Integrative Approach for Desert Sustainable Ecohouse Design

The study presents an integrative approach for desert sustainable architectural design that could be valuable to building professionals who might search for sound application models useful in harsh desert conditions. Following an integrated process of design and performance evaluation, a sustainable eco-friendly house was designed in light of Estidama guidelines, assessment method, and other documents (building code, standards, and design guidance). It symbolizes an oasis stranded in the desert, withstanding harsh weather and sustaining itself from its difficult conditions. The oasis is represented by the luscious courtyard, landscape, water elements and the vast number of openings that are embraced by the house from inside, while the harsh climate is represented by the desert-like landscape and the image and texture of the building from the exterior. Amongst several effective strategies, two fundamental ones were given special attention: minimizing solar heat gain through shading and proper building envelope and maximizing passive cooling through natural ventilation. The traditional courtyard form configuration was adapted and optimized to improve shading and natural ventilation and wind towers were used to promote air flow. Special attention was also given to greenery as effective shading and passive cooling design elements, yet the plants were selected very carefully to satisfy the harsh conditions of the desert climate in terms of water scarcity and excessive heat. Greenery and water Landscape elements such as green roofs, grass ground cover and greenery next to external walls were simulated along with other passive systems in order to achieve optimum energy performance. The use of outdoor landscape (grass ground cover and shade trees) has made a 6% improvement of performance over the base case regarding the electrical energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The energy use of the house dropped down by 16% for cooling and 21% for fan operation. With regards to the green roof scenario, a performance improvement of 2% over the base case has been achieved. The energy use of the house dropped down by 5% for cooling and 5% for fan operation. The design achieved considerable improvement over a typical Emirati house case; 59% reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions and utility bill.