MEP engineer. Ismail: but no one from the clients side? Ansam: well, the team leader used to gather information from the client and we discuss it during our meeting. Dina: I participated in meetings with the client, UPC side and Esti-
dama because the project was one of the first ones with Estidama so they were kind enough to sit with us and discuss, and also as it was a special case because it was already designed before Estidama. So they sat with us, explained how we can minimize the changes as much as possible. So the meetings were with; client, UPC and architecture. Within the architectural design team we met on weekly basis, but with client 2 to 3 times in 3 months and also the same with UPC. Ismail: when using a certification system in a project do you prefer one over the other? And why? Ansam: well, in Abu Dhabi you dont have a choice, you have to rate the building by the local rating system which is Estidama rating system. If the client would like to pursue further certification for the project, then we can go for say for example the LEED. Here in Abu Dhabi we have to go by the Estidama rating system. Ismail: here in Burthill Abu Dhabi, how many people are certified? And what kind of certification? Ansam: I am a green associate, and PQP building and community. Not PVRS; which is for villas. Ismail: is the Estidama process easy and clear? Do you struggle with any Estidama related work? Dina: I am a living proof of how easy and clear it is because I am not LEED certified and I am not Estidama certified, but still I was able to get the 1 pearl rating for all the buildings. I didnt even need to attend the workshop; they have like forms and calculators and everything, they even have a book explaining how to do it, a guideline. Ansam: its also very easy to use and to apply, you can find out how to get the form, calculators and everything. They have done a good job in providing the forms, but still to get the rating and the strategy, especially for the more than 1 pearl rating. Ismail: how did you learn about Estidama? Ansam: for me, as I am involved in pursing all thats new about regular regulations in Abu Dhabi, so I have to find out things and thats when I got to know Estidama from the UPC website. Dina: it was 2 month prior to Estidama being compulsory. It was all over the news and everyone was talking about it within the architectural society, but did I ever actually read about the credits? It was only after I was assigned the task of that project. Ismail: what are the fees associated with rating a project?
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Selected Interviews
Ansam: when are more system technologies and materials available that can make it easier for us to raise the benchmark also regulations they raise the benchmark. Ismail: when they raise it, what reaction does it cause from everyone; developers, consultants and everyone involved? Ansam: well it depends if they raise the benchmark and we dont have available products and materials to achieve this benchmark, then it will create a big problem, people will object to the whole system. Ismail: how would you rate Estidamas current goals compared to other certification systems? Ansam: I think Estidamas goals are higher because we are in a dry area where water is very precious and also they depend on oil mostly so I think its higher than the LEED. Dina: I am not sure, but I get the feeling they didnt do enough studies before putting those benchmarks. Maybe this will be better in the future, maybe from practicing the actual thing they will know what the best benchmarks to achieve are, because I get the feeling that they took what was there already in the LEED without putting into consideration all the local factors. Ansam: I think they localized some of the requirements. Ismail: how would you rate Estidamas goals to ultimate sustainable goal? Ansam: it cant be measured I think. Sustainability is a balance between water reduction and energy efficiency, I dont see there is an ultimate sustainable goal that you can measure or compare to. Dina: to have an ultimate sustainable goal, you can have it on several projects like now, but for it to be a goal for Estidama I think everything needs to change like culture and technology and we shouldnt use petrol running cars these kinds of things. Imagine reaching something like Masdar, these technologies need to be available, to do something like that it needs a lot of money, who is the client who will be willing to pay all this? I dont think its an Estidama thing, it more of culture, technology and education. If the technology is available for everyone, what would prevent them from being more sustainable? Ismail: is Estidama pushing the market too far or is not pushing far enough? Dina: for now, I think they are pushing too far; they should have started maybe a little bit less. The benchmark they set is too high to achieve especially for small businesses, but big developers I think can handle this. Ansam: a lot of suppliers are now aware of the process, but when it started they did not know anything about. Now the UPC/Estidama team has a list of all the providers that would help us achieve the rating system, this was issued 6 months ago before that there was nothing and it is mainly for the villa project because that is the most common project. Dina: for example, when we added the shaded area in the project I talked about earlier, the materials for the tent was supposed to have a specific solar reflective index, this was very hard to get the information for, to learn what the SRI for this product is. None of the suppliers knew what an SRI is. For the block work it is easy to find such information, but its these small items that are difficult. Ismail: what is in your opinion the reason behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings? Ansam: the market is not ready for the sustainable products. Regular normal people need to be educated not only architects and engineers so that they would ask for a sustainable apartment and availability of materials. Dina: the materials need to be cheaper and the choice selection wider. Ismail: what are the advantages and disadvantages of certification systems? Ansam: it distinguishes sustainable projects from others and it is also a guide for the consultant to know how to achieve a certain sustainable level. Disadvantages; it is not flexible, if not incorporated from the beginning of the design it causes problems. Dina: I think it is very important to have a credit system now because the culture here is to renew every couple of years; they want to buy new things and throw out old things and this doesnt help sustainability that much. To create a disposable product means that it is not sustainable, sustainability means that it stays longer, that is part of the definition. I think with the pace of our lives and the industries it is a must to have credit systems now. The only disadvantage is that you might need to implement this system to something that is already built. Ismail: how could you evaluate and measure the contribution of the certification systems to the built environment towards sustainability?
Dina: I think its only about people working on the project knowing from the beginning, what they need to do, how to get credits in the disciplines they are in charge of. So I dont think you need more people. Although, from the client side there are some fees I think that they have provide, as they need to provide commissioning agent. Ansam: sometimes they have to do an environmental assessment; they have to hire an environmental consultant to that assessment. So its mainly from the clients side. Ismail: what about in terms of construction fees? Ansam: yes, of course. The materials are more expensive. Ismail: what did you have to change in order to incorporate the mandatory certification system? Dina: we had to change the block work; we had to use a thicker section, also the type of roof tiles used. Sometimes we had to minimize or maximize the opening sizes for sunlight to get inside. We changed the type of lighting system fixtures; we changed the type of bulbs. Increase shaded open spaces for kids playgrounds; at least 90% of the area, that was a big change as we had to add a lot of shades. As I told you before we had already made studies even before Estidama became mandatory. The building envelope is the one that changed the most because of the change in materials. Ismail: do you think the certification system should be mandatory or voluntary? Ansam: I think a mix of both is good because to implement sustainability you must have some minimum mandatory requirements to make the community more sustainable, if its not mandatory no one will do it. Dina: I also think it should be a mix of both, but they should have done, especially for Estidama, that before making it mandatory, they should have educated the society first because most of the contractors and small businesses like residential villas and this kind of small construction businesses, they are new to this they have never heard of it before and I think it was a challenge for them even to understand what is a credit system, what is being sustainable. Ismail: the integration of the certification system in the planning process, how is it done? What is the difference between it and business as usual? Dina: I think it needs more coordination than the regular business we do. It also needs the involvement of a commissioning agent as he is required to do workshops from the very beginning. So this is a new party that comes to the team that wasnt there before. Dina: also that the client has to be ready to pay more for the sustainable products. Ismail: what are the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating a certification system within the planning process from the start? Ansam: it would be easier because you are still in the planning phase so it will be easy to incorporate different rating systems credit required in the design, but if its later than that its a problem because you will have to change lots of things. Dina: but I also think it restricts the design process from the very beginning, because if you have oriented the design to a certain sustainability process you cannot easily move it. You also have to make a lot of studies from the very beginning which is a good thing, also how to use local materials. Ansam: you have to involve a contractor or a contractors representative from the beginning for the construction waste management, the process of recycling the construction materials or the reuse of construction materials. Its all credits that you will need for your project to be certified. Ismail: what are the difficulties you face when dealing Estidama, UPC and ADM? Ansam: with all due respect to Estidama, ADM are reviewing some projects and giving 1 pearl rating system, they are reviewing some projects that have to be less than 10 villas or 75,000 GFA in a building, UPC reviews larger projects. For example; the bloom project was already rated and achieved 1 pearl from the UPC but when it came to ADM they kept saying you have to bring us for each building alone, each villa alone which is more paperwork, its administrative problems. We submitted the same thing for ADM as we did for UPC but it wouldnt match the online system because they were large files and they also insisted on having to follow the system but we couldnt do that because the ones we submitted to UPC were large files and could not be uploaded on the ADM system. We came to an agreement at the end that we will submit a compact disk but that was not their best solution. Ismail: how do you set a benchmark and what defines it? Ansam: local best practices and regulations. Ismail: when do you revise the benchmark?

Ansam: it is difficult, especially here we are just at the beginning there is not that much certified buildings to compare, you cant say I tried this one and was more comfortable in the other because it is involves health . Ismail: what is your definition of sustainability? Ansam: I think it is architectural quality and engineering quality. Dina: sustainability is how to have things that functions for a while before the need to throw them because if you throw, though they might not have an impact on the environment, they are unsustainable. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Ansam: I think first you have to educate the society about sustainability, and then prepare the market with sustainable products and technologies afterwards enforce sustainable regulations. Dina: I agree with that, for example; for waste segregation when you have different cans, not all people understand what the material of the thing I am going to throw is or where should it go. At your house you should have three different bins, if people do not really get that it doesnt work. So its mainly education and also advertising sustainability, they are not advertising it. They should advertise it through the radio or on T.V. or even simple things like putting the 3 bins for garbage in the street. Ismail: in your opinion what is needed to make a paradigm shift to convert the built environment into a sustainable one? Dina: I think the answer is affordable technology. Ansam: make the market ready then enforce laws. Ismail: what are the interlocking connections between industries, consultancies, regulations needed for a certification system to work and develop well in the market? Ansam: I think availability of sustainable products and technologies and if there is a third party to certify this product and say these are sustainable technologies. And it is starting to be available, like the list of providers I mentioned earlier for the villa project, they also started stamping certain products and technology, especially for plumbing fixtures, so at least you have a guideline, you know that if you get the labeled product that its good. There is starting to be some kind of understanding, but the most important thing that the client understands such things. Ismail: does the engineering, architectural and project related education need to change in order to prepare students for the newly founded sustainability requirements and how? Dina: of course it needs to be improved; you have to focus more on
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the sustainability issue even in the small things like how they can be sustainable in their small lives, in school for example if they are doing a model how to use materials that can be sustainable. Ansam: some parts of it we studied like the orientation and how to provide healthy spaces, but still education has to develop because there are now new technologies. Dina: they also have to understand that it is not a choice; it is something that we have to do. Ansam: especially water and energy efficiency, life cycle of the materials. Dina: being environmentally responsible in their lives. Ismail: what is the true and added value of a certification system? Ansam: it differentiates between a certified and non certified building, so the certified one is the better. Dina: I think its going to be better health wise for users in a residential building; the paint is not as toxicant. Ismail: what is still missing in certification systems? Dina: I think they need to enforce enough of the usage of local materials because if it is local it will be sustainable somehow. Ansam: maybe it needs availability of other strategies that could add to the sustainability of the buildings, but not mentioned in the certification system. Ismail: how credible are certification systems? Ansam: I believe they are credible. Dina: I do believe that the credits will reduce energy and water consumption, but I am not sure if this would actually change the environment. It is very good that they are trying to make the new buildings certified and sustainable, but what about the already built one? Ansam: they are still going to have the operational phase certification. The third phase is operational and maintenance for the existing buildings, for example; when you are doing renovations or during maintenance you are going to change the water tabs then the new ones you will choose will be sustainable products, when you repaint your apartments walls you are going to choose non toxic paint. Dina: what about the waste? Ansam: the waste segregation you can solve it through two ways; either having 3 garbage shoots and it separates them or having colored bags for each kind of waste through one garbage shoot and then later on they are separated according to the color. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
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Selected Interviews
Erik Hokanson
Position: Principal, Stantec Country of Origin: United States of America Biography: Erik Hokanson, principle at Stantec, is a co principle in the office of about a hundred people. His scope of work is multi-disciplinary, primarily architecture, interiors and master planning. He is an American trained architect, graduated with a B Arch from Kansas state university. He worked for about 17 years in the United States for a variety of different sized companies, and the last company was a company that he co-owned, and it was about 15 people. He moved to Dubai in 2008 and has been since working with Burthill and Stantec.
Ismail: what defines your design sustainability level? Erik: There are a couple of things that come into play; one would be the clients definition of what they want to achieve, another is governmental requirement such as in Abu Dhabi with Estidama and their requirement for government facilities to have a minimum of 2 pearl requirement. Designers can play a role and kind of advising the client on the level of sustainability, but I think it really first needs to come from the client and his or her desire to achieve a certain level. Ismail: Where you involved in any project that had to be certified? Erik: yes, Ive been involved in many projects with LEED and or Estidama certification. In the US probably four or five projects I was involved in, one in particular was for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, it was called the Powdermill Nature Reserve. I think it achieved gold status from LEED, really could have achieved platinum. Ismail: what was your involvement? Erik: my involvement was always more from a design perspective or from a leadership perspective, but I was not the person doing the checklist, I was not the person researching each of the credits, but I was the person that was maybe leading a design charrette or coming up with ideas or maybe researching a particular material or you know more kind of from the design perspective. I was not the technical person that was involved heavily in the submission documents. Ismail: So what type of meetings did you participate in and what was their occurrence? Erik: well if I am using the example of LEED in this Powdermill nature reserve project, I was responsible for setting up and conducting a series of workshops that included all stakeholders between the client, the contractor, the engineers, the architects.etc Basically we held these meetings on site in an existing facility thats on site and out in the middle of the country near Ligonier Pennsylvania. It was in an old classroom building and we would do these meetings probably once a month or as warranted and just flush out ideas; what were the goals of the clients, how are we going to achieve those goals and it was a good multi disciplinary approach. Ismail: what disciplines were involved? Erik: if Im using this project in particular I think it applies to most projects, but this powder mill nature reserve project we had representation from the museum, from the client, the contractor was involved in a pre construction service phase, so they were engaged in the process early on, architects of course, interiors were being done by the architects, MEP engineers, structure engineer, landscape architect and we also had specialty consultants like we were doing a living machine for sewage waste water treatment so that consultant was there. So that was about it, they were a pretty well rounded group of people that could participate on many different levels. Ismail: when you work with a certification for a project, do u prefer one over another and why? Erik: no I dont prefer any; in fact I dont really like it. I understand the need for a certification system because it helps the lowest common nominator understand what they need to do to achieve a sustainable project, but I think if I was to choose I would prefer an Estidama type system that is more catered to a particular environment. I know LEED is trying to do that. I know LEED has some pilot programs, in fact I
think Jason here is looking at one for a project we are doing in Riyadh right now for a neighborhood communities because there are a lot of points that we wont hit automatically because we are in a green field. But I prefer the certification systems that are catered to their particular environment, so Estidama I would tend to lean more towards that, but just because Im here and doing this kind of work, but LEED for example doesnt apply very well here. Ismail: Do you think the Estidama process is easy and clear? Or do you struggle with any Estidama related work? Erik: my view out of it is that its pretty straight forward, I dont think that theres anything that is overly arguable. As with any certification system, once you decide you are going for particular points some points, even though you may get one credit, you have to do a lot more work to get that credit than other points where you just have to do one thing. So that creates maybe a little bit more complexity, but overall I think its pretty straight forward. Ismail: what is the process you go through to learn and submit Estidama documents? Erik: well, theres a couple different ways; if you are working in Abu Dhabi, you will become aware of Estidama through the urban plan council automatically because any project is required to have at least one pearl rating and government is required to have two pearl rating. So just through the fact that once you start to approach ADM or others to start your project, you would interface with UPC and understand the requirement to go through, so its a government driven requirement. Ismail: what are the fees associated with rating a project? Erik: I know that LEED when we were doing that in US on the construction value they said it would generally add 3% to 7% to the construction value of the project, but I think it varies greatly on the size of the project. So if we are looking at fees relative to the architect and engineer, if we are doing for example a villa its will still require one person to go through and do all that documentation. Whereas if your doing a large office building thats 20 times the value of that, its still probably going to be one or two people doing most of that work, so the percentage fee value will go down tremendously probably on a larger project. We actually need to track that better internally, I dont think we have data right now, although we could go back and see what data we are spending on for example. We have done now three or four Estidama projects, we are doing now one in Qatar with QSAS, we could start to see a trend of how our time is being spent, but generally speaking we have one individual thats taking most of that with support from each one of the disciplines. So if you are looking at the overall percentages of the project, it may end up being 2% of the fee, thats a wild guess. Its not a lot, but it is enough that it makes a difference. The thing I think that you have to understand, that our group in general is tending to do those kinds of things anyway. So were doing energy modeling anyway, were being responsible towards the environment anyway, we are looking at sustainable materials anyway, so these are things we would do regardless if it was or not a LEED project or an Estidama project or not. Where it makes a differences actually is the hardcore number and actually doing the spread sheets and filling out the submission requirements, its the paperwork and UPC is fairly demanding and I think we over achieve and I think that shows our passion for doing this work and doing it right.

