Certification Systems as a Tool for Sustainable Architecture and Urban Planning, Case Study: Estidama, Abu Dhabi, Apr 1, 2013
Conventional building methods are continuing to stress the supply of available resources, includi... more 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 policies. 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 tremendously growing, it is important to continually examine their effectiveness, development path and results.
The objective of the proposition is to better understand the impacts, opportunities and challenges of the use of any certification system, by showcasing “Estidama”, Abu Dhabi’s certification system, addressing the local environment, social, economic and culture aspects. This is assisted by a local 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, credits assessors, policy writers and government representatives, in an attempt to represent the collaborative effort from all parties involved in any project.
The interview results, as well as specific credits analyzed helped accomplishing the aim of sensitizing stakeholders and regulatory bodies about the benefits and deficiencies of rating systems. Furthermore a development of recommendations formulated in form of strategies and an action plan are presented, to aid enhancing new and existing certification procedures.
Keywords:
Architecture Sustainable Transportation Sustainable Development Environmental Planning and Design Urban Planning Sustainable Building Design Sustainable Urban Environments Sustainable Water Resources Management Sustainable Energy Green architecture Environmental Sustainability Sustainable Architecture Sustainable Design Green Building LEED Certification Thesis Master's Thesis Abu Dhabi Resource efficiency Building Energy Certificates BREEAM Zero-energy buildings Masdar City Green Building Certification Estidama Abu Dhabi Education Council Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council Urban Planning Council
Water scarcity is one of the utmost issues and challenges of the 21st century. It is not only the... more Water scarcity is one of the utmost issues and challenges of the 21st century. It is not only thequantity aspect causing the main problems, but furthermore the quality, distribution and thewasteful management. Estimated climate change, population growth and economicdevelopments further strain available water sources. As the Middle East and North Africa is aregion of great interest to me, this paper presents an overall introductory on the watersituation in Egypt. Basic country and water characteristics are presented, followed by someproject examples and current solutions.
The economic and environmental reasons for recycling and reusing materials are vital to be able t... more The economic and environmental reasons for recycling and reusing materials are vital to be able to effectively and efficiently meet the 21st century’s population demands. Aluminium is the third most abundant element on the earth’s crust. Today the use of aluminium is widely spread in countless industries. As complex a life cycle assessment could be, this paper describes the material cycle of the aluminium content of a car, which is estimated at around 70kg, from the early stages of extraction until the re-melting or recycling of the material.
This paper examines the implications of different variables related to virtual and physical commu... more This paper examines the implications of different variables related to virtual and physical communication tools on the overall living standard, by running a multiple linear regression and analyzing it. For this particular analysis the program Matlab is used, which is a high-level technical computing language and interactive environment for algorithm development, data visualization, data analysis, and numeric computation program. For the regression I will explore the relationships between the urban population percentages (X1), the internet users per hundred users(X2) and cell phones subscriptions (X3) in a random set of 23 countries, and regress them to the most used indicator for wealth of a nation and standard of living,the GDP (Gross domestic product) (Y).
Acoustic simulation has been widely used, mainly in enclosed spaces (rooms), as well as outdoor u... more Acoustic simulation has been widely used, mainly in enclosed spaces (rooms), as well as outdoor urban areas. There is growing demand for measuring, evaluating and controlling noise in urban environments, as noise pollution has started getting into worlds public and political attention. Many programs have been developed, which claim to be suitable for accurate prognosis. This paper presents an introductory to how these programs work, showing their tools, technologies, drawbacks and advantages.
Certification Systems as a Tool for Sustainable Architecture and Urban Planning, Case Study: Estidama, Abu Dhabi, Apr 1, 2013
Conventional building methods are continuing to stress the supply of available resources, includi... more 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 policies. 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 tremendously growing, it is important to continually examine their effectiveness, development path and results.
The objective of the proposition is to better understand the impacts, opportunities and challenges of the use of any certification system, by showcasing “Estidama”, Abu Dhabi’s certification system, addressing the local environment, social, economic and culture aspects. This is assisted by a local 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, credits assessors, policy writers and government representatives, in an attempt to represent the collaborative effort from all parties involved in any project.
The interview results, as well as specific credits analyzed helped accomplishing the aim of sensitizing stakeholders and regulatory bodies about the benefits and deficiencies of rating systems. Furthermore a development of recommendations formulated in form of strategies and an action plan are presented, to aid enhancing new and existing certification procedures.
