Abu Dhabi, Jul 27th, 2011 (WAM) -- Demonstrating their strong commitment to sustainable development, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) awarded today Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) the three pearl rating of the Estidama Pearl Rating System (PRS) for the design phase of 10 government schools in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The schools - the first in the Emirate ever designed to comply with the UPCs Estidama standard and the first-ever buildings in the Emirate to achieve the three pearl rating certification - are part of Phase III of ADECs "Future Schools Program," which is an essential part of ADECs ten year strategic plan to transform Abu Dhabis education system. The ten schools to be located in the Abu Dhabi suburbs of Al Bateen, Al Shawamekh, Al Shamkha, Baniyas and the Al Ain suburbs of Al Yahar, Al Foah and Zakheer - will cater to the educational needs of boy and girls. The three pearl rating for design is one pearl above the mandatory level of two pearls set by the Abu Dhabi government for all government buildings. This achievement is particularly significant since this is the first time that the 3 pearls rating is granted to any kind of building in Abu Dhabi and demonstrates ADECs strong commitment to sustainable development. Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al-Khaili, Director General of Abu Dhabi Education Council, said: "It is demonstrated that schools designed to higher levels of sustainability will not only reduce the negative environmental impact and be more resource efficient, but will also result in better student and teacher achievement and be perceived as a benchmark example to be followed by the communities where the schools are located. When fully expressed across Abu Dhabis society, Estidama will touch multiple facets in people daily lives and the curriculum in school is one of the most important". Commenting on these awards, Falah Al Ahbabi, General Manager, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC), said: "As one of the key pillars of Abu Dhabis 2030 Vision, education plays an integral part of promoting long term sustainable development Through the different joint communication programs developed by ADEC and UPC, our next generation of citizens will clearly understand what sustainability means, appreciate the benefits of being sustainable and most importantly, implement tools and techniques that will help us all to achieve our future sustainability targets". Through an integrated development process, that has involved all of the projects stakeholders; the design of the 10 schools has taken a holistic sustainability approach with a particular emphasis given to four factors of prime importance for quality school design such as integrated design process, energy savings, water consumption reduction and recycling. The 10 schools have been designed - with the use of sustainable materials - to significantly reduce energy and water consumption, improve indoor air quality conditions for students and incorporate better waste management practices. They set a new benchmark for sustainability standards of future educational institutions and will positively impact students comfort and well-being.The awarding of three pearl rating to the 10 schools follows a MoU inked by UPC and ADEC in December 2009 to increase cooperation in processes, strategies and technique that could be most effective for achieving Estidamas highest rating for educational buildings in the UAE and for promoting sustainable learning environments for students. While evaluating and testing several potential scenarios, Estidama and ADEC technical teams worked closely together in discussing best practices, techniques and strategies to improve design performance while controlling capital and operational cost at the same time.
The Estidama Pearl Rating System, one of the first initiatives of the UPCs Estidama programme, is a framework for sustainable design, construction and operation of communities, buildings and villas to guide the sustainable growth of Abu Dhabi in accordance with Vision 2030. The Pearl Rating System is unique to the world in that it is an integrated government initiative and specifically tailored to the hot climate and arid environment of Abu Dhabi.Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2011.
