FACTORS AFFECTINGTHE IMPLEMENTATION OF GREEN BUILDING PROCEDURES IN ABU DHABI (UAE)

Transcription

1 FACTORS AFFECTINGTHE IMPLEMENTATION OF GREEN BUILDING PROCEDURES IN ABU DHABI (UAE) Khaledalobaidi 1, Dr. Abdelgadir M. Mahmoud 2, Dr. Shadiyabaqutayan 3 UTM Razak School of Technology ABSTRACT In United Arab Emirates, the Urban Planning Council (UPC) has developed the Abu Dhabi 2030 Urban Structure Framework Plan to optimize the city's development through a 25-year program of urban evolution. In doing so, it is laying the foundations for a socially cohesive and economically sustainable community that preserves the Emirate's unique cultural heritage. This foresight to plan for infrastructure ahead of time is a key example of visionary governance through ESTIDAMA Pearl Rating System (PRS) program. Abu Dhabi introduced ESTIDAMA practice as one of the green building rating system. Abu Dhabi applied ESTIDAMA practice rating system in commercial buildings, schools and hospitals, but not in all residential building and individual private villas projects. Government is encouraging the implementation of the system for residential projectsand for private residential villas, but according to the (UPC) there is a delay in the implementation of the ESTIDAMA practice in the residential building and individual private villas projects. As ESTIDAMA is one of the pillars of Abu Dhabi 2030 vision to implement sustainability in building projects, any delay in the implementation of ESTIDAMA (PRS) will affect the achievement of Abu Dhabi 2030 vision (Abu Dhabi e - Government.2013). This paper studied and evaluated the factors that caused the delay in the implementation of the ESTIDAMA practice in the residential building and individual private villas projects in Abu Dhabi. Keywords: Abu Dhabi, Green building, ESTIDAMA, Pearl Rating System, implementation, delay, residents, Construction. I. INTRODUCTION Green or sustainable building is the practice of designing, constructing, operating, maintaining, and removing buildings in ways that conserve natural resources and reduce pollution. Sustainable or green building means designing and constructing houses that are efficient and durable, that use less resource, are healthy to live in and are affordable. Environmentalism, that of protecting our natural capital, is a concern for future generations even more than it is for us. The idea of sustainable use, addresses this: it is simply to not use resources to the point that we will run out of them someday (Shahnaz A, 2014). 708 P a g e

2 Sustainability studies are concerned with environmental quality, social equity and economic vitality of society to ensure good outcomes or quality in both the temporal and spatial scales of human life. (Crilly, M.,Mannis, A. and Morrow, K.1999). However, sustainable development needs to be conceptualized as doing development differently, moving away from an attitude of stopping and protecting human actions to using resources to freed socially and ecologically sustainable activities (Roseland. M, 1998). Abu Dhabi`s plan2030 establishes a clear vision for sustainability as the foundation of any new development occurring in the Emirate and capital city of Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi vision-2012). This commitment is a reflection on the values and ideals of nations. More than just a sustainable program, ESTIDAMA is the symbol of an inspired vision for government and community development.it promotes anew mindset for building a forward thinking global capital. The Urban Planning council of Abu Dhabi (UPC) has worked with the team guiding ESTIDAMA to ensure that sustainability is continually addressed through four pre-defined angles, environmental, economic, social and culture (AUPC.2012). ESTIDAMA goal is to create a modern sustainable framework that will improve the local practice in building sector and the life style for a long term in the UAE. The Pearl Rating System (PRS) is organized into seven categories that are fundamental to more sustainable development: 1. To integrate teamwork to deliver environmental and quality management throughout projects. 2. Conserving, preserving and restoring the natural environments and habitats. 3. Improving the quality of outdoor and indoor spaces in the building projects. 4. Reducing water demand and encouraging efficient distribution of the water sources. 5. Reducing energy demand and renewable resources. 6. Ensuring about the materials life cycle and specifying materials. 7. Encouraging innovation in building design and construction for market and industry. II. METHODOLOGY The methods used to collect the data are questionnaire and direct interviews. The questionnaire was designed to produce a form of data that is appropriate to testing the hypotheses and addressing the research questions in order to describe the attitudes, opinions, experience, and perception of the participants who were exposed to green building in Abu Dhabi. The interviews were selected to allow the interviewer more freedom to explore the expert views or opinions about the implementation of the Green Building Procedures in Abu Dhabi while maintaining a level of comparability between interviews. Interviews were conducted using a set of questions designed to get responses from the residents of Abu Dhabi. The population of the study included residents and participants from construction industries. The questionnaire was divided into eight multi-part questions: 1. Respondent Information, 2. Firm/Project Characteristics, 3. Knowledge of green building and ESTIDAMA, 4. Practice in implementing green building procedures, 5. Impacts of implementing green building procedures, 709 P a g e

