A new female starchitect on the rise? BM Studios is an architectural firm bridging the East and the West. In this article, Balsam Madi shares her approach to climate sensitive design and discusses the role of architects today.

In the UAE, architects often have more influence than they realize, particularly at the early, conceptual stages of a project. How do they weigh that responsibility? How is the role of architects today influencing climate sensitive design? We speak with Balsam Madi from BM Studios to learn more.

Architectural teams are typically structured into distinct roles as concept architects, design development teams, specifiers, and project managers. But these roles frequently operate in silos, especially within large corporations, she tells Green Prophet.

Design managers, who liaise across teams and maintain continuity, are still relatively rare. This hierarchy has a direct impact on sustainability outcomes, notes the young, aspirational architect working between Berlin and Dubai at the firm she founded, BM Studios.

In Balsam’s former role as a senior lead designer at KEO, sustainability was not an add-on, she says, it was embedded in her responsibility. She was expected to introduce cultural research, emerging design trends, sustainable strategies, and even AI-driven methodologies into the workflow. Knowledge transfer was central to her role: staying ahead of global conversations and translating them into locally relevant design decisions.

Sustainability entered most powerfully during the concept phase, which she was leading, through storytelling. She reinterpreted vernacular architectural techniques using contemporary aesthetics that clients respond to today, while quietly embedding passive strategies, climate intelligence, and material efficiency. Referencing comparable cities and precedents helped position sustainability not as a risky experiment, but as a proven and aspirational solution.

She also naturally stepped into a design management role, coordinating day-to-day processes, aligning design development teams, specifications, and material research. Early decisions around modularity, prefabrication, and low-impact construction often made the biggest difference, long before sustainability became a checklist. This coordination allowed quality assurance throughout costing and specification stages—precisely where silos often form and opportunities for design integrity and sustainability are lost.

As independent practitioners, architects become translators, strategists, and sometimes marketeers of sustainability, not superficially, but by demonstrating how responsible design enhances value, longevity, and relevance.

After leaving the corporate world and working independently, she found more freedom to advocate for these ideas, she tells Green Prophet. As independent practitioners, architects become translators, strategists, and sometimes marketeers of sustainability, not superficially, but by demonstrating how responsible design enhances value, longevity, and relevance. They are expected to do it all!

Over the next decade, architects who can bridge vision, systems, and persuasion will shape the industry far more than those focused on form alone, she says. Having knowledge about LEED-building, or Estidama Pearls isn’t enough.

Where Architects Truly Influence Sustainability

Landscape design for a private Dubai client. Balsam Madi.

Architects genuinely influence sustainability at three critical points: concept design, advisory roles, and spatial intelligence. The greatest constraint, however, remains resistance to change.

Balsam once proposed a flexible housing strategy inspired by open-building principles and early Japanese residential models, homes designed to evolve with families rather than forcing families to adapt to rigid layouts. The concept was profitable, socially progressive, and sustainable, yet it was not well received. The real estate sector, despite its creative veneer, often prefers familiarity over innovation.

Some of her most successful sustainability-driven typologies—projects that doubled developer yields—were led by developers who were architects themselves. Leadership mindset matters. Sustainability is not just about trees or technology; it’s about designing spaces that perform socially, economically, and environmentally over decades.

Cultural constraints also play a role. Ambition in the Middle East region is high, but often paired with impatience. Limited time for research, testing, and long-term planning undermines sustainable outcomes. Developers who have truly excelled invested in R&D and allowed innovation to mature, positioning themselves with distinct value propositions.

Architects also influence sustainability through advisory work: optimizing layouts for waste management, connecting developers with recycling or composting partners, and improving operational efficiency through better planning. These opportunities are frequently missed, often due to a narrow procurement mindset focused on either lowest cost or premium solutions, with little space in between.

Quality is another issue. First-time developers sometimes hire very young firms to reduce costs, resulting in poor layouts and dysfunctional living spaces. Sustainability, at its core, is systems thinking. When treated as isolated gestures rather than an integrated framework, it loses both meaning and impact.

From Designing Form to Designing Systems

Balsam says she loves concept design, “the iterative process, the moment when an idea clicks and demands to be built. That creative spark is sacred. But today, AI can generate iterations faster than entire teams once could. This raises an important question: if machines can explore form, what is the architect’s true value?

“For me, the answer is systems thinking and orchestration. Architecture is no longer about isolated objects; it’s about aligning structure, MEP, HVAC, materials, construction sequencing, and long-term operation from day one. Certifications like LEED touch on this, but the principle runs deeper. Designing holistically from the start avoids waste, redesign, and inefficiency later.

“One of my engineering management professors once said architects are ‘artists with rulers’ and ‘conductors of the construction orchestra.’ We don’t play every instrument, but we understand how they work together. That ability to coordinate, adapt, and guide is irreplaceable.

