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A computer-generated aerial view of eco-villa.
By Bonnie James/Deputy News Editor
Work on the eco-villa, ‘a living research lab and a demo project’ to be established by Gulf Organisation for Research and Development (Gord) and College of the North Atlantic - Qatar (CNA-Q) on the latter’s campus, will begin towards the end of the year.
“We are in the process of getting permits from various authorities and expect to start construction by November or December,” Gord founding chairman Dr Yousef al-Horr told Gulf Times yesterday.
Gord, an authority on sustainability in the Middle East and North Africa region, and CNA-Q had announced the eco-villa project on November 21 last year, a few days ahead of the opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Doha.
“The eco-villa will be completed within 12 months, on a fast-track basis,” explained Dr al-Horr. The 750sq m eco-villa, will be constructed using sustainable and recycled environmentally-friendly materials that have low volatile organic compounds and emission rates.
The features will include an in-house energy generating system, water-efficient plumbing and irrigation and intelligent building control systems.
The design is on the basis of a traditional Qatari courtyard, allowing light into the core of the villa, while maintaining a cool environment through the choice of construction materials, shading and the integration of natural ventilation when external temperatures allow.
The pilot research project by Gord is aimed at developing information databases and testing the viability of establishing more such sustainable projects for Qatar’s broader built environment.
In the long-term, the aim is to provide industry stakeholders a sustainable model building-concept.
The goal is to achieve a four star eco-villa design based on Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS).
The Baytna (Our Home) project, Qatar’s first Passivhaus experiment, was officially opened a fortnight ago in Barwa City at Mesaimeer, by Qatar Green Building Council, Barwa Real Estate Group, and Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa).
The project features two side-by-side 225sq m villas, to compare the energy use and environmental footprint.
The conventional villa is built to a one-star GSAS standard whereas the Passivhaus villa will consume 50% less energy and water, resulting in a halving of carbon footprint.
The project will witness a number of testing and studies over the next couple of years.
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