By Bonnie James
Barwa Real Estate Company and Qatari Diar will establish a research institute at Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) this year to promote the “green” building concept in Qatar and the region.
“We have filed the application for the Barwa and Qatari Diar Research Institute and are awaiting confirmation from QSTP,” Barwa’s president of strategy & investment, Dr Yousef Mohamed al-Horr, told Gulf Times yesterday.
The agreement signing for the institute is expected this quarter and the opening in the fourth quarter, he said.
“The latest technological advances in energy conservation and building materials, and intelligent building management systems are among the focus areas,” Dr al-Horr said.
The institute, which is to monitor Barwa and Qatari Diar projects, envisages collaboration in research with the tenants of QSTP, and with international establishments including the US’s University of Pennsylvania.
“The investment is to be sourced from grants under the National Priority Research Programme of Qatar Foundation’s Qatar National Research Fund, and through training and assessment services related to the ‘green’ building concept,” he said.
A lecture on the relation between the sustainable system and the role of institutions in the application of sustainability according to the vision of Qatar was delivered by Dr al-Horr at QSTP on Monday.
The institute will provide educational opportunities for professionals, to introduce them to state-of-the-art concepts and models in the field through teaching and research partnership.
“We are conducting the first training workshop on May 28 for professionals from GCC countries, on sustainability-related issues,” Dr al-Horr said.
Barwa’s president of development – Qatar, Khalid Mubarak al-Delaimi, revealed that the “green” building concept will be applied to all the projects under design.
The proposed institute will seek to collect data related to building energy to set the ground for fact-based and benchmarking studies leading to further advanced studies.
In the short term, the institute will focus on the deployment and expansion of standards in Qatar and development of a comprehensive Regional Sustainability Assessment System for GCC & the Middle East.
In the medium and long-term, the Barwa and Qatari Diar Research Institute will focus on applying policies in areas such as material ratings, emissions capping, waste disposal, water resource management, urban planning, transportation, underground networks and services.
As an indication of Barwa’s commitment to the “green” building concept, Dr al-Horr revealed that Barwa is revising the elevation of some of its projects to reduce the amount of glazing, with a view to conserve energy.
“This is based on the realisation that glass-covered buildings are not energy-efficient,” he said. |