Ismail: what do you have to change in order incorporate the mandatory certifications system usage of Estidama? Erik: I think it is a little bit more regular in the process and we do have a sustainability professional in the office that manages the process instead of going through the motions and kind of leaving it up to the individual to follow through with things, we have a more structured arrangement to make sure we are achieving those credits. So I think the main thing is just order or structure to the process is what we would change. Ismail: Do you think the certification system should be mandatory or voluntary? Erik: you know I think that a certification system in itself is mandatory, just because you are filling out a checklist to achieve a certain level of certification. I keep going back to the committee on the environment thats the one in the US thats more of a voluntary system, that I still think achieves or exceeds the goals. I think one thing about having a voluntary system; that it requires a sophisticated client that understands the goals that they want to achieve and it also requires a partnership with a consultant to achieve set goals. So I think a voluntary process can be stronger, but as with education or anything else you have to go with the lowest common nominator usually, to make sure that we are achieving those goals, which brings in a certification system that allows you to quantify and verify that you are achieving those certain levels. My preference would be a voluntary system obviously, because I think you could achieve a stronger result and you would focus on the things that are important to that particular project instead of chasing credits. Voluntary would only work with a sophisticated client that desires to achieve a certain kind of project and a consultant that was partnered with them the right way, otherwise voluntary doesnt work. Voluntary would work if, I talked to you about this a little bit before, but in the US right now the dialogue is not about LEED as much as it is about net zero and energy conservation, and it seems that its shifting to more of a voluntary type of system, but the more sophisticated clients the utility end users, the educational facilities; universities, high level corporate environments are looking for this because they realize theres a value in it. Not only because it is doing the right thing, but they are saving money by doing it, so theres payback and its voluntary but it requires a level of sophistication of the client level to understand what that means and why its beneficial. Ismail: to integrate a certification system and sustainability measures in the planning process, how is it done and whats the difference between it and business as usual? Erik: to be honest with you from the design and planning process, I think it just requires a little bit more rigger, good architects, good designers, good master planners are thinking about these types of things, no matter what project they are doing and what level of sustainability they are trying to achieve. Building orientation, that is something that well represented architects and designers and mass planners have done from day one, thats what you were taught to do and its the right thing to do. I think for us, as I said it before its probably a little bit more rigger in the process to make sure were kind hitting all the right points and make sure that were hitting all of the different variables for each discipline that we need to hit at the right time. I think thats where the certification system does help, as it gives you kind of a map or it gives you the check list that you need to hit these things in this particular stage of a project, but I think intuitively strong engineers, architects have always done that. If you look at the top notch guys in the world that are doing this stuff ; the Richard Rogers, the Norman Fosters, the Renzo Piano. These guys go back and look over time and what they have achieved before Estidama or before LEED or before any of these systems came about, they were doing these things anyway because they knew it was the right thing to do. For me its just about, its probably just a little bit more rigger in the process. I dont think there are many things that we would change, I think thats a process that we go through anyway we would always charrette, we would always do workshops and we might tend to include the more inclusive of other disciplines. We should be doing that anyway, but sometimes the master planners, architects and landscape architects get ahead of the engineers, but I think that Estidama and some of these CS processes kind of force the engineers to be involved early on, which is good they should be doing that anyway. Ismail: what would you do different to achieve a better sustainable design? Erik: in order to achieve a better sustainable design, I just think it comes down to being well prepared, probably making sure that you are educated on all the current thinking on materials that are available, just being more engaged in the profession and making sure your up to speed with all the current materials and available materialsetc. and in systems that are available, because it is easy to get trapped in things you have done before and things change obviously, systems
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change, ideas change. I think it might be more of continuing education. As far as process, I think I said it before, probably more involvement with engineers and getting the engineers involved in an early stage of the design and also maybe hiring, with all due respect with the engineers I work with, hire caliber of engineer that is used to a collaborative process, that you can have a dialogue with about sustainability and they actually have input in a process. As I have worked on teams, we worked on a project we didnt win the project it was a proposal stage for a project for the Pittsburg conservancy project, and it was a net zero energy project, but we had a very sophisticated team that we built and the engineers that we were working with and the landscape architects, these guys were top notch, they were educated on all of the newest and latest technologies, materials and systems, the dialogue was so much more sophisticated than the dialogue Im used to having now. The things that we talk about now are things that we are used to doing; solar hot water or collecting rain water. Theres nothing kind of pushing the envelope. We were talking about using different kinds of fuel systems from collecting grease from restaurants in a community, just really opening the horizon. I think part of it just making sure, for me to achieve a better sustainable design we need better educated people, probably, thats another answer to that. To add on the earlier question of is the Estidama process easy and clear, the one thing I understand thats a little bit problematic with UPC is that the people arent there for the construction process to provide the appropriate guidance during construction and thats a concern. So if you have these requirements you need to have staff and people to be able to administer that. And those concerns that they arent there in Estidama. So thats a problem because this can slow down the occupancy permit process, you could lose some weight of what youre trying to enforce. Ismail: how would you rate Estidamas current goals to other certification systems? Erik: I think its harder to achieve and I think its a higher sustainability goal than LEED. That being said, I think that its just its not overly difficult, but I think that there are more requirements in the Estidama system, especially with the post construction and process. With LEED its not required and so theres no way to kind of manage or monitor whether you actually achieved it or not, its a voluntary system. Whereas Estidama requires that, so I think the wisdom of Estidama is in the right place, I think its a better system for that reason. Ismail: how do you set a benchmark? What defines it? Erik: I guess you have to balance in order to set a benchmark, you have to look at a lot of things beyond environmental sustainability, you have to look at cost and what can the market support, what can a developer and owner support as far as cost because if you required everyone to do a 5 pearl or platinum building, there may be some developers who wouldnt be able to build buildings because of the cost. But if you are able to achieve something, its better than doing nothing. I think you need to find that, its probably finding that kind of middle ground that hurts a little bit, that requires effort and requires wisdom to make it happen, but its not so painful that it precludes development and allowing projects to happen, so thats probably my answer for that. Ismail: when do you revise the benchmark? Erik: I think you revise the benchmark when the market is adjusted and the materials, technology and the know-how are here, and then you can raise the bar. Its just like fuel efficiency with automobiles, it can be achieved, you look at formula 1 race cars and how they have to keep slowing them down because they get too fast or how they have to change the engine. At some point the technology for lowest common nominator catches up, once it all catches up and thats the industry standard at that point, then u need to raise the bar again. So the time frame for that is hard to completely identify, but that would be my opinion on when you would raise it, its when the market has adjusted to that level then you need to raise it again or when it is complacent. Ismail: what reaction do you think its going to cause? Erik: It probably would be a little different than the first, but it would be similar that people would react. Once something becomes a standard or requirement and you push it further, its definitely going to have a reaction because its money, its cost, if it didnt cost any more money you would be doing it anyway. I sense that there would be a reaction for sure if youre from the private community, probably from the government community less, just because they have different goals or developers they are just to make money whereas the government entity needs to do things efficiently, but they conceptualize a little bit differently. Ismail: how would you rate Estidamas goal to an ultimate sustainable goal? Erik: from all the systems that I am aware of and have read and are somewhat familiar with, I think its an excellent system for achieving
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Selected Interviews
credits instead of doing the right thing. Ismail: how could you evaluate and measure the contribution of the certification system towards sustainability? Erik: I think its evident, use the US as an example, real estate brokers are getting higher rent charges because theyve designed buildings that are LEED buildings, universities are attracting students because they have a sustainable campus. I think its a difficult question to answer, I dont have factual data, but I am sure that factual data out there that supports the fact that certification systems for sustainability are contributing to a higher level of a sustainable standard in the built environment. So I think projects like Masdar and KAUST of Saudi, these kinds of projects are nice benchmarks to try and hit and achieve, I think people take note of that. I think that theres no doubt that certification system does contribute to a higher level of standard in the built environment, and it has. Just look at the US now, the amount of LEED buildings, its huge. Ismail: how do you measure sustainability? Erik: it comes down to, are you measuring it scientifically or your measuring it by human response? For me personally I want live in a healthy building environment, that makes me smile and want to do my work or live or otherwise. So if I am in a building that is achieving those things and has been designed using appropriate materials that are manufactured the right way, then yes I would measure that, youll be able to measure that as a sustainable building. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Erik: number one, it takes the community or the developer or have you to make the decision that they want it to be a sustainable community and at what level. Whether its prescribed by that particular developer or owner or whether its a collaborative process, including members of the community that have ideas about what they want to be sustainable. Often its prescribed, because it is a developer or owner based system working with a consultant and a board prescribing onto the community what we think is the right thing for the community. You could argue thats maybe not the right approach, but its something. Its a top down approach, whereas I have to imagine theres some amazing opportunities, in the US theres a lot more community meetings and a lot more community process and development and I think in that process you can probably achieve a more wholesome kind of result, where the community is actually participating in the process and bringing their own ideas into it may feel invested in it. Ismail: in your opinion what is needed to make a paradigm shift to convert the built environment into a sustainable one? Erik: I keep going back to education, I think its really important; its our governments, our politicians, our municipalities and our authorities taking a leadership role and I guess requiring good stewardship of our built and natural environment. We are living on a planet, that has only so many resources and were eating them up in a very aggressive way and when we are done with planet we will move on to another planet and take their resources. So we need to start at a very high governmental level, making people aware of and politically its a challenge, because there is the wild west mentality that certain people dont want government involved in their lives and what they do and thats the challenge. The small government mentality, but people have to take individual responsibility over the environment and everyone cant pretend that its not an issue. Its a tough one, its education and its the way you sell it; showing that it has value, that it does save money on the long run. William McDonough puts it so beautifully when he always talks about its for our children and hes right. If you take it to that level, youll hit the right cords with every human being, you hope that he recognizes that its important to do these things. I think it always starts with education and our leaders, architects, designers and engineers have a responsibility and you know as an AIA member, I am charged with a certain responsibility that my professional organization is asking us to do better and its my responsibility to do that. Ismail: what are the interlocking connections between industries, consultants and regulations needed for the certification system to work and develop in the market? Erik: a lot of this comes down to materials and availability of materials in particular environments and you know it took a while, I keep going back to the US because thats where most of my experience is, but it took a while for manufacturers to catch on. Once the manufacturers did catch on they shifted the way, they made the materials or the availability materialsetc. to make it easier for the consultants to specify those materials and use those materials. The Middle East is still pretty new at this and its very challenging to find materials that have the right post consumer recycle materialsetc. that meet the goals you need and you end up shipping those materials in from far away. That being said, you have to ship any material and they use here more or less, regardless of where you are shipping it from it is still more sustain-
an ultimate sustainable goal. I think its hitting all the right points, its setting a certain standard, its quantifying and verifying that those standards were met. I think thats kind of the ultimate sustainable certification system that you go through the process of design or you achieve certain goals and then during construction your aware of it and manage it and then afterwards you test it, verify that you achieved those goals. I think its like a science experiment; its the same deal of making sure that it works. Thats a pretty exemplary example of the process. Ismail: is Estidama pushing the market too far or not pushing far enough towards sustainability? Erik: there was nothing here previously, I support UPC for adopting Estidama and I think they have pushed pretty hard, I think its been a bitter pill to swallow for some. Again it comes down to resources available with the UPC to help administer and educate the profession, the developers and contractors on what it is. I think they actually did it the right amount, I think if anything it took them a long time to adopt it and probably it was a little confusing at the beginning, as to whether you had to meet the requirements or not and really what youre supposed to be doing. We were part of that process obviously and you were part of that process. I have been involved, in the US I was involved with LEED, but that kind of unveiled over a period of time. I think they did it the right way; the only thing I would say is maybe a little bit more time with education and maybe being a little bit more organized before unveiling it. kind of having their act together and then unveiling it, instead of partially unveiling it and then u know putting new updates before they really said it was requirement, it was all confusing at the beginning, but I think they pushed the right amount I think it was good to set the bar in a high level and to require people to start achieving it, its that serious of a problem that it needs to be address. Ismail: what in your opinion is the reason behind not moving faster towards more sustainable building? Erik: I think its always cost, everything comes down to money. I mean why are people building buildings in the middle of the desert? Because theres money here, theres no other reason, and it doesnt make any sense at all to be building in the desert, its insane. So the only reason thats happening is because theres money; theres oil money here, otherwise you wouldnt be building here. Now if youre going to build here and you have to build here because of the oil, you need to do it the right way. I think its also education and this is where I go back to the US and I told you before that I attended an AIA convention in June, and the dialogue was not about being sustainable, it was about how sustainable and it was getting into energy, being aware of how much energy the building is consuming, that was the dialogue. It wasnt about if were going to do a sustainable project. It stands way beyond that, I think now if you did not do a sustainable building, you would be questioned. I mean high school students are aware of sustainability and when they go to college, they expect that the campus is being a good steward to the environment, they expect that. So I think its education, especially in the Middle East its education; making people aware, making governments aware and school systems. I think that can hinder sustainable development, if people arent educated on it. And then cost of course it always comes down to money, so cost is another reason. Ismail: what are the advantages and disadvantages of certification systems? Erik: the advantage that I would see is that it kind of sets a standard for how youre achieving a particular level of sustainability. It compares apples to apples, on project by project basis, so its an analytical means to understand what level of sustainability you are able to achieve. I think from that perspective, that is the advantage and that is why it makes a lot of sense to do it and as I said before, for the lowest commoner nominator, regardless of the talent level of the organization of the consultant putting together the submittal certification system. You are required to hit these goals and you are required to hit these items, so it creates an apple to apple scenario. The disadvantage is clearly credit chasing, you know youre chasing credits to meet a certain level of sustainability. I understand the point of it, I think that theres probably no perfect credit system, the only thing I could think of is that you are able to build an optional credit system where the consultant and client together could work to cater their level of sustainability by the particular credits. For example on Mafraq, when we were looking at Estidama as a guideline; bike racks and showers, it really makes no sense, no one is going to go on bike to work in the Middle East, its just not going to happen. You may have two or three people that do, during the winter months, a handful few, but in the summer never, its never going to happen. So those are just things that dont make a whole lot of sense. You know some of the rain water collection, some of those kinds of things, yes they make sense, but the amount of times that it rains here, I mean you put all that investment in those systems, does it really make sense. You really should be achieving that through your landscape systems. But I think the main disadvantage to me is chasing