3 6. Implementing green building procedures and cost, 7. Obstacles and challenges facing the implementation of green building procedures in residential building and private villas in Abu Dhabi, and 8. Improving the implementation of green building procedures in residential building and private villas in Abu Dhabi. 2.1 Findings The resultsare based on 48 sample from the construction industries and 40 sample from the residents, which were analyzed and assessed as per the expressed objectives set in this paper. A. AGE Age More than 51 Years Years Years Years Missing Variable 0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% Fig. 1 Figure 1 shows that 47.5% of the respondents were age between18-30 years old, 30.0% were years old, 10.0% were years old, and the other 10.0% were more than 51 years old. B. Gender Figure 2 blow shows the demographic profiles of respondents in construction industries, 28 (58%) males, and 9 (19%) females were involved in this study. Fig P a g e

4 C. Nationality Nationality 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% missing variable UAE citizen non UAE citizen Fig. 3 Figure 3 shows the nationality of respondents, as 75.5% were UAE citizen and the other 22.5% were non-uae citizen. D. Abu Dhabi Residents Awareness towards Green Building Procedures Surprisinglymost of the Abu Dhabi residents (62.5%) don t have knowledge about the Green Building Procedures and only 32.5% have little knowledge about Green Building procedures. To increase the level of awareness, 72.5% of the respondents suggested that public awareness should be made available through media (TV programs, newspapers, etc.), public lectures and at the educational institutions (schools and universities). This indicated that ESTIDAMA are not providing intensive awareness activities to the public. Majority of the residents respondents answered that they need help from ESTIDAMA to understand the meaning of sustainability.almost 77.7% of the respondents view ESTIDAMA practice as: Preservation of Environment, High Quality Living Space, and Away to Save Energy and Resources. E. UAE Construction Sectors Awareness towards Green Building Procedures Respondent were asked about their knowledge on ESTIDAMA Green Building Program (GBP), and interestingly the majority of the construction company staff(95.8%) have knowledge about it. Almost all respondents are sure that their companies are aware of ESTIDAMA Practice, GBP and ESTIDAMA Residential Building Procedures. F.Delay in Implementation of Green Building Procedurein residential building and individual private villas projects in Abu Dhabi. 711 P a g e

5 Table 1.Abu Dhabi Residentsperceptions towards the reasons for delay to implement Green Building Practice in Abu Dhabi Reason for delay to implement Green Building Practice in Abu Dhabi Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Missing value 3 7.5% Lack of Awareness and Knowledge as well as high cost of Materials % Availability of resources 2 5.0% Difficult to change the mindset of the people The weather in UAE is too hot, so ESTIDAM practice is difficult 1 2.5% % Expensive materials, UAE weather, inspection of Materials % Availability of Oil and Gas 1 2.5% Expensive Materials 3 7.5% Plan according to people preference 2 5.0% Total % Table 1 summarizes the respondents answers when they were asked about the reasons of delay in implementing ESTIDAMA Practice (GBP) in Residential Building and Individual Private Villas in Abu Dhabi.Majority of (57.5%) responded Lack of Awareness and Knowledge as well as High Cost of Materials as main reasons that contribute to the delay ofimplementing ESTIDAMA Practice (GBP) in Residential Building and Individual Private Villas in Abu Dhabi. G. Main challenges that face the construction sectors when implementing ESTIDAMA (GBP) projects in Abu Dhabi and delay the implementation: Table 2: Summary of the challenges face construction sectors when implementing ESTIDAMA (GBP) projects in Abu Dhabi Challenges Frequency Percent Valid Cumulativ Percent e Percent Missing Value % Projects high cost 1 2.1% P a g e

