Ramel

Alyina Ahmed

Maria Luiza Gomes Torres

Architectural Association School of Architecture

Master of Science: Emergent Technologies and Design 2019 - 2020

Founding Director: Michael Weinstock

Course Director: Elif Erdine

Studio Tutors: Abhinav Chaudhary

Alican Sungur

Eleana Polychronaki

Lorenzo Santelli

Architectural Association School of Architecture

Graduate School Programme

PROGRAMME: Emergent Technologies and Design

YEAR: September 2019 - January 2021

COURSE TITLE: Master of Science Dissertation

DISSERTATION TITLE: Ramel

STUDENT NAMES: Alyina Ahmed (M.Arch)

Maria Luiza Gomes Torres (M.Arch)

Elliot Ouchterlony (M.Sc)

Maximo Tettamanzi (M.Sc)

DECLERATION: “I certify that this piece of work is entirely my/our own and that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of others is duly acknowledged.”

DATE: 31st January 2021

SIGNATURE OF STUDENTS:

Alyina Ahmed

Maria Luiza Gomes Torres

Acknowledgements - Team:

We are extremely grateful to Dr. Michael Weinstock and Elif Erdine for guiding and supporting us throughout this course. You have empowered us with the tools needed to think more critically at each step of this project.

We would also like to thank our all our studio tutors; Abhinav Chaudhary, Alican Sungur, Eleana Polychronaki, Lorenzo Santelli & Milad Showkatbakhsh, for your invaluable advice and encouragement. Your support computationally and in terms of design was extremely beneficial.

We would also like to thank Dr. George Jeronimidis for helping us with the material and structural research in our dissertation. Lastly we would like to thank our external jurors for being critical with our work asking relevant questions, and guiding us in a direction that ultimately led to this final thesis proposal.

Acknowledgements - Alyina:

The past 16 months have been the most enriching and challenging in my life. Moving to a new country and completing my masters in the midst of a pandemic has given me the opportunity to grow immensely.

would firstly like to thank my parents and my brother for always encouraging me to push my boundaries along with all their love, support and critical feedback throughout this journey. Your motivation is the reason I am where am today.

would also like to thank the rest of my family for all their endless support and encouragement as well.

am immensely grateful to all my friends, near and far. Your positivity and constant reassurance has helped me get through this program. You have stood by me and pushed me to strive for excellence, always.

To all the wonderful friends at EmTech, am so grateful that we got to spend the first 6 months together and create wonderful lasting memories. It has been a pleasure working with and getting to know you all. Hopefully we can reunite in the near future.

Lastly I would like to thank Maria, Max and Elliot, without whom this thesis would not have been possible. Although we were oceans apart for most of our thesis, am grateful we got the opportunity to work, cry and laugh together.

Acknowledgements - Maria:

would first like to thank my parents that for allowed me to challenged myself to do a Master degree outside my home country and for all the love and support. My brother for the unconditionally love and encouragements always.

A huge thanks to all the friends have made during my undergrad in FAU MACK that inspired me, supported me and encourage me to do more and be a better architect every day.

An immense gratitude to the FAU MACK professor, Patrícia Martins, Ana Paula Pontes, Julio Vieira and Juan Villa that inspired me to go further into my studies and discuss and create meaningful architecture to solve and reflect current problems of the world.

A huge thanks to Abhinav Chaudhary for all the tutoring and support during the Emtech and the professor Mike Weinstock for all the meaningful conversations and talk during my studies.

To my MSc group mates, Maximo Tettamanzi and Elliot Ouchterlony thanks for the journey, the laughs and interesting conversations about architecture.

To my partner Alyina and her family my immensely gratitudes for this project and the chance to see the world through a different point of view.

Abstract:

Urbanisation driven by population growth in the past century has caused a demand for concrete to be produced in unprecedented volumes. This rapid urban expansion is evident in the United Arab Emirates where the demand is met with contemporary planning and construction techniques typical of western development rather than drawing upon the traditional vernacular techniques of the region. The region’s vast importation of construction sand - the primary raw material in concrete - is reflective of this growth.

Riverbed sand is a diminishing resource and its extraction is often damaging to local ecosystems. This research focuses initially on the incorporation of desert sand, a vast untapped resource local to the region, into concrete production, to reduce the carbon emissions and ecological impact associated with the material.

Al Ain, a city in the UAE, is chosen as the site where this material is implemented to construct a new housing system intended for the local population, the Emiratis and the expatriate community. Sustainable principles related to urban planning, construction and cooling techniques of traditional housing are studied. These principles are incorporated in conjunction with the alternative concrete composite in order to provide a prefabricated construction system, offering housing solutions that are sensitive to the local population’s culture as well as to its environmental conditions and impact on the region.

1: INTRODUCTION

Introduction | Overview:

The discovery and economic exploitation of oil in the Persian Gulf region was the primary driver of economic and urban development in the UAE during the latter half of the twentieth century. The country also has a geographical advantage, being in close proximity to frequently transversed global shipping lanes (Hobbs, 2017). This new economic wealth led to an increase in immigration to the region, facilitating rapid urban growth (Pacione, 2005). Pressures on the country to expand its urban areas grew in tandem with the pressure to westernise. As a result, the new urban expansion was divorced from the traditional evolution of the urban centres. The original spatial configurations and aesthetics of the traditional plan were overlooked in favour of what cities like Dubai are currently well known for, namely vertical glass towers and urban sprawl distributed over a grid.

Much of the traditional Islamic urban fabric in the middle east has been lost or superseded by modern western building practices. Traditional buildings were developed over the centuries according to the habits and behaviours of the local community, local climatic conditions and locally sourced materials. Now that western development has dominated these traditional designs and techniques, there is a growing desire to reintroduce traditional principles to future urban developments. This is especially relevant in an age of rapid climate change as the traditional building techniques offer environmentally sensitive design incorporating local material and zero carbon emission cooling strategies.

The starting point for this research focuses specifically on incorporating local desert sand abundant in the UAE into concrete. The intention is to create a material system which will provide a locally sourced alternative to conventional concrete, and to incorporate this new material into an architectural and construction system that is culturally sensitive to the United Arab Emirates. The traditional urban landscape, housing and culture in the region along with new sustainable and urban planning strategies are studied in order to incorporate these principles into the design. The overall aim is to develop a system which integrates the vernacular principles and cooling strategies with modern urban economic and social infrastructure.

Image 1: Downtown Dubai Skyline view from Deira Creek

Domain | Introduction:

The rapid increase in worldwide population over the past few years, resulting in urban development, has been hard to support due to diminishing natural resources. It has been a challenge for the architectural and construction field to find a middle ground between sustainability and urban growth as the industry relies on utilisation of materials and resources. In response to this matter, architects and urban planners have recently given sustainability more importance in the design field. Projects at various scales across the world have been tackling the issue of having environmental, social and economical developments. Understanding the complex nature of the relationship between these factions, is essential for designing sustainable cities and architecture (Bovill, 2015).

Cities in the Middle East, such as Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi have experienced exponential growth during the last twenty years (Rizzo, 2014). This development has been associated with the idea of “bigness” and the construction of large corporate buildings that act as a representation of this growth (Koolhas & Mau, 1995). This approach towards architecture and urban planning has resulted in urban problems such as suburbanisation, dispersed urban fabric, unintegrated transportation systems and highly unsustainable buildings.

After the 2008 recession, the country prioritised economical, environmental and social development (Alawadi, 2016). Investments in projects that embrace climate sensitive architecture, revisitation of city masterplans and social housing programs have made the country an epicentre for discussions regarding sustainable urbanism and architecture. As a result of this sudden growth, the importation of building materials significantly increased as well. Riverbed sand was one of the biggest raw materials to be imported to support the construction boom. Being situated in a desert biome it is highly contradictory that the country is importing sand when there is an unlimited resource within the national boundaries itself. Research and testing will be conducted to determine whether desert sand could be used as a replacement for riverbed sand in concrete production within the UAE, which could also aid in the country’s aim to create more sustainable structures using locally sourced materials.

