Pressure on the environment brought about by the insatiable demands of modern living calls for town and city planners to adopt specific guidelines for "green buildings".
"Sustainably designed buildings aim to lessen their impact on our environment through energy and resource efficiency," according to an environment expert.
The experts were addressing a forum organised by the Dubai Municipality's General Projects Department at the Heritage Dar Al Nadwa in Al Bastaki on Wednesday night.
The forum, attended by architects, building contractors and students, was presided over by Dr Mohsen Aboulnaga, Chairman of College of Design and Applied Arts at Dubai University College, Dr Khaled Al Sallal, Associate Professor of Architecture at UAE University in Al Ain, and Dr Mohammed Sherzad, of the Ajman University of Science and Technology.
Dr Aboulnaga laid down the essentials of daylighting and other considerations for sustainability of buildings that could have longer life spans, stressing the need to achieve specific energy performance goals starting from the design stage.
"The rapidly developing cities of the Gulf region have the advantage of learning from other communities in the world. City planners here have to incorporate the latest designs in their building code, which architects and property owners must follow to come up with sustainable building designs," he said.
He also briefly presented daylighting case studies to demonstrate how to enhance a building's performance. He illustrated how building owners and designers can evaluate and achieve energy-based design targets.
The forum was chaired by Eng. Rashad Mohammed Bukhash, Assistant Director of General Projects Department at Dubai Municipality.
Explaining the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) rating system, the UAE University's Dr Al Sallal pointed out the need to assess the annual energy requirement if the building is to perform as a 'green' and highly efficient structure.
This includes optimum use of water, energy, building materials and efficient disposal of solid waste, with provision for recycling.
Dr Al Sallal cited environmental studies, which reveal that from 1970 to 1995, 30 per cent of the earth's fresh water, marine and forest resources have been decimated.
"Each day, we burn energy equivalent to what it takes the earth 10,000 days to create. Buildings consume 40 per cent of the world's energy production," Dr Al Sallal said, referring to data from the U.S. Environment Protection Agency.
This makes climate-sensitive building designs a necessity to protect the ecosystem, promote restoration of natural systems and help develop liveable and sustainable communities.
"Sustainable design represents the balance that accommodates human needs without diminishing the health and productivity of the natural system," said Dr Al Sallal.
Dr Al Sallal also explained principles of goal-oriented design, which include specific targets for water usage, construction, waste recycling, emissions and energy use.
In the U.S., an EPA study shows that one-third of the workers suffer from the "sick building syndrome" as a result of indoor pollution.
"Bad quality of air in a 'sick building' cannot be improved by using the best air-conditioning system. It has to come with the design, which considers the air quality and the index of comfort of the building occupants," he explained.
Dr Mohammed Sherzad, a UK-trained professor of architecture in Ajman University of Science and Technology, delivered a lecture on the effect of sand dunes on structural design in sub-Saharan regions.
Using an extensive collection of slides taken from desert villages in Algeria, Dr Sherzad presented a pioneering study of traditional architecture in sandy areas.
His study sought to understand the relationship of building design and dimensions to the formation of sand - which sometimes are 150 metres high - around them.
"In these Saharan villages, sand is part of their lives, they have to love it. They have to live with it. They have used this traditional knowledge for ages to design buildings and their orientation with regard to the wind. Apparently, the building protects itself from sand," Dr Sherzad said.
He also showed how dune dwellers have made use of fences made of natural materials to direct the wind to naturally excavated dunes to reach the groundwater table.
Extensive studies of traditional architecture in sandy areas conducted in the U.S. and UK - using wind tunnels to simulate desert conditions - have not yielded the desired results, as simulation is nothing compared to the real situation, he said.
"Certainly, we can learn from these people and use that knowledge in contemporary architecture," said Dr Sherzad.
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