“This is why my practice spans architecture, interiors, landscape, and product design. Design is a universal language. If you can take an idea from concept to execution in one medium, you can do it in many. The future architect is a systems leader, strategist, and coach—someone who maintains the big picture while navigating complexity with clarity,” she tells Green Prophet.

“As a result, I developed a sustainability arm within my practice that connects businesses, end users, and service providers working on sustainable products. This includes integrating sustainable MEP systems and sensors into high-end heritage spaces—design work that is less conceptual and more coordination-driven, yet increasingly in demand as architecture moves beyond a unilateral definition.

Climate, Materials, and the UAE Context

If you are developing a dream in the UAE, “the biggest challenges in the UAE are climate and infrastructure, particularly mobility,” says Balsam.  “While Dubai’s metro is efficient, many communities lack shaded walkways, green corridors, and pedestrian-friendly design. This disproportionately affects lower-income areas and creates daily stress.”

Materially, many buildings are not designed for long-term exposure to heat and humidity, she notes. “Façades and systems often deteriorate within 20 years, reducing value and increasing vacancy. Rather than resisting the region’s appetite for renovation, we should specify materials with strong life-cycle performance, recyclability, and adaptability. Outdoor construction, in particular, needs stricter material guidelines. Initiatives like Colab in D3 advocate for sustainable material use, but ultimately this requires leadership-level commitment.

“Too often, sustainability manifests as confusion at the operational level and box-ticking at the corporate level. When it becomes jargon detached from empathy and responsibility, it loses credibility. Real change starts with environmental literacy and a shared sense of stewardship for place.”

Beyond Ratings: An Ethical Foundation

Balsam tells us, that there is a growing disconnect between global sustainability agendas and on-the-ground impact. While conferences consume enormous budgets, grassroots sustainability startups, the true innovators, often struggle to survive without access to capital.

Certifications and data have their place, she says, but when sustainability becomes bookkeeping rather than belief, skepticism follows, particularly around topics like Net Zero. “An ethical, zero-harm intention recenters sustainability around empathy—toward nature, communities, and future generations.

“When intention leads, capital can be distributed more holistically, allowing ecosystems to thrive across all roles, from change-makers to policymakers.”

About Balsam Madi, Founder of BM Studios

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Remember when everyone was stealing steel in your city to melt it down for the Chinese building market during the Olympics in Beijing? Grates from storm sewers were being lifted, iron gates gone, slides gone missing from Japanese playgrounds. The thing about raw materials is that once they are melted down, you can’t prove the source of the material. Same is true with gold, cucumbers and even forged products that look the same as the real thing. When it comes to steel, and how we produce it, it has a massive carbon problem. What’s happening in Japan right now could change how we think about heavy industry and climate action.

Related: All about green mining

The steel sector is wrestling with an existential question—how do you prove that the product being smelted is actually “green steel”—steel produced with renewable energy and which doesn’t harm people and planet? And more importantly, how do you make sure that environmental value doesn’t get lost, duplicated, or mysteriously multiplied as steel moves through processors, distributors, and manufacturers through endless countries back and forth? You can’t put a barcode on raw material that gets changed but you can barcode the process and that’s what Fujitsu is doing.

It seems transformative but the technology has been around for 10 years. Enter Fujitsu—before your eyes glaze over, this has nothing to do with Bitcoin or crypto speculation. Think of it more like a digital receipt system that nobody can fake.

Starting in December 2025, Fujitsu launched a pilot project—backed by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry—to trace and track green steel certificates through the supply chain using blockchain. Fujitsu is a technology company that makes computers, servers, IT systems, and digital solutions for businesses—they don’t manufacture steel themselves but provide the digital infrastructure that helps industries track and verify their processes. The pilot runs through February 2026 and involves actual steel businesses testing whether this tracking system works in real-world conditions.

Here’s the problem they’re solving: Japan’s steel industry has developed methods to produce lower-emission steel. One approach, called the GX Mass Balance Method, lets companies pool their emission reductions from various green projects and allocate them to specific steel products. Another method, GX Allocation, distributes emission reductions across different products while keeping total emissions constant.

But the problem is that once a green steel certificate gets issued, it needs to travel through an entire supply chain—from the mill to processors to fabricators to whoever’s building the final product like cars, buildings, bridges, home appliances, or beverage cans. At each handoff, there’s a risk the environmental claim gets duplicated, lost, or disputed. One certificate could theoretically be claimed by multiple parties, inflating the actual environmental benefit. We’ve seen this with BioBee strawberries in Israel. What was once an eco label to show pollinated by bees is now believed to be a symbol for organic strawberries—which isn’t true.