able to use sustainable materials, but its more expensive. I think probably the biggest thing is for, again because of a certification system it in itself requires a response by industry to meet those goals, to help to meet those goals. When you think about Estidama and the type of landscaping we do, theres a whole post of indigenous plant material that is required to achieve those goals. So Estidama itself has probably started to enhance the number of nurseries around the country that probably didnt exist before because now they have to have it and we need to use those indigenous plant materials, instead of shipping them in from somewhere else so you know, industry will respond to requirement. I think thats the biggest interlocking connection. Ismail: Do the engineering and architecture and any project related education need to change in order to prepare students how to deal with the newly founded sustainability requirements? Erik: definitely hundred percent. I dont know what they are teaching in the University of Sharjah; unfortunately I havent participated a lot in that system, but without a doubt. I think again most high education facilities in the US are dealing with this, I taught in Carnegie Mellon University and it was huge, the projects we did all of them were sustainable, it wasnt even a question and the only fault I had with Carnegie Mellon, is the types of system we were looking at were used by 0.0001 % of an owner or developer would ever use the systems that we were looking at. It did get the students thinking about being creative in their solutions to doing things that were sustainable, but it was requirement. I ran a forth year integration studio and the projects were required to be sustainable projects. I think they did have a class were they had to do a certification process. But it should be a requirement in all schools, without a doubt and at least students need to be merely aware of it. Now when I was in school we didnt have LEED, when I started college in 1987, but we did do solar calculations, wind calculations, understanding what environment building is and thinking about building orientation. So we were being educated about sustainability without calling it sustainability. And I think most of the better programs do that, but we need to make sure that were doing that, its not just about design. I think the other thing with education is; I think its been proven now over and over again that sustainable design does not hinder design excellence. There was a period, where these building that were being designed sustainable or net zero looked funny they didnt look like other buildings, they looked odd, they looked like science experiments, I think now we are way past that and I think now theres no reason why you cant have a stellar design and still have it be the best sustainable building built. That to me was important because Im a very big believer in design as a contributor to the built environment, but theres no reason why that good design cant also be a sustainable design. Ismail: whats the true added value of certification systems? Erik: I think it sets a standard by which all consultancies or all devel-
48
opersetc apples to apples relationship to how you are achieving a certain level of sustainability, its predictable. Ismail: what is still missing in the certification system and what do you expect in the future developments? Erik: I think probably a good thing is that the certification systems require the consultant to do a lot of work on their own, but there maybe ways in the future that its a little more seamless about how calculations are done and maybe the certification system actually has programs within it that allow you to, its an easier system. As far as content, as I said before I mean Im not a big fan, I like the voluntary system, just because I think it has potential to have a stronger outcome, its more specific to that particular circumstance. So as much as you can make the certification system flexible to a particular environment, but its next to impossible to make a one size fit for all, I know that. How do you do that? I dont have all the right answers, but flexibility is the key obviously. I know that LEED has gotten so much better over the years, originally it was so difficult that it actually promoted, sometimes, building buildings out in the middle of no where that required all kinds of road infrastructure everything get to it, which defeats the whole purpose of smart communities and everything else. So I dont really have any specifics, maybe some future developments will be its more online and program oriented, where achieving the credits is more of an input system instead of going off and doing the math by yourself and then input it later. So theres software there for you to do your shadow and shade calculations, maybe theres a way that that can happen. So flexibility and more support on the certification system, technically online. I think most likely, consultancies are doing that on their own, but there is a lot of cost and a lot of brain powers being spent on doing that individually. Whereas if you could develop something more holistically that allows the lowest common nominator to achieve sustainability easier, then its going to be more accepted. I dont know if thats possible or not, I know that the guys, the I-tech guys were talking about a similar system for municipality approvals, where theres some sort of a computer system that helps the municipalities understanding the approval process, so it does not get stuck on someones desk. Some system or some software that allows reviewing of that submittal, so maybe its on that end as well its at the UPC and they have a software that helps them review faster and at our end it will help us get through the process easier so its not such a burden on us or the client. Ismail: how credible are certification systems? Erik: I think they are credible, I think the people writing the standards are fairly intelligent people and I think they have been invented by so many professionals, by the time they see the light of day that they are credible. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
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Selected Interviews
Iris Eckstein
Position: Landscape Architect, Obermeyer Country of Origin: Germany Biography: Iris is a trained Landscape Architect holding an Engineering Diploma in Landscape Architecture from the University of Applied Sciences Osnabrueck, Germany in 1998. She is also a member of the Architectural Association Saxony Anhalt, Germany. She is specialized in Landscape design and master planning with a variety of software knowledge including BIM. Her experience ranges from healthcare, mixed-use, leisure and commercial to infrastructure and park design. Currently she is a Landscape Architect at Obermeyer Middle East.
Ismail: were you involved in any projects that had to be certified? Iris: no, we started with Al Ain hospital, in the beginning they said it must be a LEED project because it was before Estidama being on board. Ismail: what type of meetings did you participate in the project and what was their occurrence? Who was involved? Iris: regarding the hospital and Estidama there was only one meeting I attended; UPC first kick off meeting, approval meeting. Generally the meetings involve the design director, I was involved as a landscape architect if there is a presentation or they need the plan and I am doing it, but mostly for this meeting the architect is involved, the project director and some of the leading architects. Other disciplines like mechanical were in another meeting. Ismail: do you have any preference when it comes to certification systems? Iris: I like Estidama. I think it is important here in this country from my landscape scope, because I have always thought they waste a lot of water for using a lot of trees and all the softscape greenery a lot in big areas, they irrigating during the day for instance. I think they have to look for other plants which are used here normally in this country for this climate and also to change the irrigation schedule to the night. I also like it because they have to see what is here available in the local market. We had project designed from a New York architect and in his specification is written natural stone from South Africa or wherever, but we have natural stone here not in Abu Dhabi but other Arab countries around. Ismail: the integration of the certification system in the planning process, how could you describe it? Iris: I like it if it is just in the beginning so we have this checklist and we can do our designs while trying to keep this in mind, what is needed and to do the design based on these criteria. Ismail: what could be the difference if it hasnt been integrated from the beginning? Iris: if we do not do this then we have a problem, when it comes to the approval process; UPC is checking it and our design is against Estidama, so I think we will have to redesign it or we are not going to get our approval or if the project needs to be 2 pearls and you are planning against it without having this in mind and design like this then you have to redesign it so it costs more in the end. Ismail: how did you learn about Estidama? Iris: it was almost three years ago when we were working for Al Ain hospital and needed to do the UPC approval, this was the first time I was involved in this process. Ismail: would you like Estidama to do anything extra in terms of publications or to make people aware? Iris: I was attending one of these basic information lectures; it was only 2 hours and after that some of my colleagues decided to go for a three days training. I would suggest to make it more public and to have more people involved and aware. Ismail: do you think certification systems should be mandatory or voluntary? Iris: it should be mandatory for this region here because they have the money and they can do whatever they want, sustainability is not in their minds. I think they should think more about environment, sustainability as they cannot buy everything with money, they think they can buy water and I haves to analyze this idea especially in the landscape part; to have big water fountains and sometimes it is 50 degrees, for me this is waste of money, water and energy. That is why for here I would prefer if it was mandatory. Ismail: what would you do differently to achieve a better sustainable design?
Iris: to check the local market, see what is here available and not to buy plants from Germany or natural stone from South Africa. The plant selection is very important to have really the right plant for this country. I would go through local greeneries and then fly to Malaysia and buy other palm trees. Ismail: do you think Estidama is pushing the market too far or is it not pushing far enough? Iris: from landscape point of view, for the circulation water they have these points that are really good and not too far from the market. I dont think the system is too difficult to follow and it makes complete sense too. I think it is fine the way it is. The good thing is that they provided a plant list; plants we should use or which are recommended, this is a very good tool to help. The project in which I was doing site supervision we had a problem that the water demand for irrigation was so high. We had several meetings discussing with the contractor, with the client representative, with the irrigation designer and it was also a project not following Estidama but they changed it now to Estidama rules. Ismail: what are the reasons behind not moving fast enough towards more sustainable buildings? Iris: I think it is the influence of the client, the money and missing ecological awareness. Ismail: what are the advantages and disadvantages of certification systems? Iris: the ecological awareness is the advantage, if you have to follow then you would think about what plants, what materials to use, what you can make better for sun protection. Disadvantages; its not that easy to design them, you have to keep a lot of things in mind. Ismail: what is your own definition of sustainability? Iris: long life products, not wasting energy and water, correct plant selection thats how I see it as a landscape architect, no need to design water features with flowers everywhere, and to keep in mind that we are living here in a desert climate. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Iris: if you follow Masdar city and what they are doing there, I think that is sustainability. To have the option to walk everywhere, you do not need to go to the groceries by car as you have transportation, or the climate is better because they are using these shaded areas, not wasting water on using water features and plants. In the future if you want to build a new community you can narrow down the streets and make the blocks smaller, but for the existing I think it cant be done. These are small things you can change around here like having a lane for bicycles or a lane for buses. Then people will start using public transportation because it is easier, you can reach from A to B faster. One thing also the petrol is too cheap here so everybody is driving their own car, same with water and electricity; the AC is running all day. Ismail: what do you think could be good in term of incentives? Iris: maybe trying to make it more expensive, if every single person has to pay his bill maybe then they will start thinking about not wasting it. Ismail: do you think the education should change for people like architects and landscape architects and how? Iris: it should change. Maybe there should be training, each office should have at least one or two persons that are educated about Estidama on regular basis, if there are changes. Each office should get an invitation from Estidama of from UPC; they have to train their staff. Maybe then its a good idea for the university to invite from time to time have workshops or seminars or only teaching the people, giving them presentations on a real life project to explain what they are doing. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
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Hemsa Ibrahim
Position: Green Building Certification and Daylight Modeling Professional, iMCC Country of Origin: Canada Biography: An Architectural Engineer holding Masters degree in Building Engineering specializing in Building Environment. As a LEED AP, Estidama PQP, and a PMP professional, she currently works on managing LEED and Estidama green building certification projects for a number of residential and commercial projects in the gulf region; including but not limited to a Hotel, residential tower, community center, staff accommodation, and an office high-rise building.
Ismail: what is your scope of work? Hemsa: My major work is on the rating systems certification of buildings, what we do is we concentrate on Estidama and LEED projects. So we are only consultancy for the sustainability part. We are not included in the design in terms of designing a building itself, but we are included in terms of a consultancy for green buildings and sustainability. What we do is, we take the project from the design phase all the way through the construction phase to occupancy. If we talk about Estidama there is an occupancy permit which is at the end of the construction where you get a certificate stating your building is certified for occupancy. If we talk about LEED its a bit different, because once the building is occupied you can submit for construction phase and then you will get your certification.We work hand in hand with consultancies, as well as suppliers and manufacturers; we have to get in contact with them for clarification and verification. Ismail: Do they come to you? They ask for a specialist? Hemsa: In terms of services, yes. The client is the one asking for the services; unless the main consultant is acting as the client in this case we would be appointed by the consultant. So far this has not happened. Ismail: What are the current projects you are working on? Hemsa: We have projects that are going for LEED, and projects that are going for Estidama voluntarily because they have obtained the building permit before Estidama was mandated. We have for LEED a hotel, and 8 residential towers and a community center. All of this is in Khalifa city A. it is called Al Forsan development. The rest, which are villas and Staff Accommodation, are the ones voluntarily going for Estidama. Because we were asked to do the Estidama rating after design and construction have started, we are going for 1 pearl. Ismail: What defines your design sustainability level? Hemsa: First of all, its the clients requirements, what he has in mind, and of course its not a one word thing. We have to get into meetings and discussions of what the client vision is and where they are headed, what they have in mind in terms of sustainability and green buildings, and then of course the budget and type of project. This process act as a pre evaluation of the achievable certification level: is it gold, above or below, one pearl or more. Ismail: Whats your involvement in those projects? Hemsa: For some of the projects Im the LEED manager. One example is the hotel. On other projects I am a team member, I come in and out helping with some of the credits. I am also a specialist in daylighting modeling, so I do that for the other projects as well. For Estidama I am doing the staff accommodation which is aiming 1 pearl, as well as the villas. So for those we have the appointed PQP. We are the middle person coordinating and suggesting between the design team and Estidama, what the synergies are, what they can do, where the potential points we can go for and so forth. Then, once this is more or less finalized we can go to Estidama (UPC), with these submittals, and we are the ones chasing after the certification. Ismail: Now, for the villas and staff accommodation, what types of meetings did you have for those projects? Hemsa: Right now because the project is under construction, there is a weekly progress meeting. Normally in these meetings we have a section for the certification systems (either LEED or Estidama) and we discuss and highlight the issues we have so far in this stage. Now this is the higher level of details that we discuss, but then we have other meetings that we normally schedule with either the design team or the contractors to always be on track and try to achieve the goals. Ismail: Who is involved in those meetings? Hemsa: In those meetings we have the project managers, which are nor-
mally representing the client, and the contractors, the main contractor; they would have a specialized person. Sometimes we ask for meetings which are technical in nature (MEP work etc.) from the designers as well. In other meetings we check products and we are in contact with suppliers, so we ask the suppliers to come in to discuss some of their products or cut sheets or ask for some documentation that is missing. Ismail: When dealing with any project, do you prefer one certification system over another? And why? Hemsa: Well, personally I would prefer dealing with LEED, that is because it is more established and you have more resources. LEED rating system has been out there for a while, and you have credit forms that are really clear and straight to the point. If you have any questions you can go back to the CIRs which is a huge database for you to go through and kind of relate your issue to other projects, and you have case studies. So it is easier to deal with these projects rather than going to a new rating system that is just beginning to be established now. But in all fairness to Estidama, Estidama has improved since 2010, in terms of requirements and in terms of communication as well. It was hard at the beginning to get in touch with anyone, and understand what their requirements are. What was happening at the beginning was that they only launched the system and said this is your reference guide and go by it which was not enough to do the submittals and submit just by the reference guide. Ismail: Are all employees here certified? Hemsa: Yes, the team is all certified PQPs and LEED APs. Ismail: What are the fees associated with rating a project?What are the construction fees? Hemsa: I can give you a general percentage, which is between 1-2% of the overall project cost. If we are only considering the consultancy fees, if you are talking about a certified versus a non-certified project the extra cost is not going to be more than 5%. The design itself should not cost more. Designers are more familiar with the concepts and strategies of green buildings; once you design it this way its not going to add much cost. But in the construction you can see the higher cost, which is the 5%. Ismail: The integration of the certification system in the planning process, how is it done? And what are the differences? Hemsa: How it is supposed to be done: in the first meetings of the concept with the client you should start involving the specialists of sustainability. These meetings will kind of coordinate and discuss the way where the project should go from the concept stage all the way through design and details till construction. Your involvement is more or less in these workshops, where you direct the work. However, whats happening right now they still think of the sustainability factor as an add-on, it is not part of the process. So what is happening is that after the design is done (or at least the first stage before the detailed design) they start involving the consultancy. So this would kind of bring the project back to the design stage, because we have to sit down with them and find the synergies and potential credits which adds modifications to the design they already did. This is where the integration process comes in. Ismail: what are the pros and cons of the process? Hemsa: Pros are Efficiency, management, saving in time and money for the client and for the consultancy as well. It is a whole package. Cons I think it is just the fact that you have extra team members, and the fact that you have more coordination and other aspects that you have to think of, which is actually not new, but going back to the original way of designing. Ismail: Whats the process you go through to learn about Estidama? Hemsa: We heard about Estidama from the media, and it was interesting. This is our business and field, so we had to get on board. We started with
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Selected Interviews
able design? Hemsa: My dream is that the government invests more in awareness, and how to get the word out to people, which include the clients, so if you dont get the client aware of what they are doing there is no meaning, because everything is directed by the client. They are trying but I do not think it is good enough.I would start with the young generation at schools, and families. They are already doing this, but it is still not well advertised. Ismail: What are in your opinion the reasons behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings and communities? Hemsa: Money and technology are available and within hand, so people are not motivated enough to care about how this is affecting future generations. Ismail: Advantages and disadvantages of certification systems, what are they? Hemsa: Disadvantages, which we experienced with one of the projects here, some items do not have a short payback period. When dealing with people who want to see the money now it becomes hard to sell. For example PV has a very long payback. To get into the trouble to explain this and try to convince the client to invest and that it will help him in the future, it is not that easy. There are no incentives. If we are talking about Estidama they ask you to come up with a system that provides at least 50% of the hot water demand by solar energy, this is an extra cost upfront and has a long payback period. Clients still dont see the point how this will help them in the first few years. Advantages (for example in an office building), if you really took care of the indoor air quality, you would have a good improvement in the health and productivity of your employees, youre giving your occupant the right environment to live and be comfortable in, leading to more productivity and happiness. Health issues will also be way less. This has been proven by many studies. Ismail: How could you measure the contribution of certification system to the built environment? Hemsa: Bills! At least here, because the indoor air quality is kind of subjective, so bills would be the most measurable way. Ismail: How do you define sustainability? Hemsa: Being self-sufficient, using and choosing wisely. Think twice before using something or the way you use anything that you have right now and just think of what is going to happen with it later on, think long term. Ismail: What does it take to plan and built a sustainable community? Hemsa: Huge collaboration of government entities, people, communities, and of course professionals and the market. It is just as cooking something huge, so everyone needs to help. Ismail: In your opinion, what is needed to make a paradigm shift to convert the built environment into a sustainable one? Hemsa: I think its a proven experience that regulations and codes are the biggest driver of the movement. Ismail: Does education need to change? Hemsa: Yes, it needs to go back to the original way of design. Now we are calling sustainability and these strategies as new, it is not. If you go back to how architecture and design was before, you would realize how it used to have more analysis of the environment and start from there. Regional materials for example is not something new, if you have stone you use stone, mud then mud. Shading was also common sense. The building envelope was more insulated, with more thermal mass. So, it is just going back to the origin. Our education system now is kind of only focused on the technologies, and fastest way to do it. The change should be teaching the students a way of understanding and analyzing.Whats happening now is they teach students theories that are unrelated to the practical world, and how to use technology and software packages, to start quickly and finish quickly without understanding the impact of what you are doing. Ismail: Whats still missing in certification systems? Hemsa: Noise is not covered in certification. One other thing is indoor air quality; it is a voluntary or optional credit. You can even achieve LEED platinum without this credit, meaning a LEED platinum building could still have the smell of VOC, to me this is a missed point in achieving such a high rating. Ismail: How credible are CS? Hemsa: The verification you do after the building is already designed and constructed is the way to measure if it is credible or not. In most cases you wont be able to pass the verification if it is different. Measurement would give the credibility. Ismail: Thank you very much for your contribution.
a few classes with Estidama and training introducing the rating system. From there we took the reference guide and exam and became PQPs. Ismail: Did you have to change anything in order to complete the mandatory credits? Hemsa: Since we do not do the design, we have to go through it to see if it is fit for the certification, then we suggest the areas where they need to work on are. There are certain changes from before Estidama to after; these are for example the outdoor thermal comfort through shading all the walkways, parking spaces, and playground and public open spaces. These were missed before and it was neglected. This is the major change. The solar hot water is another one. Their requirement is to have at least 50% of the annual demand by solar hot water. The U values of the building envelope also changed, they have codes and standards now that are more stringent than before. Ismail: Is dealing with Estidama clear? Are there any struggles? Hemsa: They are not there yet, its a learning curve of course, and its a new system. Since the last two years when they started it has been improving. Even Estidama has more communication, where you can schedule meetings easier for project discussions. Ismail: What exactly is not clear? Hemsa: The level of details they want in their submittals. In other systems you have a credit form where it is clear what you have to either fill in boxes or upload whatever documents or drawings. In Estidama they have no automated system or anything spelled out, so you still wonder if this is enough or not. Thats why we still meet before the submission. From my experience with Estidama and other systems it is better to have a clearer system. It will save our time and also Estidamas time. It will just direct you in the right way and we would know exactly what we need to do. Doing that would not restrict the team on the contrary it will guide them and put them on the track. Ismail: Do you think certification systems should be mandatory or voluntary? Hemsa: I think they should be a mix of both, definitely. This is because of two things. First, people do not do things voluntary. In this region they dont have the awareness so you have to kind of push them into one direction, and this is where the mandatory part comes from, and then you leave the option for them to go further. Results achieved now by Estidama, in such a short time it would not have been possible to achieve if it were only a voluntary system. Second, the market would not have been improving to the level that we are seeing. Professionals as well, they wouldnt have been involved as now, taking projects in this direction. If we had a more stringent system we would also see more rejections and a lot of projects that would just stop because of the level of the professionals. Ismail: When do you revise a benchmark? And what reaction would that cause? Hemsa: I think once we reach a level where all the new buildings are meeting at least one or two pearls (as required) then you go a step further. Once the market has evolved to a good state, professionals are up to the level of taking further steps, then you can change the benchmark. This is already the case that is happening with other certification systems, once its easy to achieve you put more stringency. It would be resisted as usual, maybe a little less, because they are used to the system, but it would be normal to expect that. Ismail: How do you rate Estidamas sustainability goals comparedto other certification systems?And to reaching sustainable developments? Hemsa: It is reasonable. Within the same range if you compare the prerequisites from LEED and the one pearl in Estidama, they are on the same level. Maybe Estidama has again a bit more on the outdoor thermal comfort, but this is just because of the climate here. I think with Estidama you achieve the benchmark set. They are on the way, we are not there yet, but its just the start. Ismail: Is Estidama pushing too far or not far enough? Hemsa: Well, when they first started they pushed the market which was not ready for this at all, and they are still pushing it. Now we can see the improvement, now you can see for example the suppliers are purchasing and certifying their products (such as water fixtures) to get into the database. This is something that was not heard of before, so they are pushing the market, and they need to consistently keep on pushing the market. The focus right now is on the prerequisites, another aspect is for example the VOCs, which is not a prerequisite in Estidama, so we do not see that much improvement, but the suppliers have an idea and know they would need to comply in the near future. Ismail: What would you do differently in order to achieve a better sustain-
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Ivar Krasinski
Position: Design Director, STR-EDGE Country of Origin: United States of America Biography: Ivar is involved in master planning, event design, and architecture. His aim is continuous improvement of the design process through improved analysis and new tools.
Ismail: could you explain what you do? Ivar: I am an architect and a planner. I design a process that makes buildings more optimized, which means for environmental optimization, economic optimization, functionality optimization any criteria identified at the start of a given project. Ismail: when you start a project, what defines your design sustainability level? Ivar: Well, optimization pretty much does that. Once you have the criteria for the project set by the client and user groups, you will make sure to design a level of sustainability into it that is aligned with the financial goals and other criteria in a way which is balanced. This means the client has a major role to play in defining how much sustainability balances his other needs. Ismail: were you involved in any project that had to be certified? And which type of certification was it? Ivar: Both the Mafraq hospital and AL Ain Sanaiya redevelopment projects had to be Estidama certified. Ismail: what was your role in those projects? Ivar: I was a design director. Ismail: what type of meetings did you participate in? And who was involved? And what was their occurrence? Ivar: The meetings were mostly with the client side project managers and also the government authorities. The meetings were weekly, but sustainability was not discussed in every single meeting, it was only discussed whenever issues came up that related to it, so we, the consultants, had to push for sustainability agendas . The Government and Client side set sustainability in general as a goal, but left the details of the implementation to us. On the internal side we have all the disciplines meeting on a weekly basis. We have management meetings for all disciplines with department directors, and then we would have separate design meetings with all disciplines in order to resolve design issues. Ismail: when using a certification system in a project, do you prefer or another and why? Ivar: I prefer Estidama because it has more weight given to the actual performance of the building its not a normative system, it actually talks about empirical data and real energy models that can give you a more accurate prediction about what this project will do when its built. While other systems like for example QSAS; use a normative energy modeling tool which is not a true energy model, but rather a rough guideline, and as a result design or optimization are downplayed in importance, which is a shame because these are the two factors which can really improve building performance. Estidama actually gives potential for true optimization. Ismail: what are the fees associated with rating a project? Ivar: You do need to have a dedicated person for submittal and that would take 1 or 2% more fee of the overall gross fee, it is not a huge fee but it is there. Of course the larger the project the smaller the percentage is. If you are talking about a smaller project then this percentage will increase and might go up to 10%, because having one dedicated person for Estidama will definitely be necessary to pursue the process correctly and its going to be reflected in cost. If you have a smaller team you will still need one person, you have a larger team you will
still need that person as well. Ismail: the integration of the certification system in the planning process of any project, how is it done and what is different? What are the pros and cons? Ivar: its not really that different it is just adding another bar to the Gantt chart, because you still have to maintain a regular project schedule maybe you add some milestones in between and you are having personal contact with the other teams, you coordinate and negotiate things as you would in any design process. But you cant really assume more time or less time, it just runs in parallel, its another resource. The pros are a greater emphasis on cross disciplinary work, the cons would be additional staff and therefore fee, however this is a worthwhile expense and will result in overall project savings much greater than the added cost incurred during design. Ismail: how did you learn about Estidama? When was the first time you ever you heard about it? Ivar: Estidama had quite a few public lectures and conferences for almost a year and a half before it was made a requirement for certain project types. So there were many opportunities to meet with the people behind it and to discuss with them how its going to look. So even before the last draft of Estidama was made public, there was a quite bit of information already available. Ismail: did you have to change anything in order to incorporate the requirements or Estidama? Ivar: On the hospital definitely since it was not originally designed to be Estidama compliant and was inherited by us from another team. There was already a preexisting concept which had to be converted into an an Estidama project so we had to retrofit some ideas to save energy on to a preexisting design, which was approved by the client. Its unfortunate because it means the project wasnt really optimized, we just did the best with the original approved design. If you look at the master plan of Sanaiya Estidama was actually there from the start as one of the original goals. This was a benefit because we were able to design in an integrated multidisciplinary fashion from the start and all stakeholders were in on the process. Ismail: do you think that the Estidama process is easy and clear? Do you struggle with any Estidama related work? Ivar: There has been some concern about which of the Abu Dhabi authorities are really in charge of which part of Estidama certification, however this is in the process of being resolved. Ismail: do you think that certification systems should mandatory or voluntary? Ivar: I would rather see mandatory certification systems as it would put more pressure on the architects to actually do the right thing and to actually check the results. Right now, there is a series of empty claims about sustainable projects that have very empty concepts that sound good but do not actually work. If we had a system like Estidama that actually checks these claims it would be very useful. So I would say a system like that should be mandatory. On the other hand if you have a system that doesnt really compare things empirically I wouldnt say it would be such a good idea to make that mandatory because it isnt really rewarding better behavior in terms of design. So I would say if it is qualified yes, it should be mandatory, but there should be really apples to apples comparison between projects in terms of energy use,
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Selected Interviews
The checklist is again one of those prescriptive systems, you pretty much just get some sort of a spread sheet where you have got options about things, where you can integrate slots and those give you different points, thats prescriptive that doesnt really address how these very specifics interact, and the only way to really check on these specific interactions is to have a true energy model mutually analyzing all your inputs and then thats the energy model side. The checklist is supposedly trying to address the embodied energy a bit, but they are just giving a menu of items. Some things are certified some things are not certified, embodied energy is not something properly accounted for, there are also loop holes in there. In an ideal world you would have the performance and you have the embodied energy and these two things would be the basis for everything and you would not need checklists, you will be actually dealing with the real numbers because it gives you a buildings area this is how much energy it uses per cycle and this is how much energy was used to build it and thats it. You cant deny these results you dont do a checklist at this point that would just be pure math, that will be scientific. Ismail: what is, in your opinion, the reason behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings and communities? Ivar: well, lack of knowledge on the clients side and consultants side. We cant really blame contractors because Ive found the larger construction firms to be quite knowlegable, and by the time a project reaches the construction phase most of the big decisions affecting sustainability have already been made. Any system needs to first educate the clients, consultants and contractors, then there is a phase of those entities working within the system to make sustainability a fundamental of their approach. Then its time to review the standards and make the stakes even more rigorous and scientific. This takes time and no one is to blame, the rate with which these changes are applied can possibly be slightly increased through regulation, but overall the process of adapting to more sustainable design standards necessarily has an incubation period. Ismail: how could you evaluate and measure the contribution of the certification systems in the built environment? Ivar: sustainability is a broad term again are we talking about energy performance or about embodied energy or about just people getting ratings and knocking off items off a checklist? Because you can definitely say that checklists are being knocked off. All cities are having many more certified projects being built, are we talking preliminary system there are more buildings built following that system, thats great, is there necessarily been an improvement? Again it depends on the system; you will need real empirical data. For me it will be wrong to speculate. I would like to actually see the energy usage figures for a city per GFA for one year to the next, because we know the city there is expanding but it would be fair I think it take the overall GFA of and then divide all that energies by GFA, and as the city continues to grow and expand you can see it there a slope in the curve? Is it taking off? Is it exactly the same? It is an interesting question to ask I dont know if anyone actually gathers those data but I would love to see it. Ismail: How do you define sustainability? Ivar: it is actual energy performance that is required to operate a building and embodied energy going into the building. If you can quantify both of these two, then thats sustainability, if you can minimize and optimize the two for a given use or for a given budget, if you can make sure that these two numbers are minimum then thats sustainable. On the other hand if you do something that is the result of an inefficient process then add some technology to make it look sustainable and you can easily get photos for the project in a magazine, while the energy performance of the design is ridiculous because the fundamentals assumptions are unstudied or misguided, thats not sustainable, thats just P.R. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Ivar: it requires number one: understanding of how people are going to move around within this community, thats the first thing, how much can you avoid using transportation, how much can you rely on alternative modes of transport. The second level would be to allow proper walking using the system without getting into a car. And last of all you will still have cars, but optimizing their networks to an extent that the system doesnt get congested so they dont get stuck, so we dont have unnecessarily miles driven just to make a u-turn. So optimization of the transportation system is the number one core of designing a proper sustainable community. And if you can do that then everything else is more of icing on a cake. If you can design proper neighborhoods that work, the project is culturally sensitive to its location that makes sense then orientation and passive design tends to be worked into the individual streets and buildings. If you dont have proper transportation to begin with then the rest of it wont make any difference, since the wasted energy resulting from an ill-conceived infrastructure cannot possibly be recovered by improvements in in-
and normative ways of comparing energy use are just not going to allow sustainable design to reach its full potential. Ismail: do you think Estidama is pushing the market too far or is not pushing the market far enough? Ivar: Estidama is more or less appropriate for its time. Its allows consultants and clients to open their minds to the idea that sustainability doesnt necessarily mean higher capex as long as various disciplines work together in an integrated fashion. It will take time for the market to catch up with this notion, but as more young graduates join professional ranks with this notion as the basis of their education eventually the industry will change. Estidama is great because its one of the first systems to push for this integrated design process model. Ismail: so when do you revise the benchmark? What reactions do you think its going to cause, specifically here in the Emirates? Ivar: Once a large number of projects have been designed, built and certified everyone will understand the process and its potential. Then allsides benefit; the clients understand it better, the government authorities understand the process better and the consultants understand it better. Then we can continue increasing the stringency of criteria. Ismail: how would you compare Estidamas current goals compared to other certification systems? Ivar: I would still say its superior because it brings greater rewards for actual energy modeling and gives points for actually improving the design as opposed simply granting points for material and product selection. It has points for materials of course, but the increased emphasis on energy modeling is a very positive thing. Ismail: and how would you rate Estidamas goals to general sustainability goals? Ivar: I still think of all the systems with which I am familiar, its still superior. I am not saying it is the best we can possibly do in terms of certification. In terms of sustainable design there are some issues to be resolved with the embodied energy side of the equation and embodied energy is a very risky business as everyone has an opinion and everyone can argue, by picking and choosing criteria, that their particular product has embodied energy advantages. It will be interesting to set some international standards where we create some kind of a rating system for embodied energy. Many things would enter into the equation: raw materials, sourcing, shipping, location, and it would be a very complex thing to do, but worthwhile. So in terms of the energy modeling Estidama is better, in terms of embodied energy I think all systems have to work quite a bit on the rationalization of what embodied energy claims are being made. If you speak with any consultant about that, they are like lawyers, they give you a case and can present it in five or six different ways and come up with different numbers each time. So they are very clever, but it would be actually nice to have all that cleverness resolve itself into a system which can create a baseline consenus for evaluating embodied energy claims by manufacturers and suppliers. Ismail: in general, what are the advantages and disadvantages of certification systems? Ivar: if you are dealing with prescriptive systems versus performance based systems, the prescriptive improve behavior only in a slight amount and then it will always stay at that level; it is going to achieve the desired minimum. But if you are talking about performance based systems, two things happen; number one you can continue rewarding people for their improvements in terms of their design, but on the other hand it also means that the consultants and clients need to be more educated about what actually is happening to their buildings, to their projects, to their master plans because they really need to understand things at level which most consultants have not reached yet. So my real comparison is between performance based systems, and prescriptive ones. Any system out there if it pushes towards the performance based its good, if it pushes on to prescriptive, in my opinion, is going to be a short term, it is not going to work in the long term. Are these prescriptive systems good in any way? Yes, if there were no system what so ever there would be even less awareness about sustainability needs, so these are a good first step. So once people get accustomed to the prescriptive systems maybe then we can move to the more performance based and then with time you can keep increasing these stakes. The performance based approcah which actually analyzes the buildings energy performance truly analyzes all of inputs and understands all of the average cost and actual operating energy. If you have a system thats normative it can take a building shaped like a snake and compare it to a building shaped like a box based on the same GFA and orientation or something, it can give the two buildings the same energy performance, even though in reality we know they cant perform in the same way. So a normative energy model is not really empirical, its not performance based, a normative energy modeling approach opens the door to getting away with bad unsustainable design while claiming the opposite.

dividual buildings. Ismail: what are the interlocking connections needed between the industries, consultancies and regulations for a certification system to work and develop well in the market? Ivar: it actually starts with the certification; if you are going to have a certification system that puts pressure on people to improve performance then by default better products will be generated. Where if the certification system puts pressure on people to get some sort of stamps on their products, then all that it means is people are going to get the products stamped, and doesnt necessary rely on embiodied energy or energy performance. The certification system can be designed in such a way that the industries and the consultancies need to perform better in terms of embodied and operatiing energy. With current certification systems not being too emprirical on these two counts, there is little incentive for industry and designers to try harded in terms of these key criteria. So the certification system is the driver in the game. Ismail: does education need to change, the type of education, the methodology of education for architecture and engineering? Ivar: definitely, now architecture is still in a fashion phase, we dont need to dispose of these methods entirely but we need to make sure there is a better understanding of how do buildings actually perform. There are too many students graduating these days that do not understand the basics of passive design, and do not understand the basics of what people did historically in any given region and that makes for a very poor education for an architect, and the main thing they are doing is following fashion trends. So the science needs to be put back into architecture, the empirical study of how a building functions both structurally, economically and in terms of energy. If you can bring that back to into your architectural education, you will have much better architects and then they can rise to any challenge certification systems provide in the future. Ismail: whats still missing in the certification systems? Ivar: the big hole is really having a fair assessment of embodied energy and an integrated view of energy performance, so as a designer I dont have to run out there and compare claims from various suppliers. They all claim their product is the best and they poke holes out in their competitors products. I dont really have an objective assessment of these claims and counterclaims, some system for doing that. You would actually be analyzing the true supply chain of what is going into each product and if you can do that objectively, everyone will benefit. Ismail: do you expect anything else in the future developments of certification systems? Ivar: I would expect more performance based and less prescriptive ,fewer checklists and more empirical data, more Math. Ismail: how credible are certification systems? Ivar: right now they are not that credible, now is better than nothing
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but in many systems you can have a highly certified building that has poor energy performance. In their current form, certification systems dont necessarily have much impact as proper design. Ismail: do you think improving certification systems is the right direction? Ivar: it is the right direction, but they need to evolve over the years. It will take forever in a day for all the consultants, clients and contractors to catch up and it needs a push from someone; people who can really push for that are the government agencies that introduce these systems. It is not going to come from the market by itself. Systems do change something, because it is better than the worst possible scenario. Cetified bulding are still slightly improved and this is better than nothing. And Estidama is even slightly better than that, but all systems need to go forward a long way before we get away from checklists that dont make that much difference. As long as empirical analysis continues to increase in weight in any system, that system is moving in a positive direction. Ismail: do you think building information modeling has any effect that could be related to sustainability issues and how? Ivar: certainly, because now we can make our building models smarter; where we actually have data logged in, systems being used and when we have the energy model we can have better information, it allows for greater integration between disciplines. Right now we are not at the stage where we can take BIM model directly into an energy model software, since there is a lot of manual work that has to be done to convert the data today, but I trust that eventually direct interoperability will come. I would say the best advantage of BIM right now is economically. While you cant run a BIM model into an energy model software directly, you can keep track of added cost of every single minor adjustment made. So as the costs vary you can balance that side of the equation, the economic side, the capex side. So you can simultaneously run your energy model on one side, and run the financials on the other. Thats already a lot more information than you were getting just 10 years ago. Actually 10 years ago it wasnt possible to do it, but now its relatively easy. So BIM is a huge benefit, because in the end the financial reality, the cost reality has to be balanced with environmental and energy use desires and if you want to balance the two you need data, and now data is available. Ismail: is there anything else you wish to add? Ivar: There should really be more emphasis on real data and more science. Science and architecture and engineering need to come back together. They have always been together until the last century suddenly we ended up again with architecture as fashion, we need to stop that and we need to go back to the scientific and engineering roots of the profession. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
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Selected Interviews
Jason Kamihira
Position: Senior Architect, PQP, QSAS, Stantec Country of Origin: United States of America Biography: Jason Kamihira is a Senior Architect with an emphasis in sustainability certification systems. He is currently working for Stantec, an A&E firm with simultaneous projects in three different certification programs all in various stages of completion. His primary responsibilities to each of these projects include the education of the project team and client about the certification program, ensure compliance, and the final submission to certifying authorities. Prior to moving to the MENA region in 2008, Jason was a designer at Populous Architecture (Formerly HOK Sport) for 8 years working on numerous professional & collegiate stadiums. He graduated from the University of Kansas, School of Architecture, Design and Planning.
Ismail: what defines your design sustainability level? Jason: Several factors determine the level of sustainability we design each project to; The clients sustainability aspirations (required score) The cost to the Client (budget) The cost to the Design Team(DT) (adjustments to current means & methods) Does the solution have a proven track record (Firms reputation & Clients satisfaction) Ismail: you were obviously involved in projects that were certified, what type of certification systems? Jason: Estidama, QSAS, and LEED Ismail: what was your involvement in these projects? Jason: My responsibilities include initial review of CSs and to estimate project score. After which the DT confirms all the targeted credits and their intent. If there is a question as to the intent, I will contact the CS for clarification. I also handle final documentation and submission of CS requirements. Ismail: what type of meetings did you participate in and what was there occurrence? And who was involved? Jason: Types of meetings: Coordination meetings with all of the engineering and design disciplines (weekly) Client meetings to describe and explain what credits we are targeting (3-6/project) CS meetings regarding any discrepancies or clarifications (2-3/ project) All disciplines are involved; MEP, infrastructure, landscape, interiors, architecture and structural. Ismail: when using a certification system for a project, do you prefer one over the other and why? Jason: I prefer Estidama having witnessed its development over the past few years and feel somewhat attached to it. It is comfortable to me and the DT because we know what is expected and what needs to be done for compliance. I like that up until the near future, Estidama has been only one book for buildings covering Schools, Residential, and Commercial. I really cant stand having to find all of the reference materials, published at different times and posted on ever changing websites. Some RFPs require submissions be in compliance with older versions of CSs so that makes things difficult. Ismail: do you know how many people here are certified? Jason: 6 PQPs with Estidama, 10-12 LEED-APs, and 1 QSAS-CGP out of about 100 professionals in the office. Ismail: is the Estidama process easy and clear? Jason: There is always a learning curve with any new system or set of regulations. I cant say that it has been easy, nor would I say that it has been impossible. Something that I think would have helped speed up DTs understanding of Estidama implementation would have been to provide case-studies or pilot project examples of each credit with the
documentation expected for submission. Ismail: do you struggle to do any Estidama related work? Jason: Yes, energy models are the worst, its the worst thing and its the only thing that causes us to struggle. For the most part, all the other credits we can do or are doing as best practices already, but energy modeling, not so much. Estidamas energy model building envelope requirements are extremely detailed and time consuming. To have an energy modeling consultant build the model would cost around 10,000 USD per simulation and still require a lot of hours from our staff to insure the model is correct. Our firm has a good relationship with the creators of IES, one of the leading energy modeling software, and even they have commented that they do not build their models for clients to such a level of detail as being asked for by Estidama. IES is currently helping us muscle through a couple of difficult models. Recently, Estidama has included a prescriptive path alternative to energy modeling, which we will target on our next Pearl rated project. Ismail: as a consultant, what is the percentage you increase the fees? Jason: 7% is conservative (meaning we really want the job) 10-12% is more realistic. The majority of the increase is allocated for the thirdparty consultants needed for certification. ie.) Energy modeling, commissioning agent, acoustical, and lighting, etc. Ismail: what is the process you go through to learn and submit Estidama documents? Jason: The Estidama PBRS had just been released and was not yet mandatory, when we were contracted to begin several governmental projects. The authority that contracted us required the projects to be designed to the Draft PBRS with the intent that once the CS became mandatory the projects would need, if any, only minor adjustments for compliance. The UPC held several consultant seminars and workshops which several of us would attend regularly. So we became more familiar with the process and got to know a few of the Pearl Assessors. Thru face to face exposure we were able to ask question, get advice and/or hear about what other consultants were doing on pilot projects. We also learned a lot about submitting thru the process of submitting. That is, once we submitted to Estidama, we would receive the Pearl Assessor comments explaining the clarification or supplemental documentation required. On several occasions, meetings with the Pearl Assessors were scheduled with either the client representative or relevant engineer for workshops that ultimately lead to the project approval to proceed. Ismail: what did you have to change in order to incorporate the mandatory certification system of Estidama? Jason: For the mandatory Estidama requirements, the two biggest changes we had to make with regards to design process, were for IDPR3 the inclusion of a CxA much earlier on the project than standard practice and RE-R1 the use of an energy model to judge energy improvement. There were other adjustments but for the most part they were minor. Ismail: so you think certification systems should be mandatory or voluntary? Jason: I think a mix of both. I like it being voluntary to the public and