The domain chapter is divided into the following topics: Social and Physical Changes in the United Arab Emirates, Urban, Architectural, Material and lastly Construction Systems. The different scales will explore sustainable hypothesis that can be climatically sensitive and culturally appropriate to the conditions of the site.

Dubai - 1980 Dubai - 1990 Dubai - 2000 Dubai - 2020

Al Ain - 1980

Al Ain - 1990 Al Ain - 2000 Al Ain - 2020

Image2: Old Dubai - 1960’s Image 3: Dubai Marina - 2020

Domain | Social and Physical Changes in the UAE:

The Emirate’s ambition to be viewed as a global economic power is one of the factors that led the country to adopt western construction techniques (Alawadi, 2017). These methods of construction are closely associated with materials such as glass, steel and most prominently, concrete. It is also due to these materials and construction techniques that the tallest structures in the world have been constructed in the UAE. The new buildings were not designed with the cultural and demographic needs and considerations of the local population but rather western typologies and demographics. At an urban scale, grid patterns were incorporated to cater to automotive transport, replacing what was previously a compact and dense, pedestrian oriented urban fabric.

The result of the UAE’s urban expansion being carried out with western sensibilities as opposed to following traditional principles, led to the loss of the development of an architecture that was sensitive to the climatic conditions and Emirati traditions.

These new builds are made out of materials that require an immense amount of cooling and energy to reach internal thermal comfort. According to the Dubai Electric and Water Authority Data (2010), the HVAC equipment responsible for cooling these structures accounts for about 40% of the yearly electrical load, and during summer it is responsible for 60% of peak electrical load.

Ancient vernacular building techniques in the region offer principles for construction which consider the local climate, locally sourced materials and have their origins in the social and cultural paradigms of local communities. These techniques, previously passed down through generations of Emiratis and other residents who were responsible for constructing their own dwellings, still offer many lessons for building in arid climates which can be applicable to contemporary architecture. In order to understand how architecture can re-adapt to this desert environment, the vernacular principles specifically related to passive cooling strategies, traditional urban fabric and layout of cities in the region will be studied to propose a culturally and environmentally sensitive architectural solution.

Image 4: Wind Tower and Traditional Building Dubai Image 5: Glass Tower Dubai

Domain | Urban:

The emergence of the sustainable development field brought new paradigms and considerations regarding urban design for contemporary cities (Breheny, 1996). Scholars have different approaches and interpretations pertaining to sustainable design but most of them point out the importance of urban form affecting the sustainability of the environment (Williams, Burton, & Jenks, 2003). According to Wiedmann (2008), a sustainable built environment is a set of spatial relationships and morphological strategies with the objectives of reducing consumption and emissions, and that elements of urban form (street patterns, urban blocks, lot configuration, building and etc) need to be arranged and organised to achieve resource and energy conservation.

For Jabareen (2006), a sustainable urban environment requires high density built structures, diversity of residents and land use and integrated multiple transportation options. Wheeler (2003) states that a sustainable urban development needs to follow five principles: compactness, contiguity, connectivity, diversity and ecological integration.

Sustainable development is a universal concept and literature regarding sustainable urbanism urges to articulate principles and strategies that can be applied to all cities. However, its applicability is dependent on the context and needs to be integrated and respond to the local geography, cultural and economic systems of its context (Wiedmann, 2008).

By having the context as an essential factor in developing sustainable urban form, this thesis will utilise five principles adopted by the author Alawadi (2017) that informs ways to generate sustainable urban forms for Emirati cities. These principles being: high building density, connectivity and multiple transportation options, diversity, culturally relevant urbanism and climate sensitive urbanism. Along with a description of each of these principles, case studies (cities of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain) will be used as comparative data to demonstrate how the current urban situation is addressing these concepts and whether they are successful in implementing them.

Dispersed Neighbourhood in Dubai - Aerial View Google Earth

Dubai Neighborhood Density - Plot size and Built-up ratio

High Building Density:

High density urban neighbourhoods present several advantages. In major cities of world, the increase in the number of residents within an urban area contributes to the reduction of private car travel, an increase of economic vibrancy, urban vitality, diversification of land use and resident’s population (Ahlfeldt & Pietrostefani, 2019).

It is fair to say that high building density on its own does not contribute to a successful and compact urban form. The combination of high building density with functionality, proximity, diversity of use, and accessibility can have more chances of generating a sustainable urban form along with high levels of occupancy (Williams, 2003). Furthermore, building density and urban morphology have an important role in the shape of an urban form. Different combinations of plot ratios and site coverage can manifest into a variety of built and open spaces forms (Ng, 2015).

According to Alawadi (2018), cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi passed through a process of urban sprawl and dispersion. Between 1967 to 1980, both cities were characterised by having a compact and diverse urban fabric that attended to the social needs of users and had climate sensitive urban morphologies. These traditional neighbourhoods also presented high density standards (8 -13 units per Acre) with an average lot dimension of 15x15m and almost 100% lot coverage (Alawadi, 2018).

After 1980, the urban development for both cities were marked by low density, single use and discontinuous patterns. In Dubai, the neighbourhood of Al Barsha has a density of approximately 2 units per Acre, an average lot dimension of 60x40m and only 20% lot coverage. In Abu Dhabi, the neighbourhood of Al Shamkah has a density of approximately 1 unit per Acre, an average lot dimension of 80x60m and 40% lot coverage. In Al Ain, the neighbourhood of Falaj Hazzaa has a density of approximately 1 unit per Acre, an average lot dimension of 60x60m and a 30% lot coverage. All of these three neighbourhoods are marked by dispersion and low density, ignoring the opportunity of high-density strategies.

63 m

Area: 2546 m2

Built Coverage: 20%

42 m

125 m 132m

Al Barsha Neighborhood

Abu Dhabi Neighborhood Density - Plot size and Built-up ratio

Al Ain Neighborhood Density - Plot size and Built-up ratio

Al Shamkah Neighborhood

Falaj Hazzaa Neighborhood

Connectivity and Multiple Transportation Options:

Alawadi (2017) points out that a well-connected urban form should present a balanced street network and block typology relationship, an integration of multiple transit systems and the promotion of walking and cycling options. For the street network and block typology relationship, urban fabric should avoid having several multi lane highways along with big super blocks. This type of spatial relationship has few intersections per square kilometre and it is difficult for all the scales of transportation to make a turn and access internal urban spaces. The author suggests that the dimensions of urban blocks should be moderated (85 to 121m), because these lengths not only promote compact development but increases permeability.

In the neighbourhood of Al Barsha, located in Dubai, the average block size is 100 x 250 meters. In Al Shamkah located in Abu Dhabi the average block size is 200 x 600 meters and Falaj Hazzaa in Al Ain is 120 x 220 meters. The large urban block size demonstrates that the urban fabric of these neighbourhoods lacks intersections and access to the internal parts of the block, making it difficult for other types of transportation like bus lines to access the neighbourhoods.

A sustainable urban form needs to integrate transit systems within a hierarchy of scales. Metros, bus stops, corridors and train stations need to be designed crossing high density residential areas with commercial and central areas so commutes between home and work are well integrated. It is essential for the street network to be able to incorporate this hierarchy of integrated transit system on its dimensions in addition to different lanes and corridors. Both pedestrian and cycling paths should also be incorporated into the street pattern.

In Al Barsha and Al Shamkah, the only public transportation available is the city bus. The diagrams show a 20-minute walking radius to the existing bus stops demonstrating the lack of public transportation accessibility. In both cases there is a lack of public transportation options.

Al Barsha - Dubai

Falaj Hazzaa - Al Ain

Al Shamkah - Abu Dhabi

Public Transportation System Analysis:

Enhancing walkability and cycling paths encourages users to leave their cars at home and reduces the carbon emissions produced by this type of transportation. Bike infrastructure serves as a way of commuting at a neighbourhood scale (short distance trips) and walkable streets promote social exchange, economic vibrancy and street vitality.