They aren’t organic. Suppliers are printing their own stickers and it’s a forgery that everyone goes along with. It happens in the US too—Kohl’s and Walmart both settled with the FTC in 2022 for $2.5 million and $3 million respectively after falsely advertising rayon products as “eco-friendly bamboo fiber.” McDonald’s also introduced “recyclable” paper straws in 2019 that turned out to be non-recyclable.

What was the Japanese Kobe Steel Scandal?

The Kobe Steel scandal of 2017 exposed how Japan’s reputation for quality manufacturing could crumble when data gets falsified. Employees deliberately falsified strength and durability data on over 600 products shipped to clients, with data manipulation occurring at 23 domestic and overseas plants involving more than 40 employees—a practice that had been endemic since the 1970s according to Wikipedia.

At least 20,000 tons of aluminum and copper products with fabricated inspection data were shipped to around 200 companies =including Toyota, Boeing, and Japan’s bullet train manufacturers. The problem wasn’t poor quality steel, it was lying about the specifications. Products that didn’t meet customer standards were shipped anyway with fake certificates claiming they did. This is exactly why blockchain tracking matters: without a tamper-proof record of what’s actually in your supply chain, you’re just trusting someone’s word.

Fujitsu’s blockchain platform creates a permanent, tamper-proof record of each green steel certificate as it moves downstream. The technology ensures traceability while maintaining confidentiality—companies can verify the environmental value without exposing sensitive business information about who’s buying what from whom. Blockchain allows for complete anonymity while still proving authenticity.

What makes this interesting isn’t just the technology. It’s the recognition that producing green steel is only half the battle. The other half is building trust in those environmental claims across complex, global supply chains. Without that trust and verification, green steel becomes just another marketing claim that buyers and regulators can’t verify.

The steel industry produces roughly 7 to 9% of global CO2 emissions, so decarbonizing it matters enormously. But green steel typically costs more to produce, which means manufacturers need assurance they’re paying for something real. End users—say, a car company promising carbon-neutral vehicles—need proof that the steel in their products actually has the reduced emissions they’re claiming. Otherwise, they are just suckers with a feel-good label that means nothing.

Fujitsu is positioning this platform, which they call the Sustainable Value Accelerator, as potentially expandable beyond steel into other industries facing similar verification challenges. The company employs 113,000 people and reported revenues of 3.6 trillion yen for fiscal year 2025, so they’ve got the resources to push this forward. While products in the 60s from Japan were cheap and lousy, that label has moved to China. Everyone trusts the quality of Japan today like they trust Switzerland. We can trust they will make a system that will be fair and honest and reliable.

Except, not that long ago in 2007, Japan suffered a steel scandal. Top Japanese automakers had to assess the safety of vehicles containing products from Kobe Steel, which has admitted falsifying quality data. Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi Motor, Subaru and Mazda joined aviation firms and defense contractors Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and IHI that have used the steelmaker’s products.

Japan’s famous “Shinkansen” bullet trains also used Kobe Steel’s aluminum, as did high-speed trains in Britain, according to engineering firm Hitachi. “Products used (for both Japanese and British trains) met safety standards. But they did not meet the specifications that were agreed between us and Kobe Steel,” a Hitachi spokesman told the media.

Like what Fujitsu is doing? Do you think this is the right way forward? To invest in Fujitsu, you can purchase its stock (shares) through an international or online stockbroker. Fujitsu Limited is primarily listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) under the ticker code 6702. It also trades on the over-the-counter (OTC) markets in the US under the ticker FJTSY. Green Prophet has no affiliation with the company. 

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Palliative care is more than just medical attention for those with serious or terminal illnesses. It is about offering comfort, respect, and a space that fosters emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being in the final stages of life. The best place for one to die is probably at a safe space at home and in nature with your loved ones around. If the person you love does not feel safe in this configuration, as what happened in my family, the best is when you can find an institution that offers the next best thing.

A recent design unveiled by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) for a palliative care center and hospice in Denmark highlights how sustainable architecture can harmonize with nature and spirituality to offer an enriched and dignified end-of-life experience.

Bjarke Ingels Group has won the competition to design the new Sankt Lukas Hospice and Lukashuset, a 8,500 m² palliative care center envisioned as a village nestled within nature. Building on the legacy of the Sankt Lukas Foundation, established in the 1930s, this project will significantly expand Denmark’s palliative care capacity, tripling its current facilities to serve approximately 2,100 patients each year.

The architecture and design of palliative care spaces are crucial to creating an environment that promotes peace, dignity, and connection.

Related: most late stage treatments in cancer aren’t worth it

Sustainability in Palliative Care: A Healing Environment

The importance of sustainability in palliative care is not merely about protecting the environment; it’s about creating spaces that promote long-term healing, peace, and connection to the earth. The palliative care center designed by BIG uses natural, reclaimed materials like wood and brick, which not only reduce the environmental footprint of the building but also bring an inherent sense of history and permanence to the space.

