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The natural habitat surrounding KAUST has been preserved and protected. A long-term habitat preservation, restoration and protection plan was implemented during construction, and will continue through the university’s existence for the 182 988 000 square feet of coral reef and 21 528 000 square feet of mangrove ecosystems on campus.
The campus architecture is designed to maximise the area’s unique microclimate and ecosystem. The university’s monumental roof connects and shields campus buildings from direct sun, resulting in a minimum solar reflective index value of 78 for 92.7% of the roof’s surface. Atria and courtyards throughout the campus buildings infuse natural daylight and ventilation into 75% of interior spaces.
The campus construction and design teams selected building materials that minimised overall environmental effects and recycled waste materials. A total of 37.8% of the building materials comprise materials and/or products either harvested or manufactured within 500 miles of the university, such as stone or concrete.
A total of 99.7% of all wood-based building materials used in construction were harvested from forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). A total of 20% of the total building materials (such as steel, aluminum, and glass) were manufactured using recycled materials. More than 79%, or 35 169 tons, of all construction waste generated on-site was recycled and diverted from landfill. A campus-wide recycling programme will be instituted to recycle cardboard, paper, plastic, glass and metal.
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Water use
Water and material use has been minimised through innovative design and on-site treatment plants and recycling programmes. A full 100% of KAUST’s wastewater is treated by the campus wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). All treated wastewater is either safely returned to the environment or used on-site. A full 100% of all campus irrigation needs are provided by the WWTP, while 2.5 million gallons of treated water per day will be available in 2010.
Installed irrigation systems using recycled water reduce irrigation water consumption by 53.8% of estimated need. Waterless urinals, ultra-low flow lavatories and low-flow public showers reduce potable water use by 40.9% from a calculated baseline design. Native and adaptive vegetation that does not require large amounts of irrigation were selected for the majority of the planting on campus. A stormwater management plan reduces impervious cover, promotes groundwater infiltration, and will capture and treat 100% of the average annual rainfall run-off.
Energy-efficiency measures will reduce the total power demand. Technology like chilled beams and under-floor air distribution have been incorporated into designs to achieve energy cost-savings of 24.5%. Highly-efficient mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems reduce the overall energy demand of the campus. Non-emergency occupancy sensors automatically turn off lighting systems when a room is unoccupied, while interior lighting is dimmed automatically in conjunction with sunrise and sunset.
The decision to include efficiency and low-energy design into the design brief must be understood in its local and regional contexts, state the architects. In Saudi Arabia, the cost of electricity is quite cheap (2-4 cents/KWh) due to substantial government subsidies. This means there is little financial incentive to saving energy, and that the payback period for any energy-saving strategies implemented in a project are too long to be feasible. However, the decision taken by KAUST to create an efficient, low-energy campus was, in fact, to provide a campus that would serve as an example for environmentally-responsive buildings in the region.
In addition to the sustainable strategies incorporated into the overall design, KAUST will also implement a sustainable operations plan, which will incorporate using green cleaning materials and an extensive recycling programme that includes composting of all food waste. All service vehicles for maintenance staff are electric vehicles to reduce their fossil fuel use.
As for post-occupancy evaluation, the campus facilities management team will implement plans to continuously assess the campus’s energy use and the thermal comfort of occupants. Thermal comfort surveys will assess the effectiveness of mechanical systems, thus helping the facilities management to adjust the settings to ensure maximum occupant comfort. The campus’s automation system will also measure all energy and water use for the project with sub-meters and controls installed to allow for future increase in efficiencies of all systems.
IN NUMBERS
100-year building lifecycle
900 000 m2 of solar energy panels
24.5% energy cost savings achieved
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FEATURED COMMENT
Saudi Oger and Oger International did a fine job on this project