Only in the neighbourhood of Falaj Hazza in Al Ain most of the sidewalks are paved with a width of 1 meter to 1.5 meter. In Al Barsha and Al Shamkah most of the sidewalks are sand paths. No bike lanes are available in any of these neighbourhoods. The long distances and the lack of sidewalk availability encourage the car as a primary mean of transportation rather than enhancing pedestrian activities.

Diversity:

Diversity of urban programs within neighbourhoods is essential in reducing long commutes. By allocating local small businesses, mixed residential typologies, schools and other urban facilities near residential units it is not only possible to reduce motorised transportation but it also enhances local economy, use of local public spaces, street vibrancy and urban security (Alawadi, 2017). Social diversity also plays an important role in sustainable neighbourhoods and generates demand for different house types and urban facilities.

A composition of different demographics and social structures can have many benefits, including, increased tolerance, respect, and patience; inter-cultural friendships; and mutual learning (Alawadi, 2017).

These neighbourhoods are classified as being residential with few institutional programs such as mosques, schools and local commercial areas. It would be beneficial to have a diverse urban program allocation including parks, community centres and local commerce in order to reduce motorised commutes.

Diversity of Urban Programs

Diversity of Urban Programs

Diversity of Urban Program: Pedestrian Analysis:

Al Barsha - Dubai

None - Sand Path None - Sand Path and Parking Spaces - 1.5 meter sidewalk

Al Shamkah - Abu Dhabi Falaj Hazzaa - Al Ain

Al Barsha - Dubai

Al Shamkah - Abu Dhabi Falaj Hazzaa - Al Ain

Al Barsha - Dubai

Al Shamkah - Abu Dhabi Falaj Hazzaa - Al Ain

Levels of Privacy on Streets Networks

Levels of Privacy on Street Network:

Culturally Relevant Urbanism:

Cities in the UAE have focused on an urban development that emphasises the economic rise of the country and its shift towards a global country in the past two decades. This kind of urbanism that promotes the idea of “ big” has created environments and buildings that do not adapt to the national demographics nor middle-income class. The dependency on cars for commutes and the lack of housing options to accommodate the cultural needs of the local population have made many Emiratis migrate to smaller and more traditional cities such as Al Ain.

At a time when globalisation has characterised the built environment of the country, it is important to understand the key role of regionalism in architecture as the result of time, culture and place, linking the past, present and future (Alkhalidi, 2013). However, it is important to note that the replication of decoration from traditional urban typologies can be highly damaging. Rather it is more beneficial to incorporate fundamental design concepts within the urban fabric as this can influence the overall design to be more sustainable and adapted to the local area.

In traditional Islamic cities, street networks were built considering varying levels of privacy. This organisational pattern is rooted in Islamic cultures and it is inherited by principles of the Qur’an (Alkhalidi, 2013). It is also a result from the cellular growth and aggregation of the built space (Stefano, 2000). The segregation of streets according to levels of privacy also results in accommodations of varied transportation options according to different scales, resulting in a sustainable and highly connected urban fabric.

In cases like the old neighbourhood of Al Bastakiya, the aggregation and disposition of the buildings and the cultural principle of privacy generated alleyways with several dimensions, indicate a gradient of networks that would influence pedestrians. After the modernisation of many of Arabian cities, these urban characteristics were replaced by car-oriented networks. It is clear that in all three neighbourhoods most of the networks are composed of highways and local streets, designated to accommodate car accessibility.

Al Barsha - Dubai

Al Bastakiya - Dubai

Al Shamkah - Abu Dhabi

Falaj Hazzaa - Al Ain Legend

Al Barsha - Dubai

Falaj Hazzaa - Al Ain

Climate Sensitive Urbanism:

If culturally responsive urbanism focuses on traditional elements that affect human perception and sensory experiences that generate the sense of belonging, climate sensitive design focuses on historical strategies that enhance thermal comfort and environmental performances of urban and building design. Both of these concepts historically were developed together and incorporate similar spatial attributes and patterns.

Climate sensitive design uses patterns and forms that promote passive cooling, heating and shading. Tradition urban fabrics utilise principles such as orienting openings away from harsh angles of the sun and positioning openings towards the wind direction, encouraging airflow within internal spaces.

In traditional cities in the Gulf, it was customary for houses to be built adjacent to one another, often sharing walls along with intricate systems of narrow alleyways which facilitated an increasing gradient of privacy as one approached an individual household. This custom had a thermal advantage as well; shared walls between dwellings served to reduce solar gain experienced by individual households. In addition, the narrow alleyways between dwellings provided shaded pedestrian networks.

According to Alawadi (2017), climate sensitive urbanism should reflect on these strategies: (1) compact buildings constructions in order to provide shade; (2) mid-rise structures with moderate density levels that can incorporate passive cooling and shading systems; (3) alleyways for both climatic and cultural benefits; (4) limited glazed facades and promotion of shaded and shared areas/surfaces are essential for heat reduction, (5) orientation of urban form and street network to solar and wind direction; (6) hierarchy of network systems that can incorporate pedestrian streets.

The buildings in the old neighbourhood of Al Bastakiya share 15 walls in order to reduce thermal gain. New neighbourhoods of Al Barsha, Al Shamkah and Falaj Hazzaa respond to a new type of urbanism and there is an increase of segregation between building units. This leads to an increase in material usage along with segregated and dispersed built spaces.

These case studies shows that all of these neighbourhoods do not respond to sustainable principles pointed out by Alawadi(2017) and that in order to build compact cities and reduce carbon footprints these principles should be adopted and used as a guide for city masterplans.

Shared Walls - Urban Scale:

Shared Walls on Urban Scale

Al Bastakiya - Dubai

Al Barsha - Dubai

15 shared walls

Al Shamkah - Abu Dhabi

0 shared walls

Falaj Hazzaa - Al Ain

Domain | Architecture:

As a result of the rapid growth of the United Arab Emirates and the western trajectory it followed, architecture in the country started to resemble concrete and glass buildings commonly found in America, diverging from the traditional vernacular architecture of the region. Glass skyscrapers began to take over the Emirati skyline as opposed to wind towers and low rise coral brick and arish settlements.

Apartments in these skyscrapers were designed to suit western or expatriate families and were not taking the Emirati intricacies into design. Due to the influx of immigrants and expatriates, a majority of the housing available was more suited and adapted to their needs. This led to a rise in architectural, urban, and demographic segregation.

As Emirati families were leaving their arish or sha’abi housing for new more modern housing, the state was struggling to construct houses suitable for Emiratis at the pace that was necessary. In order to supply for this high demand, cookie cutter houses were created and constructed in various parts of the country. These houses lacked individualistic architectural qualities, they were all positioned on huge plots with a low plot coverage ratio and this in turn led to dispersed and segregated settlements.

It is important to study the traditional and vernacular buildings of the past to get an understanding of the rich architecture that was prevalent in the United Arab Emirates. The built environment was the result of the interaction between the customs and the environmental surroundings of the community. Throughout the years the knowledge gained by locals shaped architecture in ways that met their cultural needs, while developing building techniques that adapt to the environment and create comfort. (Alkhalidi 2013).

Image 6: Downtown Dubai - Glass and Concrete Structures

Traditional Housing

Contemporary Housing

Images XX: Courtyard House Plan Image 7: Shindaga Fareej 1990

Images XX: Contemporary Villa Plan Image 8: Emirati Housing

As the population in the Gulf shifted towards a more settled way of life after 1960, permanent structures were increasingly developed. This shift prompted the development of techniques in order to cool the dwellings during the hot and arid summer months. Dwellings in coastal regions such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi were primarily constructed from coral and coral rag, a limestone containing prehistoric coral. This material was cut into bricks and cured prior to its use.

