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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Across the Middle East and North Africa, large investments are being made in green hydrogen, renewable energy, water infrastructure and sustainability. Most of these efforts are discussed in the context of climate change, decarbonization and economic diversification. That framing is important, but it may not capture their full value.

If these systems are designed well, they can do more than produce clean energy or reduce emissions. They can help create healthier societies and greater long-term stability.

Today, health is usually treated as a medical issue. We think of hospitals, drugs and treatments. From a systems and economic perspective, this approach is becoming increasingly expensive and limited. Health does not begin in hospitals. It begins much earlier, in the conditions people live in every day.

Clean water, healthy soil, reliable energy, nutritious food and safe environments shape human health long before anyone sees a doctor. When these foundations are weak, chronic illness increases, healthcare costs rise and societies become more fragile. Medical systems then try to manage the consequences, often treating symptoms rather than underlying causes.

This challenge exists everywhere, but it is especially visible in regions facing water scarcity, climate stress, rapid urban growth and demographic change, including the Levant, the Gulf states and the wider MENA region.

From a health-economics perspective, many modern healthcare systems function as repair systems. They step in late, once disease has already developed, and continue treatment over long periods of time. 

As a result, healthcare spending grows faster than the economy, chronic disease consumes a growing share of public budgets, and long-term affordability becomes a serious concern.

For many countries, copying high-cost Western healthcare models is neither realistic nor necessary. The more important question is how societies can reduce the need for medical intervention in the first place.

This is where green energy, water and food systems become relevant in a different way. When renewable energy and green hydrogen are developed together with clean water supply, sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems, they form the real infrastructure of prevention. Clean energy supports water security. Clean water supports fertile soil and healthy food. Good food supports stable human health.

Seen this way, health is not something that constantly needs to be repaired. It emerges naturally when systems are designed properly.

This way of thinking is not new in the Middle East. The Levant and surrounding regions were once centers of advanced medical and scientific knowledge. Thinkers such as Hippocrates, and later scholars including Ibn Sina, ar-Razi and al-Kindi, understood health as a balance between the human body, the environment and daily life. Their focus was on water quality, nutrition, lifestyle and the relationship between people and their surroundings.

In modern terms, this was forward-looking knowledge. Not mystical, but practical. It recognized that the way systems are designed determines long-term outcomes.

What is new today is our ability to explain this older systems wisdom using modern science, including biochemistry, electrochemistry and economics, and to apply it to today’s policy and investment decisions.

If green hydrogen and renewable energy projects are seen only as climate measures, their potential remains limited. When they are connected to water, food and health systems, they become foundations of societal resilience. This has clear economic benefits: lower healthcare costs over time, fewer chronic diseases, better returns on sustainability investments and greater social stability.

The next phase of the energy transition is therefore not only about reducing emissions. It is about creating the conditions in which healthy societies can emerge.

Medical care will always be important, but it cannot carry the system alone. Health grows upstream, in water, energy, food and living conditions. When these systems work, health follows naturally, at lower cost and with greater stability.

This idea is old. But in a time of rising costs and increasing pressure on societies, it may be more relevant than ever.

::Bonn Climate Project

___

Heinz J. Sturm is a system architect and analyst working at the intersection of energy, water, health, and societal resilience. He is the initiator of the Bonn Climate Project, where he develops integrated system frameworks linking climate action with public health and long-term stability. Sturm is also the developer of Ars Medica Nova, a conceptual platform exploring new models of preventive health that draw on systems thinking, biology, and infrastructure design. His work focuses on translating complex system architectures into practical narratives for policymakers, researchers, and civil society.

The post From Green Energy to Healthy Societies: Why old systems thinking is becoming relevant again appeared first on Green Prophet.

The recently inaugurated Ismaili Center in Houston has been celebrated as a triumph of architecture, culture, and interfaith dialogue. Yet some in the architectural community are urging a deeper look at what such projects represent in geopolitical and environmental terms. Sustainable Architect Ronak Roshan from Iran (who calls out the Shia Muslim Aga Khan Award for greenwashing its award) offers the following perspective on the origins, symbolism, and environmental implications of the project:

“This issue can be examined from several perspectives to clarify the reasons behind the emergence of such a project in the heart of this site. The construction of multiple mosques in the West should be understood within the policy seen in Paris, where, due to the fear of the rise of fundamentalism following the migration of Muslims caused by war, poverty, and other reasons to the West, the directive to build numerous mosques was issued to organize these communities.

“Saudi Arabia and several Arab countries also contributed financially (to building mosques). It is undeniable that every person has the right to have a place of worship according to their faith, but the question is whether this is the right approach. This should be seen from the political roots and the role of governments in power relations.

“I do not view the formation of this mosque outside of this perspective.

“Keep in mind that this project began before the current Aga Khan.

“The new Aga Khan studied environmental sciences in the United States and is expected to be both aware of and sensitive to such issues. These policies were not in place during his tenure. The Aga Khan Award manager is Iranian, a person with significant influence whose development-oriented approach is old school and largely symbolic, very close to Farshid Moussavi, the Iranian architect based in London. These connections are not coincidental.

“I mention these points to clarify the small but important reasons behind the formation of such projects. It must be emphasized that a project of this scale cannot truly support the environment unless they themselves transparently disclose or reveal that they have offset the carbon footprint or have fully transparent reports. Otherwise, such projects should have been undertaken at smaller scales and within smaller neighborhoods.

“Ms. Moussavi generally works on large-scale projects and even has some failed projects in her record; for example, some speculative developments in Turkey. A beautiful object with high spatial quality is no longer considered successful architecture in today’s world.”

Roshan’s critique reframes the Houston Ismaili Center not as a beacon of progress, but as a mirror reflecting the entanglement of faith, politics, and greenwashing in contemporary architecture — a beautiful object whose sustainability remains, for now, a matter of belief rather than proof.

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An interview with BioprocessH20 Tim Burns, company CEO, entrepreneuring wastewater treatment for the Food and Beverage industry

Water is the most extensively used raw material in the food and beverage industry. It is used for processing, as an additive to products, but also as a cleaning agent. But waste can’t just go down the drain.

