If Mirdif City Center Mall is “green,” the emperor must have been wearing clothes. Given the choice between a LEED certified building and one without, we’d be nuts to take the first. Issued by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED certification and its equivalent in the Middle East – such as the Qatar […]
The Princess worries that her ancestors would be horrified at our present waste of resources. Perhaps the new Dutch embassy in Amman would placate them? Jordan’s HRH Princess Samaya evoked traditional Arab values at the grand opening of the Dutch Embassy’s new Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) certified building in Amman yesterday. Pointing […]
Tel Aviv’s first ‘green’ office tower uses recycled, sustainable and domestic building materials and ecological maintenance procedures for a long-term low impact on nature. Israel’s scarce water and energy resources were foremost in the minds of constructors Ronen and Alon Azouri when they designed Tel Aviv’s first ‘green’ office tower. Using recycled sustainable and/or domestic […]
Think of Israel and high tech, and the first word that pops into most minds is…Intel. Since setting up shop in the country in 1974, Intel Israel has been responsible for developing the Pentium and Centrino chips which power most PCs around the world. But in the future, if you put together Intel and Israel, […]
When the controversy subsides and construction begins, “Park 51,” otherwise known as the “Ground Zero Mosque,” will be LEED certified Green mosques are sprouting up all over the world. We brought news of the first eco-mosque in Cambridge, but now in the midst of the chaos and controversy surrounding the Ground Zero Mosque, organizers have […]
The First Phase of Tel Aviv’s first “Green” high rise to be completed in January [image via emporis.com] Although the Middle Eastern sustainable development agenda lags behind the western world, several recent developments and innovations demonstrate that we can keep pace. Studied Impact in Dubai has designed a renewable power plant that is fit for […]
The king willed it – so it was built…Michael Arndt questions the ‘greenliness’ of KAUST, granted the US Green Building Council’s highest LEED certification possible. The American Institute of Architecture recently hailed The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) as one of its top ten most environmentally responsible building designs. This follows other […]
Moshe Safdie’s Habitat ’67 designed for Montreal World Fair a model of sustainable living. Image via Wikipedia. Sustainable building is gaining some speed in the Middle East, but at a pace that is powerless against escalating climate damage. The Gutman Visitation Center’s Living Building in Jerusalem and Qatar’s LEED certified convention center offer good examples […]
Hassan Fathy, an Egyptian architect saw the value of natural building long before it became a fad in the west. Green Prophet has railed against projects like Dubai Burj Tower. We have pounded our chests at the audacity of Masdar City’s “zero” footprint claim, and we have decried the potential consequences of unsustainable approaches to […]
While many countries are taking pride in their sustainable of “green” building technologies, and LEED certification as we learn from Qatar, Israel may have gotten the upper hand by unveiling what it refers to as a “living building.” It even includes residency for local animals including porcupines. This new living-with-nature concept was inaugurated on January […]
Qatar’s new LEED-certified convention center could be as “green” as Masdar City. It will boast a world first of LED lighting in exhibition halls. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are not the only Persian Gulf locations building environmentally sustainable projects. Now, Qatar is building a unique convention center, which although still unfinished has already achieved the […]
Green building is becoming a fad in Arab countries. We’ve all probably heard of the world’s first carbon neutral city Masdar being built in Abu Dhabi. Now Qatar, another UAE state — this one wealthy from natural gas –– is planning its own eco-city project. A new, specially designed “carbon neutral” office building is being […]