To Be 100% Powered By Renewable Energy

Sharjah, UAE:  19 January 2015

Bee'ah, Middle East's leading award-winning fully integrated environmental and waste management company, announced its new, state-of-the-art and eco-friendly headquarters during the first day of the World Future Energy Summit 2015 (WFES) in Abu Dhabi. The Bee'ah new HQ building was commissioned by the world renowned Iraqi-British Zaha Hadid Architects following an international competition that took place in 2013.

Bee'ah showcased the model of its new headquarters at its booth (#6500) as part of its display of projects at the WFES alongside other key new projects and environmental developments that the company is venturing into.

The new headquarters building is a representation of Bee'ah's on-going commitment and passion for leading environmental change and working towards accomplishing its goal for Sharjah to become recognised as the environmental capital of the Middle East. The new building, which will be 100% powered by renewable energy that consists of solar power and energy from waste), features a dynamic design incorporating advanced environmental solutions to foster a naturally sustainable structure, a healthy work environment and positive interactions between visitors and staff members. A central 'oasis' created at the heart of the Sharjah based headquarters aims to soften the hard dryness of the desert, with inviting courtyards allocated between the public and staff clusters within the building, these courtyards will shape a lively central space, with a fresh outdoor atmosphere where staff and members of the public can interact visually and freely.

Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO of Bee'ah, the Sharjah Environment Co, said: "Under instruction from His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammed Al Qasimi, we are proud to unveil our new headquarters, this is an exciting milestone in the progress of our company and Zaha Hadid Architects has designed a truly unique structure fully encompassing our green philosophy and passionately embodying our commitment to sustainability. True to the iconic style characterised by powerful, curving forms and elongated structures that makes the work of Zaha Hadid so extraordinary, the new Bee'ah headquarters are truly a sight to behold."

His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, issued instructions to begin executing and building the new headquarters during a visit to Bee'ah's Waste Management Centre (WMC), located in the Saj'ah industrial city in Sharjah, in accordance to His Highness vision which aims to protect the environment in Sharjah and ensure its sustainability for future generations. Furthermore the new Headquarters Building aims to earn LEED Platinum Certification with ultra-low carbon and minimal water consumption in operation and minimised material consumption in the buildings construction.

The headquarters building has been designed to the highest environmental standards and Bee'ah's environmental philosophy has been woven into every aspect of the project. Designed from principles responding to the natural environment in order to provide comfort for its occupants alongside minimising energy and resource consumption, the formal composition of the new Bee'ah Headquarters has been informed by its desert context as a series of intersecting dunes orientated to accommodate the powerful prevailing Shamal winds, and developed in direct response to the environment to ensure the internal spaces are provided with ample high quality daylight and views whilst limiting the quantity of glazing exposed to the harsh sun.

A sustainability strategy is adopted for use on the construction site that focuses on energy consumption, ecology, construction materials, pollution and management issues surrounding construction and maintenance. The active and passive energy approaches are predicted to provide a 30% reduction in energy consumption. All power required for the building will be generated via low and zero-carbon sources, principally from the Bee'ah Waste Management Centre's converting municipal waste (that would otherwise decay in landfill) into energy and large arrays of photovoltaics incorporated within the site.

The 7,000m2 new Bee'ah headquarters is located on a 90,000m2 site adjacent to the Waste Management Centre. The large site enabled the development of the design as an array of dunes within the desert landscape leading to the two central dunes of the Headquarters building. The two primary dunes of the Bee'ah headquarters building house the public and management sections (entrance lobby, auditorium, visitors education centre and gallery, and management offices), and the administrative section (departmental offices and staff café). The two dunes intersect and connect via a central courtyard enhancing the natural ventilation and maximising indirect sunlight to the public and administrative spaces within.

Reflecting Bee'ah's 'green' philosophy, a cohesive palette of raw and recycled materials, textures and finishes will be brought together in a pleasing landscape composition to provide long-term environmental sustainability and reduce needless life cycle costing, turning the site into an energy producer rather than consumer. Another important ethical factor in the design of the Bee'ah HQ is the health and well-being of the building's occupants. This goal will in part be achieved by ensuring all-day access to ample daylight, pleasant views, adequate control of glare and solar overheating, comfortable and visually enhancing internal and external lighting, satisfactory indoor ambient noise levels and sound insulation, low emissions of volatile organic compounds (voCs) on internal fittings and finishes and superb indoor air quality.

This includes the use of local/ regional materials wherever possible, as well as providing recycled material for commercial re-use or sales, which in turn generates a great opportunity to showcase the local landscape's by-products. The approach promotes the biodiversity of the indigenous plant community by using local flora to restore the landscape, and aids to reverse the loss of native species.

Bee'ah has also devised an ingenious Site Waste Management Plan (SWM) which will minimise the waste sent to landfill during both the construction process and the operation period. The application of the SWM Plan aims to put recycled and/or secondary aggregates to good use, and to provide adequate dedicated storage space for recyclable and compostable waste.

The new Bee'ah Headquarters Building is defined by the very same principles that are the foundation of the company's mission to provide coherent and sustainable environmental solutions to meet the future challenges of the community.

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© Press Release 2015