Related: Canadians want end of life care with hallucinogenic mushrooms

Sustainable architecture, in its essence, recognizes that our well-being is intertwined with the health of the planet. For patients nearing the end of their journey, a space built with care for the earth can provide a profound sense of harmony. The use of natural materials, such as reclaimed bricks and sustainably sourced wood, evokes a sense of warmth and familiarity—creating a comforting, homely atmosphere rather than the cold, sterile feel of a traditional hospital.

This simple yet profound connection to nature and sustainability encourages a sense of groundedness for patients as they reflect on their lives and their place in the larger cycle of existence.

Nature as a Source of Healing and Spiritual Connection

There is an undeniable connection between nature and the human spirit. Throughout history, nature has been seen as a source of comfort and renewal, a place where individuals can find peace and clarity.

In palliative care, a place where people essentially go to die, connecting to the natural world can provide immense emotional and spiritual benefits for patients and their families. Nature acts as a mirror, reflecting the ongoing cycle of life and offering solace in times of uncertainty.

The Danish palliative care center is designed to embrace this connection. The space integrates abundant natural light, views of lush green landscapes, and access to gardens that invite patients and their families to spend time outdoors.

For those facing terminal illness, these natural elements offer moments of reflection, serenity, and spiritual renewal. Whether it’s watching the seasons change through a window, sitting in a garden surrounded by the hum of life, or simply breathing in the fresh air, the experience of nature in a palliative care setting can soothe the soul. This is important for the soul of the sick but also the loved ones that need to traverse the world in a new reality without the one that they know the way they once were.

The post BIG Palliative Care: Denmark’s Nature and Spirituality in Dignified End-of-Life Care appeared first on Green Prophet.

There is a breakwall at the ancient port of Caesarea in Israel that’s been standing against waves for 2000 years. Meanwhile the break-walls in Jaffa down the coast are being fortified once again after a couple of decades. Ancient concrete used by the Romans to build aqueducts and Rome itself, it turns out, was made to be self-healing concrete, and it can repair itself over time, surmise researchers from MIT. And this is important when you consider the built mass of concrete and our planet. 

The new study on ancient concrete shows that while ancients didn’t know exactly why the concrete they used worked chemically, even though it was a recipe they perfected, it may be a recipe for reducing climate change. Current concrete mixtures create unnecessary greenhouses gases in their production, and as a circular material are not able to withstand the test of time.

The research was led by Admir Masic from MIT and was published in a journal Science Advances and explores the process of hot mixing and how the ancient Romans made plaster to last. MIT is the same wonderful design, engineering and science school to hire Julia Watson who wrote the book every architecture student should own called Lo-Tek Design by Radical Indiginism. The book focuses more on primitive culture but it’s really a wonderful collection of building by nature. The best I have ever read. Plus it’s a glory to behold.

As for the self-healing plaster research: “The Romans employed hot mixing, using quicklime in conjunction with, or instead of, slaked lime, to create an environment where high surface area aggregate-scale lime clasts are retained within the mortar matrix,” writes Masic. 

“Inspired by these findings, we propose that these macroscopic inclusions might serve as critical sources of reactive calcium for long-term pore and crack-filling or post-pozzolanic reactivity within the cementitious constructs. The subsequent development and testing of modern lime clast–containing cementitious mixtures demonstrate their self-healing potential, thus paving the way for the development of more durable, resilient, and sustainable concrete formulations.”

This is some news we can use. Now architects and design students: start experimenting. 

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The notion ‘Building Back Better’ originated in the context of reconstruction and recovery from physical disasters while emphasizing on preventative investments which improve resilience and reduce the cost associated with future disasters. 

However, the challenge and task of re-igniting the world economy after the COVID crisis will certainly be different. The economic crisis has been so severe, the risk of returning to the previous pattern so high, and the opportunity of embracing a sustainable recovery so clear that the term ‘Building Back Better’ is highly relevant in this context. Therefore, climate change risk management should be an integral part of building back the economy after COVID crisis. 

Among many solutions available, effective and practical industrial decarbonization strategies can play a crucial role here as industries prove to be major contributors to global carbon emissions. The industries that understand the climate change risks at their bottom line and are able to identify opportunities of sustainable business models can proactively participate in achieving global decarbonization targets and take the lead. 

Here are a few effective industrial decarbonization strategies that businesses can adopt:

Decarbonizing Supply Chains 

Decarbonization of the supply chain has become one of the most prevalent industrial decarbonization strategies as it can significantly reduce global carbon emissions. Supply chain decarbonization can prove to be a game-changing opportunity for businesses fighting climate change.

Some actions industries can take under this are:

• Build a view of emissions with supplier-specific data and set ambitious targets for reducing emissions. 
• Redesign products and consider geographical sourcing strategies for optimizing CO2. 
• Engage in industry ecosystems for sharing best practices and creating a demand for green products.