The porosity within the material, a product of its submarine evolution, made it an ideal insulator, slowly accumulating heat from the solar gain it experienced throughout the day and gradually dissipating it throughout the cooler hours of the night. This thermodynamic attribute combined with the thickness of the self-supporting walls, made it an ideal material for regulating the thermal comfort within the dwelling (Yarwood 1999).

Image 9: Coral Stone and Mud Brick House Images 10,11: Close up of walls and structures

Vegetation Covered Walkways 186m

Compact Neighbourhoods Ventilation Street Widths 10m 6m 3m

The permanent houses also incorporated architectural elements that allowed for a gradient of privacy, fundamental to Islamic culture. The increasing introversion of the newly established urbanity did not mean that buildings were constructed independently of one another. Communal and neighbourly support is emphasised in the Qur’an and this has had a profound effect on the way in which Islamic cities have evolved. It was customary for houses to be built adjacent to one another, often sharing walls along with intricate systems of narrow alleyways which facilitated an increasing gradient of privacy as one approached an individual household.

The Courtyard House:

Although the exact origin of the courtyard house is unknown, it is widely recognised as the prevailing residential type in the middle east (Abdulkareem 2016). Evidence of the structures have been found throughout the Middle East, Northern Africa and the Mediterranean. Although regional climatic and cultural differences have shaped their evolution within specific locations, the types of houses share the same distinctive feature: a central courtyard with rooms organised around the void. Nomadic communities would also build their arish houses as courtyard homes with a perimeter fence and rooms overlooking the central courtyard space.

The function of individual rooms within the dwelling fluctuated depending on social and environmental factors, but the purpose of the courtyard remained consistent. It was the physical core of the household, a space that linked the main rooms within the dwelling. It became the main space for daily life activities, as its introverted layout sheltered the family’s private life from the public, whilst enabling thermal comfort. (Bianca 2000).

Aerial View of Fes - Morocco Google Earth Images

Image 12: Sheikh Saeed House - Dubai

Thermal Regulation of the Courtyard House:

The courtyard not only acted as the physical and symbolic core of the household but also played an essential role in regulating the temperature. Seasons in the UAE are extreme, with the average temperature climbing above 50 C during the summer months while in January and February these drop between 10 C to 14 C (Ibrahim 2018). In addition to the temperature, the variance between night and day is very pronounced, especially in dryer climates inland such as Al Ain. In this context, due to thermodynamic exchange, the mass of the building around the void of the courtyard stores the heat gained throughout the day and dissipates it during the cooler temperatures of the night. This process creates a microclimate, with temperatures during the day being cooler and temperatures during nightfall being warmer within the dwelling. The mechanism of this heat exchange can be described in 4 distinct phases of a 24 hour cycle.

Nightfall:

After nightfall, surfaces of the courtyard have significantly higher temperatures than the ambient air due to the radiation they experience during the day. This heat is radiated into the cool night air as it makes contact with the mass of the courtyard. Simultaneously, the lower density warm air is drawn vertically through the envelope of the courtyard and expelled from the upper opening. This is known as convective heat exchange.

Early Morning:

The second phase occurs early in the morning, when the temperature of the courtyard and the ambient air have reached an equilibrium - inside and outside temperatures are almost even. As a result, movement of the air within the dwelling is at a minimum.

Midday:

At midday the third phase is initiated when the thermal mass of the courtyard shifts from absorbing radiant heat to emitting it. The hot air from this emission travels vertically through the courtyard due to its lighter density. This displacement of air results in cooler air being drawn through other perforations on the house such as windows and ducts. These convective air currents are assumed to contribute to the thermal comfort within the dwelling.

Late Afternoon:

In the afternoon, the last phase is initiated when the courtyards and adjacent spaces have lost any retained cooler temperatures. This is the hottest phase and when other cooling strategies are implemented (Abdulkareem 2016).

Often in addition to the courtyard, other strategies to cool dwellings have been developed in the middle east. These often work in conjunction with the courtyard and often focus on promoting air currents through the home. Wind catchers are the most common of these apparatuses. Their distinctive architectural design formerly dominated the skyline of many Islamic cities (El-Shorbagy 1010). It was common for these systems to be enhanced with techniques of evaporative cooling. Water jars and fountains were often strategically located at the inlets of these cooling towers in order to further cool the air being drawn into the interior space. This was done by using techniques to distribute the moisture over a large evaporative surface. This was typically achieved with fountains designed specifically for this purpose or by using porous jars which would dissipate liquid across its surface. (El-Shorbagy 1010).

The Mashrabiya, another form typical of Islamic architecture, was a common addition to the courtyard house. This auxiliary structure, usually constructed in timber, often protruded into the narrow alleyways, or used as screens to cover the windows. Within the household their function was associated primarily with cooling the upper floors. The woven screens featured on the windows of the unit were proficient at capturing cool breezes within the narrow alleyways and siphoning it into the interior of the household whilst providing privacy. (Silvia Di Turi, Francesco Ruggiero 2017). Finally, the use of vegetation aimed to provide shade to the most exposed areas.

Image 13: Traditional Wind Tower - United Arab Emirates Image 14: Traditional Mashrabiya - United Arab Emirates

50-12-50

Wind Tower Evaporative Cooling Mashrabiya

Wall Thickness Visibility / Varied Heights Vegetation

Spatial Relationships:

Hassan Fathy was a prominent Egyptian architect, most known for the use of adobe and traditional mud brick in his sustainable and culturally sensitive architectural designs. Fathy incorporated all the concepts explained in the paragraphs above including; vernacular elements such as mashrabiyas, courtyard housing schemes, and achieving high thermal regulation utilising local building materials.

His architecture was a reflection of the harmony between the user and space. Furthermore all of his work always reflected and emphasised the needs of the residents and users. Apart from these previously studied concepts, what is most interesting about his architecture, are the spatial arrangements which can offer great insight and techniques at a cultural and sustainability level that can be applied to this thesis.

Fathy emphasised the requirements of having intimate and informal gathering spaces within housing clusters to encourage interaction between neighbours and residents coming from a variety of generations. In an interview with Salma Samar Damluji, he states “ the relationships between people in an enclosed courtyard, secluded from the public eye are more intimate than relationships between people on a large street (Bertini, Damluji and Fathy, 2018).”

These intimate spaces were usually the basis of all his architectural designs. All of his designs related back to a pivotal concept which reinforced that all settlements should have a homogeneous part, a central part, a circulatory part and a special part. In majority of his designs, the homogeneous part related to the houses, the central part related to the religious institutions and commercial spaces, the circulatory part was the hierarchy of varying street typologies but the special part varied. If the settlement was designed for a farmer community it would relate to farms, if it was designed for a middle class community it would relate to schools and so forth (Bertini, Damluji and Fathy, 2018).

Image 15: New Gourna Village Perspective

In 1945, the Egyptian government passed a law to improve housing conditions primarily in rural villages. Fathy identified that the village of El Gourna could be a starting point and once complete would eventually become a prototype to be repeated across the country. Before beginning the design of the New Gourna village, Fathy took a few months to conduct an in-depth analysis of the social dynamics and structures of the Old Gourna village and its inhabitants.

The village of Old Gourna was inhabited by 5 main tribes and was split into 4 district districts, which house multiple badana. A badana is a social economic unit in the Egyptian farmer world and consists of a patriarch and 10 - 20 families that live in adjacent houses to create a community (Damluji, 2018). This concept of communal living is also prevalent in the United Arab Emirates which makes this case study relevant.

Using some of the social constructs of the previous village as guidelines, Fathy decided to split the new village into 4 areas using principal streets that were 10m wide. Within these areas, houses for each badana overlooked a communal square that was around 6m wide and connected to the primary streets (Damluji, 2018).

