Greening Existing Buildings in the United Arab Emirates
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Date
2012-09
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The British University in Dubai (BUiD)
Abstract
It is expected that in the next few decades, CO2 production in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will increase up to 138.4 million metric tonnes annually as a result of increasing the consumption of building resources, like energy and water (Radhi. 2009, p.2462). No matter how big or small buildings are, they still contribute to the accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere as well as the consumption of resources. One of the challenges and misconceptions that slow down the spreading of “greening existing buildings” concept is that many, including building professionals, still believe that is it very costly to sustainably renovate buildings (Nelson. 2010).
The UAE has recently started to develop policies and guidelines to encourage the application of green building strategies for new contraction; however, little attention has been given to the existing buildings. That is why this paper focused its research on the concept of greening existing buildings in the UAE. It takes Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s headquarter building as a case study example of an existing building that turned green. It then explores the applicability of learning from Dubai Chamber’s experience in an aim to green other existing buildings in the UAE.
The research concludes that existing buildings in the UAE can easily be greened as well as save costs and sustain resources at the same. Although buildings are not alike in terms of the systems they use and the ways they operate, understanding what is available and how they function are important to identify improvement opportunities and achieve the their green building goals.
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Keywords
greening buildings, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Green House Gases (GHG)