Some projects that cross my desk are blatantly not as “green” as their investors want us to believe, yet have many redeeming qualities. Take Al Hamra Real Estate’s breakout mega-development, Falcon Island. It’s slated for construction in Ras-al-Khaimah, the emirate north of Dubai, and it’s going gangbusters with solar energy.
Picked to work on this most bespoke island development, international architecture studio A++ is going all out to make sure it keeps pace with some of the most rigorous environmental standards. Relatively speaking, of course, given the multimillion dollar price tag.
Falcon Island will comprise 150 luxurious villas and 11 mansions, which will be equipped with state-of-the-art energy systems – both generating systems and smart systems that maximize energy efficiency. And we expect they’ll be extravagantly decked out inside as well, given this statement on the press release.
“Through exclusive partnerships with interior design group, Luxury Living, and home furnishing brands Bentley Home, Fendi Casa, and Kenzo Maison, each of the villas will combine sustainable technologies with quality craftsmanship.”
It is unabashedly over the top, yet it has a green conscience. Which might be more like a sense of survival, because anyone who is paying attention knows that going off grid is the way of the future. Not only will the bridge entering the island have a solar roof, but the villas will also have rooftop panels.
Related: Massive solar factory opens in Qatar
This accumulated solar energy won’t only provide enough energy for lighting and electricity, but it will also be used to power an on-site desalination plant, street lights, and possibly a solar-powered cooling system.
“The whole complex will be characterized by the implementation of high sustainability systems , both for the production of electricity as well as for the production of thermal energy,” writes A++.
“The villas will be built using a partial pre-cast assembly, performed by dedicated companies in protected environment thereby ensuring effective control of the quality of the implementation, [and] the villas will be characterized by the use of sustainable materials and technical systems with low consumption and low maintenance.”
Which is to say, A++ appears to be super committed to making this an awesome testing ground for advanced technology, which is a great idea.
Though we really aren’t comfortable with the notion that only a privileged group, a group that can afford more than USD 3 million for a waterfront mansion, can have access to this kind of self-sufficiency, we don’t mind using them as guinea pigs for some new ideas.
And then hopefully in time the technology will become more scalable for a wider audience.
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
Dear Mrs Laylin,
First, let me thank you for taking the time to execute an accurate review of our project.
There is just one very important point that need clarification:
The technology implemented in this homes is the result of an accurate design that takes into consideration all aspects of sustainability whether Ecologic, social and economics and specific to different project, of different scales and market value.
It is true that this realization is seeking for a high market recognition and is targeted to a high level audience, as much as is also true that the same principles applied here, are applied to different projects in other areas of the world obtaining the same result in terms of quality of life of the inhabitant achieving a market price that is aligned and in many cases lower than the region standards.
Due to the nature and characteristics of sustainable building’s design, the only way to achieve profit and cash flow generation and to make it a viable economic solution is through the integration of sustainable principles in the planning, construction, purchase, and management of a building. Our Integrated sustainable design approach (ISD) is not the result of the gathering of expensive solutions rather is the result of a well crafted process of thinking and acting that employs knowledge and research to achieve its goals adopting an upstream structured approach to address the full scope of sustainability rather than focusing on isolated initiatives to mitigate the effect of a badly designed and engineered realization.
The giunea pig approach does not apply to this approach to project nor does a standardized market positioning as the ISD approach produces a customized solution every time, targeted to the necessity and according to project bief.
Yours,
Matteo Pelliciari
A++ GM