Examining Estidama

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(Rajesh Raghav/ITP; X Architects/ Images)

Architect speaks with Saood Hamad Al Junaibi, Abu Dhabi's director of development review & urban design for the UPC.

LEED, BREEAM, and ‘Mandatory Progression' are all building sustainability guidelines that exist within the region. Why is Estidama the right fit for Abu Dhabi?

The differentiating factor of Estidama, compared to the other leading initiatives, is that we are capitalizing on what has been done in the past. We are making sure that it fits within our environment and our history. We're looking at how it will work in Abu Dhabi specifically and then, perhaps, the GCC.

In Abu Dhabi, we are dealing with an environment that is really unique in terms of culture and history, and also, unfortunately, unique in its water and energy consumption. Really, we're trying to find the best fit and use the best practices that make sense for this region.

Secondly, based on the rating system we have today, once Estidama guidelines are met in a certain project, that project has the potential to give back to its environment-not just indirectly by saving energy consumption but by actually producing an energy surplus and putting energy back into the municipal grid. Extensive use of PV cells is just the beginning.

Of course, most of these systems, whether you're talking about LEED, BREEAM or whatever, are initiatives of the private sector. But with Estidama, it's completely supported by the Abu Dhabi government. That means that when a project goes to tender, it requires the full support of the government to move forward, which allows us to examine and scrutinise every aspect of the project before approving it.

When Estidama was launched in 2008, it was a group of guidelines for green buildings. Now, it seems to have become something much larger; something more broad and all-inclusive. Can you explain it?

Sure. It was launched as an idea, as a concept. We've now come to the stage where we're about to publish the first version of building design guidelines.

It is something that we're still continuing to develop and refine. We need to make sure that the final version is really the right fit for our environment, regarding implementation and timely execution.

Estidama isn't just a set of guidelines. It's a lifestyle. We need to make sure that the end result is something achievable; something attainable. We also need to make sure that it makes sense to the developers and the end users. That's why we've built such a big team to evaluate the process. We're involving developers and government agencies to test it before we start trying to apply it to certain projects.

We understand that Plan Al Ain 2030 is going to be the first application of total Estidama...

Yes. Al Ain 2030 will incorporate one of the main pillars of Estidama in that it will require sustainable development on top of an existing masterplan. This is especially important in Al Ain because it's known as the ‘oasis' of the emirate and many people go there specifically for the climate and atmosphere.

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