Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme signs agreement to build prototypes based on green model
The Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme (SZHP) and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) on Tuesday signed an agreement to expand the development of the Masdar Eco-Villa sustainable home concept around the UAE.
Launched earlier this year, the Masdar Eco-Villa is a functioning residential property designed to consume around 35 percent less water and 72 percent less power than a typical Abu Dhabi villa of the same size.
Under the terms of the agreement, the SZHP will build prototypes based on the Eco-Villa concept around the UAE with technical guidance and support from Masdar. The partnership is expected to generate additional performance data on sustainable housing, further enhancing its long-term commercial viability.
Yousef Baselaib, executive director of Sustainable Real Estate at Masdar, said: “Today’s agreement supports the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme’s vision of providing high-quality, affordable housing to UAE national families.
“The fact that the Programme has decided to promote the Eco-Villa concept is an endorsement of the original goal of its design – and the aims of Masdar City as a ‘greenprint’ for sustainable urban communities.”
The Masdar Eco-Villa incorporates environmentally friendly features such as enhanced insulation and shading to minimise power consumption for cooling, as well as LED lighting and water-saving interior fittings to further limit energy and water use.
When fully equipped with rooftop solar panels, the Eco-Villa concept produces more electricity than it consumes from the national grid.
For all the latest construction news from the UAE and Gulf countries, follow us on Twitter and Linkedin, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube page, which is updated daily.