6 Project high cost and time % Projects and materials high costs, waste management 1 2.1% Increases in the project cost, CxA& PQP cost, material cost, water management 2 4.2% High cost of materials and limitation of suppliers 4 8.3% The cost of materials are not tally with ESTIDAMA requirement and market doesn't provide the need of 3 6.3% government requirement High material costs, shortage technical people, and long implementation process 3 6.3% Government regulation and project time 1 2.1% The government requirement take time and the market has shortage in materials 1 2.1% Regulations are not clear and less technical people in the market 1 2.1% No awareness on ESTIDAMA. Suppliers lack of understanding on how their material will comply to 3 6.3% ESTIDAMA requirement Lack of public awareness, increase in cost of construction, increase in duration for authority approval % Design documents sometimes do not match with tender 1 2.1% Difficult to meet ESTIDAMA design requirement 1 2.1% Project sustainability 1 2.1% Operational efficiency of the building, project sustainability, cost efficiency, ESTIDAMA training activities 1 2.1% Synergies between different credits 3 6.3% No difficulties if ESTIDAMA is implemented in the projects 1 2.1% Total % Table 2 summarizes the main challenges that construction sectors are facing when implementing ESTIDAMA (GBP) projects in Residential Building and Individual Private Villas in Abu Dhabi. The challengescan be grouped into seven main factors as follows: 1. Project High Cost, 2. Government Regulation, 3. Projects Times, 4. Shortage of Technical People, 5. Lack of Awareness, 6. Lack of Design Requirement, and 7. Project Sustainability. 713 P a g e

7 III. CONCLUSION 1. The quantitative and qualitative data collected from the questionnaire were analyzed by using the descriptive analysis and the key findings from the analysis are listed as follows: 2. All participants from the construction companies were sure that their companies are aware of ESTIDAMA practice and (GBP) while the majorities from the residents don t have knowledge about ESTIDAMA Green Building Practice. 3. Majority answers from the construction company see the sustainability as Comfort life style, comfort building, comfortable house to live, High quality of life, healthy Environment, good building value in market that reduce consumption of water and energy % of the respondents from the resident view ESTIDAMA practice as a Preservation of Environment, High quality living space, and Away to Save Energy and resources % of respondent from the construction companies agreed that the cost of the materials used in projects implementing Green Building Practice (GBP) is higher compared to non-sustainable materials % of the respondents from the construction companies agreed that the companies can succeed in reducing less than 10% of the project cost as a result of implementing (GBP) for residential building in Abu Dhabi % of respondents from the construction companies agreed with the government to adopt the Green Building Practice (GBP) in residential building as a legal term in future projects while 75% from the residents agreed the same % of the respondents from the construction companies were sure that implementation of the Green Building Practice (GBP) will increase the building value in market for long term while 57% of respondents from the residents have no information about the value of the Residential Building and Individual Private Villas in the market. The main obstacles that respondents from construction companies are facing when implementing (GBP) in residential building projects are the following: 1. Lack of awareness, 2. High cost of projects, 3. Lack of materials availability, 4. Lack of green building materials suppliers, 5. The time to implement green building project is longer than the normal project, 6. Shortage in technical people in the market. The main factors that delay the implementation of the Green Building Practice in the residential building and in 714 P a g e

8 individual private residential villas in Abu Dhabi are the following: 1. Lacking in training courses for implementing Green Building Practice (GBP) for construction firms. 2. Lack in professional experts and technology for implementing Green Building Practice (GBP) for construction firms. 3. Lacking in the familiarity with Green Building Practice (GBP) and more times are needed in order to implement it in residential building % of the respondents from the construction companies indicated that all the Clients, Construction Firms, Contractors and Suppliers need to enhance their knowledge towards green building practice and implementation. Majority of the respondents (87.5%) from the residents concern about the cultural aspects; they believe that the cultural aspectmust be included in the house design. REFERENCES [1]Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. (2011). Abu Dhabi Vision Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council Website, Retrieved 2011 from [2]Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (AUPC.2010) Pearl building Estidama. PP [3]Abu Dhabi vision 2030, sustainable development in practice-review and Analysis, Chapter of: Proactive development strategy, PP [4]Abu Dhabi e Government Gateway. (2013). Abu Dhabi Emirate: Facts and Figures. Abu Dhabi, e- Government-Gateway Website, Retrieved2013, from [5]Candè, E. J., &Wakin, M. B. (2008). An introduction to compressive sampling. Signal Processing Magazine, IEEE, 25(2), [6]Chilly, M., Mannis, A. and Morrow, K. (1999). "Indicators for Change: Taking a Lead." Local Environment 4(2): [7]Fink, A. (2012). How to conduct surveys: A step-by-step guide. Sage Publications [8]Roseland, M. (1998).Toward Sustainable Communities: Resources for Citizens and Their Governments. GabriolaIsland, Canada, New Society Publishers. [9]Shahnaz A, MohamadSyazli&NoorirzaMohdZaki (2014). Implementing Green Building Procedure for Residential Buildings Construction in Abu Dhabi.International Journal of Interdisciplinary research and Innovations. ISSN (online), ISSN (print). 715 P a g e