Neom in Saudi Arabia

22 October 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Building Automation, Green Buildings, Green Technologies, Living, Working, Building, Sustainability Reading Time:  12 minutes

© neom.com

© neom.com

Neom is a city being built in Tabuk Province in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is planned to incorporate smart city technologies and function as a tourist destination. The site is north of the Red Sea, east of Egypt across the Gulf of Aqaba, and south of Jordan. It is planned to cover a total area of 26,500 km² (10,200 sq mi), extending 170 kilometres along the coast of the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia aimed to complete major parts of the project by 2020, with an expansion completed in 2025, but it is behind schedule. The project has an estimated cost of $500 billion. On January 29, 2019, Saudi Arabia announced that it had set up a closed joint-stock company named Neom. The aim of this company, which is wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, is to develop the economic zone of Neom. The project is planned to be totally powered by renewable energy sources.   read more…

Urban planning

20 October 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Building Automation, Green Buildings, Intelligent Buildings, Living, Working, Building, Sustainability, Environment Reading Time:  15 minutes

Plan of an ideal city of 100 000 inhabitants by Jean-Jacques Moll from 1801

Plan of an ideal city of 100 000 inhabitants by Jean-Jacques Moll from 1801

Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportation, communications, and distribution networks and their accessibility. Traditionally, urban planning followed a top-down approach in master planning the physical layout of human settlements. The primary concern was the public welfare, which included considerations of efficiency, sanitation, protection and use of the environment, as well as effects of the master plans on the social and economic activities. Over time, urban planning has adopted a focus on the social and environmental bottom-lines that focus on planning as a tool to improve the health and well-being of people while maintaining sustainability standards. Sustainable development was added as one of the main goals of all planning endeavors in the late 20th century when the detrimental economic and the environmental impacts of the previous models of planning had become apparent. Similarly, in the early 21st century, Jane Jacob‘s writings on legal and political perspectives to emphasize the interests of residents, businesses and communities effectively influenced urban planners to take into broader consideration of resident experiences and needs while planning.   read more…

Expo 2020 Dubai

24 January 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Dubai, Energy, Building Automation, Intelligent Buildings, Museums, Exhibitions, Sustainability, Environment Reading Time:  20 minutes

© expo2020dubai.com

© expo2020dubai.com

Expo 2020 is a World Expo to be hosted by Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, opening on October 20, 2020. The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) general assembly in Paris awarded Dubai as the host on November 27, 2013. In November 2019, the UAE permitted Israeli passport holders to enter the country during Expo 2020. Israelis are allowed to have their own pavilion at the event and to even visit the country afterwards.   read more…

Smart City

22 April 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Architecture, Design & Products, Energy, Building Automation, Green Buildings, Green Technologies, Intelligent Buildings, Living, Working, Building, Sustainability, Environment Reading Time:  26 minutes

© flickr.com - Wilgengebroed/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Wilgengebroed/cc-by-2.0

A smart city is an urban area that uses different types of electronic data collection sensors to supply information which is used to manage assets and resources efficiently. This includes data collected from citizens, devices, and assets that is processed and analyzed to monitor and manage traffic and transportation systems, power plants, water supply networks, waste management, law enforcement, information systems, schools, libraries, hospitals, and other community services. The smart city concept integrates information and communication technology (ICT), and various physical devices connected to the network (the Internet of things or IoT) to optimize the efficiency of city operations and services and connect to citizens. Smart city technology allows city officials to interact directly with both community and city infrastructure and to monitor what is happening in the city and how the city is evolving.   read more…

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

1 April 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Energy, Building Automation, Green Buildings, Green Technologies, House of the Month, Intelligent Buildings, Sustainability, Environment, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Aboluay/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Aboluay/cc-by-sa-4.0

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is a private research university in Saudi Arabia. The University’s core campus, located on the Red Sea at Thuwal, is sited on more than 36 square kilometres (14 sq mi), encompassing a marine sanctuary and research facility. The university is 20 km away north of the King Abdullah Economic City. KAUST is part of a small number of highly planned, specialized, research and technology-intensive municipalities in the world that incorporate a living environment, similar to Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates or Tsukuba Science City in Japan.   read more…

Theme Week Abu Dhabi – Masdar City

23 March 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Architecture, Design & Products, Energy, Building Automation, Green Buildings, Green Technologies, Intelligent Buildings, Living, Working, Building, Materials, Sustainability, Environment, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  15 minutes

© fosterandpartners.com

© fosterandpartners.com

Masdar City is a planned city project in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Its core is being built by Masdar, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, with the majority of seed capital provided by the Government of Abu Dhabi. Designed by the British architectural firm Foster and Partners, the city relies on solar energy and other renewable energy sources. Masdar City is being constructed 17 kilometres (11 mi) east-south-east of the city of Abu Dhabi, right beside Abu Dhabi International Airport. Masdar City will host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The city is designed to be a hub for cleantech companies. Its first tenant is the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, which has been operating in the city since it moved into its campus in September 2010.   read more…

Building automation

15 October 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Building Automation, Living, Working, Building Reading Time:  3 minutes

© gira.com

© gira.com

Building automation describes the functionality provided by the control system of a building. A building automation system (BAS) is an example of a distributed control system. The control system is a computerized, intelligent network of electronic devices designed to monitor and control the mechanical and lighting systems in a building.   read more…

My home, my station!

19 February 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin, Building Automation, Green Buildings, Green Technologies, Intelligent Buildings, Environment Reading Time:  6 minutes

Energie-Plus-Haus in Berlin © Werner Sobek

Energie-Plus-Haus in Berlin © Werner Sobek

The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development will continue the building and electrical mobility research from October 2011 on with the successor model of the energy-plus house, which will combine building and transport, stuffed with an awesome amount of green features.   read more…

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