Image 16: New Gourna - Urban Plan

Image 17: New Gourna - Cluster Plan

The domestic spaces were also designed using the courtyard space as its cosmo both religiously and culturally. Service rooms, guest rooms and stables overlooked this central space whereas private area such as bedrooms and fuel storage were located on the level above. The lack of a grid layout in the urban plan led to the creation of irregular internal spaces as well. These corner spaces were often used as storage or fire places. By placing drinking water springs and meeting rooms in these communal courtyards of badanas, Fathy enhanced the quality of living whilst still retaining the concept of socialising and communal living.

The architectural quality of these spaces was also quite unique. Multiple shared walls, domed structures, thick walls and mashrabiya screens all enhanced thermal comfort within the internal spaces whilst still allowing them to be bright and airy. Communal and guests spaces always had high ceilings with openings that allowed light and wind to penetrate the internal areas. The use of 40 - 50cm thick mud brick bearing walls acted as thermal mass and ensured internal spaces remained cool during the day throughout the harsh summers.

Image 18: New Gourna - House Scale Drawings

Image 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24: New Gourna Village Photos:

This spatial quality is seen throughout all of Fathy’s work. Other examples of similar rules and configurations include New Baris, city of the desert that was designed to provide an integrated space for farmers to live and work simultaneously. The emphasis on creating communal spaces, the use of thick walls that were shared with other buildings for different families and the winding internal pathways of the urban fabric are all concepts that can be abstracted and applied to housing designed for Emirati families as well as expatriates in the United Arab Emirates. These ideologies will be used as input for our experimentation in the chapters to come.

Image 25: New Baris Village - Floor Plan

Image 26, 27, 28, 29, 30: New Baris Village Images

Domain | Material:

Although there have been many contemporary solutions to reduce the dependence of mechanical cooling systems in the region, the building material which still dominates construction in the region, namely concrete, is environmentally highly problematic. Concrete is the world’s most abundantly used construction material and it experienced an unprecedented increase in use during the 20th century which continues to escalate due to the world’s ever increasing population (Beiser, 2019).

Concrete’s primary ingredients are a mixture of sand and gravel, referred to as aggregate, cement and water. Aggregate accounts for the majority of the volume of the material. The increased demand for concrete has led to massive volumes of construction sand being extracted from mines, riverbeds, or offshores worldwide. Up to 50 billion tons of sand is estimated to be used in material production per annum (Beiser, 2019). Although sand may seem like an abundant material, the type used by the construction industry is limited and its extraction for use is damaging to local ecosystems and often done illegally.

One of the reasons for this is that the sand typically used for concrete has specific requirements and characteristics that are a result of the particles’ geological history. Desert sand, which may be available in massive quantities, is not used for construction. Instead, sand that is either extracted from river beds, beaches and certain onshore quarries where sand particles have been shaped by a submarine erosion are the primary ingredient in concrete. The reason for this is the morphology of the particle. Due to the flow of water between the particles buffering them from one another, preventing erosion, sand particles which have been shaped by hydraulic movement are large, sharp and angular. In contrast, sand particles found in deserts around the world are shaped by the wind, continually promoting the erosion of particles against one another, resulting in smaller, smooth and round particles.

Marine and river bed sand particles are more desirable to the concrete industry because of the particles’ geometric quality of interlocking, creating a bond which is stronger than that of the smooth, round particles found in the desert (Beiser, 2019). Marine construction sand is a resource that is diminishing faster than it can be naturally replenished. The raw material is usually extracted through suction pumps or dredging, both of which can be devastating to local ecosystems. The damage can take years to recover from and in many cases is permanent (Kyger, 2019). Not only is this process harmful to the ecosystems, it is also extremely disruptive to neighbouring communities and often results in illicit trade and conflict.

In addition to further reduce the carbon footprint, it has been proven that significant proportions of cement can be replaced by other cementitious materials that are produced by industrial processes and available in the region. This is noteworthy as there are also high carbon emissions associated with cement manufacturing. Cementitious materials such as Fly Ash which is a by-product of coal fired power stations and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS), which is a by-product of metal production are both readily available in the United Arab Emirates (D. Suresh, K. Nagaraju 2015).

Construction Sand:

- Angular particles

- Rougher Finish

- Grains are moulded and transported by water

- Geometry makes it easier to bind with other materials to create concrete

Desert Sand:

- Rounded particles

- Smoother Finish

- Grains are moulded and transported by wind

- Geometry makes it harder to bind with other materials to create concrete

Sand from Rhine River - Germany Sand from Sahara Desert

Image 31: River Bed Sand Mining in Australia

Concrete in the UAE:

Approximately 80% of land in the United Arab Emirates is desert (Matthews, 2018). This geological factor, in conjunction with its unprecedented urban growth since the 1960s makes it a model country whose urban development would benefit significantly from a desert sand-based concrete material. The large construction industry in the United Arab Emirates imports majority of its raw materials from other countries around the world. Most notably, it is the 5th largest importer of construction sand in the world (Kyger, 2019). The majority of this sand is imported from Australia which is located 10.159 kilometres from the United Arab Emirates.

Existing research has proven that concrete composites can be made with or incorporate desert sand as a replacement for conventional construction sand. This can be accomplished by a variety of approaches. Within the field of research, a concrete composite that is fully or partially composed of desert sand is referred to as Desert Sand Concrete or, DSC. This composite can be beneficial for other countries that also have an abundance of desert sand and reduce the mining along with importation of riverbed sand. Additionally, studies have proven that portions of cement can also be removed from concrete composites and be replaced by other cementitious material such as Fly Ash and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) (Minghu Zhang, Haifeng Liu, Shuai Sun, Xiaolong Chen, Shu Ing Doh 2019).

The aim of this research is to understand the local, raw and industrial materials within the UAE which may be utilised to create a locally sourced concrete composite. This reduces the costs and more importantly the carbon footprint associated with the production of cement along with the mining and transportation of sand in order to create a material system to produce housing units. The intent to build with concrete composites prompted an investigation into structures that work primarily under compression.

United Arab Emirates Australia

Distance: 10,158 KM

Domain | Construction Systems:

The construction industry in the United Arab Emirates faces two main challenges which are the material waste and the delays in construction. The UAE has one of the highest waste productions figures out of which 75% is construction waste. (UAE Interact, 2007). In 2007, the amount of construction waste in Dubai reached 27.7 million tonnes, which is almost triple the volume generated in 2006 (10.6 million tonnes) (Alkhafaf, 2008). According to Al-Hajj & Hamani (2011), the main cause for this material waste is the lack of awareness, excessive off-cuts due to unplanned design and unskilled labour workforce. Significant amounts of waste reduction could be achieved if resource efficiency was considered during the design process.

The construction industry is an important sector for the economy of the country, but more than 50% of construction projects in the UAE are affected by delays (Faridi, A.S. & El-Sayegh, S.M., 2006). The reasons behind the delays are usually disagreements between parties (contractors, engineers and architects), lack of a proper project management and designoriented solutions for fast assembly and optimisation of construction processes (Hegazy, 2012). The National Housing Programme incurs delays due to the lengthy approval times, inclusion of Emirati families with different incomes, design options and construction delays (Agrawal, 2018).

In order to tackle the topics of construction waste and delays, prefabricated structures, Catalan vaults and Paraguayan reinforced brickwork are going to be studied to understand its performance in terms of resource efficiency and fast assembly:

Image 32: Halted Construction - Dubai Pearl

Prefabricated Structures:

The prefabricated structures present several advantages such as energy efficiency, speed of assembly, low-cost and minimum waste created during the fabrication process (Ganiron, 2016). Prefabricated structures also work well with modularity since the structure can be assembly and designed according with an assembly order and schedule. Previously, prefabricated systems were highly criticised for the lack of flexibility in the overall design leading to standardisation of architectural solutions. Due to the advancements in technology and fabrication, more options in terms of design, assembly and replacement were created resulting in the incorporation in new buildings and the potential to be developed further. This technique not only saves time but it also reduces the amount of labour required on site.