mandatory for government projects. I also believe that there should be some kind of incentive program which in turn would generate more volunteers. Ismail: the integration of certification systems in the planning process, how is it done? And what are the differences between integrating it and not? And what are the pros and cons? Jason: Usually a DT will have to get approval from a planning authority before they begin communicating with a CS, so to maximize planning environmental benefits and prevent contradictions most planning authorities include several CS requirements in their approval process. Without this integration a DT could progress a design too far along so that certain environmental options are no longer available by the time they begin to work with the CS. The pros of this integration is that at the planning level, correct passive design decisions can be made because they are the first pieces of the puzzle, meaning correct decisions can be made about the project and site without such hindrances as program, aesthetics, and blind want. A sustainable building performs better when it is built on sustainable planning, the best designed building can only do so well if built on poor planning. I m not sure why CSs havent inverted the scoring systems from being based on credits or points earned to one where all projects start out as the highest rating level and thru poor decisions can only loose points. Ismail: what would you do differently in order to achieve better sustainable design? Jason: I would like to see the UPC change their approval process to require anyone planning to build anything must attend a UPC workshop before hiring a consultant to produce a design. At this workshop the UPC will be informed of the client/developers proposed project and be able to advise them on the planning related sustainable issues and what they need to do for compliance. This would be project specific planning guidelines or rules that the client/developer would then take to a DT to begin designing on a strong sustainable planning foundation. This could prevent a handful of missed planning credit opportunities that the DT usually doesnt have control over e.g. project densities, distances to amenities, and solar orientations based on infrastructure. Ismail: what are the difficulties you face when dealing with Estidama, UPC and ADM? Jason: I guess the greatest difficulty is being the middle man between the authorities and the client, with the implementation of a new CS. That is, as the consultant we are in the subservient position to both and both dont always agree, and we are responsible for appeasing both, so as to not affect the schedule or budget. Ismail: but the contractor is not on board in the design phase? Jason: No, but they could be, as with the case of design build projects. I think once more consultants, contractors, and clients have been through the CS process on more standard phased projects everyone involved will be more comfortable and possibly see the benefit of having the contractor on board earlier. Ismail: do you have any suggestions or comments about this turnover? Because you have lots of people going back and forth, changing jobsetc. Jason: It does make it difficult; I believe that it is why I have to go back to saying it should be the clients responsibility because there is less chance of the client changing then a consultant or contractor. The client is always going to be there, so they might as well be the one holding all the information. Ismail: how do you think benchmarks are being set and what defines it? Jason: I think there are several; some set by the people in the industry like the architects that should know the business well enough to benchmark by knowing what the best, and newest building technologies being used. Some are set by the client saying Ive been to this building and I like it, make my building like that or better than that. Other benchmarks are set by the government and CSs based on research and statistics of say, current use rates, then set regulations that incrementally reduce the allowable use rates. I guess another way benchmarks can be set is by supply and demand and/or the perception of supply and demand. Ismail: when do you revise a benchmark of a certification system? And what reactions do the changes cause? Jason: I think one could argue any number of reasons to revise a benchmark of a CS. The people demand it Political motives Other CSs are gaining in popularity Oil reserves dwindling or perceived dwindling Improvements with current means and methods
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Noticeable environmental depreciation The reaction will always come with resistance; it is up to the CS to evaluate the level change to match the markets abilities. Ismail: how would you rate Estidamas current goals compared to other certification systems? Jason: right now, I think they are good even though they seem a little stricter than LEED and QSAS. It is going to be back and forth on each credit some things are more stringent, some things are less. My favorite is the QSAS regional priority credit, which basically means unless there is a manufacturer on the other side of the border crossing of Saudi Arabia; you can only use Qatar companies. That to me is great; it is probably one of the more strict ones, whereas Estidama is a bit more lenient like LEED about where those products come from. Especially knowing that in this region there are not manufacturers of everything. At one point you are thinking if that is the case what Qatar is actually doing is trying to jump start an industrial revolution on their plot of land or you wont get those credits. I think QSAS is just waiting for some industrious company to realize that if they make this certain widget locally they could be specd for all Qatar projects. Ismail: how do you rate Estidamas goal compared to the ultimate sustainability goal? Jason: At first I thought Estidama was ahead of itself because the infrastructure for all their credit aspirations was not fully in place. Some examples include: Support from the waste management centers, to help design teams plan accordingly Number of available commissioning agents to be brought on board at the beginning of the design Certain materials were not easily available and the local knowledge was not there yet Only 1 bus route in the city had a frequency rate to comply with the public transit requirement RECs could not be purchased from the local power company All that said with many projects now entering the construction phase the majority of these issues have been corrected, so I stand corrected their current regulations are in line with their desired goal. Ismail: Is Estidama pushing the market too far or is it not pushing far enough? Jason: Well like I said earlier I thought they were pushing too far but have since have changed my mind. Now that I have seen the amount of change that can take place in a relatively short amount of time, maybe benchmark should be higher? Maybe at least on a credit by credit basis, anything that has been consistently achieved should be reviewed for relevance. Ismail: in your opinion what is the reason behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings? Jason: In my opinion it is mainly two reasons; one is because we are not pressured hard enough, it is still financially viable to just ignore it and keep going. The second reason is more psychological, in that, I believe people have a hard time believing that we could actually run out of resources. Yes, numerous trusted media sources warn society that it is inevitable, but until it really happens I believe we will continue to tell ourselves that: 1.) What I do couldnt possible effect the situation (for better or worse) 2.) There will always be some somewhere 3.) I will not be around to see the day we run out of resources (and neither will my children) 4.) It is important so I am sure someone else will take care of it 5.) Etc. Ismail: what are the advantages and disadvantages of certification systems? Jason: The advantage is that it is the only way to try and change the way people think about building and using buildings. The disadvantages are that initiating any CS comes with a gap / learning curve / cost that the industry has to accommodate, and at the end of the day no system will be perfect. Ismail: how could you evaluate and measure the contribution of certification systems to the built environment? Jason: Measure - Cheaper operating bills. Evaluate - User & staff surveys. Ismail: how do you define sustainability? Jason: Sustainability is humanities attempt to simulate what nature does automatically in a balanced ecosystem. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community?
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Selected Interviews
Jason: Incentives, because right now we still have energy and water available at low costs. Under these circumstances CSs will always face criticism because their goal rarely results in an immediate and visible reward. Incentives can be that immediate and visible reward to help rewire people to use resources more efficiently. Incentives can be phased out when there are no more unsustainable options left. Ismail: what do you expect in the certification system future development? Jason: I expect CSs to evolve into something like a spreadsheet where a client enters their projects program requirements and formulas running in the background then spit out thresholds tailor made to fit each project. Building codes, life safety, and CSs will be merged into one entity instead of stepping on one anothers toes. It is kind of ridiculous for one to be more stringent than the other if they both have to be appeased. If they are not the same then one is always obsolete. Ismail: how credible are certification systems? Jason: They are only as credible as they pertain to each project. Anyone working on a project that does not fit a, one size fits all CS, will think that CS is not credible. So however that CS is setup, defines how credible, or what kind of project will qualify it as credible. One size doesnt fit all, hopefully the CS fits most, and for the projects that dont fit should be considered special cases for CS Assessors direct review. That is, any project or even credit that the CS requirements do not make sense should be reviewed by the CS authority to help the DT come up with a pertinent and/or equivalent alternative. I guess you could also say they are only as credible as the DT, Authority, Client, Contractor, and user treat them. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
Jason: client support. Ismail: in your opinion what is needed to make a paradigm shift to convert the built environment into a sustainable one? Jason: The world will need to run out of fossil fuels and fresh water, followed by a global population reduction. Ismail: what are the interlocking connections between the industries, consultancies and the regulations that are needed for a certification system to work and develop well in the market? Jason: Well I believe the pressure is on the CS to achieve their goal of reducing negative environmental impacts while also avoiding crippling the industry. That is, if a CS is not careful and tries to go from zero to 100 too fast the current industry will not have a chance to adjust their ways fast enough to stay competitive. I dont think consultancies have much of a part in the matter. I mean if a CS says your design has to perform to this level then the consultant specs those requirements and if the current industry doesnt comply manufacturers will either change or disappear. So CSs may have to slowly phase out unsustainable products so as to prevent local economic collapse. Ismail: do you think there are any changes needed in the educational systems that educate engineers, architects and anyone who is related to doing projects? Jason: Definitely, I think it would be beneficial for schools to partner with a local planning authority or CS and require an internship for at least one semester, in which students could be part actual submission reviews to witness intent, various levels of compliance, and why. Ismail: what is the true added value of certification systems? Jason: Awareness Ismail: what is still missing in certification systems?
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Liam Farrell & Serkan Akyuz

Liam Farrell Position: Senior Associate Landscape Architect, Stantec Country of Origin: New Zealand Biography: Liam graduated with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree, from Lincoln University, New Zealand, in 1999, and is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects. He has spent the last 8 years working on projects throughout the Middle East. He has worked in many market sectors within the Landscape Architecture field from the design and contract administration aspects. His expertise includes design and preparation of site plans from concept design through tender documents. Bringing a variety of skills which range from site-planning, site design and layout, grading and planting design to coordination of plans, details, specifications and cost estimates. Liam creates tender document packages while providing solid project management skills to clients. He has worked consistently on many projects as part of a multi-disciplined team of architects and engineers bringing to the table an open viewpoint, being able to bridge disciplines to find creative solutions for developing projects. Serkan Akyuz Position: Landscape Architect, Stantec Country of Origin: Turkey
Biography: Serkan graduated with a Landscape Architecture and Urban Design degree from Bilkent University in Turkey, member of the chamber of landscape architects, and is well trained in integrated design approaches. He is adept in preparing schematic designs construction details, research, analysis, conceptual planning, grading, planting plans and creating landscape drawings and renderings through freehand sketching or using various software such AutoCAD, Photoshop CS, 3Ds Max, Sketch Up and Landscaping Pro 3D. Ismail: what defines your design sustainability level? Serkan: the client, if the client understands about sustainability, he has knowledge of it. What they are asking for we design according to it. Liam: the client and also now every project in Abu Dhabi has to comply with Estidama, so also the government policies, you have to do certain levels. Ismail: would you say enforcing that is positive or not? Liam: I think it is positive, because it costs clients money, so if it was not enforced then I do not think any of the clients would do it because they are looking for the best product with best price. Ismail: what was your involvement in projects that had to be certified? Serkan: I was preparing the necessary documents like sun shades study. Liam: Al Mafraq hospital was our first project; we did it with Estidama requirements even before it was published. We were also helping Estidama people with refining their documentations, measures that measure energy and water and stuff. Also, going to Estidama, putting the design forward to make sure we submit documents that are going to be accepted. Ismail: what types of meeting did you participate in and what was their occurrence? And who was involved? Serkan: we met 2 or 3 times with Estidama, mainly for landscape and site issues. It involved the head architect, landscape architect and infrastructure, we discussed site placement and credits of Estidama had to be followed and submission. For landscape I think we did pretty good about it before we start at least we know we can not exceed some levels using water or species. Liam: we were trying to understand what Estidama really wanted us to do to get the project approved. It is trying to be integrated, but it is not at all because a number of reasons; as part of the contract
there was no fee put in for Estidama and in the work plan there was no time set aside to actually do some Estidama documentation or the research. So mainly in the design we were trying to make Estidama fit. We did it the reverse way, instead of doing the design based on Estidama we made it the other way around. It did work in the end because we were following good practice anyway, as far as landscape. And it was easy enough to tailor what we are doing to make the calculations for water, for shade, for accessibility and all these stuff and we got the necessary credits for it. But we did not do it as a good process, it should be before you put the pen on a paper, before designing a concept, and understand for this project we need these credits, and for each credit these requirements or these design parameters and then you start designing based on these. I think as an over all things for all disciplines, it was not a very good process. Ismail: why would it not be implemented, regardless of the requirements of the contract? Liam: I think Estidama is more work for everybody, for us designing a document and Estidama is a portion of what they have to do, so it is additional time and effort. I think for the projects we have done the PQP (Jason) is being involved as the Estidama coordinator, he does a very good job really and he tells you what you need to do, but he does not have the backing of the PM or the authority through the PM to put his foot down and say I need this document now people are just ignoring him and not looking at it. By the end of the project it is like okay, everybody has to the work and they go back and do the studiesetc. I saw him being frustrated because he couldnt get what he needed in the proper phase of the project, because people were too busy designing. It is always in the end, so if the process is going to work it needs to work from the beginning and it needs structure and the project manager has to be behind Jason, pushing people to do whatever work is necessary in the appropriate time. Then you put more effort in the beginning and it is easier at the end. Because I think everyone can do it and everyone has done it, every discipline and it worked. It has not worked as properly and smoothly as it should have been. Serkan: I think the design changes too if you do that. Liam: because at the end of the project in Qatar, they are asking us to change some things to get it accredited, and we did not have them because nobody said we will need. So it is this sort of thing, you go back and change the drawing and fixture and the spec or stuff that could have been on a check list in the beginning of the project.
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Selected Interviews
Ismail: what are the fees associated with certifying a project? Liam: the work is a lot more actually, I do not have a number to put but I suggest at least 5% to 10% of the project of the hours we typically spend. As for cost, I think for landscape it might be cheaper because you end up using less palm trees, much less vegetation, more hardscape which is cheaper than softscape, less constant water, less irrigation material so all these make it potentially cheaper. So in the construction and operation phase for the landscape in Estidama it is actually economically better. Although on the flip side if you are doing shade; you need to provide a certain percentage of shade for pedestrian and vehicles, it costs extra, so probably there is a balance between the two. Ismail: what did you have to change in order to incorporate the mandatory requirements of the certification system? Serkan: again we submitted it after the project was finished, we realized we were using too much water, so we had to change the planting rest with gravel for example it happened with Al Mafraq. Ismail: do you think certification systems should be mandatory or voluntary? Serkan: maybe it should be related to the scale or something. Maybe it should be mandatory. Liam: I think government projects should be mandatory because they are setting the benchmark for every other building in the country or development. In the UAE we have seven emirates and Abu Dhabi has to follow Estidama, Dubai does not, so economically it is going to potentially hurt Abu Dhabi more than Dubai because if you are developer and you have to spend a 100,000 extra in Abu Dhabi to make a project, you will go make it in Dubai. Perhaps it needs to be a standard across the whole country, because it will start hurting economies of emirates. If it needs to be mandatory, so at least everyone is doing the minimum good design work. Ismail: the integration of the certification process, how is it done? What are the differences? What are the pros and cons? Serkan: it is good, but needs to be done from the beginning, and it is not done like that because there is no PM put a bigger load on Estidama in the beginning, for us it is a consultant issue. We have to explain it to the client first, if you tell them that this is the way it should be and they really want to issue it, he will approve. Liam: as long as you plan submission times and your design accordingly, it is fine. You need a complete client compliance with that, thats a key issue. If you as a consultant can spend all this money from the beginning, you need to make sure that this is what they want. If we start from the beginning the design will be much better and more efficient. Ismail: what would you do differently in order to achieve a better sustainable design? Liam: in landscape I think we need to do more product research, because there are a lot of things coming out now that are more sustainable and you need to put aside time to research irrigation systems or different lighting techniques, different planting types or materials. Because you are going to have the same idea with any project and use a thousand different materials to build it. So you have to know what these sustainable materials are, to have to use them. The tricky part of the design process is to get to spend time on researching best materials and newest technologies. Serkan: speaking of this region I think it is very limited too, there might be a fantastic very sustainable product, but it is in Australia and then you have to ship it here, so again you are in a conflict. Liam: The system should have a list to give to consultants to encourage them to use better sustainable products; I think Estidama has applied this. It will make it easier if you had a list with good things to use for example, with good albedo manuals. We were looking for this manual of QSAS, it was so difficult, because with the information you had to pay for was not available, so to make all this information more available and free, I think consultants will be happy about it. Serkan: Even the consultant does not know about it, its like the first time they are reading it. So I think it is necessary for the consultant as well it should be something rules for them. Ismail: what difficulties do you face when dealing with UPC, ADM or Abu Dhabi municipality? Liam: before some of the things with ADM were in direct conflict with Estidama, they were not working in sync. And there are certain rules with Estidama that was in direct objection with what ADM approved. I am trying to think of an example, maybe it was the water issue, I cant remember exactly. It is difficult for the consultant having two bodies telling different things, but at the end of the day you need a building permit to be built, so you have to follow the code. Ismail: when do you think the benchmark should be revised?
Ismail: is the Estidama process easy and clear? Serkan: it is clear; you can see what they are expecting from you at least, but there are some points that do not make sense like the bike racks for example in the middle of nowhere. Liam: yes there are some things that are not always appropriate for every project. Ismail: do you face any problems with submission of work? Liam: we basically submit to the PQP (Jason) and he does the rest. Serkan: at first we were not very experienced with it, but now we are familiar with those. Liam: but Estidama is much easier than QSAS, as you need to produce drawings, studies and models plus input data into a calculator that is a lot of work because you need to get all the numbers generated from your study. The calculator is quite complex and it is difficult figuring out what they want in order to get the outcome that is going to work. I would say QSAS is less user friendly than Estidama for sure. Serkan: but one advantage it is very detailed and you know whether you are failing or not because of the calculators. Ismail: do you prefer a certain certification system and why? Serkan: I know it is a lot of work, but I prefer QSAS because it is detailed and you are really seeing, you need these things to determine if it really makes a difference or not. I mean the main focus is the same with Estidama or LEED, but QSAS is more detailed. Liam: in QSAS every credit has a calculator, but it means more work. For softscape they are saying you must have less than 50% lawn of your total area, so you need to do the calculations all through the design process; its like checking how you are designing. Its better then figuring this out later and then you have to redesign, you need to do it on various stages and get client approvals and all kinds of things. Serkan: it is a chain reaction; if you change something it will effect infrastructure as well, infra will also affect somewhere else. Our aim is actually doing it more sustainable from the beginning. Ismail: is there something you struggled with while doing any Estidama related work? Liam: when we started with Al Mafraq hospital it was water features, because basically you get more credits is you do not have water features, but the client wants them. It is a nice thing to have and with the budget for a project like Mafraq hospital, there are a lot of contracts like that; where the client wants something and you want to design something and Estidama is basically telling you not to, penalizing you for designing water features for example. Serkan: there was the project in Qatar the client was asking for lush garden, green plantings everywhere, but we told him you have to consider the water consumption. Ismail: so what would happen if the client says I want 4 pearl building and I want water features and you just go and tell him this is not going to happen, you have to choose between both, then he chooses water features? Liam: as the consultant that is what you need to do. If that is what they want fine, but you have to make a case that if you want this you are not going to get certified, or you should not even go down the road for LEED or anything like that. Or you need to change your design and use landscape with indigenous plants and no water features and then you will achieve the goal. But here is where the client education comes up as they will say it is nice to have LEED certified building or QSAS, but they do not understand what it means, especially with MEP these things are expensive. Again this would not be the result if we had started from the beginning of the project; it cannot come up half way through, because then lots of the design changes. Serkan: usually we have to make sure the client understands that before we design it and to include the client from the beginning not just consultant, to be aware of cost related issues as well. Liam: we dealt with a situation on Al Mafraq, they decided not to do grey water recycling as they thought it was too expensive and we were calculating a volume from the AC blow down and a the grey water volume and they got cut. Then we do calculations how much additional water you need. Estidama has a limit for 4 liters per square meter for irrigation outside and that is not easily achieved. You have to be quite careful on quantity of planting. Ismail: how did you learn about Estidama? Serkan: Jason became a PQP and then he told us what has to be submitted, as far as I remember he gave us the documents and asked us to read that stuff. Liam: because he is not going to do the work for us, we need to do the work and set parameters, and the same with everything; he is not doing the actual work, he is just tells everything we need to do, what we have to achieve and lets us figure it out.