Due to heavy loads of chemicals and biological waste, industrially processed water needs to be filtered before it goes to the municipal water treatment center. The industrial sector can have an impact on the environment and economy as a result of rising water demand and wastewater production. In some US states aquifers have run dry. With the increasing scarcity of drinking water, the reuse of wastewater has become an important economic and ecological concern. Optimizing water consumption and wastewater reuse in the food industry is necessary for business reasons and a growing list of environmental ones enforced by governments. 

Food processors, industrial manufacturers, automobile manufacturers, oil and gas companies and more all need to be mindful of the wastewater they produce when they conduct their core business.

All forms of waste, whether liquid or solid, require specialized treatment methods before disposal. Where do companies turn? What does the future look like? We speak with the world leader in sustainable wastewater treatment, BioprocessH2O, an American company from Rhode Island that mimics nature in their system designs. ​​Clients like Coca Cola use their system to meet wastewater standards in the food industry. 

Tim Burns, the CEO of BioprocessH2O shares some insight into a global challenge of wastewater treatment and its potential for reuse.

Give us an overview of why companies turn to you. 

Companies turn to us for our expertise in the wastewater field. We have some of the best engineers in the business, and are confident in the systems that we build. We have helped some of the biggest companies in the US get control over their wastewater, and because of that many turn into repeat customers.

Are there non-US locations you work with and what special challenges do you face outside the US?

We work with companies across the world, with a focus in North America. Each country has its own unique regulating body, that has its own set of parameters or rules that they adhere to. This makes it different from the US, as not all regulators are concerned with the same things.

When you work with non-US companies, let’s say EU, Canada and the Middle East. If you work there, or want to work there, how are the standards and demands different? 

The testing standards, and goals, are different in many of the countries you mentioned. For example, in the Middle East we recognize that the biggest water related questions are around desalination and water reuse, to help the countries there that do not get much rainfall get more access to water. This is different from the US, Canada and the EU that has ample rainfall, ands main concern tends to environmental and public health harm reduction. 

What do you love most about your job?

I love that we get to solve hard challenges for our clients, while helping the environment and public health. 

What frontline technologies is your company looking at? If you could invent a time machine, what would the future look like for your business in 20 years? 

We actually are now a preferred partner for Zwitterco which has developed a new membrane that has promising lab results, and we hope this translates into promising installations for our clients. The Zwitterco membranes use a certain type of material which has both a negative and positive charge, this in effect reduces the amount of membrane fouling expected in a membrane system. 

To the second part of the question, I think that in 20 years from now, we will be a lot better about testing, and pinpointing sources of wastewater than we are today. If we could have a “magic” technology, it would be one type of filtration method that worked for all types of pollutants.

What research centers around the world are doing the best work in wastewater remediation? 

That is a good question. I would say the best research still comes out of universities. For example, the Reverse Osmosis, and the new membranes I have talked about previously, both came out of partnerships with labs from universities. This is very common across industries, not just ours. You see this in tech, as well as biotech and pharma. 

How do things get trickier in areas where aquifers are depleted, like in California, or let’s say in Saudi Arabia? 

We expect people in this region to be more concerned with water use reduction, instead of just water filtration. As water becomes more scarce, it becomes more expensive, leading to higher input water costs for manufacturing plants. 

Could you work with agriculture solutions that use treated greywater? If yes, how. Hydroponics, aquaponics, greenhouse ag or conventional farming.

Yes this is common in our industry, where a farm will need to filter their wastewater, and then are actually able to use the filtered water to water their crops of something of this nature. While wastewater filtered by our systems are not always drinkable, it is often clean enough to use for other purposes. 

What does a company need to do today to ensure they can scale their water treatment solutions so they will be relevant in 15 years?

A lot of the time it comes down to planning ahead. We work with our clients to understand their production goals now, and in the future, to figure out the size of the water system that needs to be installed in order to handle and plant expansions that may be in the future. 

Now how can we ensure that we scale? I think we just need to stick to our plan, which is to give our customers the best systems we can at a fair price. This allows us to show our competence, and has helped grow our name in the wastewater industry.

Give us a bit about your background. 

I have had a very entrepreneurial career. I left the corporate world early on, and helped scale a chemical disposal company working with the founders. From there I founded a few companies, one of which was bioprocessAlgae, which aimed to turn Algae into biofuel. I have a finance/business background and took up a masters in environmental science from Brown University. 

::BioprocessH2O website

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Environmentalists have been stressing the problems of modern construction and architecture for decades. Some of the biggest concerns are the use of concrete ––  its impact on sand and carbon emissions, and its poor thermal capabilities. Or the fact that local materials just aren’t used enough. If you look at the rapid expansion of cities like Dubai, the problems are obvious: starchitects brought in from abroad to build a glittering city meant to support “the high life” and create a feeling of abundance among the sand dunes. As though sand dunes and deserts aren’t glorious enough.

Dubai has created the Palm Jebel man-made islands with un-circulating swamps and a Burj mega-tower that is built so trucks need to pump out sewage daily. These are examples of unsustainable architecture. Can architects, and students of architecture do better for planet and people? Yes, and the answers are somewhere in the bible of vernacular architecture called Habitat: Vernacular Architecture for a Changing World, edited by architect Sandra Piesik with contributions from about 100 architects who specialise in geographic regions, climates, and local materials. 

What you get in Habitat, updated just last year, is a world of possibilities as we look forward to new sustainable practices that mesh with nature and the humanity in us. You get proven examples of low-cost sustainable architecture for every geographic and climatic region on this planet. You also get modern takes of vernacular values, and applications providing inspiration for architecture firms young and old.

Your life as an architect or student can not be complete without owning a copy of this masterpiece of a book.

The problem I see in architecture today is a disconnect between architects, the investors in architecture and the approach to culture and place. Big firms still get the highest bids for so-called sustainable architecture, with firms like Foster + Partners and Zaha Hadid‘s firm winning the bids even when the plans for cities in Saudi Arabia could mean wiping out an island’s ecosystem or making no sense for the climate. There will be ski hills in the hot desert or a linear city that transects a mile of desert on the Red Sea. We learn from the ultra-modern zero-waste Masdar City that no-one wants to live in futuristic ideas alone. We also learn from Hasan Fathy that a local architect’s vision of mud housing may not fit the cultural needs of a people. How can we create a better fit? HABITAT offers some clues. 

