QScience Connect - Volume 2017, Issue 2, Special Issue on Shaping Qatar’s Sustainable Built Environment-Part I

The aim of this paper is to start a conversation about the cost premium for green buildings in Qatar. It examines what Qatar has achieved over the last decade and explores the root cause of green building cost premiums, why they exist, what can we do about them, and why should we accept them. For the purposes of this paper, the term green building specifically refers to buildings pursuing certification under USGBC's “LEED” or GORD's “GSAS” rating system, which are most commonly used in Qatar.

However, lower oil prices have led to tighter spending and a greater focus on value engineering and cost savings. It is assumed that the environmental benefits of green buildings are understood and taken as given. Accordingly, here we aim to shift the conversation toward how to maximize value from implementing green building rating systems. We analyze the costs and benefits of the main GB rating systems currently used in Qatar, such as GSAS and LEED. By identifying the costs of constructing a green building, in this study, we aim to inform developers how to minimize the cost premium while getting more benefits. We also identify some of the causes of key problems that can occur on GB projects, where GB cost premiums can increase beyond what is typical for the certification level achieved. These problems can often lead to symptoms beyond cost over-runs and can manifest themselves as time delays, quality, and other issues. In addition, some of the key strategies to reduce GB costs and increase the economic benefits from achieving GB certifications are identified.

We conclude the paper with some recommendations to authorities for adopting GB rating systems on a wider scale to achieve a greater scale of change. We focus on some key issues with the GSAS rating schemes that influence GB costs and strive for a common energy simulation approach for all regional GB rating systems in the GCC. We also discuss how the integrity of a GB rating system is imperative to building confidence in the value of each certification level, which should result in “Green Premiums” being reflected in the property market. Finally, we argue that with support from Qatar Green Building Council and GORD, Qatar's planning authorities should initiate programs for the sustainable development of buildings in Qatar.

The assessment of adaptive facades presents a barrier as there is no established assessment technique. Many of the available facade performance evaluation systems or frameworks have limited applicability for such advanced building facades. The complexity of adaptive or dynamic facades' evaluation is related to the performance evaluation of facade elements, systems, and overall building performance coupled with occupant behavior and occupant satisfaction. In this context, this paper presents a case study of an adaptive sunscreen facade and evaluation of its performance and occupant behavior. The evaluation mainly focuses on pre- and post-construction phases of adaptive facades: the design assist phase (including the durability test, visual mockup, onsite mashrabiya mounting, and weather stripping), the commissioning phase (field verification and performance testing), and the monitoring phase. The selected project is a 150-meter-high twin tower that stands with a honeycomb-inspired structure and automated dynamic solar screen that responds to the sun's movement. These solar screens respond dynamically and automatically to the angle of the sun, which improves the control over energy consumption, solar radiation, and glare with the ability to allow natural light into the building. This paper is part of the research activities of working group 3 of the European COST Action 1403 on “Adaptive Facades”. Different methods were used for evaluation and these include the following: interviews with the architect, facade engineer, technical control specialist and occupants, reviews of standards and codes, review of energy models, and a systematic design process mapping. A documentation of the case study describing the post-construction occupant comfort and facade operation was prepared. This paper's audience comprises mainly project managers, architects, and building facade engineers together with facility managers who are concerned with the process of design, construction, and operation of adaptive sunscreens facades. The outcome of this study identifies quantifiable performance indicators and effective strategies for the design and performance evaluation of optimal adaptive facades.

This study presents the centrality of the issues pertaining to sustainability at the urban level. It suggests that in contrast to market based understandings and representations of sustainability has significant connections to social and cultural forces. By focusing on three case studies, the study showcases how sustainability needs to be understood in terms of the way market-based economic actions and institutional initiatives embed market based initiatives and forces. The study seeks to create awareness, academically and publicly on the possibility of imagining the coexistence of communitarian and market logics, with implications for sustainability. The study introduces case studies from Doha, Qatar. The intention is to shed light on the theoretical debates and illustrate how embeddedness with its variegated forms has been unfolding. The cases of Souq Al Wakra, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) Souqna, and Quranic Botanic Garden (QBG) have been chosen because they present not only similarities (a commonality of cultivating embeddedness that produces economic, social, and environmental sustainability) but also differences (in the mechanisms of embedding, as well as the actors involved).

Photovoltaic (PV) power generation is the fastest growing technology in the distributed generation sector. In addition to integrating renewable energies, current grid is required to be reliable, stable, and of high-quality power. The large-scale integration of PV power into the grid is bound up with problems of the safe operation of the grid, bringing new challenges to the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) system. The objective of this paper was to study and analyze the integration of large-scale PV facilities into the GCC power grid and to address their energy security and environmental challenges. A new simulation model was developed to analyze and investigate the impact of integrating large-scale solar PV facilities into the distribution power grid and to carry out transient stability analysis.

Sustainability has become a primary concern of new communities worldwide. With regard to planned communities specifically, sustainability planning has taken into account technical environmental standards as well as economic and technological factors. However, planned communities must consider social factors, or their “culture of sustainability” if their endeavors should prove to be truly successful in not only being environmentally sustainable, but also uphold and encourage sustainable human behavior. This paper will first consider the definition of cultures of sustainability. Cultures of sustainability vary from one community to the next and are defined by a strong hierarchy of values. How these values are translated differ, especially as it concerns the structure and governance of a community; values can either be communicated top-down through institutions or bottom-up using a community based-approach. Second, this paper will explore the methodologies communities use to make themselves sustainable. Third, the methodologies and cultures of sustainability explored through three case studies on three different continents: Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Throughout the three case studies, the obstacles and challenges to sustainability and the different forms it takes, environmental, economic, and social, are explored. In this study, it becomes clear that cultures of sustainability must first and foremost take into account the inclusion of the community in decision making processes as well as their embrace of community values and willingness to alter their behavior. Without a shared vision, concrete plan, and sense of community identity, sustainability goals can only last in the short term rather than create a real impact.

This paper examines some of the methods by which manufacturers certify their building materials as “sustainable” and communicates those certifications to the market. Using company marketing materials, along with specific case studies, the paper will present examples of how these certifications and presentations can cause consumer confusion. In light of this situation, the paper endeavors to present readers with basic guidelines with which to evaluate manufacturers' claims and their materials' applicability to their needs. The paper will also identify specific manufacturer efforts to create truly sustainable materials.