Liam: I do not think you can change it every year for example, it is too much change because also as a consultant you need to learn the rules or compliance of Estidama, if it is constantly changing things it makes it impossible for the consultant to do a good job and providing documents that will satisfy. Like we had to go back for retrofit a project to Estidama, the Al Mafraq hospital we did it according to Estidama rules although it was not formally placed at that time, it was like a test project for Estidama. So met with them, had a lot of discussionsetc. and then we went through the process with ADM, a new rule came from PRFD which meant we had to submit all landscape documents to be approved be PRFD as part of the building permit. That was not something in place when we were designing Al Mafraq and it was actually being built and ADM made us submit every landscape document including irrigation calculations, water use and shading to PRFD to get them approved. So that sort of thing is frustrating because you cannot design something and have it built and than have to submit for approval. So it is the same thing with Estidama, if I change the rules every two years maybe your project runs over three years period, so you would constantly have to modify your designs, maybe it should be every 10 years. And also Estidama has to evaluate the projects that are built with a rating, they have to evaluate these projects to see if they are good, performing or not and it will help them determine if the need to change their parameters and that takes time, maybe you need to measure after 5 years of a project to see if it really works or not, is it sustainable or not. Projects here are so badly maintained, and if you suddenly have to enforce strict rules on water and energy, then you will have people not knowing what to do, or who should do it. Serkan: I mean who guarantees they are not going to change the planting we did 2 years ago and put something else, because this will change water consumption. I think somebody from the government should monitor; like a separate division to watch those things. I think it should not be just submitting your documents and you are finished, the communication should continue with designer, client and Estidama say 5 years maybe. Liam: the operation monitoring actually is more because the design is just a small part. From day one when the building is built, it falls back on the operator to manage it, managing the water consumption for example, and he just turns it up, then your whole design and everything the client has paid for is just blown out of the window. Serkan: this is the phase which determines if LEED or Estidama is successful or not. You can submit and documents or design anything, but what is going to happen in 5 years? That is the important question. Liam: I think also Estidama could offer incentives to operate, so if they monitor for five years and see that the energy levels are as they should be as designed, then they get incentives on energy; so the electricity drops or the water bill drops, as they have maintained the systems working well. Ismail: if you think about sustainability as a goal, how would you rate Estidamas goals to it? Serkan: I think it is too early to say, because again who is going to guarantee it is going to work. If you are using local manpower, local materials, local companies then economically it is good. Liam: I think for landscape there are positive things. Ismail: do you think Estidama is pushing the market too far or not pushing far enough? Serkan: as long as it is fair, it is enforced on all of the UAE not one emirate only, then you can push the market as far as you want, because they will all fit in regardless. The companies started giving some documents with the products saying it is LEED approved or sustainable, before there was no such thing, so the whole of UAE will fit in. Liam: when you push products to be more sustainable, the products themselves will develop and technologies to deal with this thing. Raise the bar across all the emirates. For us the developers, industries, consultants this will also change the market for us. Ismail: in your opinion what are the reasons behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings and communities? Liam: cost and bureaucracy, here it is probably bureaucracy. The ADM thing I was talking about before, not even encouraging Estidama in their current roles, so if you are going to push Estidama on consultant and clients to do, needs to be aligned with building permits and the
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local government process. Because if they are fighting each other then its a lose-lose situation for everybody. They need to be on the same page and to be pushing the same ideas. Ismail: how could you evaluate and measure the contribution of the certification systems to the built environment? Liam: this entire thing means nothing if you are not able to monitor the benchmark and be aware if it is too far or not. Ismail: how do you define sustainability? Liam: I think it is designing in a way that is better for the environment that improves the environment as materials and people, because we are building for people. But I think a lot of design in my perspective is to do with people or design more sustainability. It is not environmental it is making good designs in good places. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Serkan: you need a dedicated government, if they really want it like Abu Dhabi; I am not saying this is the greatest example, but I think it should be the government pushing. If you really want to do it there should be rules and the government should really push on it, follow it up. Liam: I agree. But I think aligned with that they should offer incentives to do it. Whether it is mandatory or something else, I am not going to give you a gold star because you are designing a building and that is whats happening. I got a 2 pearl rating, you can use it for better marketing or PR and that is it, but if there is 10% off on your water bill or electricity bill then there is a real measure of achieving. I remember in one of the projects in Abu Dhabi we wanted to use solar power and the government would not let us, they were not to allow power generated on the site to be put back into the grid. Ismail: what is needed to make a paradigm shift to convert the built environment to a sustainable one? Liam: education. Serkan: I agree. Ismail: what are the interlocking connections and the other industries, consultancies and regulations needed for the certification system to work and develop well in the market? Liam: we talked about the product and also the government; the government being aligned with the CS process, they must have the same goals, measurements and objectives. If you do not have that, then it is not going to work. Ismail: does the engineering, architecture and all project related education need to change in order to prepare students on how to deal with the newly founded sustainability requirements and how? Serkan: we were taught to be reasonable and careful, take consideration of geographical climate, where are you designing, we were not educated for LEED criteria and Estidama criteria. But now I guess it is more common. Liam: I think if you are doing your degree in the UAE, then yes you should learn about Estidama, for sure. Wherever you are in the world you should study about their certification system, because once you are a professional, you are going to be using it. Ismail: what do you think is the true added value of certification systems? Liam: better design I guess, from a landscape perspective. Serkan: I think the design is more sensitive in terms of the environment, it might look better, but the affect might by not as good as the sustainable designed one. And if you really use the local materials, it will have a good impact on the economy. Ismail: what do you think is missing in the certification systems? Serkan: I think the follow up process is not really working like the way we talked about, the monitoring phase. Ismail: how credible are certification systems? Liam: I think the credibility is going to be known once other buildings are built and monitored and rated again after 5 years. I guess LEED is credible with proven results, but I think North America has an easier climate than here. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
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Selected Interviews
Martina Konrad
Position: Sustainability Manager Country of Origin: Germany Biography: Martina was educated and trained at universities in Germany, Italy and Austria. She is a Diplom-Ingenieurin graduate in Architecture, and has completed her Master of Building Science (MSc) Future Building Solutions at the Donau University Krems. She is also a LEED AP and a PQP. She is a registered architect with BayAK. She has also been an active member of the Emirates Green Building Council and a member of the Technical Committee since 2006. She was recently working as the Environmental Sustainability Compliance Manager several construction projects situated within Masdar City. Besides that she was also responsible for achieving their challenging environmental and sustainability targets.
Ismail: what defines your level of sustainability in a project? Martina: Masdar has 10 key performance indicators (KPIs) for sustainability, which are used to measure the sustainability performance of their projects. These KPIs are included in the contracts with the consultants and contractors, as part of the contract obligation and linked to their payment. These 10 KPIs for example were used in the contract of the Siemens office building project. These project KPIs were somehow linked to the performance KPIs of the employees and business unit to support their achievement. Ismail: are these ten the same from one planet living? Martina: The Masdar KPIs were initially based on the one planet living principles, but have developed during the past few years. The current KPIs are similar, however the targets are probably better defined and more clear. Sometimes the target or threshold might have been adapted, according to the knowledge gained during the first projects. For example there is a new KPI now (the project has to achieve Estidama certification); at the start of the Masdar initiative Estidama did not even exist. So there was no KPI related to Estidama, but there were targets for energy, water, carbon and waste reduction of the project (a lot of it is somehow addressed in Estidama). Ismail: when you say a new KPI was set because Estidama initiative came, does it just say that you have to comply with Estidama or does it set a certain level of Estidama? Martina: It sets a certain level; the KPI requires a minimum of 3 Pearl Estidama, depending on the project. For example; the Masdar headquarter project targets 4 Pearls, the Siemens headquarter targets 3 Pearl Estidama. Plus every project has to achieve the 10 Masdar KPIs (Estidama is one of the ten KPIs). Ismail: you were actually involved in a project that needs to be certified, right? Martina: Yes, I was involved in several projects that aimed to be certified (LEED or Estidama). The Siemens headquarter project is going for both. Ismail: what was your involvement in those projects? What was your role in the project? Martina: I was doing a bit of everything: Initially I was working for a design consultancy, where we were designing to meet the LEED certification. I was also working as a sub-consultant for a contractor during the construction stage, and a project manager where I was supervising consultants and contractors to achieve the sustainability goals; on other projects I provided training for contractors and suppliers. I also worked on the clients side for Masdar city. So I have seen all sides basically. Ismail: what was the type of meetings you participated in? Martina: As a project manager I was chairing weekly meetings called environmental sustainability compliance meetings; where we were following up specifically on the sustainability goals. We discussed the status, issues, problems, risks...etc. and when I was working as a consultant I took part in those meetings. Ismail: so in those meetings, who was present? Martina: it depends on the stage of the project. At the design stage it includes the client, project management, and the design consultants.
During the construction stage the contractor is included in these meetings as well, the design consultant and the site supervision team (which was from the design consultants company, to ensure that the contractor during the construction stage is really executing the project according to the drawings and specifications). Ismail: you said the contractor was in the construction phase, so the contractor was not on board before that during the design phase? Martina: Traditionally the contractor comes on board when the design is finished, but this depends on the contract. The Masdar headquarters project for example is design and build; which means that you have the contractor on board much earlier. The other projects were traditional: you first finish the design, then you go out for tender, after award of the contract you have the contractor on board. To keep the continuity of the design team, you have the site supervision team which is add on to the designers, to ensure that the design information is transferred into construction stage and executed as planned. Ismail: do you think that the project achieved its predefined goals? Martina: It is well on track to achieve the goals; lots of them have already been met although the project has not finished yet. Some credit thresholds are very close to achieving them and some other credits which are related to the construction activities (I am talking here about the Siemens project) are about implementing certain procedures during the construction phase, which are closely monitored. Im undertaking officially recorded weekly inspections and monthly audits to monitor the implementation process of the construction environmental management plan, the waste management plan, the indoor air quality management plan. For example Im inspecting and checking that all the duct work is covered and wrapped up like it should be, no forbidden chemicals or materials used or stored on site, etc. The commissioning process has not started yet, this is still to come. Ismail: what things could go wrong? Martina: Many of the construction credits are related to materials. The design documents contain specifications of materials or products, which should be used for the construction of the building in order to comply with the sustainability requirements. It happens that unapproved materials arrive on site, despite an intensive review and approval procedure of the product information and brochures, before the actual purchase. Sometimes suppliers try to deliver materials with fake certifications, e.g. fake FSC certificates. In other instances the procurement team tries to purchase the business as usual product from their preferred supplier, due to reduced costs, commission, availability or reduced lead time. Normally you dont have only one contractor, but many subcontractors on the site, and this is when things are likely to go wrong. The construction process needs to be closely monitored and the installation procedures as well. Ismail: could it also happen that you have procured the correct materials but dont have the work force who knows how to deal with it? Has it happened before? Martina: Yes, it can also happen. It can happen that the workforce doesnt understand the required procedures. For example: According to the indoor air quality plan, all the ducts and AC equipment should

be covered and wrapped. It happens that the wrapped ducts are correctly delivered to the construction site. They are stored in a special store room which is fully sealed, closed and protected from dust. However some workers, who dont know about the requirements, see all these items delivered in boxes and start unwrapping them, so they can install them. Unfortunately they didnt know that the ducts have to remain wrapped and sealed until the project is finished. Thats why we provide daily inductions for all new workers about the sustainability & environmental requirements, as well as regular training for everyone on the construction site as a reminder. It is not easy to train workers, who often cant read and write and speak several different languages. I also undertake regular at least weekly inspections and monthly audits to monitor the progress; otherwise you wont achieve your targets. Ismail: certification systems, do you prefer one over another? And since you worked with the Masdars KPIs, if you had to choose between Estidama and LEED and just setting your own KPIs? Which one would you choose and why? Martina: For projects in the UAE I would prefer Estidama, however all systems have pros and cons. I would prefer it because its more suitable for the region. Certain credits in LEED might be easier to achieve, but others might be more difficult. Some LEED credits are not very clear how to achieve them, because they refer to legislations in the USA for example. LEED also has a very good online system. It is very easy to handle, accessible for everyone involved in the project, and this is one of the big advantages. While with Estidama you currently use excel spreadsheets. Hence you work remotely from someones computer, unless you use Masdars xD Sustainability Manager (xDSM). On the other hand Estidama is very customer-friendly, their team responds very quickly to queries. You have the opportunity to meet with them face to face. Ismail: is the Estidama process clear; is it easy to use Estidama? Martina: I think its not difficult. It is just different to typical construction and procurement processes, because you need to be more organized and manage it. You need have certain processes and procedures in place from the beginning of the project. There is lot of documentation required, which you normally wouldnt gather. The difficulty is to make everyone understand what is required. At the beginning it takes a lot of time to train everyone, to ensure you have the paperwork in place. There are also different disciplines and departments involved, who might not be site based. E.g. the procurement team in the head office Ismail: what are the fees associated with rating a project? Martina: The Estidama rating is free of charge, while LEED is charging for the certification depending on the project size; however there might be hidden costs. e.g. additional fees for design consultant or specialist consultants, such as a specialist PQP, an energy or day-lighting modeler. You might also need an additional person on the project management team which will be looking after sustainability, and you will definitely need an additional team for the contractor which is implementing the site requirements. This might be in form of a subcontractor or sub consultant team which is helping the main contractor. On the Siemens project we had about 4 to 5 additional people on the contractors team, which were purely looking after all the environmental, and sustainability requirements, and additional documentation. You might pay a little extra now for additional consultants, but you will save during the operation of the building due to less energy and water consumption. When assessing the total costs, ether might even be a saving, because you have smaller MEP equipment. We did some cost studies where we were looking at and uplift from LEED Gold to Platinum, or from Estidama 3 pearls to 4 pearls. I would find it very difficult to generalize how much more money it will cost to go for some additional credits? It always depends on the targeted credits, it can depend on the project design, its location and other external constraints. Ismail: what did you have to change in order to incorporate the mandatory or extra requirements of Estidama? Martina: If you compare it to business as usual in Abu Dhabi, it is quite a bit of change. If you compare to Masdar requirements (which we had to follow anyway), it is minimal. e.g. On other projects in the UAE so far a construction environmental management plan was not required. However Masdar has undertaken an intensive environmental impact assessment, and developed a construction environmental management plan (CEMP). This is in place and applied on all Masdar projects since 2009/2010. It would cost you money for an additional specialist consultant to develop these documents. You need someone to manage the implementation of the CEMP. E.g. I am doing monthly and quarterly audits, and weekly inspections.
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New procedures like waste segregation have to be implemented. So far the business as usual contractor threw everything into one waste skip. Now several skips (maybe of different sizes) are required to segregate the different waste streams. Suppliers are encouraged to take back their packaging and reuse or recycle them. At Masdar they already required waste segregation and even have their own segregation/recycling area on site. The procurement procedures have to be reviewed: depending on the specifications different materials might have to be purchased, which might lead to a change of the suppliers. The specifications for the faade and the windows, will ask for a better performance when it comes to air tightness and U-values, which you might not have had before on other projects. Insulation for example usually was not required on many projects outside of Masdar city, or without LEED requirements. You must buy timber which is certified, or certain paints and adhesives with lower VOC levels, which you might not purchase for other projects. The positive news is that all these products are available in the UAE; however they sometimes cost more than the business as usual, some might face a higher demand, or simply a longer lead time. Ismail: do you think certification systems should be mandatory or voluntary? Martina: If you make Estidama voluntary it will not work. Only a few companies would implement it here in the UAE. People dont see sustainability as a necessity yet and they dont see the benefits of a sustainable project. If they dont have a cost benefit, they wont go for it. You definitely need to introduce mandatory standards, and start with minimum level of sustainability requirements to change the market. This would also encourage some companies to aim for more credits than the minimum mandatory threshold. So, I believe Estidama is a good step towards sustainability in construction. However this depends on the country. In Germany, for example, there are very high performing buildings due to the building codes, and the high energy costs. The use of LEED would not improve the performance of the building, as the average building would achieve Gold to Platinum anyway. There LEED can be seen as a marketing tool. Thats why the German rating system DGNB was introduced, to change the market. Ismail: the integration of the certification system in a planning process, how is it done? And what is different? And what are the pros and cons? Martina: We knew the sustainability target from the project inception, and made sure that we meet the target. The design team designed accordingly, starting from the orientation of the masterplan, the orientation of the building, the faade elements including shading, the selection of the MEP equipment that meet the energy saving requirements, include water saving sanitary ware and tabs, and the specification of sustainable materials. If you are not implementing it right from the beginning, you might probably end up with an iconic building design, which looks good, but doesnt necessarily have the right orientation, appropriate window sizes, and shading elements. It is possible to address the requirements of the certification system at a later design stage. However the credit choice will be reduced and the project costs will increase, the duration of the design stage might increase due to the abortive design work. Additional items for sustainability might have to be added, rather than being integrated from the beginning. E.g. the building might fail to achieve the targeted energy performance, and PV cells or solar hot water might have to be installed on the roof to obtain some additional credits for renewable energy. Only a few items can easily be added at a later stage, e.g. by amending the material specification from timber to certified timber products. The cons are that some additional work was required during the design stage, such as the energy model, day lighting model, as well as more documentation during the construction stage and for the submission for the LEED and Estidama certification. The design stage might take a bit longer, so that many things can be resolved with more detail and upfront, and thus the problems during the construction stage can be reduced. Ismail: could you explain to me what future build is? Martina: The future built is a free online platform listing suppliers of green building products. At the start of the Masdar project, we understood that sustainable or green products are required to build a sustainable city. However there was not much information and no clear definitions available for sustainable products, which are supplied in the region. There was also a lot of green washing around the world. So we developed a questionnaire, which was used to captured and assess the sustainability features of materials. And then we went out and met a whole lot of suppliers. I had daily 2 to 3 supplier meetings: we interviewed them, sent out the questionnaire, assessed the materials, and reviewed the provided brochures and certificates. Then the products were evalu-
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Selected Interviews
are some differences, for example the embodied carbon reduction that is not included in Estidama. If you compare a building in Abu Dhabi that is certified with 1 Pearl Estidama, compared to a building in Masdar city, in Masdar you have to achieve 3 pearls plus the Sustainability KPIs. So the Masdar requirements are definitely higher, that the minimum Estidama requirements. Ismail: is Estidama pushing the market too far or not pushing it far enough? Martina: I think for the moment they are pushing enough, we need to start slow. If you take too big steps, people cannot keep up with it. I think it is fine to enforce the mandatory requirement of one pearl. There is always the option to raise the bar, and to make 2 Pearls mandatory in a few years. Compared with international standards in developed countries, UAE is probably behind, compared with undeveloped countries, UAE is probably ahead. I think the difficulty is to make everyone used to the Estidama process. The other challenge is to change the culture, how consultants and how contractors work. It is not the actual achievement of the benchmarks, this can be done. The targets are not such a big step I think, it is the documentation process and some procedures that come with it. Another problem is the lack of understanding of the new certification system; developers and investors make up excuses why they should not be doing it. Ismail: what is in your opinion the reason behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings? Martina: the costs, and the lack of education and awareness. Ismail: how do you define sustainability? Martina: I define it according to the Brundtland report: Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainability does not only include ecological aspects, but also social and economic aspects. The problem with ecological and social aspects is that it is very difficult to put a price to it, the economic value is very easy and clear to understand for everyone, so a lot people. Ismail: how do you measure sustainability? Martina: I dont think you can measure sustainability, if there is no clear framework or benchmark. Unfortunately there is no clear internationally recognized benchmark for sustainability. Even if such a benchmark was available it would mean different things, depending on the location. The question is, what do you want to measure? If you want to measure the performance of buildings, then you can use some of the rating systems. However the available systems address different design aspects, and thus are not comparable with each other. The actual performance also depends on the user habits, and not only on the building (design) itself. I know how to measure products, I do life cycle assessments. Even LCAs or EPDs only address certain aspects of the materials; they dont consider economic or social impacts. It is very difficult to link them. I dont think there is a uniform tool available anywhere where you can assess sustainability. Ismail: what are the advantages and disadvantages of certification systems? Martina: The advantages: They are useful to benchmark and measure buildings. They make buildings comparable against a set baseline, e.g. one against another Estidama certified building is better compared to the achieved credits. They can improve performance of buildings and thus the impact on the environment, and raise awareness for sustainability. The disadvantages: Buildings can achieve certification without significant reductions of their energy or water consumption. A building might perform less good, than you would have anticipated based on the design. Poor quality of construction, incorrect execution, or wrong user habits can increase the actual consumption. A ratings system can easily just become a marketing tool, without having any significant impact on the environment. The correct implementation and construction is not really controlled and checked by the certifying body. In Estidama its slightly different because they undertake construction stage audits on site, unlike LEED. The certification documentation is submitted mostly based on design document, and some for the construction stage. However it does not matter what happens with the building after its completion. The actual performance of the building is not monitored. Ismail: are certification systems credible? Martina: Id say regulations would probably achieve more than voluntary rating system. The rating systems certify the design, with support of some construc-
ated and a database of sustainable materials was established. This information was shared with the designers and contractors involved in the Masdar projects for guidance. So they knew when they design or construct a building, those are the materials that would help them achieve the targets. We decided that this information should be made available and easily accessible for the public. The Future Build web portal was created to provide free access to people who are interested in sustainable products. Ismail: how does the future build help reshape the built environment? Martina: I experienced a huge effect on the suppliers. Im just thinking of some of the first supplier meetings we conducted. We asked them: Why is your product sustainable? What makes it different? Why should we buy your product and not the product of your competitor? Hardly anyone could explain it to us. Many company representatives didnt know what sustainability is. We had to provide basic training to many of them and explain terms like: waste reduction, recycling, renewable material, VOC levels, recycled content of materials. Hardly anyone could tell what the recycled content of their product is. So there were very basic sustainability features of their products, which they didnt know about, but they were trying to sell them to us as sustainable. And so we educated them about the terms and requirements, the suppliers did their research and came back to us with responses. We really made them study their products, so that they were able to meet the requirements. Many suppliers, started to implement things like take-back of their packaging, reusing the pallets. Some even changed the ingredients of their products or manufacturing procedures. Timber suppliers for example started to take up FSC certification. I think the whole review process started to change a lot for the manufacturers and suppliers. I noticed a big change between the first people we met in ca 2008; compared to the people you meet now. Ismail: did it make an effect that its open to the public? Martina: I am sure it would have some kind of impact. Consultants that were involved in Masdar got a monthly update; they get a monthly emailed PDF file with all the materials that have qualified. External consultants did not have that, but they also did not need it because there was no Estidama and hardly anyone going for LEED. With the change now with Estidama happening it is an additional support which can be used, you do not have to use it. You can go to the suppliers yourself, but you are doubling and tripling your work, it can save you some time. You will still have to do your own research, because you might not find all products required for your individual building design, or you might want something in a different shape or color. It is a good support tool, and I find it very useful. When you look at other countries there are databases like this available, but the consultants have to subscribe to it and pay to actually see the information, for example Eco-Specifier in Australia. Those databases depend on product information available for specific regions. It doesnt help to have this amazing product, if it is only supplied in the USA. Ismail: which criteria seen in Masdars sustainable aspects could be seen in Estidama? Martina: Masdar has KPIs for water, energy, and waste reduction targets. These can all be directly linked to Estidama credits. E.g. the Estidama water calculator and the energy model can be used to demonstrate compliance with the Masdar KPI and the related Estidama credits. There is another KPI for carbon reduction; this is indirectly linked to some material credits and the renewable energy credit. Apart from the KPIs Masdar implemented a restricted materials list. This list restricts e.g. the use of materials with high VOC levels some more Estidama credits. Other Estidama credits relate to issues, which have been addressed at a Masterplan level and in the design guidelines. The CEMP has already been mentioned before. Ismail: Masdar sets one of the highest benchmarks available worldwide, how do you achieve them? Martina: A lot of research was required to establish goals and benchmarks to measure sustainability. It is impossible to say we have achieved X amount of reductions if you dont know the baseline. The good thing is that there are a couple of studies now and there is Estidama, so you know for some areas what the baseline is and how you can measure the reduction. It also involved education and awareness. Sustainability is also a cultural problem, e.g. it is about how the people are using the water. E.g. the price of water in Germany is so much higher compared to here, thats why people do not waste it. Water saving is not just achieved by having a sustainable designed city or building, it is the whole culture and user habits that need to change. Ismail: how would you rate Estidamas goals to what Masdar aims to achieve? Martina: The items which UPC is addressing in the Estidama rating system are similar to what Masdar addresses in its KPIs. However there

tion evidence. However no system is actually checking all design documents, their proper execution, or the operation of the building and potential modifications after its opening. What would be important is to monitor the outcome or actual performance & saving of the projects after their completion versus the building design, as they can differ quite significantly. A feedback loop for continuous improvement of building operations, as well as user training might be helpful to ensure actual savings during the operational phase. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Martina: you will need a clear vision and a good Masterplan. You must also use a holistic approach, at a community level and get all the disciplines involved at an early stage of design (infrastructure, architecture, landscape, etc.). We cannot achieve a sustainable community by adding of sustainable buildings next to each other, you also need to involve the people. Ismail: what do you think is needed to make a paradigm shift to convert the built environment into a sustainable one? Martina: it is education and awareness. Ismail: what are the interlocking connections that are needed between the industries, consultancies, regulations to be able to have sustainable buildings and communities through certification systems? Martina: I think good communication; clear communication of the targets and how you can achieve them is required. You can enhance this communication with training, and you can do it with meetings and involvement of specialist. Sometimes the link between design and execution is missing the design ideas are not buildable, specified materials are not available due to lack of research. A feedback loop from the construction team back to the design teams is missing. A
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communication platform where you can exchange ideas and share lessons learned could be helpful. Ismail: what do you think is still missing in certification systems? What do you expect to see in its future development? Martina: I think what is missing are the intangible things. They are difficult to measure or to assess. These aspects are not always considered by the engineers, who mostly use or develop the rating systems. Social aspects and needs, aesthetics, the look and feel, requirements for people with special needs (elderly, disabled,) Do you feel comfortable in a building, area or square? Does it meet the cultural and traditional needs? Does the project address the demographic development of the population? Does it integrate all society groups or can it lead to social conflicts, hot spots, crime? Also the economic aspects could be addressed better: Cost is an important factor in the construction industry, and client decision making during design. Unfortunately most of those decisions are based on construction costs and not on operational cost saving. Designs are mostly based on how to achieve the cheapest construction and not on achieving the cheapest next 25 years during operation. Costs for redundant work during design & construction, maintenance costs, environmental end-of-life cost aspects like demolition, recycling and disposal are missing. I see certification systems developing in a way that the credit requirements become more stringent, and the thresholds for points are raised higher. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
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Selected Interviews
Michel Abi Saab