If you are an architect who wants a crash course on sustainable architecture this book is an antidote to the troubles to today’s senseless planning and construction industry.

What I get from the book as I was thumbing through it: people need a human-scale approach to housing: that’s why we seek balconies, terraces and small gardens in the city. We feel better around trees and nature in any instance, and if you have had the chance to sleep in a home made from natural materials, you will agree it impacts your sleep and overall mood.

I’ve stayed in vernacular homes in Normandy, France (built with no nails); in mud and stone palaces in Syria, in caves in Cappadocia, in my own vernacularly built pioneer home in Canada; in Bedouin tents in Israel; I’ve stayed in strawbale homes with Bill and Athena Steen in Arizona, and I’d spent plenty of nights bamboo huts and homes in Thailand.

What links all these remarkable dwellings is the local: homes and shelter built without architects or designers, built with local materials such as stones and wood, wool, mud and bamboo, and in a way anchored with ancient wisdom that kept climate in mind because that’s how people survived.  

Every architecture student, practitioner and teacher needs to read Habitat: Vernacular Architecture for a Changing World by Thames & Hudson: It is a breathtaking and astounding encyclopaedia of natural building that can save our planet. Professionally speaking indigenous architecture is also called vernacular architecture. Vernacular is a great way to describe indigenous architecture as it can include materials from the built environment, as we see in images and descriptions of slums in Brazil and Africa.

Habitat, recently updated in May 2023 since its original publication in 2017, and edited by architect Sandra Piesik, shows you the power of a dedicated publishing house in this book. It is a landmark publication signalling to every nation and people in the world to start cataloguing their vernacular before it it is lost. HABITAT can be the basis for a series of vernacular architecture books from every corner of the world.

Habitat contains over 1000 illustration, organised by the five major climate zones, covering polar, temperate, tropical, desert and continental, and more than eighty countries worldwide. The book reveals how people and cultures have adapted to their environment to make the best use of indigenous materials and construction techniques, and stresses the importance of preserving disappearing craftsmanship and local knowledge before it is too late. It is an invaluable resource document for the future generation who will shape our built environment.

Over in the Middle East we know that Hassan Fathy devoted decades of his life to building New Gourna, a model as architecture for the people. His experiment worked as a concept but did not spread as much as he would have wanted. An almost 500 pages of this book, includes the vernacular greats like Fathy, but it also serves to show the reader highly unusual and sometimes temporary structures built by tribes in the jungle, like the stilt houses of the Korowai people in New Guinea. 

What gives the book credibility is the approximate 100 authors and researchers, leaders in their fields of sustainable architecture giving an historical, climatic and materials overview to their geographical sections. If you are dealing with climates and materials you can search in the notes and bibliography according to geography, climate regions, learning more than you thought you could know about local architecture around the world.

A series of helpful essays and photos gives us a glance at how we can apply contemporary vernacular in today’s buildings, with a look at Morocco’s Technology School of Guelmim or Sabla’s Palm Leaf Shelter’s in Abu Dhabi. If I have one complaint about Habitat is that the photos are too incredible, the essays too information-filled that it makes reading the book from cover to cover an impossible task. It is the grandmother book to Lo-TEK, a book I own that covers radical indigenism in building, as the author puts it, or rather, radical ways to build using natural building materials and knowledge at hand.

Productive healthy, happy people need a roof over their heads –– one that offers an honorable, comfortable and secure place to live is something that everyone everywhere needs. If you have traveled to any desert in the Middle East or even Egypt, you will see people living in hobbled-together tin shacks, barely keeping out the freezing wind at night or the debilitating sun by day. Better-loved vernacular practices can show the people how to build better, and maintain the homes with local materials.

Don’t think this is just an idea for developing countries. The tiny home and global nomad movements in America, Europe and Canada are fuelled by economics. People don’t want to spend their lives working for the home they don’t get time to live in. People want to live not to spend their lives working.

An interview with the editor of HABITAT Sandra Piesek

Sandra Piesik is an award-winning architect, author, and scientist specialising in a diverse range of subjects from art and design to the implementation of global sustainable legislation, nature-based solutions, innovation, technology transfer, and contemporary adaptation of traditional knowledge. She is the founder of 3 ideas, an Amsterdam-based consultancy, a member of the New European Bauhaus EU initiative, an advisor to UNFCCC, and a former senior consultant to UNFCCC, UNCCD, and UN-HABITAT Global Solutions Division on territorial integration. She’s also edited a book on Arish – Palm leaf architecture. 

Here is our interview with her:

What inspired you to start this massive undertaking of cataloguing the world’s vernacular architecture.

I was invited by Thames & Hudson to edit HABITAT in London in 2012, following our previous book ‘Arish: Palm – Leaf Architecture’, which coincided with the first European Exhibition on Date Palm Leaf Architecture in the United Arab Emirates at The Royal Geographical Society in London in 2012. The genesis of understanding vernacular architecture came from my research in the UAE focused on date palm architecture and conviction that it holds solutions to some of the pressing challenges of our times.  

HABITAT seems very neutral. What is your approach with the book?

HABITAT is structured around five climate zones of the planet, based on the Köppen Geiger climate classification. We focused on the geography and ecosystems, and by doing so we provided evidence of an intrinsic relationship and co-dependency of the built environment with individual climate zones, their natural resources, and the built environment. I have to credit 143 contributors from over 50 countries and the Thames & Hudson editorial team.  

Despite your neutrality, do you have 3 favorite vernacular architects? Who are they?

Vernacular architecture is ‘architecture without architects’ in other words indigenous peoples of the past were all architects creating bio-design masterpieces based on one fundamental skill: their capacity to observe nature.  My favorite case studies are from Bolivia, where Chipaya indigenous peoples worked as civil engineers at the regional scale redirecting rivers and intervening in the ecology of the salt flats in Bolivia, vernacular architecture there is a by-product of environmental activities. In China, Kam communities embraced agroforestry, and their spectacular drum towers as well as timber architecture reflect the regional bioeconomy. I must also mention Liwa Oasis in the United Arab Emirates and a date palm leaf architecture by Bedouin tribes of the Rub Al Khali desert, whom I had the privilege to meet in person. 