Making Buildings Green and Energy Efficient

Green buildings refer to a structure that is resource-efficient and environmentally responsible throughout a building’s life-cycle, right from planning to designing, construction, operation, maintenance and so on. Green building practices can help overcome the classical building concerns of durability, comfort, utility and comfort, paving the way to enhanced energy efficiency, reduced emissions and operational efficiency. 

Electrification

One of the most important approaches to achieving industrial decarbonization is existing processes’ electrification for heat treatment. Renewable energy sources can play a crucial role here as they can completely decarbonize the power sector. The migration towards a complete electric renewable-based system can nearly double the energy system efficiency through a combination of electrification of alternative energies’ major uses and the power sector relying on renewable energies. 

Digitize to Decarbonize

With technological advancements, the scope of incorporating digitalization technologies for achieving industrial decarbonization has gained importance. The applications of digitalization technologies include optimizing the energy sector, smarter use of resources or overall dematerialization. A vast amount of data is being collected in several areas; however, better and efficient management of this data will prove to be an efficient tool of decarbonization. It has the capability to make smart electricity grids more accurate and improve LCA  (life-cycle assessments) of products and their value chains. 

Besides optimizing production processes, machine learning and AI can further support the energy sector’s decarbonization by predicting the output of solar and wind farms. 

Partnerships and Collaborations

While a few industries have already progressed towards achieving their decarbonization goals, some still need to start and are unable to devise effective decarbonization strategies. Collaborations and partnerships can play an important role here. 

To accelerate global decarbonization, it is important to make collaborative and coordinated efforts. It allows businesses to share the technology, expertise, and resources for working out robust decarbonization solutions. A few companies are taking the lead in the process and are actively coming up with resilient decarbonization technologies and solutions.

Prima facie, ‘Building Back Better’ and achieving net-zero emission targets might seem challenging; however, it is achievable with robust decarbonization technologies, coordinated efforts, electrification, and other solutions. So, let us collaboratively work towards achieving a sustainable and greener world.

The post Building Back Better Practices with Industrial Decarbonization Strategies appeared first on Green Prophet.

A deck made from pallets. Source: unknown. You can also just use pallets for the frame.

We know that the wood industry is causing deforestation, harm to animals and people and climate change. That affects us all. A new UN project to track illegal timber is now set up, but play your part by making “smart wood” choices when building a new deck this summer, or winter if you are in temperate climates.

Look for the FSC label

Order wood through a trusted source and look for the FSC label that the wood was harvested sustainably. FSC labels are used on products to identify that the product has been verified to come from an FSC-certified source. FSC labels can be found on millions of products around the world: from toilet roll to your favourite book, that milk carton in your fridge, and other food products. I have friends who were part of the founding initiatives of the FSC in Canada. Read about its history here. Lumber can be treated with chemicals that are considered harmful to your health like arsenic and copper so not all “natural” wood is really good for you. 

Work with Trusted Builders

Hiring experienced professionals ensures that your deck is built sustainably and safely. A knowledgeable contractor will help you source eco-friendly materials, minimize waste, and use construction methods that reduce environmental impact. When selecting a builder, look for companies with a commitment to sustainability and transparent sourcing practices. If you’re in Illinois, consider reaching out to deck builders Naperville who specialize in environmentally friendly designs and materials. They can also guide you on maintaining your deck to extend its lifespan, reducing the need for replacements. Choosing the right builder not only enhances durability but also ensures your deck complements the surrounding environment.

Reclaim old wood

Consider using vintage wood if it’s hardwood. The video below shows how you can build a new deck with old wood.

Upcycle pallets

If you don’t mind that it won’t last long, build a deck from pallets. You can also just use them for the frame and add a layer of higher quality wood.

Composite wood

Consider composite wood. It can also be used for decks. But never used it on raised beds for gardens, as it contains plastics and chemicals that can leach into your food.  Composite wood typically offers between 15 to 20 years life span, lasting way more than wood. Invented in the late 1980s, wood-plastic composite decking (also called “composite wood decking”) is made of wood fibers encased in plastic. Composite decking is readily available at big box home improvement stores like The Home Depot and Lowe’s, as well as local lumberyards throughout the US.

As more builders and homeowners learn of wood decking problems, many are turning to high-performance composite decking.

• Resistant to severe weather.

• Very minimal maintenance cost.

• Thanks to its plastic feature, it is highly mould resistant, irrespective of how exposed to moisture it is. 

• It is lightweight and has a lock style, making boards easy to figure out for a successful DIY installation

If you go for “wood” find wood that is harvested local to you. If the wood you buy is forested in Canada, sent to China for treatment and then sold to you in Texas it is not sustainable wood. Find local, just like strawberries.

