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Flexible and environmentally sustainable areas that accommodate growing families, maximising the utility of limited space are key to unlocking the future of Arab homes, according to a Bahraini team currently competing in the Solar Decathlon Middle East.
The Bahrain University’s ‘Go Smart’ team has designed and is building a futuristic net-zero home powered by renewable energy at the competition, taking place in Dubai as part of Expo 2020.
The 120-square-metre concept home has one bedroom, two bathrooms, a living room, kitchen and dining area, in addition to a multi-functional space which can be transformed into an office, extra bedroom or kitchen extension.
“The design brief called for a net-zero smart home responsive to the Middle Eastern context, not just climatically but holistically,” student team leader Rawan Jahromi told GulfWeekly.
“This meant not just answering questions such as how can our homes incorporate eco-friendly strategies, but rather developing deeper and sensible answers to questions addressing the social and cultural contexts of individuals living in the Middle East.
“The house design integrates passive environmental strategies and re-interprets traditions – for example there is a north-wind facing courtyard able to generate an external micro-climate.
“It also intangibly integrates the collective nature of living in Bahrain by incorporating need-based expandable internal spaces such as a larger dining area, a guest and kids’ bedroom, as well as a retractable office for different house configurations. Hierarchical build up from public to private zones was also heavily studied, catering to the need for privacy.
“We also built in some energy optimisation including automatic temperature control based on the individual’s comfort level and lighting level adjustment based on mood.”
The project brought together a rotating team of up to 60 individuals to plan for two years before construction, collaborating to hit the project deadline against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic introducing restrictions.
Students from six different majors, in addition to UOB alumni, staff and faculty balanced their university and life schedules to design the project, before the two-and-a-half-month construction phase began.
The team also included project manager Dana AlMoawda, construction manager Fatima Alzahraa Bunass, project architect Sara Tamer, project engineers Fajer Fareed AlMeamari and Noor Al Mutawa, electrical engineer Ruqaya Mustafa Khan, sponsorship manager Aysha Janahi, health and safety team co-ordinator Yousif Faqihi, safety officers Warda AlOqab and Alia Mustafa Khan, site operations co-ordinators Mohammed AlAradi and Melad AlFulaij, contest captain AlZaen Hussain Bindayna, instrumentation and public relations co-ordinator Zainab Dhaif as well as communications coordinator Amina AlQalaleef. Faculty adviser Dr Hanan Albuflasa oversaw the entire team.
“The main motivating factor that allowed us to persevere was the opportunity to contribute to an international dialogue concerning environmental practices,” Rawan added.
“We wanted to prove that as Bahraini students, we are capable of proudly re-presenting our country with a solar house operated on home automation techniques.
“The two-year planning phase and the 2.5-month construction phase each presented their own set of challenges.
“Ensuring efficient communication along the planning course of two years was one of our main obstacles to overcome, with different strategies from daily updates to weekly update meetings.
“The construction phase pushed us beyond what we thought we were capable of. The students were hands-on with the construction work and performed tasks such as insulation application, gypsum panel installation, electrical wiring and much more. Team members were appointed as safety officers, first aid crew and fire fighters after getting professionally accredited.”
The project will be judged between November 11 and 21, and can be viewed by the public up to November 25.
After that, the home will be disassembled in mid-December and transported back to Bahrain, where it might be showcased within the Bahrain University campus.
For more details, follow @uob_team_sdme on Instagram.