We created an online exhibition: ‘HABITAT Embracing Change in the post-2030 Future’  in collaboration with G-STIC and all three case studies are mentioned there as well in addition to HABITAT. 

What are the biggest lessons architecture students can take from this book?

The intrinsic relationship and interconnectedness of the built environment with its natural ecosystems and climate zones. Contextualization of architecture and urbanism within bio-economic activities, giving birth to bio-circular economy and bioregional approaches 12,000 years ago. Frugal innovation derived from the observation of nature and shaping an identity of the place through ornamentation and design. 

We see catastrophic situations for refugees and migrants around the world. In Gaza, Syria, Afghanistan. What kinds of projects could scale quickly to get decent and local housing for people in a crisis? Do you have any thoughts for architects building shelter? 

The fundamental issue here is to bring geography to the discussion on climate change, which has been absent in recent years. Understanding the interconnectedness between climate change, agriculture, provision of jobs, and livelihood strategies would reduce migration and allow for holistic approaches.  The demand for emergency accommodation is increasing all over the world. Cities like New York work within the existing urban fabric, historically the Gulf basin cities provided accommodation for the refugees in the peri-urban areas and what is needed are livelihood strategies in addition to housing alone, as well as a socio-economic mix to building shelters. 

What would you like to see less of in architecture? 

De-globalization and de-westernisation of architecture will lead us to new bio-regional models of urbanism which the planet and its peoples desperately need.  Narrow and sectorial approaches to the built environment limit our capacity to address the multidimensional challenges of our time, and I hope that the future will bring broader perspectives. I also think that quantitative approaches to sustainability focusing purely on metrics limit the role of architects’ qualitative and creative approaches and this is what historically we as architects had to offer. 

What would you like to see more of?

I would like to see more bio-regional initiatives such as the New European Bauhaus embracing sustainability, inclusion, and beauty adopted by various regions across the world within their own ecological, cultural, and social domains. I would like to see more of the plurality of approaches, where once again we will be able to co-create new forms of regional cultures. I hope that in 2024 and the future, we will be able to base all our actions and decisions on the positive impact we are making on nature and each other. 

About the publisher of Habitat

Thames & Hudson is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, and popular culture.

::HABITAT, $65

More Vernacular Architecture on Green Prophet

Morocco’s Hemp Solar House

Other earthen buildings in the Middle East include adobe (mud brick) houses in the Marshes of Iraq, the tallest city of Shibam in Yemen, Bam in Iran as well as the eco-friendly architecture of the Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy.

The Beehive Homes of Syria

Nader Khahili Homes for Palestinians 

Palm Leaf Habitat at Dubai Design week

The post The vernacular architecture book appeared first on Green Prophet.

Nawal Al-Hosany, a leading figure in the environmental movement of the Middle East speaks to GreenProphet about renewables, Masdar, education and the absence of women in the climate change debate – both locally and globally

In 2010, after eight days of hiking in freezing temperatures Nawal Al-Hosany reached the Uhuru Peak of Kilimanjaro Mountain. She explains that she underwent the challenging climb to highlight the impact of climate change which is melting the mountain’s snow and to encourage greater action in the Middle East. Al-Hosany who joined Masdar in 2008 as the sustainability associate director is now its director of sustainability. She also director of the influential Zayed Future Energy Prize. I caught up with her to talk about Masdar and how you incentivise renewables in a rich, oil-producing country.

GreenProphet: A recent report titled “Prospects for Energy Technology Advancements in the Energy Sector,” written by yourself and IRENA highlights the opportunities available to MENA if they embrace renewables. Why is now such a good time to adopt renewable technologies?

Nawal Al-Hosany: The MENA region, and especially the Gulf States, has an opportunity to leverage its expertise in energy and move into new sectors, including wind and solar power. The future energy mix will include renewables, and we should embrace this transition. In addition, the region also has an abundant solar resource – an energy we should tap into to address energy security and our rising demands. Although the region’s renewable resources have been underexploited, technology advances and increased deployment are now making certain forms of clean energy economically viable across the region.

You recently hosted an event exploring the role that Arab women should play in securing a sustainable future for the region. Do you think that women are taking enough of a leading role in the region when it comes to climate change and energy?

When it comes to the region, women have an active voice in the climate change discussion. However, we can all do more, regionally and globally. The fact is climate change affects women differently, especially underprivileged, uneducated and un-empowered women. Women form the majority of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty in the world. And it’s people in poverty that shoulder the brunt and burden of climate change. The rural poor – especially women – depend on the environment to provide basic needs, such as food, shelter and fuel. The harsh impacts of climate change on these women are interlinked to social and cultural conditions.

Women have a social, economic and moral responsibility to be equal participants in the fight against climate change. And one way we can immediately help is to encourage women to pursue careers in math and science, where we can advance the renewable, clean-tech and sustainability sectors. Here in Abu Dhabi we have the Masdar Institute, which is an independent, research-driven graduate institute developed with the ongoing support and cooperation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The Masdar Institute is focused on the science and engineering of advanced alternative energy, environmental technologies and sustainability.

At the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, 35% of our student body are women. The Institute’s Young Future Energy leaders programme that mentors and trains future leaders in the fields of advanced energy and sustainability has 45% women. It’s these types of outlets in higher education that provide women with a vehicle to get involved and to be part of the climate change solution.

What other things could be done to secure a more rounded contribution from women?

There are a few ways in which we can encourage women’s participation in the climate change debate. One of them is education opportunities especially in the STEM fields. We can actively push for better access to educational grants and scholarships, so that women can pursue advanced careers. Mentoring programmes can also provide young women with role models for their education and career paths.

We also need knowledge-sharing and action-oriented platforms that encourage open dialogue and that unite women fighting for climate change across the globe. We need to work together to identify the relevant areas where women have a role and can deliver an immediate impact. This is both in terms of responding to climate change in a gender-sensitive way, but also empowering women as key actors in the solutions to mitigating and adapting to climate change. Lastly, empowerment via fair opportunity policies at all levels of the government and the private sector can play a key role in promoting more women in decision-making and leadership roles.

