Hanan M. Taleb

Purpose: This study addresses the limited research on energy efficiency strategies for mosques in hot-humid climates such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where mosques represent a significant portion of public buildings with unique usage patterns. Few studies have explored passive design measures tailored to their specific typologies and scales. The study assesses energy consumption patterns in three mosques in Sharjah of varying capacity, size, spatial configuration and structural height. This study aims to evaluate customized energy efficiency strategies that suit each mosque’s physical and operational characteristics. Design/methodology/approach: Using a mixed-methods approach that integrates qualitative and quantitative tools, the study combines stakeholder interviews to capture in-depth insights, perceptions and experiences, along with energy consumption data analysis and simulation-based assessments, to model and evaluate system performance under specific conditions. This approach enables the study to assess the economic feasibility, environmental impact and cultural appropriateness of the proposed interventions within mosque settings. Findings: Key findings indicate that the implementation of 30 cm thermal blocks for external walls, double glazing with a 16 mm CO2-filled cavity and high-albedo roof coatings leads to a significant reduction in annual energy consumption, with an estimated increase of 9.5% in total project cost. The medium-sized mosque achieved the highest reduction in annual energy use, reaching 12.42%. Smaller mosques showed notable improvements through natural ventilation and shading strategies, with a reduction of 11.68%, while larger mosques benefited more from enhanced insulation and reflective roof treatments, achieving a decrease of 8.21%. These results highlight the importance of adopting scale-specific passive design strategies to effectively reduce operational energy demand in religious buildings. Originality/value: The study fills a gap in research on energy performance in religious buildings, particularly mosques, which receive less attention than residential or commercial structures. In the UAE, where mosques are central to community life, improving energy efficiency offers clear benefits. Globally, even in regions where energy efficiency in religious buildings is less urgent, adopting low-energy designs reduces carbon emissions and supports sustainability goals. Examining energy-efficient interventions in culturally specific buildings provides a model for integrating sustainability without compromising architectural or cultural integrity, offering insights applicable to heritage and cultural structures worldwide.

Outdoor school spaces are significant, as they provide great opportunities for outdoor exploration, leading to the overall enhancement of a student’s well-being. This paper analyzes the outdoor school spaces in Dubai to optimize them and ensure their thermal comfort. To achieve this aim, using a mixed methodology approach of survey, field observation, workshops and ENVI-met V5.3 software simulation, the existing outdoor spaces were analyzed and then enhanced using several proposed heat mitigation strategies. The improved outcome was evaluated using Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET), revealing that strategies such as vegetation, shade, green facades/roofs and small water features resulted in a 5% to 25% reduction in PET depending on the corresponding location being analyzed. The results obtained provide insight and guidelines for school designers and school board members on how to evaluate and enhance outdoor spaces to ensure they are thermally comfortable. The discussion includes the limitations of the study, as well as comparisons to current research and the scope for future studies.

Due to climate change, enhancing outdoor and indoor thermal comfort is increasingly important. Solar radiation drives temperature increases, making solar exposure reduction essential in urban design. Most previous research has focused on parametric analysis to optimize small urban blocks, often overlooking the impact of the overall urban district (UD) on reducing Solar Radiation Access (SRA). This work aims to find the optimized UD to minimize SRA and maximize Floor Area (FA). The proposed methodology is developed to achieve these objective functions using a single-objective Genetic Algorithm (GA) with three street layout patterns: random, radial, and grid layout. Further SRA analysis is conducted at the urban block level, focusing on blocks with the highest SRA in the optimized UD to achieve further SRA reduction while maintaining the same FA. Dubai Silicon Oasis district in the UAE was selected as a case study. Elk2-0.3.1 (GIS data), Ladybug (1.7.0), DeCodingSpaces-Toolbox (2021.10), and Galapagos (1.0.0007) Plugins in Grasshopper (0.9.0076) were used. The results show that the radial street pattern achieved better results with an 8.4% reduction in SRA with an 8.9% increase in FA. Additional analysis of the blocks with the highest SRA can achieve an additional 7.4% reduction in SRA.

This report summarizes the findings of a deep retrofitting modelling study of four government buildings across the UAE. Buildings envelope assessment, HVAC, and electrical systems design, installed conditions, maintenance practices and operation methods, and rigorous engineering analysis has been performed for the four buildings to produce calibrated energy models that confirm a good correlation between actual annual energy consumption and advanced simulated energy modeling results. IES-VE software, ASHRAE Guideline 14, and IPMVP were the basis of the energy model calibration based on actual data. Energy retrofitting options were applied to the calibrated energy models of the four government buildings where advanced computational modeling studies have been utilized to analyze different thermal envelope components and external fabric energy efficiency measures in conjunction with the actual HVAC systems. The results have shown that it may be financially challenging to implement a single envelope retrofitting measure on any of the four buildings due to high payback periods. Nevertheless, when conducting an optimization through a holistic building approach targeting the overall envelope enhancements, the financial modeling results provide significantly improved and provide reduced payback periods of the solutions, making them more attractive to investors. Based on the energy modeling results and the cost of the various proposed building envelope solutions provided by Saint-Gobain, the payback period in all cases varies between 15 to 20 years. However, huge savings in terms of carbon emissions are achieved by implementing the deep retrofitting measures, crucial to achieving carbon neutrality within the UAE built environment. Deep retrofitting is a promising segment of the execution roadmap as part of the UAE's decarbonization journey; even though it is capital-intensive upfront, it has a major impact on long-term operational savings. Moreover, it is often more cost-effective than building new and energy-efficient structures from scratch. The findings indicate that deep retrofitting can be a techno-financially viable solution if it is well-planned during major refurbishment or as part of building maintenance. It has significant potential to reduce carbon emissions while also providing a range of benefits such as operational cost savings, improved thermal comfort – a feature which has a direct impact on perceived efficiency and productivity at work, indoor air quality, improved asset value, reputational enhancement, and better choice for environmentally-cautious tenants or buyers.

This study employs the integrative design process of sustainable urban regeneration of the historical district in Sharjah city in UAE by It also improves physical and visual connectivity and integration within the neighbourhood and among the surrounding areas to encourage walkability in the district provides a liveable community, and increase accessibility and social interaction. Applying comprehensive design strategies to promote connectivity and revitalize the public places in historical district. The study employs a combination of field studies and parametric simulation tools to investigate the district and identify opportunities for improvement. By optimizing the master plan, the research aims to enhance integration and connectivity within the neighbourhood. The study yielded several significant findings; most notable was the increment of the integration value of the optimized master plan by approximately 41% in comparison with Shurooq proposed master plan 2025, as a result of improving the urban configuration, the street network enhances the connection between the old district and the waterfront, and introducing a central plaza to be connected with Al Rola park to achieve the holistic desired approach. The study's outcomes offer practical implications for urban planners and policymakers in the Gulf Region, highlighting the importance of integrative design strategies in fostering sustainable urban regeneration and improving social interactions within historical districts. The study contributes to the promotion of sustainable urban development methods in the Gulf Region by providing insights into how to improve social interactions, promote a holistic approach to urban regeneration in historical districts, and enhance urban sustainability.