Image 33: Prefabricated Systems

Paraguayan Reinforced Brickwork:

The construction industry in South America is influenced by social and economic factors. In Paraguay specifically, the construction industry lacks technological development, therefore the country relies on imported materials and unskilled labour. These circumstances made the brick a highly utilised system in houses and public buildings, not only because of its affordability and availability, but also due to its history and development in the region (Goma Oficina, 2019).

Local architectural studios and laboratories further developed this system to achieve construction cost reduction and a variety of design options. Inspired by Eladio Dieste’s work, the reinforced brickwork in contemporary Paraguayan architecture uses the bricks, rebars and mortar to design components and panels that could be prefabricated on site, reducing transportation time and controlling the fabrication and assembly process. Since the panels are prefabricated and part of a modular system, material wastage is reduced. This system has the potential to be applied in the United Arab Emirates. Panel design possibilities with reinforced brickwork

Panels - aggregation units

Projects from Gabinete de Arquitectura - Solano Benitez and Gloria Cabral

Esmeraldina House (Archdaily, 2016) FADA - Assuncion (Gabinete de Arquitectura, 2018)

Geometries del Sur - Cartier Foundation ( Mandua, 2018)

Image 34,35, 36: Paraguyan Construction Systems

Catalan Vault:

Timbrel Vaults (Catalan Vaults) are masonry structures made with thins bricks and binders that are placed on top of curved formwork and assembled in layers, each layer rotating at 45 degree angles. This technique was developed around the 14th century and differs from the traditional Roman method because it does not rely on gravity but rather the adhesion of several layers.

Traditionally thin bricks – or thin tiles – are used because of their light weight, which is a necessary condition to build the first layer using gypsum or fast setting cement. The aim of using these binders for the layers is to lower the drying time, achieve quick adhesion and structural strength while using minimal formwork. The following layers can be set with lime or Portland cement mortar (López, Rodríguez, Fernández, 2014). This technique allows for reduced material wastage and fast assembly times as a result of prefabrication and fast setting binders.

Overall, all of these techniques minimise the waste during its fabrication and allow for fast assembly on site. It is important to highlight that all of these techniques need to be adapted to the context and to the design in order to reduce the carbon footprint and address the spatial qualities of the architecture.

Other names: Catalan Turn

Catalan Arch

Thin Tile Vaulting

Timbrel Vault

Gustavino Vault

Structure: Shell structure that works under compression

Load Bearing Capacity: Dependent on number of layers and curvature

Ratio of Height to Span: 1:10 (can change)

Brick Width: 15mm - 20mm

Layers: 2 - 6

Angles of Brick Layering: 30 - 45 Degree Increments

Formwork Requirements: Minimal - Large Spacing

Cardboard Formwork

Wire Formwork

Image 37,38: Catalan Vault Example 1 Image 39,40: Catalan Vault Example 2 Image 41,42: Catalan Vault Example 3

“Free form Tile Vault” Switzerland

2010

Block Research Group:

Layers: 3 layers

Dimensions: 7.5m x 5.5m

Height: 1.75m maximum

“Maya Somaiya Library”

2018

Sameep Padora & Associates -

Layers: 3 layers

Dimensions: 48m x 15m

Height: 3.2m maximum

“Mapungubwe Interpretation Center”

South Africa, 2009

Peter Rich Architects

Layers: 3 cement tiles +rock finish

Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5m

Height: 5m maximum

Plywood Formwork

Perimeter Formwork

Formwork: Cardboard

Formwork: Bamboo Sticks

Formwork: Wood

Domain | Fabrication Techniques:

Fabrication Techniques:

In situ construction has dominated the United Arab Emirates construction industry for many years. Since 2010, there has been a slight increase in the use of prefabrication components for smaller scale projects however larger scale projects still prefer in situ construction. Smaller scale projects or more specialised buildings are using a 40 % prefab to 60 percent in situ ratio in order to have more control over the construction time and precision of elements (Foreman, C., 2004.) The in situ construction method not only results in large amounts of material waste in terms of raw material and formwork but it also elongates the construction period and requires more labour workforce. Along with our ambition to create a concrete composite that is more sustainable, our aim in the fabrication scale is to reduce as much material waste as possible.

Sand Casting:

Sand casting is a technique commonly used in the industry to cast metal in factories known as foundries. It is a relatively straight forward procedure that uses sand as the formwork material with a negative mould being imprinted in the sand. Once the imprint has been created the metal is poured in and left to cool (Godoy, Doutora Leoni Pentiado, 2018). This technique has not been researched or developed much for the use of the architectural construction industry but has a lot of potential. Compacted sand not only has the ability to withstand the high temperatures of molten raw materials but also has the structural capacity to remain firm even with the weight of concrete mixes.

Anne Holtrop, a Dutch architect based in Bahrain has been testing this construction process using gypsum and concrete since 2013. His first experimental project was to create a pavilion for an Arboretum in Bahrain, using sand as a cast for concrete. Inspired by the architecture of Petra, Holtrop wanted to explore the concept of architecture being formed by the material and a natural mould itself (Vennerstrøm:, C., 2015). Batara, is a pavilion that consists of 4 sand casted walls that evoke a sense of fluidity whilst being constructed with a solid material. The imperfections within the blocks give the panels a rustic character and enhance the beauty of the material itself. The textures of this final product along with the reusability of the sand material inspired us to try replicating this casting technique and analyse whether it can be a viable replacement for traditional plywood, foam or plastic formwork.

Image 43, 44, 45, ,46 ,47 48: Holtrop Sand Casting

Domain | Aims, Research Questions and Hypotheses:

Conclusions:

The principles and ideologies extracted from the domain research will be applied to each individual scale, helping design and conduct the experiments. The aims, hypothesis and research questions offer insight into the experimentation that will be conducted and further developed in this thesis.

Research Questions:

1. Will the utilisation of local desert sand along with other locally sourced materials, allow for the reduction of cost and carbon footprint of buildings in comparison to other construction systems and materials currently used in the United Arab Emirates?

2. Can the reintroduction of traditional building techniques utilised in the United Arab Emirates along with modern compact urban planning and sustainable principles allow for new architectural spaces to be culturally relevant and climatically sensitive?

Hypothesis:

If a composite material of desert sand proves to be structurally stable, then a prefabricated component based construction system can be developed to respond to the urban needs of the United Arab Emirates, replacing the building systems used currently. At the same time, by utilising local resources and reviving traditional building techniques a more climatically sensitive and culturally relevant architectural system will enhance the quality of the individual dwellings, the overall urban fabric and be adapted to suit the residents and users of the space.

Material Aim:

To create a building material primarily out of desert sand combined with binders that are locally sourced and abundant in the United Arab Emirates.

Urban Aim:

To create a compact urban patch with modern transportation systems that enables different hierarchies of urban networks, a variety of programs and multiple gradients of privacy.

Cluster Aim:

To create a new integrated typological system for low rise buildings that allows for different gradients of privacy, whilst increasing social interaction and having the ability to adapt based on evolving spatial needs of Emirati and Expatriate families in Al Ain.

Fabrication Aim:

To achieve a mixed construction system that uses different prefabrication techniques using local materials and less formwork that makes the fabrication and construction process more resource efficient and allows for faster assemblies. The culmination of these aims and experiments will lead to the creation of an architectural project.

Site Selection | Overview:

The city of Al Ain, located within the region of Abu Dhabi has been chosen as the site for our thesis. Also known as the oasis city of the Emirates, Al Ain is home to a mountain range, multiple wadis and is on the border of the Rub Al Khali desert. The city is expected to have one million residents by 2030 (Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, 2007) and currently houses 30% of the Emirati population in the whole country (Bashir & Mohamed, 2017). It not only has a rich natural landscape but also strong cultural heritage and an abundance of local architectural examples to work with. This location presents an opportunity to develop an architectural and urban hypothesis that embraces the environmental and social aspects of the city.