Avoid treated wood for your health and for the fish:

Chromium copper arsenate, or CCA, according to the Environmental Working Group, was once widely used as a preservative and insecticide in pressure-treated wood. In 2001, tests by the group and the Healthy Building Network showed that wood treated with CCA could expose people to dangerous levels of arsenic, spurring the Environmental Protection Agency to force its removal from the market.

Copper-based chemicals replaced the arsenic preservative, but some of them are also hazardous. For example, alkaline copper quaternary and copper azole are extremely toxic to aquatic life and should never be used in areas where runoff can be carried to surface waters, marshes or coastal areas. Borate-based wood preservatives are also common, but they can leach out of wet wood, leaving the wood vulnerable to decay.

Don’t build a deck

People everywhere are noticing the benefits of grounding. How about just planting yourself in the grass or wild weeds and avoid the deck altogether. More sustainable long lasting options could be ceramic tiles, like the ones used in Mexico and Costa Rica although these tend to break during the freeze and melt in really cold climates. 

The post How to make your deck sustainable appeared first on Green Prophet.

The idea of starting your own business comes across our minds quite often. However, we tend to abandon the thought because we think that it is something that involves a lot of risks. It is true that starting your own business comes with a lot of risks and hard work. However, if you know what you are doing and you keep some golden rules of starting your own business in your mind, then you can change your fate in no time. From having a proper business plan to IT consulting, there are many things that you have to take care of.

If you don’t know what these golden rules are, then worry no more. This blog is going to cover everything you need to know. I’ve narrowed some very important tips that will help you in establishing your business like a pro. 

Here’s everything you need to know about it:

First Thing First – Work on Your Business Idea 

 Having a business plan is more than just selling your products or establishing someplace as your office. If you want to make sure that your business becomes a success, then you have to make sure that you are planning everything in a composed and well-researched manner. You need to analyze the market, the viability of your business plan, etc. 

More often than not, businesses suffer collapse because people become over-ambitious with their business ideas. Therefore, if you want to make your business a success, you need to sit down and take every single detail about your business plan into account.

Get All Kinds of Business Consulting – It’s Important

If you haven’t done any kind of business in the past and are going to start from scratch, you must understand the importance of getting business counseling. It is important because there are many things about business that only experts can guide you with. So, make sure that you get the right kind of business counseling if you want to make your business a success.

Develop a Sustainable Business Plan 

At the starting of any business, there are many difficulties that you could face. It is very likely that you might have to invest in your business from your pocket rather than earning profits. Therefore, you must make sure that you have a sustainability plan for your business so that it can at least survive the tough few months of the start. For example, you can start small projects that are sufficient to provide for the expenses of your main business.

Don’t Forget to Make Your Business Official 

More often than not, people are so busy establishing their business and making efforts about it that they forget some very important stuff like getting your business registered. If your business is not registered with the relevant authorities, then it can end up in a lot of trouble, and you definitely don’t want it to happen. Therefore, you must get your business registered as the first order of business so that you can avoid any kind of problem and focus on your business with your undivided attention.

Critically Review Your Financial Situation 

Even in the world of start-up culture, you need to make sure that you have enough finances to hold your business on grounds if things go unplanned for a month or two. Therefore, you need to have a critical look at your finances so that you and your business can survive on that money. If you don’t have that kind of money, then the rule is simple. You just cut some budget from the overall investment of your business and use that money as your secret stash in times of trouble.

Learn What Your Targeted Audience is looking for

Lastly, doing any business success is all about understanding the requirements of your targeted audience. You must make sure that you are studying the market and analyzing the needs of your potential customers. It’ll help to provide them with the services that they are looking for right from the start of your business. For example, if you are launching a product, then you just need to make your product one step better than your competitors, and just like that, your clients will be attracted to your product.

The post 6 Tips to Establishing a New Business from Scratch appeared first on Green Prophet.

When Masdar, the space-age city in Abu Dhabi was in its planning stages, architects from Europe, building suppliers, advisors and energy creators were agog. A lot of purportedly “green building” was to take place and billions in contracts for wild dreams were to be awarded.

It was the same sort of energy surrounding Better Place the promised all electric car company that got almost a billion in investment which was squandered in all the wrong places. While Better Place was a good idea with a bad plan, Masdar was a bad idea with a good plan. With Masdar I always felt it was a story of the king not wearing any clothes, or like the meltdown of Amy Winehouse. All the players in the story were more than happy to go along with the lie because it was in their interest for the project to go ahead.

Masdar, an $18 billion experiment in sustainable living, was supposed to be the world’s first zero energy city. No building can be zero energy. Every building, village, town, city we create cannot be sustainable or perfectly environmental or zero energy. When we build on the environment, once a desert, forest or grassland, it is changed, maybe forever. 