Who are some of the women working in the environmental sector that inspire you?

The lack of women working in the environmental sector, and the opportunity to do more, is what ultimately inspires and motivates me. We only have a handful of women across the globe that are participating in the discussion on renewable energy, sustainability and addressing climate change. These are global issues that impact us all, irrespective of the roles we play or that have defined by society.

As the director of sustainability at Masdar, what have been the biggest challenges that you have faced?

There is a need to raise awareness on adopting and incorporating a sustainable approach in the region and beyond – how sustainability can be incorporated in an organization, the benefits of a sustainable approach to operating a business etc. One way we hope to shed light on the subject is during the upcoming Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), taking place from January 13-17 in Abu Dhabi. ADSW will be the largest gathering on sustainability in the history of the Middle East and will bring together companies, policymakers and thinkers from more than 150 countries to discuss the challenges and solutions related to energy, water, climate and other sustainability issues.

Although the UAE is making progress in terms of renewables there is still a long way to go. Is the country heading in the right direction and what is being done to incentivise renewables in such a rich, oil-producing country?

The UAE believes in the adoption of a comprehensive, balanced energy mix that includes different sources of energy, including renewables, traditional hydrocarbons and nuclear. Diversifying the energy mix is critical to meeting future electricity demands, lowering our environmental footprint and our energy security. Investments in renewable energy are also a natural extension of our leadership and long history as energy exporters. The UAE is in a unique position to leverage its resource to advance the economic, social and environmental benefits of clean energy.

For the UAE, a commitment in advancing renewables and clean technology is an investment in our long-term future, reinforcing our economy with knowledge capital. This is a strategic sector that is playing a role in the diversification of our local economy, moving form a resource-based economy to one based on human capital and knowledge.

For more interviews see:

Exclusive: Masdar City Open House Photos

Masdar Visionary Tells the Untold Story

Trash Talk in MENA – Interview with Salman Zafar

Interview: SolarReserve for the MENA Region?

The post Interview with Masdar’s Director of Sustainability – Nawal Al-Hosany appeared first on Green Prophet.

Izhar Gafni, inventor of innovative cardboard bike plans to keep production local, he tells Green Prophet: “I’m not interested in selling to some huge concern that will slap a “Made in China” label on the bike,” he says. “I’d like production to take place in local factories, ones employing challenged or special-needs people.”

Gafni’s green vision expands to encompass, “One hundred future projects made out of cardboard.” Even a cardboard car using solar and human energy.

Why not? ‘Obstacle’ doesn’t seem to be a word that this mechanic without limits recognizes. (Israeli ingenuity with cardboard has already produced no-tools-needed furniture.) “I want to help stop our dependence on petroleum,”  Gafni adds. Since our first post on the cardboard bicycle, readers have been asking questions about it. Read on for answers.

GP:Are the bikes on the market yet?

Gafni: No, my partner and I are still negotiating with investors. We hope to sell in Israel, Europe and the US, when we start production. I want to see the bike anywhere I travel.

We assured Gafni that the cardboard bike already has fans just waiting to snap some up.

GP: How long did it take to produce the bike?

Gafni: It took six prototypes and three years. There’s very little scientific knowledge about cardboard’s engineering and structural limits. I had to find out everything myself, through experimenting. For example, the bike’s water resistance isn’t due to the painted-on colors. It’s due to the cardboard itself.

GP: One reader asked if the bike’s seat is comfortable. What can you tell us about that?

Gafni:  I designed it for comfort. It’s modeled on the British Brooks leather seat. The design may still be modified, or an option such as a bucket seat may be offered. We are working on making the seat height adjustable too.

GP: How long is the bike’s expected life?

Gafni: Two years, maybe longer.

GP: Two rainy winters too?

Gafni: (laughing) Oh yes, it should get through two winters also. Its life will depend on how it’s used, like any other product. It hasn’t been around long enough to say for sure, but I’m confident that each bike will last two years at least.

GP: What other advantages does the bike have to the consumer, beside the low cost?

Gafni: It’s a low-carbon vehicle and good for the environment. In addition, it doesn’t need pre-assembly and doesn’t even need maintenance.

GP thinks: Can this be the end of punctured tires and bicycle pumps?

GP: Tell us a little about previous projects you’ve worked on.

Gafni: I lived in California for years, where I designed the robot that sewed the New Balance company’s shoes. I like to say I sewed President Clinton’s sneakers. In Israel, I put together a press to extract pomegranate juice for the boutique winery Rimon. These are just some of my past projects.

GP: Did you study engineering and design?

Gafni: I taught myself almost everything I know.

Thanks, Izhar Gafni, and we’re holding our breath till the cardboard bike hits the road.

Previous posts about cardboard design on Green Prophet:

• The $9 Cardboard Bike From Israel: Photos
• Cardboard Mounted Deer Heads for the Eco-Conscious Decorator
• Sanserif Creatius Carves a Cardboard Table with Arabic Devotion

Photograph: Uri Ackerman

The post Interview with Izhar Gafni, Inventor of the Greenest Cardboard Bike appeared first on Green Prophet.

The Jordan Times reports that energy officials have expanded their search for a nuclear reactor site in Mafraq despite growing resistance from city residents and anti-nuclear supporters throughout the Kingdom.  It’s also the final phase of vendor selection for the country’s first nuclear reactor:  a final decision will be made this month.

Here Green Prophet interviews Basel Burgan, head of anti-nuke lobbyists The National Campaign to save Jordanians from the Nuclear Project. Burgan’s also the general manager and owner of Burgan Drugstores, and is committed proponent for a nuclear-free Jordan. He’s working to change the direction of Jordan’s power generation. Here’s our exclusive with this leading anti-nuke activist in Jordan. 

Green Prophet: How did you get involved in environmental issues?

Basel Burgan: I’ve been an environmentalist since my childhood. When I was young, we spent every weekend in the Jordanian countryside. What made me more active in the past decade was the destruction of River Zarka.

When I was a teenager in the 70s, I used to drink water directly from this river. Now I wouldn’t stick my finger in it, it’s much polluted.  I’m very critical of what the government does in respect to controlling the dumping of chemicals and waste from the 200 factories on Zarka’s banks.

