Green Building of the Week: SABIC's High Performance Demonstration Home, in Riyadh

This week's Green Building of the Week mention goes to SABIC's Home of Innovation growth. This demonstration project is the first single-family home in the Middle East region to earn LEED-Platinum, the highest possible rating under the United States Green Building Council's LEED for Homes International Pilot program. The 800 square foot dwelling will also also generate as much energy as it consumes as a NetZero building. The project caught our attention as a first but also because it's a demonstration project that can inspire more green building and help pave the way. “This facility will help promote more sustainable home building around the region,” said Mohammad Abdullah Al-Aboudi, Operations Manager, Home of Innovation. “We hope it inspires and leads the construction industry to incorporate these innovative yet proven technologies, materials, products and systems toward improving building performance.” The Home and Center showcase the latest commercially available materials, products and integrated systems to yield at least 40 percent reductions in overall energy and potable water use compared to other homes in Saudi Arabia. “These accomplishments prove that we can achieve the highest levels of building performance in one of the harshest climates in the world,” said Abdullah Al-Refaie, Program Director, Home of Innovation, SABIC. “Such an accomplishment can only be achieved through collaboration among all members of the project team.” Some examples of the facility’s energy and environmental features: -Insulated and air-sealed thermal structure to reduce overall energy needs -28 kW rooftop solar array -Energy-efficient space cooling design and systems -Energy-efficient lighting fixtures, controls and sensors -Energy-efficient solar hot water -Low-flow and water-saving plumbing fixtures and appliances -Drought-tolerant landscaping with a high-efficiency irrigation system and no conventional turf grass areas; rain and gray-water reclamation system for landscape irrigation -A building management system that enhances the performance and efficiency of multiple energy- and water-using products and systems -Diversion of 91.73% of construction waste from landfills through recycling and reuse. Project team: SABIC Engineering and Projects Management (E&PM) include IBACOS (based in Pittsburgh, PA); The Joannou & Paraskevaides Group (J&P), the project’s general contractor from Cyprus; Green Technologies, an engineering consultancy company in Dubai, UAE; Sol design + consulting of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Zuhair Fayez Partnership, the project architect and construction consultant in Riyadh, KSA; Saudi Specialist Construction Limited, the main electro-mechanical subcontractor in Riyadh. For more information, see this Saudi Gazette article: http://j.mp/1Paq1mD