Masdar was also supposed to be liveable. When we sent a reporter there some years ago no people were in sight. We had one dispatch once from a student who was staying there and when she talked with us it felt like she was talking to from a closet.

Green building technology in the eyes of the planet is a bit of an oxymoron in my opinion especially when the people running the technology show are coming in with Western Silicon Valley ideals that are really incompatible with how I think future cities should look in the Middle East.

Fast Company points out the problem: “The Masdar City model seems difficult to reproduce: too isolated, too expensive, too empty. The embryo town appears rather as a symptom of the obsession of a state with regard to its future. What will become of this territory, once the hydrocarbon reserves underneath its soil are depleted? In response, the frenzied builders attempt to inscribe life in a permanent fashion on a land that seems hostile to human existence. It is about facing the fear of death by building quickly (an “instant city”), to help transition to an Emirates that is a techno-ecological leader. Masdar City is meant to be the laboratory. Opening soon . . . one day.”

Or never?

If we want to create progress in the Middle East in green building, architects, planners and investors need to move away from trendy ideas (shipping containers – read why we think they suck!) to going back to relationships with local traditions and cultures.

A few good places to start building greener in the Middle East:

Hassan Fathy was an Egyptian visionary architect who used local building materials to create relatable, affordable, comforting green buildings.

Mashrabiya is an aesthetic concept in the Middle East which creates shade and privacy and mitigates heat islands passively in buildings.

The Windcatchers of Yadz offer a fabulous, local solution to cooling rising temperatures that can go up to 50 degrees C in the Middle East.

Start with these few resources for a more modest approach before a layer of green technology or western ideology approaches Middle East architecture. 

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An online real estate  company listed a seven bedroom villa in Dubai’s neighboring Emirate Abu Dhabi for $95,300 a year, which amounts to nearly $8,000 a month. Anyone who can afford to spend that much money on rent probably has little incentive to turn off the lights in order to conserve energy or shorten their showers, which may explain why the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council sometimes has to meet with villa owners six times before they grasp the minimum requirements of the country’s mandatory Estidama green building code.

Energy and water guzzlers

Government subsidies keep energy and water costs unrealistically low in the Emirates, despite its dubious distinction of having the world’s largest per capita carbon footprint. And many foreigners who have flocked to the Emirate to help the country exploit their enormous resource wealth live behind tall walls in self-enclosed villas.

So it’s hardly surprising that they are perplexed by the Estidama Pearl Rating System that was established in September, 2010 as a mandatory means to reduce the carbon and water footprint of all structures built in Abu Dhabi.

In order to help them find their way, the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council has launched an online tool that villa owners on a step-by-step journey through this unknown landscape. Appropriately called the “e-villa configurator,” this platform demonstrates to new builders what techniques can be used to save “precious water” resources, according to The National.

Pampering the un-green

“When users click on a category, they can learn how it will affect their final design and what the environmental benefits will be,” the paper reports.

Despite this serious pampering, people aren’t catching on as quickly as the UPC would like. Only 50% of the 1500 applications for Estidama have been approved since November, 2010, and these aren’t strident requirements. Although Government Buildings are required to achieve at least two out of five pearls, villa owners only have to earn one.

An adviser for Estidama, Edwin Young told the paper that it “once took applicants between four and six attempts to get through the process; now the UPC aims for two.”

The building requirements for villa developers have been simplified; hopefully they’ll get the hang of going green soon.

:: The National

image via World Property Channel

More on Green Building in The Emirates:

A Greener Space Planned Between Abu Dhabi and Dubai

Dubai Ends Cheap Local Gas

Former Masdar Director Says the UAE Must End Subsidies

The post Gulf Municipality Pampers Villa Owners Who Don’t Get Green Building appeared first on Green Prophet.

Now a young architect throws out a nationwide challenge, posting on his website, “Amman, it’s time to talk!”

Hanna Salameh, founder of the design firm that bears his name, has collaborated with architects on his staff to propose a radical solution to these faulty towers.  Renaming Jordan Towers as Jordan Gate Park, they envision a facility that returns a sense of place and scale to its neighborhood while serving as a fully visible beacon to renewable energy and the industry’s best practices in green design. If realized, it would transform them into the most sustainable development in the kingdom.

Green Prophet met up with Salameh to get the full story.

Green Prophet: Congratulations!  You’ve been the man of the moment on social media and radio; clearly you’ve touched on a something many locals are passionate about.

Hanna Salameh: Thanks, the response is overwhelming. We are getting comments on our Facebook page, company website, and the phone hasn’t stopped ringing.

GP: What’s the story of the site?

HS:  The towers were built on what used to be a public park that was created on lands donated to the city for that purpose. It’s not clear how the site was made available for private development. The park was surrounded by a dense residential neighborhood and was very popular. It had a large emotional legacy to those who grew up in that part of Amman.