Over the past 3 years, government announcements about nuclear power plant (NPP) projects made us very angry, especially when they announced in 2009 their intention to build 5 NPPs. With my background in the medical field, I understand that radiation can’t be seen, smelt, felt or heard, which leads us to the greatest danger of NPPs.

Green Prophet:  What are some of the major challenges you are facing?

BB: The major challenge is the government’s undemocratic reaction to our requests for their scientific supporting documents, which might show due diligence in terms of fully evaluating our environmental and safety concerns. We have continually requested the Prime Minister to meet with us over NPPs. The Jordanian press publishes anything released from the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC), but rarely presents our critical responses or our scientific arguments on the issue.

The average Jordanian isn’t interested in knowing about the dangers of nuclear energy.  “Elitists” take a view that it’s the right of Jordan to acquire nuclear power to counter Israel’s, as if Jordan will produce atomic bombs to counter Israel’s.

The JAEC annual budget for 2012 is $22.4 million US. This allows them to do many things that we (anti-nuclear campaigners) cannot. They can spend more on public relations. Because they are governmental they can communicate on an official level while we, as an NGO, cannot. They can work to progress their projects all the time, while we, as volunteers with day-jobs, have limited time to fight the program. They can strangle us anti-nuclear activists in different economic ways that are very much known in the developing countries.

Green Prophet: Why do you think NPP developers would be interested in Jordan?

BB: The West has been moving away from nuclear power. The Three Mile Island accident in 1979 halted US development, and 1986’s Chernobyl disaster raised opposition in Europe. The Italians voted 94% with No to Nuclear in large part due to Fukushima last year. The Japanese last month reached 80% refusing nuclear. With the West closing down nuclear reactors and shifting to gas and renewables, companies that specialize in building and running NPP (like French Areva) have to find new business by any means and Third World developing countries become their best target.

I’m sure many of them will explore corrupt means to get contracts. French Areva lost 70% of its shares’ value since 2007 and at least 30% in the 12 months after Fukushima. These dying companies are becoming dangerous.

What upsets me is that Areva has bid on the Jordan project with a model (ATMEA 1) that hasn’t been built or tested anywhere in the world.  Similar versions of this ATMEA 1 are being built in Olkiluoto, Finland and in Normandy, France and both were found to have major design defects.

Those defects will likely go unnoticed if it’s built in Jordan since we lack NPP experience compared to Europe.

Green Prophet: What worries you about having a nuclear plant in Jordan?

BB: The first worry is that we don’t have a sea like the Sea of Japan where millions of cubic meters of water were tapped to cool reactors in a catastrophe.

The second is we don’t have a water body that JAEC could pollute to get rid of a spill. The Japanese have been dumping radioactive water in the Sea of Japan with disastrous longterm effects.  Jordan is the 4th poorest country in the world in respect to fresh water resources. How can we consider a NPP when we don’t have water to drink?

It also worries me to see how Jordanians deal with this issue as if it’s only building a highway (and even our basic highways have many construction defects).

Green Prophet: What are some of your major achievements?

BB: Our first major achievement was educating the local inhabitants of the area where the 1st NPP was to be built. The local population thought in the beginning that prices of adjacent land would increase; now they know land will be valueless. They thought the NPP would create good jobs for their young people; they now understand that most workers would be brought from outside.

They thought the NPP would create new business opportunities (e.g., minimarkets, restaurants); now they understand that all worker services will be provided for within the compound’s high walls and fences.

The locals learned that many global studies have proved that while a facility might not have experienced a catastrophic failure, the population within a 20 km radius had an increase in cancers and genetic mutations.

Resultantly, the local Bani Hassan Tribe (population near 1 million) strongly refused siting the NPP on their land.

We also succeeded in having the project addressed in the Jordanian Parliament where a majority of MPs also refused to support the nuclear program.

What are your future plans?

BB: We will keep publishing articles, giving lectures at universities, schools, clubs, syndicates, etc., and use all methods of pressure so as to stop the project and shut down the JAEC. We have many plans and we will use all of them until we see the JAEC shut down.

What inspires you?

BB: My children, my 7 year old twins, are my first inspiration.  I believe that I owe them their future:  a clean country with 100% security. My other inspirations are the great Jordanians I’ve have met throughout the Jordan countryside who are very appreciative and respectful of what I’m doing.

Serious pursuit of alternative energy production seems absent in Jordan.  Why do you think solar and wind projects are not as supported as nuclear?

BB: This question has depressed me for a long while. First, the Jordanian representatives of commercial companies that produce renewable energy are extremely passive which makes us angry.

Second, the JAEC has been misleading about the dependence on renewable energy for Base Load and Peak Load. And last, there’s ignorance by our government officials that set such policies and refuse to hear us.

Are there any specific philosophies that guide your environmental actions?

BB: Humanity and Human Rights are what guide my actions. We all need to live on a clean Mother Earth with all natural resources well kept for the next generation. What I see instead is world where resources are vanishing or becoming polluted faster than anyone can believe. Carbon emissions, pollution, global warming, population explosions and attacks on human rights all over the world catalyze my ethical obligation to action.

How can people best get involved to influence nuclear development in Jordan?

BB: The ways are endless. They can write articles to the press or convince journalists to do so. They can communicate via Social Media.  They can send letters to the Prime Minister, to the different ministers and to the MPs. They can hold meetings to address the issues at their places of work or anywhere in their private life. They can incite friends and family to become active. They can protest or join “sit ins”.

Is there a message you would like broadcast to GP readers?

BB: We’re all together on this. Nuclear power plants are catastrophic wherever they are. We all should be united and supportive to change the world towards Renewable Green & Clean Energy. Thank you all for this opportunity to share our message.

Top photo via Greenpeace Jordan; Town meeting by Basel Burgan

The post Basel Burgan: A Force Behind Jordan’s Anti-Nuke Movement appeared first on Green Prophet.

Sweat and Sahara sand had forced my eyes closed so that, even as I stood in front of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, I saw nothing. My eyelids were a back-lit sandy-orange in the sun’s glare. I pried them open and squinted up at the shapes the pharaohs and their slaves had conjured out of the desert 4500 years ago. The Great Pyramid of Cheops towered over the camels and tour buses on the outskirts of Cairo.  It was a sight I will never forget and yet in the beginning I saw nothing.