The plot selected with the city of Al Ain has been designated as a low rise residential area on the 2030 masterplan. Covering an area of 146 hectares the plot also has an intermittent river channel passing through it on the north and eastern boundaries. Its proximity to the town centre and a multitude of public programs and social institutions around it make it an ideal plot to study for our urban analysis.

1. Location of Site in Al Ain

A. Proximity to town center

B. Relationship with Wadi C. Urban institutions and social programs

(small river channel)

2. Site

3. Site Dimensions

Aerial View of chosen site within Al Ain - Google Earth

Site Selection | Environmental Data:

The city of Al Ain is located within a desert biome and faces extreme temperatures throughout the year. During the summer months the temperature is over 40 degrees Celsius on average. During the winter months the temperature is more pleasant and is around 20 degrees on average. Due to the high temperatures and harsh summer season it is imperative to create a sustainable design that reduces the need for cooling systems and employs passive cooling methods.

Rainy days in Al Ain are significantly higher than other cities in the United Arab Emirates. The city is known as the oasis or green city due to this factor and the multitude of farms in the region. On average, it rains 3 days in a month throughout the course of the whole year. The city is susceptible to flash flooding and this is another problem to address in the urban design. The two predominant wind directions in the city are the North East and the West. The northeast winds blow during the cooler months starting from August to March while the northwest winds blow predominantly during the summer months from April to July.

Wind Rose Windspeed

Material Tests:

Various mixtures of sand and different binders are tested in order to determine which results in the most sustainable and structurally efficient mixture. These mixtures will initially be analysed for their water usage, shrinkage, setting times and whether the binder can be found locally. In the second round of evaluation, structural properties such as compression and tension will be analysed to get an understanding of their physical properties and their limitations of application.

Introduction | Methods:

The information researched and extracted from the domain chapter is used as inputs to formulate the experiments and explore various options for our overall design. The systems used in this project require the incorporation of several design and analytical tools at 5 different scales and various stages of work which are all reliant on each other to participate in feedback loops to generate an overall design.

1. Material

2. Urban

3. Cluster

4. Architecture

5. Fabrication

The physical material experiments were conducted at a personal residence in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and were greatly limited to a small number of tools and machinery. The lack of lab access greatly increased the significance of the digital experimentations and simulations.

At an urban and cluster scale, genetic algorithms were used to generate urban layouts and spatial relationships. The results from these experiments were then used for the architectural scale. These digital experiments offered information and feedback that was used to progress from the material scale, and data was used to input into the creation of the architectural model scale and so on.

Post analyses and experiments were conducted on the generated models to determine and evaluate whether the overall system was performing efficiently in terms of structural capacity, environmental criteria and more.

This chapter provides an overview of the processes and explorations described and implemented in the chapters to follow.

Fabrication Testing:

Sand casting is a fabrication process in which sand is compressed and used as a mould to cast other objects. This fabrication system uses a local material which could reduce the carbon footprint of the construction process as a whole. The material system developed during the material phase will then be used to cast a component and evaluate the fabrication systems based on water consumption, efficiency, repeatability and material usage for cast.

Genetic Algorithms:

Multi Criteria Optimisation is used to evaluate multiple criteria in the genetic algorithm which rapidly provides a vast range of solutions that can be evaluated and ranked based on the criteria and the design requirements. This process does not result in a best solution but gives a variety of fit options for the designers to filter through and select accordingly. The use of the algorithm ensures that the designers can find the best combination of genes (parameters), to produce the best fit phenotypes (solutions) using principles of evolutions such as mutations, crossovers and elitism.

Space Syntax Analysis:

Space Syntax analysis will be utilised in order to evaluate the hierarchy of the road network along with the topological relationships such as closeness and betweenness at a building scale and urban scale of the project. This will ensure a better understanding of building and urban cluster behaviour. Due to the extreme weather conditions, it is imperative to create a close-knit urban fabric network that creates links between central spaces and residential clusters. Factors such as closest path and centrality will be crucial to the spatial design process and will be analysed using the Decoding Spaces plug in.

Circle Packing:

Circle packing is the study of the arrangement of circles within a boundary in a way where the circles either have no overlap or a minimum overlap. This analysis will help determine the position of public functions to be as evenly spaced out around the urban plot and also relate to the maximum walking distance between a residential unit and a public function.

Finite Element Analysis:

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a computational technique to predict the performance of a structure under different load conditions. By applying our unique material properties and load cases such as self-weight and wind loads into Karamba, a FEA analysis tool, the structural ability of the geometry can be simulated. The data generated from this analysis such as stress lines, maximum deflection, tension, and compression will be used for evaluation over various geometries to select the most efficient one.

5: RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT

Experiements | Introduction:

Three different experiment categories were extracted in order to streamline the set up and determine feedback loops.

1. Material Experiments:

The focal aim of the material scale experiments, and our thesis was to create a sand based construction material. Various experiments were run in order to test for the most efficient binders and mixes that would morph into a material system that primarily used desert sand as a base material, had high structural performance capabilities, was made out of environmentally friendly, locally sourced materials or had a limited environmental impact and could also be applicable to multiple fabrication systems.

2. Urban Experiments:

The primary focus of the urban experiments was to subdivide the overall site into neighbourhoods and then subdivide these neighbourhoods further into clusters of houses. Functions such as mosques, schools, clinics and shops will also be integrated into the urban plan. 3 types of road networks with varying widths and usage were designed to create these subdivisions.

The cluster subdivision would aim to create plots that were a minimum of 40m x 40m and aggregate various house typologies within this boundary. It would also be used to create green spaces, courtyards and pedestrian alleyways that would be interlinked and encourage walkability.

3. Architectural Experiments:

Multiple individual architectural experiments have been conducted in order to create a system that can be applied to various house typologies. Based on material tests, our form research was directed towards compression structures and initial form finding of Catalan vaults were conducted. Environmental analysis conducted on these vaults also. After family types and sizes were determined 4 basic morphologies were created to populate on the cluster grid. Additional experiments were also conducted to design and test directional openings for doors and windows as well as self shading panels.

Material Experiements | Introduction & Setup:

Aim:

To create a building material primarily out of desert sand combined with binders that are locally sourced and abundant in the United Arab Emirates. To test 6 different binders types in order to get an initial understanding of the material and its capabilities based on a set of evaluation criteria.

Binder Types:

Synthetic Binders:

Poly Vinyl Acetate: Synthetic rubbery polymer (resin) that is used as a binder for materials like paper, wood & sand.

Natural Binders:

Poly Lactic Acid (Corn Starch): Made from the sugars derived from corn kernels and is a natural and carbon neutral material.

Clay: Made out of fine grained natural silicate materials that develop plasticity and binding properties when exposed to water.

Cement: Powdered blend of materials such as limestone, chalk, clay and more. Commonly used to make concrete.

By - products of Industrial Processes:

Fly Ash: Is a by product of coal combustion that is composed of the particles driven out of the boilers and can be found in industrial power plants. Used as a partial replacement for cement.

GGBS (Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag): By product of blast furnaces that are used to make iron / metal work and can be found in industrial power plants and factories. Used as a partial replacement for cement.

Analysis Types:

4 different types of analyses were carried out on the 5cm samples and the 10cm samples in order to determine which would be the most appropriate to use and carry forward in the project.

Water Curing Time

- Percentage of water utilised to create the mixture

- Time taken for material sample to cure completely

Binder 1: Poly Vinyl Acetate PVA )

Binder 2: Poly Lactic Acid ( Corn Starch

Binder 3: Clay ( Tinted Pink Clay

Binder 4: Cement

Binder 5: Fly Ash

Binder 6: GGBS ( Slag )

Shrinkage Compression

- Size variation of sample before and after curing

- Compressive load required in order to crack or break the sample

Material Experiements | 5cm x 5cm x 5cm Samples:

Setup:

Each mixture was created with various ratios and put into a 5cm x 5cm x 5cm mould to set until cured.

