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THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Despite the arid climate, engineers and architects have been working on innovative ways to make our outside environment contribute to sustainability.

SAUDI ARABIA
A joint initiative between engineering firm Buro Happold and Canadian architects Moriyama and Teshima saw the revitalisation of Riyadh’s Wadi Hanifah, which served as both a source of drinking water and a meeting place for families. The project was commissioned by Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA).

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Over-reliance on the Wadi in recent years has seen its underground water reserves fall so low that much of Riyadh’s water has to be pumped from desalination plants 350km away on the Saudi Arabian coast. The rapid expansion of the capital has turned the once normally dry Wadi into a permanent flowing river in its lower reaches, as sewage from the city and rising groundwater have caused pollution.

Following the restoration works there has been a major revitalisation in land values surrounding the Wadi, and the area has resumed its role as a much visited local destination in a city severely lacking green recreational space.

UAE, OMAN, QATAR
Engineering firm Waagner Biro has already found praise in the pages of Middle East Architect for the artificial wetlands incorporated into its designs for a Dubai labour camp.

Now the firm is expanding its TerraSave concept into Oman and Qatar, creating a excellent model for highly sustainable developments in the desert.

Waagner Biro’s labour camp in Dubai, built in 2007, uses black water and human effluent to create engineered wetlands, which have become a habitat for birds.

In Qatar, Waagner Biro plans to integrate a heat pump system to cool the labour camp in cooperation with the reed bed in nearby engineered wetlands, by installing cooling pipes at the bottom of the reed bed. The advantage of this system for architects is that it reduces the need for outdoor units on the buildings.