Visitors often see the desert in this way, as an endless stretch of sun and sand and nothing.  But when German-born 3D Designer Markus Kayser first set his eyes upon the Egyptian desert, he saw possibilities. He imagined harnessing the resources which existed in great abundance here, sunlight and sand. And here he talks with Green Prophet about his 3D printer that runs on sun and sand.

First object printed from a 3D file with the Solar Sinter, Photo by Amos Field

Markus Kayser didn’t need tens of thousands of slaves to conjure something out of the desert. He used his own ingenuity to design and build a machine called a Solar Sinter. This machine uses photovoltaic panels to power a computer and the electromechanical workings of a 3D printer.

The print head holds a lens which concentrates sunlight from a larger Fresnel lens onto a tray of sand. This focused beam reaches temperatures of over 1400°C which sinters (melts) the sand to form a glass or ceramic object. The idea isn’t entirely new.  In the June, 1933 issue of Modern Mechanix, W.W. Beach envisioned giant lenses bur

Solar Sinter in the Saharan desert near Siwa, Egypt, Photo by Amos Fieldning roads and canals into the desert.  Markus Kayser took the first steps towards making this dream possible.

Markus earned a BA in 3D Design from London Metropolitan University and a MA in Design Products at the Royal College of Art in London. He is busy with the next phase of his project but he was kind enough to allow me to interview him for Green Prophet:

GP: What changes would you like to see in the way products are manufactured and consumed?
Markus Kayser: The Solar Sinter project is all about a potential which questions current manufacturing in a positive way.  I would like to see changes in the way energy is used which in this case means to use the immense power of the sun in a more direct way than just the conversion to electricity.  I think there is a basic logic, which is that sunlight is ‘powering’ this earth as a whole and that this energy can also be used to produce the products or even buildings.

GP: Given your imagination, sunlight, sand and enough financial resources– how would you improve the environment in the Mideast?
Markus Kayser: I would try to develop the material to be able to replace concrete as a building material.  I would concentrate on architecture and water distribution as well as sanitary products.

GP: Note that the production of concrete releases large amounts of CO2, consumes fossil fuels and requires large amounts of water. Solar sintered sand does not.

A bowl made by Markus Kayser’s solar sinter out of Saharan sand.Do you ever see a mass-produced product and say to yourself, “I could make that out of sand and sunlight?“

Markus Kayser: I think there are plenty of glass and ceramic objects which could be produced with the Solar Sinter. Of course, the Solar Sinter as it is now is not developed into a manufacturing process but is a prototype for industry to get inspired to look in that direction. I also see a great potential in architecture and infrastructure (sanitary, water canals) for the process.

GP: Your project shows potential for desert manufacturing and architecture.  Can it scale or should it always remain a small scale project for producing unique art?
Markus Kayser: Yes I think it can be scaled given enough funds to experiment on a large scale. I think it has already moved out of the ‘unique art’ context even though that’s what it is producing today.  I hope that it influence on industry will show in the future.  At the moment I’m sponsored by a big ceramic manufacturer (KOHLER) who are interested and supportive of the process as they see its potential for the future manufacturing.  I think that’s a small start in involving industry to really start thinking in this direction.

GP: What were the practical problems you encountered? Was it difficult to find the right kind of sand? Was it difficult to keep the sand from clogging the machine?
Markus Kayser:  The problem with the first Solar Sinter was that there was very little time to experiment in the desert – only about two weeks.  So to get it working in that timescale was a challenge, which thankfully just worked out. Heat is of course one of the biggest problems with electronics involved.  Finding the right sand was not an issue as desert sand in Egypt and Morocco worked without previous tests.  I have build the machine fairly robust but lightweight for traveling and the mechanics are designed slightly oversized so that the sand cannot do any damage.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptUj8JRAYu8[/youtube]

GP: How will 3D printing change the relationship between consumers, manufacturers and the environment?
Markus Kayser: 3D printing is moving in two directions – desktop DIY printers and prints on demand for so called ‘mass-customization’ of products.  I think both will have a great impact in how products are consumed as well as on manufacturing. If for instance I can modify the product to my personal needs before I buy it, it might have an impact on the way I feel about the product, its usability and I might think twice before throwing it away as I was part of its ‘creation’.  This again could lead to less consumption.  Also the way in which DIY 3D printers are looking at recycling the printed products, reusing the once printed but now unwanted products to make new ones at home.

GP: How will 3D printing change architecture?
Markus Kayser: In a way architecture has changed already through 3D printing as models of buildings are churned out by the hour in large architectural practices.

This means a building can be analyzed very quickly.  3D printed full scale architecture is just emerging with works by Fosters+Partners and Enrico Dini (among others) and it could bring about more ‘intelligent’ materials, which include walls with cavities for all wiring etc. as well as materials with insulating thermal properties with possibly ever changing qualities copied from natural processes. (see Neri Oxman, MIT)

GP: What will you do next?
Markus Kayser: At the moment I’m working on a new improved prototype as the first Solar Sinter is on exhibition tour.  I will be traveling to the desert again in March to produce new work with the Solar Sinter.

Many thanks to Markus Kayser for helping us see the resources of the desert with new eyes. Photos by Amos Field.

::Solar Sinter

The post Markus Kayser’s 3D Solar Sinter Prints on Sand – Could Replace Concrete appeared first on Green Prophet.

The year 2011 will probably be remembered as the year of the Arab Spring. And while the whole world focuses on Islamists no attention goes to the emerging Green parties in this region. That’s why we met with the new president of the oldest Green party in the region, Mr. Hisham Zayed from Egypt.

He was already there twenty-five years ago, barely 17 years old, when the Egyptian Green Party was founded. “In 1986 the German greens warned us that Laban Nido, Egypt’s national baby-milk brand, contained fall-out of the Chernobyl disaster. Instantly we decided to set up an initiative to warn Egyptian society about this,” Zayed tells Green Prophet.

This generated a new way of thinking, which made them decided to set up the Egyptian Green Party. In 1987, a first attempt to have the party established was refused by the government. But after going to court, they were finally allowed. Because, and these are the words of judiciary: “the party would be a step forward for the political life in Egypt, as they would contribute to the country’s future in an unique way.”