The Jordan Gate project was riddled with problems. The site cannot support the added car traffic that the planned offices and commercial spaces would generate. Servicing its enormous water and sewage demands would be problematic too.

GP: What’s your story?

HS: I grew up in Jordan, and studied architecture at McGill University in Montreal. I returned home and in 2012 I started my company in Amman, Hanna Salameh Design. “Green” is in my blood.  I grew up surrounded by examples of sensible, sustainable design.

When I was a kid, my grandfather would take me with him to visit the many ancient castles in Jordan. I was always amazed how the interiors were cool, in sharp contrast to the intense heat and sunshine outside. He taught me about natural air conditioning, and skillful use of shade. I became passionate about smart passive design, using materials to decrease dependence on mechanical heating and cooling. My company is known for green design, our buildings use 50-70 percent less energy than those built according to standard practices.

GP: Regulations related to planning, design and construction in Jordan seem a bit lax. Building codes don’t seem to adopt international best practices, with many buildings under-insulated, with far too much exterior glass for the climate. There’s little evidence of robust planning around the impacts of new construction on traffic, parking, emergency services.  Do you think stronger, centralized codes would make sure developments were of better quality?

HS: Rigorous planning and clear codes of course would help. But my focus is on raising public awareness. There’s a lack of education about how our buildings could be better, without driving up costs or adding complication. A big part of the Jordan Gate Park project is about showing people how a large project can bring real benefits to its community.  This can generate renewable energy, provide needed public areas for people to relax and interact, it can even supply a steady, organic food supply – all of this open to the public to explore and learn about, and maybe even merge into their own homes.

GP: What motivated you to take on this project?

HS: As a Amman-based architecture firm, we decided to suggest a radical solution that could turn this potential disaster into a positive project that contributes to the sustainability of our country. Jordan has big energy and water problems. We can use these towers to fix part of these problems.

GP: What’s your approach?

HS: We start by removing most of the glass that now wraps the buildings – about 25,000 panels that we’ll re-purpose for other uses on and off site. We’ll sheath the southern facades with photovoltaic (PV) panels – we estimate using 1,500 PV panels, the equivalent of placing eight panels on every house in the surrounding 800 m2 neighborhood.

The towers have 180 m tall shafts for elevators and services. We will open several of these shafts to act as wind towers, siphoning hot air from ground level up through the roof, creating strong air currents in the process, which can be harvested by wind turbines to generate even more electricity.

HS:  But the most important thing we want to do is start urban farming, and turn these towers into vertical farms right in the middle of the city. Each floor is a potential farm with an area of 2,500 m2. Farmers can cultivate popular crops such as cucumbers and tomatoes that grow in natural sunlight, and introduce more exotic varieties in special-purpose controlled environments, enclosed in glass and illuminated by low-consumption LED lights.

The towers offer a total planting area of 200,000 m2, equivalent to transforming the entire street level community into a center-city farm!

HS: Another important aspect of our design is turning the site back into a public park, and help make these skyscrapers relate to human scale. We’ll open up the roof of the first-level basement to admit sunlight and connect it to the park above. We’ll re-purpose about 10,000 of the glass wall panels into stalls for a new farmers’ market. Tower farmers can sell their fresh produce directly to consumers, cutting out the middleman, shipping costs, and harmful CO2 emissions.

HS: As for the rest of those glass panels?  We’ll build 1,900 bus stops across Amman and the kingdom. They can be signed in interesting ways to promote tips of energy and water saving to create further awareness.

HS: There is a lot more we can do with these towers. Like creating a viewing deck on the top floor to enjoy the beautiful views of Amman. And a tower-top restaurant that serves food cooked from the delicious organic products grown in the towers. We want to create a green gym with sports equipment that generates electricity.

There’s so much more potential – we could add extreme entertainment such as bungee jumping off the towers, zip-lining between them, installing hi-tech roller coasters – you can see more about this in the video we created (below). And of course we’ll have an educational part  to explain how the project works and educated the public further about green design and energy and water saving.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/5FA-OMYiIHQ[/youtube]

HS: So as you can see, we are hitting about 15 birds with one stone. Most importantly, we are protecting our city from a big problem and transforming these two towers into a positive project that generates power, produces food and gives us back our park.

We believe that the cost of implementing these ideas is less than finishing the original planned project. And the new functions will generate significant income for the tower owners, returning first investment and creating new revenue streams from renewable energy generation and food production.

GP: Any parting words for us?

HS: Let’s turn these towers into a landmark that represents progress and sustainability. Their presence will raise awareness on issues of energy and water, and through them we can prove to the world that we can learn from our mistakes and turn them into big positives for our city and country. Help us make this vision a reality. Connect with us through our website or Facebook or Twitter using the #JordanGatePark.

Images from the project YouTube video

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