Position: Energy Efficiency, Senior Engineer, Masdar City Country of Origin: Lebanon Biography: Michel holds an MSc from Lebanese University Faculty of Engineering, a CEM certificate from the Association of Energy Engineers and a LEED AP Certificate from the US Green Building Council. Michel is a Senior Energy Efficiency Engineer at Masdar and a core member of Masdar Sustainability Advisory Services team. Prior to joining Masdar Consulting, he has 7 years experience in building services engineering, sustainable design and all forms of energy conservation on building and city scale with Masdar City, WS Atkins and Erga Group, having worked on several types of engagements including Energy efficiency consultancy, Mechanical Design, LEED and Estidama counseling, Energy Modeling and Energy Auditing.
Ismail: what defines your design sustainability level for a certain project you work on? Michel: In Masdar City we have our set of sustainability KPIs which are set at Masdar city, and these KPIs are for energy reduction (50% below Abu Dhabi business as usual), water reduction (30% below BAU), reduction in embodied carbon (30%). Ismail: were you involved in any project that had to be certified? Michel: yes, I have been involved in several projects seeking sustainability certification. The first building was in Dubai, called the DIFC light house project. This building was a high rise office tower aiming for LEED platinum. I was involved in the buildings mechanical design and the energy modeling. This project was put on hold due to the financial crisis. Then in Masdar city I worked on the Siemens HQ building which is aiming for LEED platinum and Estidama 3 pearls rating. I was involved in the building energy performance, making sure it meets Masdars energy KPI. This building is currently at the last construction stage. The third building Im currently involved in is the Masdar HQ building which is aiming for Estidama 4 pearls. My role in this project is also to make sure that the buildings energy performance meets Masdars target. Im also currently working on an existing building, the UAE embassy in Washington DC, which is targeting LEED for existing building. Ismail: what was your involvement in each of these projects? Michel: on the first project, The lighthouse tower, I was doing the mechanical design from cooling load calculation to HVAC design up to enhancing the buildings energy performance.. In the Siemens HQ building and Masdar HQ building my role is to make sure that the building is complying with the Masdar KPI, and achieve the highest energy performance within the approved budget; As you might already know, we have developed the Masdar Energy Design Guidelines (MEDG) which serves as a mandatory framework for designing energy efficient buildings in Masdar City. So my role is to administrate and enforce MEDG to ensure that all buildings in Masdar city adhere to it . My role on the UAE embassy project is project management and providing technical advisory. Ismail: how would you rate Masdars KPIs to Estidamas or LEEDs? Michel: As mentioned earlier, Masdar KPIs are for energy, water and materials. These three elements cover a good number of credits within Estidama and LEED. So complying with Masdars KPI makes it easier for buildings to get a higher rating level in both Estidama and LEED. The biggest advantage in using MEDG for instance, is that it describes in details the most cost effective way to achieve high energy performance by prescribing specific requirements for Building envelope, HVAC systems, Electrical systems, Hot water systems and building control systems. Ismail: Back again to the projects you worked in, the Siemens building for example. What type of meetings did you participate in? What was their occurrence? Michel: I used to participate in weekly or biweekly meetings from the project kick off up to construction phase. I participated in every meeting that involves the energy performance of the building. Ismail: so who was participating in the meetings? Michel: That depends on the type and the need of the meetings. But usually Masdar design team along with the representatives from the
consultants, project managers, etc.; Ismail: were any contractors involved? Michel: Not in the design phase. The contractor was involved after the design was finished. Ismail: Do you think the Siemens and MIST projects achieved the predefined goals in sustainability, social and economic? Michel: Masdar Institute and Siemens HQ buildings have achieved high goals in sustainability. Achieving these goals is a big accomplishment for the country and the region especially that this industry is fairly new over here. Nevertheless, like in any other project, these are always lessons learned and things to be improved. This is why our achievements will hopefully grow with every new project. Ismail: when using a certification system in a project, do you prefer one over another? And why? Michel: LEED has gained a lot of success globally and is also being used in the gulf countries. The advantage for LEED over local certifications such as Estidama is that is that its internationally used. However Estidama is more suitable for this climate, because Estidama looks at the precise aspects of our climate and regional conditions; For example it gives more importance to water Than LEED does, because water is scarcer in this region. Ismail: is the Estidama process easy to adhere to or did you struggle with it? Michel: Estidama process is clear and not difficult to adhere to; this process is very much similar to the LEED process which makes it easier because most of the consultants we work with are already familiar with the LEED process. However we find it sometimes difficult to interpret some of the credits, but this is normal and it also happens with LEED and thats why we refer to CIRs (Credit Interpretations Rulings) and UPCs assistance. Anyhow Estidama will be upgraded constantly and we hope that these unclear issues will be revised in the newer visions. Ismail: what is the process you go through to learn about Estidama and about submission? How did you personally know about it? Michel: Personally I knew about Estidama before it was officially announced because its directly related to our core business in Masdar. All the information about Estidama is available on the website. Ismail: within these two projects, what are the fees associated with the rating, only the rating? Michel: The consultants fees will depend on the building and the rating level. A higher rating for example requires a smarter design, comprehensive energy modeling and higher involvement between different team members. All these factors will impact the fees. Ismail: what about fees associated to the construction phase? Michel: Also, the contractors fees will depend on the building and the rating level. As you know many Estidama and LEED credits are related to the contractor, and fall under his responsibility. For example FSC certified wood has a different price than business as usual wood. Ismail: what did you have to change in order to incorporate the mandatory certification system of Estidama? Michel: luckily, our Masdar KPIs made our process to comply with Estidama much easier, because applying these KPIs alone will give us approximately about 3 pearls rating. We already experienced this on

the Siemens HQ building where Masdar KPIs and Estidama process were well aligned. Masdar KPIs helped us to tackle most of the credits required by Estidama; the additional effort we had to go through was mostly on the documentation process. Ismail: so the minimum requirements of Estidama are standards for you? Michel: Yes Ismail: do you think that certification systems should be mandatory or voluntary? Michel: I think that setting a minimum level for buildings performance is important. This could be achieved by using building codes or a minimum level of compliance with a certification system. On the other hand I also support mandating higher performance levels for specific buildings such as government buildings because leading by example is very important especially in the beginning of the Certification systems process. For example, Abu Dhabi government mandated all new government building to achieve a minimum of Estidama 2 pearls. I think this will help establishing good examples for other developers to follow. A similar strategy is also happening in government buildings in USA. Ismail: the integration of the certification system within the planning process of the project, how is it done? What are the differences? Michel: The integration of the certification system in the design process is key for a successful project. a good design is when you start working on the KPIs and the certification process from early concept stage, and the Siemens HQ building is a good example for a successful integrated design; We knew from day one That Siemens wanted an internationally recognized certification, so we started looking at LEED and then we realized that Masdar KPIs can help us achieving LEED platinum. Beside LEED the project has to be Compliant with ESTIDAMA so we designed the building from the beginning in order to achieve a minimum of 3 pearls and LEED platinum. Ismail: which criteria seen in Masdar KPIs can be seen in Estidama? Michel: all Masdar KPIs Can be seen in Estidama. But achieving Masdar KPIs will be reflected in a high level of points on the Estidama score sheet. Ismail: Masdar sets one of the highest benchmarks available worldwide, how do you achieve them? Michel: We achieved these targets by our close involvement in the design and construction process from setting our projects brief to setting determined KPIs, calculating the budget, assembling the right team and Setting up an integrated design process environment. Ismail: you treat the water here, right? Michel: We treat the sewerage water, but we buy our potable water from the public network. However we minimize our reliance on potable water. Ismail: how would you rate Estidamas current role to what Masdar aims to achieve? Michel: Masdar City is a great place to show that pearl rated buildings can be achieved cost effectively. Both Masdar and Estidama have a similar goal and that is promoting and implementing sustainability in Abu Dhabi. Ismail: how would you rate Estidamas goals to ultimate sustainability? Michel: Estidama is raising the bar high, for example a 5 pearls rated building will be more difficult to achieve than LEED platinum rating over here. Ultimate sustainability isnt much accurate, and Estidama is a great tool to minimize buildings and communitys carbon footprint which is very important for a sustainable world. Ismail: do you think Estidama is pushing the market too far or not pushing it far enough? Michel: I think that Estidama is pushing the market in the right way. For example Estidama minimum requirements could be achieved by following good design and construction practices which doesnt necessarily impact the market much, and could be achieved with no additional cost. Anyway, any new process needs a certain time to become business as usual and Estidama is reaching that level smoothly. Ismail: what in your opinion is the reason behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings worldwide? Michel: The financial crisis had a big impact in slowing the sustainable buildings market because fuel prices went down tremendously. Low electricity and fuel prices, energy Subsidies, lack of economic and financial instruments and Lack of knowledge are all important challenges confronting sustainable buildings worldwide. But currently we are seeing that more governments around the world are prioritizing energy conservation laws and regulations and the public and private sectors are more and more seeing the benefits of sustainable buildings in improving health, reducing operation costs and increasing building values.
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Ismail: how do you define sustainability? Michel: Sustainability is the capacity to endure; its much more than energy and water efficiency, or high recycled content, etc. Sustainability has a much wider definition and applications. Sustainability can be financial, political, applicable on a micro scale, country scale or worldwide scale. This is why I personally prefer to call our buildings high performance buildings rather than sustainable buildings but the reason I still use the term sustainable buildings is because its more acceptable by the industry. Ismail: how could you evaluate and measure the contribution of certification systems to the built environment? Michel: Certification will indeed improve the industrys skills. Since Estidama started for example, there are more designers, contractors and more building owners knowing and practicing sustainability. Measuring the contribution of these certifications is not an easy task and requires a good number of years and studies. Ismail: what are the advantages and disadvantages of the certification systems? Michel: Certification systems should improve the performance of buildings and create healthier environment. Certification systems could also increase the value of buildings (higher rents, sales), etc Disadvantages: Increase in the price of design and construction services due to these systems especially in the beginning of their implementation. False accreditation, when certified buildings underperform due to improper maintenance for example. Some of these buildings could actually perform worse than uncertified buildings. Ismail: how could you see Masdar contributing to the shaping of the certification systems in the next few years? Michel: Masdar city includes a good mix of high performance buildings. The Siemens HQ building for example is aiming for a double certification as mentioned earlier. All these buildings are providing a great amount of information and lessons learned and will create a valuable data base for these certification systems to improve and adjust. Ismail: in your opinion what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Michel Sustainable development needs to look beyond the minimum environmental requirements and exceed them, by expanding the scope of the brief to incorporate them and determining a set of goals and KPIs specific for the purpose. The technical team working on the project should extend beyond traditional architecture and engineering to include specialists in energy management, water management, waste management and supply chain. Setting up an integrated design process environment is important throughout all project stages. Ismail: in your opinion, what is needed to make a paradigm shift to convert a built environment to a sustainable one? Michel: There are a number of enablers needed for this shift such as demonstrating success and leading by example and this is where the role of Masdar city comes; By creating awareness for encouraging behavior change; By providing incentives and financing schemes; By removing energy subsidies from electricity and fossil fuel and by introducing building certifications and codes. Ismail: what are the interlocking connections needed between the industries, consultancies and regulations for a certification system to work and develop well in the market? Michel: Training, experience, knowledge and feedback are essential for the certification system to succeed. The consultants and contractors need training by the regulations while the regulations need feedback from the industries, consultants and contractors to improve and adjust the certification system. Ismail: whats the added value of a certification system? Michel: As mentioned earlier, improving the buildings performance and health benefits, increase the buildings value, increase awareness and provides and international recognition. Ismail: do you think certifications are credible? Michel: It depends on the certification. A new building certification based on pure design figures for example could provide wrong information when measurement and verification arent part of the process. Ismail: what is still missing in the certification system? And what do you expect in the future development of it? Michel: What is missing is the validation of the design numbers. Continuous measurement and verification is important to make sure the sustainability goals are being achieved. Ismail: anything you wish to add? Michel: Estidama and other valuable initiatives are happening in Abu Dhabi and I trust that these will have a positive impact on the industry on the short or longer term. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
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Selected Interviews
Rasha Abdul-Khalek
Position:Architect (LEED AP BD+C), Atkins Country of Origin: Lebanon Biography: Rasha received a Bachelor of Architecture with honors from the American University of Sharjah (AUS) in June 2006. She has 7 years of experience in the architecture field in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Throughout her 5 years of study in AUS and her professional experience in UAE, Rasha gained a substantial amount of knowledge in architecture and its various processes and stages. She worked in different architecture firms including Burt, Hill (Stantec) and WS Atkins. Rasha is involved in all project stages from conceptual design to construction detailing. She has also worked on several project types including hospitality, healthcare, commercial, mixed-use, and residential developments. Rashas interest in sustainability is evident in her academic as well as professional work. She was part of a green team in Burt, Hill (Stantec) and is involved in LEED and Estidama. She acquired her LEED AP title in 2009 and recently received the specialty BD+C.
Ismail: what type of projects did you recently work on? Rasha: It was a project for National Investment Corporation (NIC) which is a developer, it was called Abu Dhabi Marina Development, next to the Marina Mall and it is going to be certified by Estidama. Ismail: so what defines your design sustainability level? Rasha: as an individual, I think sustainability and architecture are closely related. I cant design without having the sustainable ideas and strategies in mind, but the problem is when you are working for a company and you have a time limit and a scope of work or the client who needs specific requirements in a specific amount of time, you cant. Unfortunately what defines our design sustainability level is the client. Ismail: were you involved in any projects that had to be certified and what type of certification? Rasha: yes, Estidama. I was helping in the design development and also documenting the process for Estidama submission. Ismail: what type of meetings did you participate in? Who was involved? What was their occurrence? Rasha: it was mostly meetings about coordination with different disciplines; architecture, structure and MEP all these were in-house meetings, they took place once or twice a month. Ismail: when using a certification system in a project, do you prefer one over the other? Why? Rasha: For me, you have to certify it where you build it or maybe in terms of also if you want to do global marketing for the client, they might choose to go for LEED. But if you want to just go to certification where you build it you have to go with the authorities or actual city or country. In terms of what each certification asks for, I feel they are all very similar so doesnt define really what defines is the location. Ismail: do you have PQP certified in Atkins? Rasha: yes we do, they are promoting this actually here. Ismail: what are the fees associated with rating a project? Rasha: it shouldnt cost much more because if you do it right through an integrated process then it shouldnt cost more, but it is costing more now because we are doing it at the very end and trying to change what we have already done which you could have done very easily from the beginning. Actually it is very complicated; you cant quantify it because in the design process it shouldnt cost more because this is the way architects should actually design, but even with construction maybe it could cost less if you go through these credits of recycling waste and all of these things. Ismail: the integration of a certification system in the planning process, how is it done? What are the differences? What are the pros and cons? Rasha: it should be integrated in the whole process from day one; the integration must happen between all disciplines starting from design of architects to design of MEP equipment and how they relate to the architecture, design of the structural system all of these should be integrated and they should be meeting together and putting sustainability in their minds and the criteria and everything else from day one, it cannot happen at the end. I feel there is no negative side to this because it is required even without sustainability and from our experience as architects we know how many problems occur at the end if we dont integrate all disciplines from the beginning, even if we dont think of sustainability we have to do this, imagine if we are also adding the sustainability part, it will be a big advantage for the project. Ismail: how did you learn about Estidama? What is the process you go through to learn and submit Estidama documents? Rasha: from my previous office; they started going back and forth with those meetings in Estidama to know what is going on and to see how we can apply it. I learned it as a material when I started working on the project, so I learned it on my own I went through the whole book learning about the credits. It was through their publications. Ismail: what did you have to change in order to incorporate Estidama into the project? Rasha: we had to change a few things, for example; I did a lot of work on landscaping which were really simple things that could have been done from the beginning. For example, they have this credit about creating public spaces between mens only and then ladies only so we had to just shift around some elements, some trees in the landscaping to cater for that. So it was very easy to be done from the beginning and other things which were harder as void to solid ratio and these things. Ismail: is the Estidama process easy and clear for you? Rasha: yes it was easy, even the documentation part wasnt that difficult. Ismail: do you struggle with any Estidama related work? Rasha: no, actually if there is something that is not clear there is always a question and answer, you can ask anything and they will answer you. Ismail: do you think the certification system should be mandatory or voluntary? Rasha: it should be mandatory and it could be a mix like with Estidama; 1 pearl is mandatory now and if you want to go for higher you can. If you want to promote better living for people, better future for your community, for your city, for your country you have to make it mandatory. Ismail: what would you do differently in order to achieve a better sustainable design? Rasha: generally, we can recycle more but as an architect you can start the design with doing energy modeling or wind simulation or all of these things, you can start doing all these studies from day one instead of doing them later, like how to position your building on site. In terms of a community, of course in terms of urban planning you should provide the right services all around, you should provide the right mix of services which I think is what they are doing now here in Abu Dhabi with the UPC. Ismail: how would you rate Estidamas currents goals to other certification systems? Rasha: the good thing about Estidama is at least 1 pearl is mandatory now and the goals concerning Abu Dhabi plan 2030 they are going towards that, but of course it needs a lot of work and they are just starting. With LEED I feel that it is a marketing system it has not become about sustainability anymore, it is just a name to put on the project. Ismail: how would you rate Estidamas goals to ultimate sustainable

goal? Rasha: maybe it is but again its complicated because some projects could achieve it at the end if they try to go through all the credits, the minimum credits you need to achieve 1 pearl for example, it still doesnt mean it is sustainable because you didnt start from the beginning you just added more effort and more cost and more labor to achieve it, still it is not sustainable for me. Ismail: do you think Estidama is pushing the market too far or not pushing it far enough? Rasha: it is not pushing far enough; I think we can achieve more. As I said it still has a long way to achieve real authentic sustainability. For example, the first step was establishing Estidama and making the 1 pearl mandatory this is a good first step, but then we should start to create awareness for the clients first because the architects know what is going on, we know how it is done and we know it should be done, but the clients need to know and they need to start providing incentives like; the building systems should be integrated with the municipal electricity and water systems that are already there, we dont have that here yet, in the states they have it, if you get these very expensive photovoltaic system you can make back the money by selling back the electricity to the city grid for example. Maybe if they start doing that it will start working. Ismail: what is in your opinion the reason behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings? Rasha: the client and the money. The money issue is not related to the client but also to the architectural consultants; even they sometimes do not care about sustainability. We as individuals we care, if I want to design a building it has to be sustainable but for the architectural consultant if the client didnt ask for it why should we do it, why should we even go through it. So it is the client, the money, the search for more profit from both client and architectural consultant. Ismail: what are the advantages and disadvantages of certification systems? Rasha: advantages; going to more sustainable buildings, unfortunately with the clients needs and greed for money it is not happening any more, the project has to happen really fast and with the least upfront budget possible. As I mentioned earlier, sustainable buildings dont have to cost more. But, it is costing more now because we are trying to go for certification after the whole project is designed. In addition, there might be a higher upfront cost for sustainable projects, but that cost is eliminated by savings in the long run. Clients want lower upfront costs and so that could be a disadvantage for them. But with certification systems it could change because in itself it is an incentive for the client to go for sustainable buildings. The disadvantages maybe that it takes more time for documentation, as documentation is a lot of work because they have their own system and you have to follow it. Ismail: how could you evaluate and measure the contribution of certification systems to the built environment? Rasha: it has a good contribution, it giving people incentives to actually act and do it. You have to monitor the building after it is constructed; keep monitoring what is going on. I think in LEED there is a point which is about getting statistics from people who are living in the building after 1 to 2 years, do they think that its better than any other building they lived in. These are in terms of quality, but in terms of quantity if you have a photovoltaic system then you can of course monitor because you can see how it did cut down the energy. Ismail: how do you define sustainability? Rasha: The basic definition of sustainability is protecting our finite re-
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sources now so our future generations can benefit from them. Quantity of energy and water saved is important, but for me sustainability is more about the quality of living, it is about the people. Authentic sustainable buildings and cities provide better living conditions and quality for people and well-being for our environment. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Rasha: it takes a lot of time and effort, a lot of people to be involved and a lot of organizations. It is not only one person or one company that will do it; it takes the government as a first priority because without certification systems or incentives from the government the other organizations like consultants and contractors will not do it. It takes a lot of parties and coordination between them all. Ismail: in your opinion what is needed to make a paradigm shift to convert the built environment into a sustainable one? Rasha: you should target not only the building sector but all other sectors as well, even the individual person living in his house has to be sustainable, even the way you consume as an individual because in our daily life we throw a lot of things, we just buy and throw. So all of these things need to be cut off and it has to be done on the scale of the whole community. It can come from the top; the government could even start working towards that each individual is sustainable and not only the buildings. Ismail: does the engineering, architecture and all project related education need to change to prepare students on how to deal with newly founded sustainability requirements? Rasha: in my case I learned about all of these things, in terms of AUS it doesnt need to. If you are talking about a change in the program itself, then maybe yes. For example; we used to have a course, a small 1 credit course, to teach AutoCAD because you will need it back at work, now they are adding Revit. The same thing with sustainability, maybe they should add such a thing like in the program itself, but in terms of sustainability we are learning it from our studios, from our professors so we are always learning it. My final thesis in university was on lightness and fold ability in architecture meaning how you create light buildings and one of my other projects was about housing for the elderly and I did waste treatment using composting toilets and I also did reed beds for all the grey water, imagine I was still in my 4th year not yet graduated. The professors give you the green light and all these ideas to learn about sustainability and then you go do your own research. Ismail: what is still missing in the certification systems? What do you expect in the future development of certification systems? Rasha: adding the incentives and integrating the different credits with the incentives and with energy systems of the community or the transportation systems, it should all be integrated. Basically it needs more integration and incentives. Ismail: what is the true and added value of certification systems? Rasha: although it is still not mandatory in some areas, the mandatory certification which is achieved is only 1 pearl which may be easy to achieve, but still it opens the clients mind, it does release some awareness towards it. It still needs a lot of work, maybe the mandatory should be 2 pearls or maybe the 1 pearl should be more challenging in order to make buildings better and more sustainable. The added value is also better living for the people inside and outside the building as when you leave the building what services are there around you, the way you get to your house, how much time it takes you to get to your house, all of these things are related. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
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Selected Interviews
Reham Hussein & Lamees Himmo