First headed by Dr. Hassan Ragab a scientist and diplomat, perhaps best known for the rediscovery of papyrus fabrication and the founder of the Pharaonic Village, it was the sixth party to be established in Egypt. During the 90s, an era during which Egypt experienced a lot of political activism, the party quickly gathered 32,000 members, and its youth movement rose to become the biggest in the whole of Egypt.

Planting trees in Cairo, clearing landmines

Financially unable to acquire a seat in parliament, they searched other ways to impact the region: “In 1993 we gathered all political forces in Faysal (a neighbourhood in Cairo) to plant trees and provide free medical care in the streets. By doing this, we wanted to show the other parties, Mubarak’s National Democratic Party, the centrum Party (Hezb el Wasat), the workers party (Hezb el ‘Omaal) and the Muslim brotherhood (Ikhwan al Muslimin), the need to cooperate.”

“In El Alamein we launched an initiative to remove the landmines second world war left behind. We sent letters to those responsible, Great-Britain, Italy and Germany, and held manifestations in front of their embassies during the annual celebration of the battle of El Alamein. Eventually our pressure helped gather funds to remove seven million of the fifteen million landmines in the area.”

Silenced for voicing environmental protest against Toshka

In 1998 they started protesting against the Toshka mega-project. A project to create a new river delta by diverting large quantities of Nile water in to the desert. “We saw this as a big waste of resources, and presented it as such. The project was personally supported by the president, and because of that, we paid a big price for our opposition. From then on, we were deprived from all media-coverage.”

Around the turn of the millennium Egypt underwent a big change, a regime change was being prepared for, and more and more power was transferred from Hosni Mubarak to his son Gamal. Political activities were made impossible, and in an attempt to raise legitimacy Mubarak organised presidential elections, Zayed says: “We decided not to participate in this theatre. And at that same time we faced a crisis, like all the political parties. People saw politics as useless, and rejected it. During this period the party lost a lot of its members and dynamics.”

This weren’t good times to conduct politics so they directed their energy elsewhere. They started contacting other green parties in the region and in 2008 they organised a meeting of all Arab Green Parties. Hisham Zayed also presides over the Arab Green Parties, which represents parties in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq.

After the revolution everything changed. Politics rose to the surface, and the party decided to take part in the elections. The young faction took charge of the party, and in the last three months they started redesigning the party and its program.

At present the Green Party has 40,000 members and offices in 12 of the 24 governorates. Four of their candidates (in Giza, Alexandria, Qalyubia and Sohag) are running for a seat in the parliament.

“We weren’t offered time to prepare for these elections, and are still busy restructuring the party,” he says, but besides elections they also continue to engage in campaigns, just like they did in the past. Against Damietta’s polluting chemical plant for example, where polluted livestock caused local fishermen to clash with authorities. Instead of dedicating all their time to the elections, the green party joined the protests and issued declarations. That’s the role they want to keep on playing, or as they put it: “The government doesn’t do anything when they are not forced, so we have to force them.

Protesting against Damietta this year. image via almasryalyoum

“We are trying to move away from the existing fractions and create an alternative for what is called Islamist, liberal, socialist, right or left. We want to create a new national thinking that puts into consideration and fosters the unique nature of the Egyptian society,” Zayed tells Green Prophet.

Their inspiration comes from the principles and values that are at the base of Egyptian civilisation.

But these values are hard to define, and it often leads to heavy discussions. A good example is the slogan “God, humans and the environment.”

Marwa, a young party member, tells Green Prophet: “Me myself I said no, we must kick this out and only talk about humans and the environment.

“You know they say this is the new fashion in Egypt, to say Allah, Islam and Allah. I wanted it different – to keep the message away from the fashion. But the older members insisted on keeping it, because these values play such a big role.

“We are a religious society, and Allah means God to both Christians, Jews and Muslims. It’s not Islamic, but Egyptian, and Egyptians are religious. It is a very tricky discussion and we also want to move away from mixing religion with politics. The values of traditional society and Islam have always played a big role in our civilisation, but not Islam itself.”

Egypt is very rich in natural resources, but they are either wasted by poor use or non-use. “In our program we concentrate on two items, water and energy. Egypt is very rich in solar energy, in a way that is equivalent in oil for the gulf countries. We are trying to raise awareness about wind and solar energy.”

They are already contributing to the Desertec project, a gigantic field of solar panels, to supply Europe with energy.

Typically, the project didn’t get started when the former regime left power.

The Green party is questioning fuel subsidies and other resources. “We want to support clean energy and subsidies should be directed to clean alternatives because this would support sustainable development,” says Zayed.

And there are too many problems in Egypt considering the management of water. “We think the River Nile should be managed from its source to its mouth. All the countries of the Nile must form a vision on how to use the Nile and develop it.”

So how can the environment become a priority amidst revolutions? A popular slogan during the revolution was “bread, freedom and social justice.” All these issues are closely linked to the green party. Or as another spectator, Mohamed Abdel Raouf, puts it, the environmental themes were a “hibernating phenomena” that led to the uprising.

“Eighty percent of the slogans were related to the depletion of the environment, through pollution, diseases or bad housing conditions. But the vast majority of the people barely realizes, they protest against diseases but don’t think about what causes it. That’s why the green party tries to extend the debate beyond what is considered environmental.”

“The manifestations in Tahrir have also showed a change in minds. Nowadays protestors try to keep the square and consider the environment as their home. But once you leave Tahrir, you discover that they are still a small minority. Those who are just too lazy and are merely watching, what we call hizb kanaba (the sofa party), is still too big.”

Luckily the Egyptian Green Party isn’t prepared to give up quickly: “In these elections we don’t expect to win any seats. Our primary goal is to further raise awareness and prepare ourselves for coming elections,” Zayed concludes.

Rectification: At the time of the interview the leadership of the Egypt’s green party was the subject of a juridical dispute between Mohamed Awad and Hisham Zayed.  After a long juridical battle, the Civil Court made their final ruling in favour of  Mohamed Awad on 12 februari 2012.

The post The Arab Spring Was Hibernating in Egypt’s Green Party appeared first on Green Prophet.