The nature of reality

Taking shape: a 'leaf' nears completion at the 14.2 million square foot Al Barari botanical developement.
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fmME: What does the scale of the landscaping mean on a day-to-day basis, in terms of nature and the built environment cohesively complementing each other?

Robert Rye: Al Barari may be a man made oasis in the desert, but the aim was always to work with the natural architecture of the landscape and to enhance it. This has been achieved with the introduction of numerous gardens and waterways, and with the natural contour of the ground each of our properties has a beautiful view overlooking the adjacent nature reserve.

fmME: How does the Al Barari Sustainability Charter impact the development in?

RR: Part of the vision of Al Barari is to deliver a community that is green to the eye and environmentally friendly in its operation. In keeping with the vision we are currently constructing a sewage treatment plant and two polishing plants to recycle waste water, which will be reintroduce into our system to provide the majority of the water for the water ways and the irrigation network.

For waste storage we have introduced the Equinord system with each leaf cluster having two collection points, whereby the waste is placed into one of four bins for recycling. These bins will collect kitchen waste, paper, plastic and cans. In addition, we have been composting all our landscaping waste on-site and we will continue to do so after handover.

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fmME: How will you encourage residents to buy into the development’s various environmental schemes?

RH: It will be our responsibility to educate residents and inform them of the benefits associated with supporting our initiatives for reducing, reusing and recycling wherever possible. We will provide the means for the residents to participate and champion the cause during our monthly community meetings, where we will also arrange presentations from local companies to support our ongoing initiatives.

fmME: On handover, will the FM provision strategically change at all?

RH: We have established a new company called ‘Wojood’ to provide total facilities and property management throughout Al Barari on handover. We will be responsible for the provision of all the services associated with the operation of our community and villas including MEP, civil, cleaning, waste management, pest control, window cleaning, security, re-circulated water, joinery, landscaping, and concierge services.

All of which will be delivered via our network of preferred specialist contractors and our own in-house engineering team.

fmME: Working with the landscaping team and others, what is the ongoing and long term goal of the development’s FM team?

RH: Al Barari comprises two phases. Phase one is nearing handover and phase two is currently undergoing master planning design.

On handover of phase one, the development’s FM team will form part of the Wojood management team, and will be responsible for delivering the operational facilities management throughout Al Barari phase one. Phase two, with its mix of commercial retail and lifestyle components, will definitely require some support from the FM team, so there are a few opportunities available in the future.

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