Riham Hussein Position: Senior Architect, Stantec Country of Origin: Egypt Biography: Reham Attended Ain shams University, Faculty of Engineering-Architecture Department and graduated in 2003. She started her career in Dubai in 2006, and since she has been working in Burthill+Stantec international.
Lamees Himmo Position: Architect, Stantec Country of Origin: Palestine/Iraq Biography: Lamees Himmo, architect with 8 years of experience in providing clients with professional services in architectural design, site analysis, and master planning. She undertakes projects with a variety of sizes, and characters. She has a proven track record of designing projects within the time constraints and budgets of all ranges. With her dedication to client needs and meticulous attention to detail, she creates individuality in each design and project reflecting the clients goals.
Ismail: what defines your design sustainability level? Lamees: the sustainability level in any project depends on the client and his requirements; some clients come wanting an Estidama 3 pearl project, for example. We try to be sustainable in terms of the building orientation, the openings, the materials usedetc. this on a design level, but trying to be LEED certified or Estidama, this is more of a requirement from the client usually. We do the best we can without harming the clients feasibility. Reham: we are trying to make the design serve the LEED process, but in the feasibility side we are just trying to achieve the clients requirements. We do whatever we can do in the design concept. Lamees: and it makes more sense to make building orientation here North South, less East West. Like if you are not going to put all the shading devices to protect your building then make most of the opened windows facing north. This is not because I am trying to be LEED certified this just me trying to elevate the buildings performance. Ismail: were you involved in any project that had to be certified? Lamees: yes, but not directly. The projects I worked on had to be LEED or Estidama certified, but I didnt do it myself I was not working in this field. Ismail: so what was your involvement in the project? Lamees: the project pre design, concept design, schematic design mostly the design aspects of it. Reham: for me mainly faade engineering, technical drawings and details. Ismail: what type of meetings did you participate in? Who was involved? Reham: I was involved in meetings after the pre concept stage, because I was involved in the schematic design putting shades and trying to take it to the next level. Lamees: in the office we have this integration, where all disciplines are involved to make decisions from the beginning and not just like the architects do the design; pre concept and concept and then the engineers just take it from there. They try to involve all the disciplines. The meetings would have; structure, MEP, landscape, infrastructure. So they were trying to do that not in pre concept design, because that is usual a 3 day charrette when we have to send something to the client. I say more of the concept and schematic stage. And I think the meetings were once a week. Reham: you have the consultant or sub consultant as well as suppli-
ers. It depends on your scope of work; if you are a leader you will be attending the management team meetings. If you are an architect, then your scope of work is doing design only you will be attending the workshops with all the people in charge from each discipline. So if it is a managerial side or working side. Ismail: when using certification systems do you prefer one over another? Lamees: to me they are all the same, because they are all given and they are all sustainability related whether LEED, Estidama or QSAS or any other type. If I was more involved, I would appreciate using whatever type it is, that is more done for that region. For me I do not understand LEED and they applied it a lot in North America and then when we apply it here and its not applicable, so maybe Estidama should be more used. Ismail: were you involved in Estidama process? is the Estidama process easy and clear? Lamees: no, not at all. Every person is given the list of tasks that, so the PQP (Jason) was always involved in the sustainability part of the project, so its either him alone or with support. Reham: I cannot understand it, unless someone explained it to me. Other than that I am not involved with this Estidama work at all. Jason mentions the requirements and that we need to take care of this and that and we try hard to achieve it, but its not like I went through it and discovered it myself. Lamees: in the beginning he mentions how we can get points in Estidama and he even said that beyond the building orientation, insulation used, building faade section and all these things. He says that a lot of points come from MEP. Even if I was involved, I would not be involved as the other disciplines. Since that some of the projects are in rural areas the disadvantage would be as it is in a rural remote area so all the transportation system credits you can get; if youre next a bus or train station, you lose these points. Ismail: what is the process you go through to learn and submit Estidama documents? Lamees: there is the PQP who gives us at the beginning of each project the needed requirements and this is what we know and as far as it concerns our work and thats it. Ismail: what did you have to change to incorporate those mandatory requirements the PQP explained to you? Reham: materials; if we have a specification or regional suggested

suppliers, we have to consider it. Its mainly the materials we are using and the suppliers. Lamees: like in Sabaq, what is happening that they thought they can certify the whole project and then they found out they can only do it for neighborhoods and they are now checking it. We can start a project thinking we will be certified, but then we have so many of requirements not checked then we have to reconsider. Ismail: do you think the certification system should be mandatory or voluntary? Reham: I think it should be voluntary. I honestly feel its turning into a business issue especially in this region, its fake. Most of the credits can be achieved by design only, it should be left for the persons conscience if the MEP engineer can do something better that will save energy, then he should do it whether there is a certification system or not. If I have an option to make the buildings performance better, why do I have to put it under LEED, Estidama or anything why dont we just do it? If we want to do it as a branding thing, that the client wants his building to be certified, then let it be voluntary, but not force all people to pay extra to get branding. On the other hand he can go to a respectful firm and get a good design without paying more. Leave it an option for the client; the one who cares about sustainability, and the one who is after the branding. Lamees: I totally agree. Clients come knowing nothing about sustainability, except that they want their building to be one. For example; you have your project in the desert, transporting so many things to the site, you could have been in the city but if he wants to pay less for the land and still you are transporting all these materials, that is so unsustainable and yet you want to be LEED certified. I imagine it really works better in Europe or the US much better than it works here, because their weather conditions and population density and such, helps them more to be sustainable. I agree that there should be a minimum, if Estidama is doing so, then I am fine with it. Ismail: the integration of the certification system in the planning process for a project, how is it done? What are the differences? What are the pros and cons? Reham: we put into our consideration that this is an Estidama project and all the requirements have to fit with the list we got from the PQP at the beginning of the process. Of course it has to be integrated from the beginning otherwise we will lose money and resources. At least now we have a PQP responsible for that, before we didnt have one. Ismail: what would you do differently in order to achieve a better sustainable design? Lamees: we take some decisions at the beginning to serve the project like climatic or accessibility. Ismail: what difficulties do you face when dealing with Estidama, UPC and ADM? Reham: I felt that UPC are really knowledgeable, they know what they are doing, not from the beginning because at first it felt like they were just setting rules, but now their personnel are even more experienced in planning and sustainable projects, UPC was always clear. Ismail: how would you set a benchmark and what defines it? How do you revise a benchmark? Lamees: I think we should take it step by step towards gradually reducing the consumption of energy and water, you go gradually down. And we should have workshops and seminars to raise awareness. Reham: you also need to provide alternative solutions. Like we can apply grouping, because if you use something individually it is much more consumption than a group using it, for example; public transportation, if you provide good public transportation and promote the idea of it, for sure you will save a lot. Lamees: in Iraq to reduce pollution they set a law that ever Sunday even numbered cars are used and Mondays for example is for odd numbered cars. What happened is that people started getting two cars; one odd numbered and one even, so they can use it each day of the week. This was supposed to raise awareness, but people did something totally the opposite, they did what they want. If you make your building insulated and you do not need to have this huge glass cube, you can still have enough light in your space without having the whole villa consisting of glass and you will save electricity because of the insulation and your faade system is more studied, you are going to pay less electricity. The problem here is that you do not pay for the real price of electricity. Reham: it is all related, if you have a nice efficient building, you will save on the electricity and water bills. If you also design compounds that are human scaled, then you will reduce car usage, if it is shaded you will even reduce more. You have to provide the efficient way to live instead of putting regulations to eliminate their usage. Lamees: for example if the villa is not covered all in grass and green then he thinks his landscape is ugly, why? You can use indigenous plants and still make your landscape look good and still use elements from your region and will still look good. Its a mentality; if its not so green, it is not a nice garden.
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Reham: because it also counts on publicity, most people listen to media; this is a way to reach them, in an interesting way you can attract people to that. They need a marketing team responsible for reaching out to people. Ismail: did you ever hear about sustainability marketing campaign of Estidama? Reham: No Ismail: do you think Estidama is pushing the market too far or not pushing it far enough? Reham: I think they are not pushing enough; it is not reaching anyone so it is not pushing. Lamees: I think it is good that we have a minimum; 10 year ago people did not have insulation. So this is a good step, its better than nothing. Ismail: what is in your opinion the reason behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings and communities? Lamees: resources are still cheap and awareness is still very low. Compared to Europe where they are very aware of it, we are so unaware of it. With all the different climatic issues, they do not know yet the consequences of what they are doing. I know we are living in luxury now and I do not know if our children or grandchildren will have the same. Ismail: what are the advantages and disadvantages of certification systems? Lamees: I would say you have a grading system and it lets you know how sustainable your project is. It gives you the factors of how to make it sustainable and then measures how you applied these factors. You can rate your project. The only disadvantage is that nowadays it is a trend like in fashion. Reham: some people just use it to show off, that we have PVC for example and it needs to be feasible. If we were using the certification system to enhance our regulations, people are going for higher standards and I am also using it to enhance more regulations. But if you take the process as just a fill in the paper, routine process, then it becomes a disadvantage and needs to be enhanced. Ismail: how do you define sustainability? Lamees: environment sensitive or ecological sensitive, and you measure it by applying the CS. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Reham: educated designers, architects, clients and people. Ismail: in your opinion what is needed to make a paradigm shift to convert the built environment into a sustainable one? Lamees: more awareness, more campaigns, taking it gradually towards being mandatory. I would say also spend more resources on research, once I was reading about that they can use ethanol I guess from corn, so a paradigm shift requires discovering an alternative resource, that is not expensive to use. Ismail: what are the interlocking connections and other industries, consultancies and regulations needed for a certification system to work and develop well in the market? Lamees: industry wise, we are still not that advanced especially in this region, almost everything is imported. For example all buildings in Amman in Jordan, are made out of stone blocks because it is available and they have so much of it and its cheaper than getting anything else. Each country uses the available resources, in that sense we do not have that luxury of materials here. Ismail: Do the engineering, architecture and all project related education need to change in order to prepare students on how to deal with the newly founded sustainability requirements? Reham: I think we should start from schools to raise awareness, to have a new generation that cares about sustainability and about the environment. Then if they decide to stop at high school or continue through university at least they have the basic awareness. This generation will not change it, maybe the next. Ismail: what is the true added value of certification systems? Lamees: at the end of the day for the diminishing resources we will be facing in 30 to 40 years, certification systems and being more sensitive to the resources and the way we do things, will eventually prepare us more for the future. Ismail: what do you think is still missing in the certification systems? Reham: for me it is still not user friendly. It does not interest me to see if it is certified or not or what do they ask for. I am not enthusiastic about the whole certification issue, maybe its our problem but I am almost sure the problem is with them, because we do not get it. Lamees: it does not attract my attention to have my building or project for example to be certified. I am doing what I can do to make it sustainable; orientation and designetc. but I do not need a certification. Reham: we want to do the right thing, whether it is certified or not. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
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Selected Interviews
Waleed Hashem
Position: Project Manager-LEED AP, PQP, Obermeyer Country of Origin: Palestine Biography: Waleed holds a Bachelor degree in Architecture and a minor in Urban Design from the American University in Sharjah. He is a LEED AP and a PQP as well. He has 6 years of experience in Architecture, sustainable design and project management. Currently he works at Obermeyer middle east as a Project Manager.
Ismail: what defines your design sustainability level? Waleed: first of all we respond to the requirements of the client, so it is the client number one and its the budget that we have and its the type of project; its typology, what is it being used for because that determines the flexibility you can play around with the design of that building. So these three main factors I would say. Ismail: were you involved in any project that had to be certified? Waleed: yes, its the Tatweer Towers that was supposedly a LEED certified project, and I was also involved in Arzana Medical Center with HDPE that as well is a LEED certified hospital. And we were about to do one of the projects here which is special security hospital, but we got an exemption because it is a hospital for prisoners, this goes back to the first point that it depends what is the project used for, and we could not do it because of special security for example. I am LEED certified and Estidama certified but I havent been yet involved with an Estidama project. Ismail: what was your role in these projects? Waleed: defining potential credits and preparing the reports that prove that these things exist in the design, regardless of what discipline it is. Ismail: what type of meetings did you participate in? What was their occurrence? And what disciplines were involved in the meetings? Waleed: mainly they were meetings to define the credits, to coordinate them and to follow up on them. I would say they were bi-weekly meetings. The disciplines involved were; MEP, architecture and landscape. At the beginning the meetings were to define the credits and then afterwards you move to another level which is coordination because you already have, more or less, the defined credits, so we start with one thing and then gets to the next level of coordination. The project was the first in the office to be LEED certified and people were still being introduced to the system; how to do it, how to integrate it within the design, so it was a challenge at the beginning. It started off like that and then you see more integration as time goes by. Ismail: when using a certification system in a project, do you prefer one over another and why? Waleed: I do not prefer a certification system, I prefer to adhere by a collaboration of more than one certification which ever goes by to be more stringent, because within one system you can find very lenient credits and you find very difficult ones. The lenient ones can mean nothing in terms of sustainability sometimes, they dont even relate to it, while others are better. So I would see it more as a collaborated affect of different systems trying to bring it together to one project. As for local certification systems, if the local requirements are developed up to the required extent which is as well still in process. Ismail: in this office are you the only one certified? Waleed: for Estidama, yes. Ismail: is the Estidama process easy and clear? Do you struggle to do any Estidama related work? Waleed: no, not at the moment, but I do have enough knowledge to tell you that it is not complicated; it is just the system itself and the credits that have to be developed. Ismail: what is the process you go through to learn and submit Esti-
dama documents? Waleed: I first heard about it through media; internet. I went to a course for a couple of days then studied and submitted for the exam, very simple straight forward. Ismail: what are the fees associated with rating a project? Waleed: I dont believe there should be any additional fee for the internal design process, because if you have a strong team they can integrate it right from the beginning. For construction it is difficult to say, it depends on number of credits and all that, but probably I would say a minimum 15% to 20% more and this is a very rough figure, not even the best green building specialist can give you an absolute answer. Ismail: what did you have to change to incorporate the mandatory requirements for submitting a project? Waleed: there are certain things that clients are used to doing in a certain way just because it is common practice and when it comes to green measures you have to change them. It could be for an example, using certain types of MEP, certain type of waste water management system you can prefer one over the other, but if they are the common practice it doesnt mean that it is the most green, you can easily replace it with something else. Ismail: do you think the certification system should be mandatory or voluntary? Waleed: mandatory all through, everyone has to go through the minimum required. The reason for that is so simple; to just try and live more sustainably and maintain the resources for generations. It is to achieve minimum level of sustainability rather than it being absent in a building. It should be within the rules and regulations, formally in the country, modified to the local conditions, developed to suit different clients, to suit the environment where the projects are being built and to just develop accordingly, but it has to be mandatory. Ismail: the integration of certification system in the planning process, how is it done? What are the difference between integrating it from the beginning or doing business as usual? And what are its pros and cons? Waleed: it is normally more work in terms of the paper work and the whole thing, registration process and the follow up with additional ministry, but again I think it should not be a problem if it is setup right from the beginning. If you incorporate the knowledge and the system as part of your team that are designing and producing, they are aware then of what they have to do right in the beginning in terms of implementing systems, in terms of designing, in terms of preparing the necessary reports for the municipality, so it becomes just one more approval you need to take in addition to all the other approvals. The only way it is going to be inefficient is if nobody is aware of anything and things have to constantly change and nobody is forced to do it, once people are forced to do it they know that they had better set it right otherwise it is going to cost them more. Ismail: what is the role of the PQP? Waleed: he has to overlook the entire process from the beginning to the end; from the design point of view of various disciplines as well and he is the one who follows up with all the municipalities and authorities to make sure that things are going on track and not only during design, his role has to continue through construction to make sure that whatever has been designed is actually being built. Lets say that

