The Space Race

Everyone knows that UAE’s construction market is booming. Meaning all parties are benefiting. Who, then, is thinking about the environment?

Who isn’t looking for space in Dubai, be it for a warehouse or an office? With the booming construction scene, things look positive. But hold on. Slow down a moment and think about the future. Don’t you want your office or warehouse to be environmentally friendly? And how many developers are thinking about this? Are their buildings sustainable?

Charlotte Eddington, Group Head, Director, Energy and Sustainability, CBRE

Charlotte Eddington, Group Head, Director, Energy and Sustainability, CBRE, was in Dubai for a few days to learn exactly that. She says, “The UAE construction scene is extremely interesting. Everything is moving so quickly in order to meet the huge demand for real estate. As a result, it might be argued that the infrastructure has not been put in place to cope with the huge pace of development and in addition, some properties are potentially being built without a great deal of consideration for the future market.”

But, she adds, “Inevitably, demand and supply will change over the next few years and occupiers will, as a result, become more demanding in relation to the quality of space.”

Energy and sustainability issues are matters for serious consideration. “Presently regulations in the region are rather light and as a result, properties are not necessarily meeting what could be termed as exemplar construction. Having said that, there are a number of developers who are working hard to implement good practices,” says Eddington.

Nakheel is one of them. Recently it was awarded with Middle East’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for its achievements in implementing recycling, energy and water reduction programmes as well as pushing for sustainable building practices.

Abu Dhabi has recently created its own green building code called the Pearl Building Rating. This is a regionally specific environmental sustainability assessment methodology for new buildings. The regulation is largely based on other international standards such as LEED and BREEAM.

It will therefore cover a whole range of best practice techniques for building in an environmentally sustainable manner such as water reduction systems, energy efficient design, waste management systems, health and well being and pollution issues.

“When a very ‘green’ property is built, environmental design criteria is considered from the very beginning of the project and is integrated into the design process,” says Eddington. “Consideration is given to a whole range of issues including construction techniques and materials, alternative energy supplies, water saving techniques and waste management issues among others.”

International standards cannot be used in their entirety in the Middle East as they need to be amended to suit the climate and the legislation.   “There is, I believe, a LEED Emirates and a BREEAM Emirates being developed which will be more applicable to the constraints and opportunities in the region,” adds Eddington. “A good example would be that in LEED and BREEAM, you gain credit for having bicycle racks to encourage employees to cycle to work. This is not really feasible in the Emirates because it is so hot!”

It is important that developers receive good advice and implement the right systems and also that the government is made aware of what is important to ensure that the developments in the region are as sustainable as possible, according to Eddington. If this is to be the case, the properties built will need to meet international occupier requirements (many of whom are beginning to insist on a certain standard of ‘green’ building).

So, although the speed of construction is impressive, istandards need to be put in place fast. “The government has a role to play here as well,” says Eddington. “It would be useful if Pearl, BREEAM and LEED all worked together to reach a conclusion as fast as possible.  The government should also begin to encourage large scale clean technology solutions. Solar power and large scale combined cooling heat and power plants which feed into district networks are good ideas. This could be incentivised through fiscal mechanisms such as feed-in tariffs.”