Behind the design | IRENA HQ | Brewer Smith Brewer Group

Behind the design | IRENA HQ

Words by Alistair Bradley, Thursday 08 January 2015

Further to last month’s exciting news that Multiplex won Sustainable Construction Project of the Year at the BGreen Awards 2014, we’d like to expand on this news with a feature article on the winning entry, IRENA Headquarters in Masar City.

As the architect, interior designer and lead consultant, BSBG worked closely with both Multiplex and AESG to provide the design response and supporting documents in order to secure the design credits required to achieve the Estidama 4 Pearl Design Rating.

About the project

Irena Headquarters Project, Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Appointed in 2012 by Masdar, Multiplex was responsible for the shell & core Design & Build works on the IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) Headquarters, as well as the fitout works for IRENA’s offices in Masdar City.

The project is set to be one of the UAE’s most sustainable and energy-efficient buildings, having been designed and built to achieve a 4 Pearl Estidama Rating, the highest construction rating ever awarded under the Estidama Pearl Building Rating System. The project is a 32,500m², 7-storey Grade A office and retail complex consisting of three oval-shaped buildings, fitted with 1,000 square metres of rooftop photovoltaic solar panels that supply renewable electricity to tenants. A community courtyard, shared by all three oval structures, will link people from their offices to places to shop, dine, walk and experience all that Masdar City has to offer.

How it was accomplished

In order to design and construct one of the most advanced, sustainable multi-use complexes in the UAE, a set of sustainability KPI’s were met. The most challenging was to deliver the first ever 4 Pearl Estidama Design and Construction Ratings under the Estidama Pearl Building Rating System.

A summary of the KPI’s follows:

Energy demand reduction by 50%
Provision of renewable energy - 20% city-wide delivery
Water demand reduction by 30%
Waste diverted from landfill by 90%
Reduction in embodied carbon in materials by 30%
4 Pearl Estidama Design and Construction Ratings

Through the application of an integrated and holistic design and construction process, the project team exceeded all of the sustainability KPIs for IRENA Headquarters. The project shows how early stage involvement by key stakeholders as well as collaboration between the end-user, developer and Design & Build contractor will ultimately attain greater synergy, and produce a highly desirable end-product.

The result

Integrated design and construction practices

One of the largest air-tightness tests conducted in the Middle East with achieved air-leakage rate less than 5.0m3/hr.m2 when tested with a pressure differential of 50Pa in accordance with EN 13829.
Guest Worker Accommodation Plan which included the formation of a Workers Representative Committee and Workers Social & Welfare Programme.
Bespoke Behaviour Based Safety Programme called It’s Your Life (understood to be the first of its kind in the Middle Eastern construction sector), yielding a lower Incident Frequency Rate.

Natural and urban environment

Use of over 70% native & adaptive drought and/or saline tolerant species for over 10 different types of species.
Installation of bicycle racks to minimise GHG emissions, improve connectivity and encourage bicycle use.

Water

Potable water use reduction by over 53.9%.
100% landscape irrigation supplied from TSE.
Reduction of landscaping water demand through plant species selection and efficient drip-irrigation system.

Energy and atmosphere

Reduction in energy demand by over 50% when compared to a benchmark Abu Dhabi commercial office building, facilitating further reductions in carbon emissions associated with building operation.
Utilisation of demand controlled ventilation to reduce energy demand.
Sustainable refrigerants and fire suppression systems.
54.6% reduction of building’s cooling demand through the incorporation of passive design strategies.
Electric charging points for electric vehicles.
1000m¬2 of rooftop photovoltaic solar panels supplying electricity to the building and a Solar Hot Water system.

Materials and waste

Reduction in Embodied Carbon in Materials by more than 35%.
Procurement and installation of low VOC emitting materials and materials without formaldehyde and PVC.
Over 20% of materials manufactured within 500km of the project, supporting local economies and reducing environmental impacts resulting from transportation.
Structural steel with a post-consumer recycled content of greater than 25%, reinforcement steel with a post-consumer recycled content of greater than 80%.
Sustainable timber, concrete 100% recycled aggregates.
Diversion of over 93% construction waste from landfill.
Predicted operational waste reduction by over 80%.

The partners | BSBG, Mutiplex and AESG

Designing responsibly with others in mind is a fundamental aspect of BSBG’s philosophy, aiming to play a proud part in preserving the precious resources of our shared planet. BSBG values the importance of working collaboratively with partners such as Multiplex and AESG to ensure responsible, as well as aesthetically functional designs.

With an invaluable working knowledge of the different scoring systems, including LEED and Estidama, this practical experience allows us to assist clients in finding alternative, cost effective ways of achieving sustainable performance goals.

Alistair Bradley

Associate Director

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