Keywords:
Architecture Sustainable Transportation Sustainable Development Environmental Planning and Design Urban Planning Sustainable Building Design Sustainable Urban Environments Sustainable Water Resources Management Sustainable Energy Green architecture Environmental Sustainability Sustainable Architecture Sustainable Design Green Building LEED Certification Thesis Master's Thesis Abu Dhabi Resource efficiency Building Energy Certificates BREEAM Zero-energy buildings Masdar City Green Building Certification Estidama Abu Dhabi Education Council Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council Urban Planning Council
Water scarcity is one of the utmost issues and challenges of the 21st century. It is not only the... more Water scarcity is one of the utmost issues and challenges of the 21st century. It is not only thequantity aspect causing the main problems, but furthermore the quality, distribution and thewasteful management. Estimated climate change, population growth and economicdevelopments further strain available water sources. As the Middle East and North Africa is aregion of great interest to me, this paper presents an overall introductory on the watersituation in Egypt. Basic country and water characteristics are presented, followed by someproject examples and current solutions.
The economic and environmental reasons for recycling and reusing materials are vital to be able t... more The economic and environmental reasons for recycling and reusing materials are vital to be able to effectively and efficiently meet the 21st century’s population demands. Aluminium is the third most abundant element on the earth’s crust. Today the use of aluminium is widely spread in countless industries. As complex a life cycle assessment could be, this paper describes the material cycle of the aluminium content of a car, which is estimated at around 70kg, from the early stages of extraction until the re-melting or recycling of the material.
This paper examines the implications of different variables related to virtual and physical commu... more This paper examines the implications of different variables related to virtual and physical communication tools on the overall living standard, by running a multiple linear regression and analyzing it. For this particular analysis the program Matlab is used, which is a high-level technical computing language and interactive environment for algorithm development, data visualization, data analysis, and numeric computation program. For the regression I will explore the relationships between the urban population percentages (X1), the internet users per hundred users(X2) and cell phones subscriptions (X3) in a random set of 23 countries, and regress them to the most used indicator for wealth of a nation and standard of living,the GDP (Gross domestic product) (Y).
Acoustic simulation has been widely used, mainly in enclosed spaces (rooms), as well as outdoor u... more Acoustic simulation has been widely used, mainly in enclosed spaces (rooms), as well as outdoor urban areas. There is growing demand for measuring, evaluating and controlling noise in urban environments, as noise pollution has started getting into worlds public and political attention. Many programs have been developed, which claim to be suitable for accurate prognosis. This paper presents an introductory to how these programs work, showing their tools, technologies, drawbacks and advantages.
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Papers by Ismail Khater
The objective of the proposition is to better understand the impacts, opportunities and challenges of the use of any certification system, by showcasing “Estidama”, Abu Dhabi’s certification system, addressing the local environment, social, economic and culture aspects. This is assisted by a local 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, credits assessors, policy writers and government representatives, in an attempt to represent the collaborative effort from all parties involved in any project.
The interview results, as well as specific credits analyzed helped accomplishing the aim of sensitizing stakeholders and regulatory bodies about the benefits and deficiencies of rating systems. Furthermore a development of recommendations formulated in form of strategies and an action plan are presented, to aid enhancing new and existing certification procedures.
Keywords:
Architecture Sustainable Transportation Sustainable Development Environmental Planning and Design Urban Planning Sustainable Building Design Sustainable Urban Environments Sustainable Water Resources Management Sustainable Energy Green architecture Environmental Sustainability Sustainable Architecture Sustainable Design Green Building LEED Certification Thesis Master's Thesis Abu Dhabi Resource efficiency Building Energy Certificates BREEAM Zero-energy buildings Masdar City Green Building Certification Estidama Abu Dhabi Education Council Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council Urban Planning Council
The objective of the proposition is to better understand the impacts, opportunities and challenges of the use of any certification system, by showcasing “Estidama”, Abu Dhabi’s certification system, addressing the local environment, social, economic and culture aspects. This is assisted by a local 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, credits assessors, policy writers and government representatives, in an attempt to represent the collaborative effort from all parties involved in any project.
The interview results, as well as specific credits analyzed helped accomplishing the aim of sensitizing stakeholders and regulatory bodies about the benefits and deficiencies of rating systems. Furthermore a development of recommendations formulated in form of strategies and an action plan are presented, to aid enhancing new and existing certification procedures.
Keywords:
Architecture Sustainable Transportation Sustainable Development Environmental Planning and Design Urban Planning Sustainable Building Design Sustainable Urban Environments Sustainable Water Resources Management Sustainable Energy Green architecture Environmental Sustainability Sustainable Architecture Sustainable Design Green Building LEED Certification Thesis Master's Thesis Abu Dhabi Resource efficiency Building Energy Certificates BREEAM Zero-energy buildings Masdar City Green Building Certification Estidama Abu Dhabi Education Council Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council Urban Planning Council