generally it has to be done that way, unless its overdone sometimes that it starts conflicting with the function or intention of the project, only if it does that then it gets in a grey area where things would have to be sorted out. Ismail: what would you do differently in any project in order to achieve a better sustainable design? Waleed: depends on the project; I am sure I am going to change something in the design, the systems implemented, the landscaping designed, in the infrastructure and in the sustainable infrastructure. For the process, I would make sure that everybody is aware of the green system that is being used for this project. Once you cultivate that in the team you are going to get automatically better results, but do not leave it to only leaders or those key people to say what has and has not. Basically it is education and awareness up to the required level; they know why things are done this way not that because if they know it they can do it in a different way up to a further limit than you even asked them to. Knowledge is always a chain if you spread it keeps going, but if you choose to stop it or limit it then dont expect good results. That is the difference between a team where you have all the production people knowing design versus technicians that are not aware why things are being designed that way, and you can see the difference in the deliverables between this team and that team. It is exactly the same when you add the green standard to the entire project because this can reflect on all the aspects of the project; everything can be done in a green way or in a non-environmental friendly manner and everything counts whether it is for a certification system or sustainability in general. Ismail: what are the difficulties you face when dealing with Estidama, UPC or the municipality? Waleed: the time process and the non clarity of the deliverables they require versus what they do not. For one project they can go for certain requirements, but for the second project they increase them for no clear reason, they are inconsistent. I think the system needs to stronger; defines what is required and what is not and the time it takes to issue the approval needs to be more systematic, more stringent so that it goes smoothly from the beginning up to the end including all the phases in between of feedback with the consultants, I think the process needs to go smoother. Ismail: what defines the CS benchmark? And when do you revise the benchmark? Waleed: I think to set a benchmark you should do extensive studies of the local conditions before you come with certain figures, I mean why 3? Why not 4 or 2? You have to look at the broad picture to see what the average consumption versus what reasonable rates or percentage reduction can be achieved in each field. It is a lot more there than coming up with a decision over night, I do not think it is wise to do something like that. Although there are certain things that you can say are prohibited or not allowed, but in terms of numbers or benchmarks I think it needs extensive research and extensive budgets have to be spent to come up with this outcome. It involves different parties, different disciplines and different local conditions. You cannot even set a benchmark for different parts of the world; one benchmark goes for only one part of the world as it could easily differ from one place to another. I revise it when I see people more involved, more integrated in the green system. You always take people by steps; you cannot go to the most efficient at one time. Ismail: and what reactions do changes cause? Waleed: it is going to drive the developers crazy at the beginning, but then they will learn to live with it. As for the consultants it is better education for them, it is another dimension they have to think about and intellectually it promotes them. Ismail: how would you rate Estidamas current goals to other certification systems? And to sustainability? Waleed: a lot better than others; they moved really forward with their standards and their credits and all that, the progress is quite good. They still need a lot of progress, but it is higher than others especially in this part of the world. They still need time to reach there. They need to go step by step, everything is a process in life and this is part of the process. Ismail: is Estidama pushing the market too far or is it not pushing far enough? Waleed: I think they should push it a bit more, looking at this system and how this part of the world can benefit from the existing renewable resources and alternative methodologies and all that, its obvious that it can be done because we are lucky to be in this part of the world where the easiest example would be how much energy we can get from the sun, solar energy. That is why I say we can push more easily, it is not difficult to achieve and surprisingly enough you find a lot of
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consultants doing it everywhere else in the world, so expertise is there and can pass and the local consultants can even learn from these consultants. It is not impossible, not at all. The developers will go crazy as I said, but because they are thinking revenue wise, if I think revenue wise then the topic is irrelevant. Ismail: what is it in your opinion the reason behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings? Waleed: money and the fact that we are still not paying the real price of electricity, fossil fuel or energy when we start paying the real prices that is when we will go a lot further. Ismail: what are the advantages and disadvantages of certification systems? Waleed: the main advantage is that it creates a system that everyone needs to follow; the best way to get people on track is to create a strong system for them. Once you create that system and it is properly implemented then it starts off at a certain level then it develops through this same system, it leads to a better result at the end. Having the system in place will teach people something they will need to follow and will have to refer to at every project they do. It is a necessity for achieving the sustainability that you go for. As for the disadvantages, well you cant find the ideal system that works 100% correct or on the right track, but whatever disadvantages it has I think it can be improved as time goes by and the gaps can be filled and that is why every guideline in the world is annually revised and edited and you always have newer editions and that alone creates a very enhanced vision as time goes by. Ismail: how could you evaluate and measure the certification systems contribution to the built environment towards sustainability? Waleed: you take each and every credit within that certification and then you conduct a study that has to do with it and see the effect of these credits on the environment, how much they help or not help and how much further can it be developed or reduced. Ismail: how do you define sustainability? Waleed: to consume the least resources possible in any way of life whether it was in construction or even in daily consumption. The less you consume the more sustainable you are, and the more you consume of green sources again the more sustainable you are. It is what you consume and how much. Ismail: what does it take to plan and build a sustainable community? Waleed: education, in every community you have certain measures that are applicable towards a more green environment in all the aspects ever. They always tell that whatever shapes the society as a first thing is education, once you educate the people towards a certain goal or vision then thats when all the achievements will start to show up and it applies similarly to green buildings and standards of sustainability. The more you educate the people the more you tend to build a sustainable community; both social and physical sustainability, and social is just as important as physical sustainability, each one reflects on the other. Ismail: in your opinion what is needed to make a paradigm shift to convert the built environment into a sustainable one? Waleed: I would say social sustainability; lets say if you cannot change how the building looks like then you change the ways of using the building. You adapt to using it in the most sustainable manner possible. Just look at our culture 60 years ago, how did we use to live at homes? We used to have all extended families living together in one big home, whenever a son gets married they add an extension to that home, whenever they built a neighbors house they built it within approximate walking distance from it, we never depended on suburbs or cars or long distances. The higher density you create some times, you consume less in terms of energy, you do not have the urban sprawl for example. That is what I mean by social sustainability; if you cant change the built environment you change the way we consume them or the way you socially behave. Ismail: what are the interlocking collections and other industries, consultancies, regulations needed for a certification system to work and develop well in the market? Waleed: you need firm systems and regulations. If people do not follow a certain system and obtain a certain approval that is enforced on every building, product or deliverable. If you start forcing that, these will tie everyone to follow that same system, otherwise all the goals of all these people are not going to be achieved and once people realize that they start following the system. It is instinctive that human beings dont like to follow a system, so you regulate them in the beginning and then it works. Ismail: does the engineering, architectural and all project related education need to change in order to prepare students on how to deal with the newly founded sustainability requirements and how? Waleed: not change, I would say developed or enhanced to be able to
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Selected Interviews
way. Everything social comes from the social background of each culture, you cannot force that, but you can raise awareness about that and you can put that as additional credits. The social aspect can be added but it cant be mandatory, it can be a plus. Every culture has different expectations especially when you live in a multicultural society. Local certifications in terms of side contact is one thing and in terms of social is another thing because on the same location you find 80 nationalities living together, and everybody has their own way of living. Ismail: what do you expect of certification systems in the future developments? Waleed: I would expect more technological systems to be introduced, to get the techniques of modern systems, to conduct further research in order to boost them and that could be of great help in the future to the up coming buildings, because if we start specifying what type of technologies specific needs to be used the we can go into another category of using the international expertise and modern technology to achieve better reduction rate in the construction. Ismail: how credible are certification systems? Waleed: it varies; some are more credible than the others. LEED is credible to an extent, Estidama is more credible to the site contact, to the climates local conditions and it has done very good progress, but in terms of progress it still needs to go further but in terms of credibility being modified to the local context this gives it more credibility. Credibility comes from how applicable are the credits or not. Ismail: is there anything that you wish to add? Waleed: I would say that green standards, or when talking about green and sustainable in general, should be part of our daily lifestyle in addition to all the systems we have been talking about. Because if you learn from day one that you have to live in a certain way, consume in a certain way, not consume certain things you will find things going a lot easier than trying to force things, we need to have self initiative, self initial awareness of out the environment requires from us and then you will find things falling in place a lot smoother than you ever thought. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
add this component of sustainability to be integrated within that entire system. The methodology of the education has to add the green standard components into it. Ismail: what is the true added value of certification systems? Waleed: it creates a system for the people and that by itself will put everybody on the same track and they will have to follow a certain minimum green standards in delivering construction and buildings and even in different aspects in term of products, of systems, of designs. It will even encourage people to come up with sustainable methodologies, in terms of MEP systems or solar energy or the wind turbines, depending on the location of these buildings. It boosts the markets pace to develop. Ismail: what is still missing in certification systems? Waleed: a lot, again with all the available resources we have here and the high level of education of consultants, people and clients which means that at least they are smart and capable enough to think about green initiatives. In the presence of all the resources we can still push and add more credits and even push the existing credits higher and in that sense a lot of things are missing. I believe lots of the optional credits can be mandatory and add more to the optional. There are certain things we need to take for granted that they will happen not as adding to the credit to be certified now it has to be there no matter what. Then we take up to another level saying we will do this, this and that and its a more sophisticated system then this is the only way to get the certification system. In that sense I see a lot of things that are missing and do not take a lot to be implemented right away in the system. Also I would say what is missing is the real support of the government or from different parties apart from the direct ones that they have to keep pushing for these things. I will give you a very simple example; if certain organizations come up with certain systems that are proven to be green and reduce the consumption of energy, they need to have enough power to enforce that within each country which at the moment they dont. If any international organization comes they can only suggest the system, but they are powerless if people do not want to do it, unless the government comes and tell you that you have to do it to get your building approved. And this is also not very good in terms of power and what you can force to do and what you cannot force to do. People need to have their own word and pressure that they can put at any point of time saying this should be done this way or that
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Anonymous
Ismail: how did Estidama start? Anonymous: UAE has one of the highest carbon foot per capita in the world, and there is strong political will to see this reduced. A significant portion of the carbon emissions is due to high levels of energy consumption in buildings. Dubai took a very practical approach in 2007, by requiring all new developments to be certified under an internationally recognized Green Building system, which gave industry a level of flexibility to determine the most suitable system for the market, and this is how LEED came very much to the forefront in the UAE, and what promoted the Building Research Establishment to incorporate BREEAM into Gulf BREEAM, so that was the catalyst to make things move forward. Whereas Abu Dhabi turned around and said we are going to develop our own system and released the first draft version of Estidama in 2008. There are advantages and disadvantages developing your own system, and as long as it is properly managed, reviewed and implemented then fine, if not then there will be potential difficulties. Estidama came up with a system which was very similar to LEED (if fact much of it was cut & paste from LEED), then that went through a process of general consultation and was put out then to the market to see what the market thinks about it, the market was; A: too busy to looking at Dubai and B: Abu Dhabi came later with the development stage, whereas Dubai has really pushed the boat out to develop from 2003/2004, and as it was just peaking at 2008 thats when Estidama started to push out more for the market to look for. Ismail: what difficulties did Estidama have as a startup? The difficulty is, not just Estidama but any system, not in writing the rules, thats easy, you and I can put down a whole sustainability book in a week saying they shall do x, y & z it is as easy as that because there are enough information out there, enough standards out there for us within a week we can make it the book is here, thats what you got to do, and thats is the easy part. The hard part is to check, monitor and verify. Now if you are not setup to check, monitor and verify then how are you going to know if people do this? Number two, if you have linked this in with your planning permissions and your local authority permissionsetc. then you need to put various processes in place, some resources in place such that things can run smoothly, and finally with these two things you need to have the right support behind it and you need to have people who have actually been into the construction/ consultancy/ project management/ anything related to the construction industry to understand where the pinch points and the pitfalls are such that when you put the book together it tries as best as it can to either dodge these, pass over them, links them or smooth the path. If you dont have these you are on a recipe for failure. So as I said Estidama had a difficult start. And they didnt put these things in place. It was about two and half years ago when all the applications from Estidama allegedly were getting stuck and there was a big back log that was starting to happen again if you try to turn the world upside down too quick too soon and you dont educate the market in terms of what you expect and what you want, there are going to be difficulties. So a whole lot of projects got stuck in the pipeline and I believe I recall the Abu Dhabi municipality sending out an e-mail stating that dont bother with this and this, right now just get your applications through because everything was getting delayed. Now there has not been really much going through planning and approving since Estidama has actually come to be. One of the few projects has been Siemens building, there has been a number of other public sector works which because the planning had been done just before the decree concerning Estidama so all these plans had gone through and Abu Dhabi is quiet at the moment. So there is not much really coming through in terms of new work, there are infrastructure
works going on, but that is not under Estidama and there are other things going which again are not Estidama but on the industrial side we got a port going on. And now we have got a couple of big projects which are starting from scratch such as the new airport terminal. So these things will slowly start to go through the Estidama process and that is going to be just a testing for the UPC as it will be for the design and construction of a building because this is going to be a big learning curve. My impression is I dont think Estidama people have actually thought it through and how they are going to manage, implement, run and monitor the whole process. Ismail: the certification systems have their advantages and disadvantages, what are those? Anonymous: the advantages are few but basic that you can tailor it into your individual market, number two if you want to make it into a statutory requirement which Abu Dhabi did, then you can incorporate into your planning process which they have done. The disadvantage is that you need a learning curve and you need the right expertise to actually make it happen. LEED wasnt done in a day, what we see today is 10 to 12 years of development. BREEAM wasnt done in a day what we see today is after 16 years. So to do something right from the first time and make it a statutory process and implement it and the people who are doing it are copy pasting from LEED, you have a recipe for disaster. I think what they should have done is link up with LEED, BREEAM or Green star. Somebody who has the infrastructure, experience.etc will say lets link up with you will take your learning, its our own system but its affiliated with yourselves this helps the BREEAM, LEED or whoever to raise their profile on the back of Estidama and this allows Estidama a foundation to sit on. You automatically find a whole choir of experts who already know the system and because apart from few changes and a few definition changes and criteria changes its pretty much the same system, same methodology, different areas of margin, different levels of criteria, those individual details, this one is mandatory and these three are extra. People know this is easy to transfer, cost is cheaper, the market understands what is going on, the suppliers can provide all the information on materials because they would say this is the same thing that is happening in the USA or in UK or in Australia so you get cost effectiveness out of there, you get a whole load of expertise, which can instantly transfer across and you have got something really solid and its your own, you are affiliated but it is your own. Ismail: what do you think is missing in Estidama? You need to give an incentive. In Europe we have a price of roughly 20 to 25 cent per kilowatt hour of electricity, with that kind of money you make sure you turn your electricity off. Here people leave the air conditioning running with window open, there is no incentive, why would anyone leave their windows open in a building with their air conditioning on and run it to 18 degrees?! Instead of looking at the building, you need to educate the people and if people dont feel a pinch in their pockets they will not do it. Unless you got historically minded people who will follow rules like the Scandinavians and the Germans, even if you gave them electricity free they will still close that window and they will still turn the light off because it is in their nature/ culture. And this doesnt happen overnight this is cultural thing based on the last couple hundred of years. Thats the essence culture of a nation. The point is that unless you give incentives or disincentives you wont get anywhere. If the government said tomorrow that we are going to charge you full cost for your electricity and water and we are going to pay you a subsidy for every person will give you say 100 Dirham per month, I tell you over night your electricity and water consumption will be halved, guaranteed. It will be halved, why? Because now that subsidy is money for me to spend and that is money going out and I am going to reduce that money and I am going to spend this to go to a restaurant. It doesnt matter that it is cheap, but if you got
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Selected Interviews
philosophy is we want it all and we want it now. Its like weight loss, for me I would get in a program for a year try to get off 20 kilos, here they want to go to a clinic get the whole 20 kilos removed, they want it all and they want it now. So if you try to lose 20 kilos over a year you are going to do it in a sensible systematic healthy way and a sustainable way, if you go to the clinic and get a liposuction for your 20 kilos you are going to have flabby skin, you may have health implications.etc its not good for you and after 3 months you will probably put the 20 kilos back on again. So the mentality in this part of the world is they want to catch up so they want it all and they want it now. If people cant deliver the we want all and want it now or having difficulty to understand the we want it all, we want it now, what are you going to do?! And this stuff about going on to existing buildings, the things you have established make it work before you do anything else, to do existing buildings just take a look around you when are you going to start and when are you going to end and you cant manage a few projects in the construction industry, you want to manage the established base? Are you totally out of your mind?! Ismail: Do you think CS is teaching the consultants and clients, and improving the sustainability aspects of Abu Dhabi? Yes it is. Here in Abu Dhabi because people have been building haphazardly there needs to be some regulations and guidance in terms of what needs to be done. And with that regulation and guidance its making people stop and think if I do like that I am not going to get through and this comes by historically water and electricity being made available at a very low cost. People have not viewed building buildings for water and electricity, in fact if you just look around in Abu Dhabi you find that most buildings are only 20 to 30 years old and then you knock them down and build something better. So if your culture or your outlook is like we built something 15 stories high in 1986 but now in 2012 the building is looking very tired weve got a nice prime spot of land lets knock down and build a 40 story building, because we are going to get much more money out of it, why not? If your logic is in that direction that is building will only going to last you 25 years, why do you need to design to last for 50 or 100 or 200? Really this is the question. So there needs to be a strategic outlook in terms of what is it that you want to do in the long term, if your outlook is short why would you need to plan long term? Just the other day a friend of mine came from Germany and he went to the mall and he saw a tablet android based..etc going for roughly 100 dollars, Chinese made, and he bought it and he says if this lasts me for a year I will be happy, so instead of spending 800 dollars for flashy iPad you spend 100 dollars on something and say well looks fine, if it lasts one year I will be happy. So its a life cycle scenario thing, what are you paying for, what is your expectation? If your expectation that it is going to last for 25 years and then you are going to knock down and build something new then dont worry about maintenance, dont worry if it falls apart. If a plaster is hanging off no problem we are going to knock it off anyway but just do a quick patch up job, why would you use expensive materials if you are already going to make last for a short period of time? This is what it comes down to. So what is your outlook? Would you have the same mentality in Europe? The answer is no because you are going to build a house in Europe, you say you want it to last 50-80 years and it lasts much longer, thats your outlook. There is a difference in approach and thinking, so why would you end up spending a fortune on your refurbishment when after 2 years you have to do it all again. You will need to use more materials, more resources and more everything. So it comes back down to fundamentals, when you are building a building whats the expectations? What is the cultural environment? How is the whole system working? What are peoples expectations? All these things come into it, so to try to impose a Euro-American standard into the Gulf where it is fundamentally different in terms of the outlook. Then your whole business models wrong, if your business model is wrong then how are you going to make this work financially? Here people invest in a building and they are saying they want their money back in 3 to 5 years, in Europe in invest in a building then you are looking at 15 to 20 years against 5 years, it is a fundamental difference in thinking. It is a learning curve and everyone has to go through a learning curve. Unfortunately if you bring expats from outside who have no idea about the environment you are working in and you put them there and tell them make it happen, they can only go with what they know, and they cant make it fit you because they dont know what you is. And this is what Estidama did, a few tweaks a few changes a few maneuversetc to make it go to where it is going now, fine it is slowly coming to something which is workable, but to go onto the operational side, this is good for me I will make lots of money because I will be in demand, but how will it be done? Ismail: do you think certification systems should be mandatory, voluntary or a mix of both?
to pay the full cost and youre demanded to pay the full wack you will reduce that and put money in your pocket. Thats the natural instinct of anyone and everyone. So if you want to make incentives then you will say ok you are giving bigger incentive to the Emirati and lesser incentives to expats like us.etc I am not saying its easy to manage but what I am saying is unless people pay the full wack for what they are using they will not appreciate what they got. If people dont care about it, if they have to pay for it they will look after it and this is normal in everything and anything. A rich kid gets a bike for his birthday after 3 months he has broken it its falling apart and he doesnt care about it anymore, but a poor kid saved up for 3 years from his pocket money and bought a simpler bike and it will last him after 10 years, he looks after it. Why? Because he knows how much this cost the other one doesnt know how much it costs. As simple as that this is basic human nature and basic finance, nothing complicated. Now you take that building over there, you pay me lots of money and I am going refurbish and now spend your money properly and I will make sure you feel you got value for your money. Now the people who move into that building what incentive have they got to continue with it? Zero, so lets say after 6 months when they misuse this and abuse that and dont care about this or that water running, so you took it from 100% you made these improvements you got it to 50%, they abuse it and take it back to 80%, your savings is based on 60% saving, but now you got 30% and will that 30% remain consistent or will you need to make continuous investments to make sure that you maintain that 80%? In my home at the moment, Ive got low energy lighting everywhere; would it cost me anymore to actually have normal light fittings? Not much because the cost of electricity is so low, not that much but I do that anyway we dont have to, its a matter of principal. When we are out we dont leave any air conditioning on. Is it inconvenient for me? Not really because by the time we get home we turn the air conditioning on within half an hour and everything is comfortable again. But if I did whatever everybody else was doing would I be spending more money? The answer is no maybe 10% more, so is it going to make a big dent in my pocket? The answer is no, but you take a practical pragmatic view point and thats what you do, so unless you educate people and if educating them is not enough, hit them in the pockets. Ismail: do you think Estidama is the right path for a sustainable built environment in Abu Dhabi? Many of these things are new and because they are new they need to slowly develop as time goes by on new ideas, if you try to implement it from day one its not going to work because the market is not ready for it. And we are doing some of the LEED jobs at the moment where if Sheikh Mohamed of Dubai had happened to in 2007 said we are going to go down a green route, when we were still at the height of the building industry in Dubai, then everyone would say right we need to get into the logistics and get materials and equipments which complies with. So they open up the channels and supply routes for equipments because there was a boom on and because there were requirements so its partially a government instigated, which it has to be, you have the supply routes opening and although the market crashed but because the supply routes were already open when we were doing projects here I would need the materials because those people have already opened the supply routes its easy to do and you get the materials. Now if that hadnt happen and Estidama was a standalone, everyone would say why are they doing that? It wouldnt have happened it would have fallen over before it started and thats because the market needs to make sure, to understand and to develop. And part of the problem with Estidama was they tried to do too much, too soon, too quickly and without the right level of resources that it keeps struggling. So yes it can develop but the standards of Estidama are not much more than you would have in a typical building in general in Europe. And when you look at the standards of things and see what they have to do its not too different. So when you have an environment where they need different types of developments like building codes and things which are not fully established, the market is too small for them to have their own building codes, which is understandable. Estidama is a good base point to start getting people to think in a more systematic way and not haphazard. It is the first step; it can develop but is it the right way to develop? It is good as any I guess, it could be managed a bit more differently and effectively but would I say is give it up? No, I think its generally a good idea. Ismail: is Estidama pushing the market too far or is it not pushing far enough? Anonymous: before it was pushing too far, but I guess people got used to it. If they start pushing again I think the market will start shutting their heads and saying we dont have any idea about what you people are doing. And with everything its cycles; you have to introduce, you have to let people understand and you need it to be established until everyone gets it, then you can notch it up a bit. If you try to make big step changes and in the gulf region as a whole, the

Anonymous: generally speaking you need to have a starting step, and you have a starting step, like Dubai saying everything new must be LEED or not LEED but green in some shape or form, or do it here through Estidama. With UAE consistently amongst the top 2, Qatar being the second, ran off the most co2 generated percentage worldwide, you need to do something about it. In a low energy cost developing market, there would need to be mandatory requirements. Ismail: when using a certification system do you prefer one over the other and why? Anonymous: not really, they are all pretty much the same. There is nothing this one does not do or the other does it better, and there are lot of quirks. LEED within the last 2 years started to add regional priorities which help because the USA is so diversified you can go to the north and be very cold or down in the south and be very hot and humid, the deserts and the mountainsetc so they have done that whereas BREEAM international has different supplements for each country which actually helps. Ismail: the integration of certification system in the planning process, how is it done? And what is different than business as usual? Anonymous: if you think of sustainability not in terms of certification process but more in terms of good proper practice, you are basically saying you want to do these things and you just bring it up front to make sure you have all the bases covered before you start doing any detail design. Like any concept if you dont identify what your key goals are once you start doing the design you are going to come out stuck. So even in the pre-concept stage you say we are going to target these type of things we want to be more efficient, we need to think of how we are going to do the energy efficiency, how are we going to measure and monitor that, is it going to be through modeling or through good practiceetc that automatically takes care of the planning. In different countries youve got planning regulations anyway where you need to abide by the minimum or otherwise you wont get through; here they incorporated Estidama within their planning, so its something you cant get away from. Even when I was in Germany or UK you have to follow building regulations and if you dont follow them you dont get a permit anyway. It was one of those things where you got to live with it in life anyway. Ismail: whats in your opinion the reason behind not moving faster towards more sustainable buildings and communities? Anonymous: In Abu Dhabi, its new, its different, people need to get used to it and energy is cheap, water is cheap. The world, does the world care? Is it up high enough on the agenda? Are people hurt enough to want to make a difference? You can have all these tree huggers where on the other hand you have got the bankers robbing everybody, politicians robbing everybody, people losing their jobsetc in this particular environment you want them to care about the trees, birds and the bees?! Not really what happens. Ismail: what is your definition of sustainability? Anonymous: I really dont have a definition of sustainability, there are several things here but talking about sustainability we are talking about the good of the planet overall. So sustainability means yes you continue to develop but you do it in a way that you continue to develop to the future generations. Without having negative impact on environment or other species.etc which I think is rubbish. Because there is no such thing, you will impact the environment, you will generate gases and co2, you will cut down trees...etc and sometimes they
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are cost prohibited and sometimes they are effort prohibited and it cant be done so you are always using something different. The second thing the population is not getting any smaller, early this week there was all this talk about the 7th billion person, if you go back to 1960 you were talking about the 3 billionth person in the world so in less than a generation it was doubled, what are all these people going to eat, where are they going to live? Where are they going to get electricity from? What are they going to drink? How are they going to get to work? What jobs are they going to do? What computers are they going to use? So we are happily free falling, base jumping off a cliff and the bottom is down there somewhere land we are going to have either a soft landing or a hard landing, if you have a parachute it will be a nice and easy landing and we are all happy or you may not have one and you fall and make a 2 meter hole where you land. So where would we go? I dont really know, but I dont see a parachute on our backs. And we are thinking is it viable to build a parachute on our way down, we dont really see the fact we are falling because this natural speed we are going at we are used to it and it just becomes the norm. But no one is really working on a parachute, so if actually someone started to design a parachute then we can say this is something we can actually make but no one knows what a parachute looks like and someone comes with needle and thread and this is your sustainability, saying we got needle and thread maybe we can use it to sew up a parachute, but we need to find a parachute first. I call myself environment friendly because I dont have kids. Can the earth sustain this level of population? The answer is I dont see it, but maybe someone will come up with the idea that yes it can. Ismail: what is your solution to the climate problem? When people ask me what is your solution for the world? the ideal solution is we stop having children. Think of it that way, we are boldly going to where no man has gone before, we are producing some much side effects emissions; pollution, contamination, destruction that the world has not seen before in the last 50 to 100 years it is has not happen in the whole history of the world. Do we know the full impact of this? No, we are boldly going where no man has gone before. So can it be good? Unlikely because the atmosphere fantastic as it is cannot support all the rubbish you are throwing at, is it going to have an adverse effect? Depends on what you call adverse effect, what will have an effect and if the effect is, so called global warming, so what would be the impact of global warming? I tell people you got your reservoirs on your rooftops, the first step on the way take your water tank off your roof, where are you going to get water from? Well you are going to walk out to the well and take it from there, which well and where? So its same principal, but only on the much larger scale, now you have to wait for it to rain. So where are you going to get your drinking water? The desert land will get hotter so what little they groove? Nothing. The arable land which is the hottest will start turning into desert, other areas which really didnt foster arable land and growth might end up becoming good for farming, who knows. So there will be changes, the changes will mean that the whole diversity changes which means those who have will turn into have and have not and there will be more of have not than the haves. With no water, very little food or the whole disruption in the food cycle, it means everyone will start fighting each other for whatever resources they have. Ismail: thank you very much for your contribution.
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Abu Dhabi Skyline
Dubai Skyline
Traditional Wind Tower - Al Bastakiya, Dubai, UAE
Certification Systems as a Tool for Sustainable Architecture and Urban Planning - Case Study: Estidama, Abu Dhabi
Book 2 - Master Thesis - Ismail Khater - April 2013

Certification Systems As A Tool For Sustainable Architecture and Urban Planning, Case Study: Estidama, Abu Dhabi

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Certification Systems As A Tool For Sustainable Architecture and Urban Planning, Case Study: Estidama, Abu Dhabi

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Certification Systems as a Tool for Sustainable Architecture and Urban Planning Case Study: Estidama, Abu Dhabi

Ismail Khater April 2013

Approved By: Professor Wolfgang Dickhaut

Master Thesis - Ismail Khater

Master Thesis - Ismail Khater

Imperative Definitions 15 Benchmarking in the built environment 16

Overview of Certification Tools

01 3. ESTIDAMA - STATUS QUO 23

Problem and Objective 03 Research Questions and Hypothesis 04 Methodology 05

Introduction to Estidama and UPC Overview of the Initiatives

Master Thesis - Ismail Khater

4. APPLICATION: MASDAR CITY 51

Introduction Overall Masterplan Case Study 1: Masdar Institute

Case Study 2: Siemens Headquarters

Assessment and SWOT Analysis

Introduction Interview Outcomes

Outcome Evaluation & Recommendations

III. List of Figures

IV. List of Tables

Master Thesis - Ismail Khater

Souq Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE

Chapter 01: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Problem and objective

Figure 01: World Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Master Thesis - Ismail Khater

Air Rail, Ship, & Other Transport

Electricity & Heat

Commercial Buildings Unallocated Fuel Combustion Iron & Steel

6.3% 3.8% 4.0%

Other Fuel Combustion

Pulp, Paper & Printing

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 77%

Food & Tobacco

Other Industry T&D Losses

Industrial Processes4 .3% Land Use Change* 12.2%

11.3% -0.4% 1.3%

HFCs, PFCs, SF6 1% Methane (CH4) 15%

Livestock & Manure

Wastewater, Other Waste

Nitrous Oxide (N2O) 7%

1.2 Research questions and hypothesis

Research Questions setting guideline

BACKGROUND FUNDAMENTALS ESTIDAMA & PRS

Figure 02: Research Methodology and Design

CASE STUDIES INTERVIEWS Analysis

EVALUATION RECOMMENDATIONS STRATEGIES A B C

1.3.1 Research structure

Master Thesis - Ismail Khater

1.3.2 Empirical data

1.3.2.1 Literature review

Master Thesis - Ismail Khater

1.3.3 Research limitations

1.4 Background of the Emirates

Figure 03: Map of the UAE

Precipitation [mm] Average Rainfall [days]

Figure 04: Climate Data of the UAE

Master Thesis - Ismail Khater

Figure 05: Water Supply and Demand

Lost Industrial Residential

People Commercial Amenity

Treated Sewage Effluent (TSE)

Figure 06: Area by Sector and Energy Consumption by Use Type

Cooling Water Heating Lighting Refrigeration Other Appliances