Observations:

Polyvinyl acetate was one of the most promising binders but our initial aims of creating a sustainable material made us steer away from this mix. The PVA percentage was quite high and a significant amount of water was also required to create these samples and therefore this binder was not taken forward to the next scale.

Polylactic acid underperformed in all the analyses and the mix would not be suitable for a building scale. The water required to make these samples and the shrinkage were extremely high. This material was not taken further due to its low performance.

Clay worked well especially when combined with PVA powder to result in a strong brick. The mix would need the addition of fibres or a tensioning system in order to be used for architectural scale building material. This material could not be explored further due to lack of resources and time.

Although the cement samples were extremely strong and performed well in the analyses, we wanted to find a binder that was more sustainable. For the samples at a larger scale, cement and fly ash / GGBS were used in combination to create the binder.

Fly Ash and GGBS were the best performing binders out of all 6. They had the least shrinkage and also used the least amount of water. Although they had long curing times, they resulted in the strongest samples and would be the most sufficient for low rise buildings. These two samples were tested in conjunction with cement at the next stage.

PVA (Polyvinyl Acetate): Curing Time:

Materials: Water Sand PVA Powder

PLA (Polylactic Acid):

Clay (Air drying - no fiber):

Cement (Quick dry):

Fly Ash (Byproduct of coal):

GGBS (Byproduct of metal):

3 - 4 days

Shrinkage:

2% - 10%

Water Usage: 13% - 18%

Materials: Water

Cornstarch

Vinegar

Gelatin Sand

Curing Time: 1 - 2 days

Shrinkage: 15% - 28%

Water Usage: 15% - 27%

Materials: Water Sand Clay PVA

Curing Time: 3 days

Shrinkage: 14% - 19%

Water Usage: 8% - 23 %

Materials: Water Cement Sand Aggregate 3mm - 5mm

Curing Time: 2 days

Shrinkage: 7% - 10%

Water Usage: 8% - 12%

Materials: Water Cement Sand Fly Ash Aggregate

Curing Time: 7 days

Shrinkage: 5% - 10%

Water Usage: 8% - 12%

Materials: Water Cement Sand GGBS Aggregate 3mm - 5mm

Curing Time: 7 days

Shrinkage: 9% - 13%

Water Usage: 7% - 10%

Observations:

- Excess water causes cracks

- Not flaky or crumbling

- Overall form is extremely compact and strong

- Possibility to change colour based on sand and PLA powder

- Material is highly damaging to the environment

Observations:

- Prone to cracking

- Colours can be modified based on gelatin powder used

- Long setting times would not make this for an efficient building material

- Could be utilised for smaller scale objects

Observations:

- Clay and Sand mix is strong but would be prone to erosion

- PLA, Clay and Sand mix is extremely strong and cured quickly

- Addition of fibres could help strengthen material

- Could be used for low rise buildings

Observations:

- Desert sand and coarse aggregate work well

- Desert + construction sand mix would be prone to erosion

- Addition of reinforcement would strengthen material

- Samples reuslted in lots of voids and were not compacted well

Observations:

- Equal parts of cement and fly ash seem to be most efficient

- High water percentages than cement and GGBS

- Higher water ratio resulted in more hollow spaces

- Smooth finish with minimal voids

Observations:

- Equal parts of cement and GGBS seem to be most efficient

- Water required is lower than cement or GGBS

- Slightly rough finish

- Needs more compacting to be done in order to create a smoother finish

Microscopic Views:

These views were taken in order to understand the compactness of the material at a microscopic level. It is evident from these pictures that the Polyvinyl Acetate and the Polylactic Acid samples had a lot of voids at this scale. This would reduce the overall structural capacity of the material. The clay sample had less voids but the drying times and brittleness made us avoid using this as part our material system for the load bearing walls. This could have been a viable material to explore further for other parts of the house that didn’t need structural components but due to lack of time it was not considered. The cement, fly ash and ggbs samples were all densely packed and voids could not be identified at this level. They were taken forward for further testing at a 10cm x 10cm x 10cm block scale.

PVA (Polyvinyl Acetate) PLA (Polylactic Acid) Clay (Air drying - no fiber)

Cement (Quick dry) Fly Ash (Byproduct of coal) GGBS (Byproduct of metal)

Material Experiments | 10cm x 10cm x 10cm Samples:

Setup:

Following the initial experiments that determined which mixes would be the most efficient at a larger scale, 2 binders were selected to conduct compression tests at a 10cm x 10cm x 10cm cube scale.

Observations:

Fly Ash and GGBS were the most promising binders and have the ability to perform well structurally, can be locally sourced and are a by product of industrial processes making them environmentally friendly.

The aim of this experiment was to use the overall ratio of M15 concrete in order to create our test blocks. The ratios of GGBS and Fly Ash to cement were altered to determine the strongest material mix.

The GGBS + Cement 50:50 ratio resulted in the strongest mix and achieved a compressive strength of 9.9N/mm2 at day 7 and is predicted to reach 15N/mm2 at day 28. This mix and the compression values will be utilised to inform our architectural scale design.

The mix and its consistency would have to be altered based on the final construction system and component chosen. Further testing of consistencies and fabrication systems will be conducted towards the end of the M.Arch phase.

Compression Testing

Information:

Concrete Grade: C15 / M15

1:2:3 Mix Ratio

Test Date: 8th Day of curing

Test Lab: Mlab, Dubai

Test Type: Top Load / Crush Hydraulic Press

Concrete Mix

Information:

Concrete Grade: C15 / M15

1:2:3 Mix Ratio

Materials:

- Unwashed Desert Sand sourced from Al Ain

-5mm Coarse Aggregate sourced from Abu Dhabi

- Portland Cement sourced from Al Ain

- Ground granulated blast-furnace slag ( GGBS ) and Fly Ash sourced from Dubai

Fly Ash + Cement (75 : 25 ratio):

Materials: Water

Fly Ash

Cement

Desert Sand

Aggregate 3 - 5mm

Starting Weight: 2430 grams

Compression Test Results:

Maximum Load at Failure: 34 kN

Compressive Strength: 3.4 N/mm2

Predicted Strength:

Day 14: 4.7 N/mm2

Day 28: 5.3 N/mm2

Fly Ash + Cement (50 : 50 ratio):

Materials: Water Fly Ash

Cement

Desert Sand

Aggregate 3 - 5mm

Starting Weight: 2250 grams

Compression Test Results:

Maximum Load at Failure: 26 kN

Compressive Strength: 2.6 N/mm2

Predicted Strength: Day 14: 3.6 N/mm2

Day 28: 4 N/mm2

GGBS + Cement (75 : 25 ratio):

Materials: Water Fly Ash

Cement

Desert Sand

Aggregate 3 - 5mm

Starting Weight: 2300 grams

Compression Test Results:

Maximum Load at Failure: 47 kN

Compressive Strength: 4.7 N/mm2

Predicted Strength:

Day 14: 6.57 N/mm2

Day 28: 7.3 N/mm2

GGBS + Cement (50 : 50 ratio):

Materials: Water

Fly Ash

Cement

Desert Sand

Aggregate 3 - 5mm

Starting Weight: 2330 grams

Compression Test Results:

Maximum Load at Failure: 99 kN

Compressive Strength: 9.9 N/mm2

Predicted Strength:

Day 14: 13.5 N/mm2

Day 28: 15 N/mm2

Alyina Ahmed & Maria Luiza Gomes Torres

Material Experiment | Selected Material:

The final chosen material was the C15 ratio GGBS and Cement composite.

The aim of the material exploration was met and this final material was made primarily out of desert sand from the United Arab Emirates. All the other materials such as aggregate and binders were also sourced locally and within 110km of the chosen site in Al Ain.

It can be assumed that due to the locally sourced raw materials and the use of desert sand, this composite is more environmentally friendly and has a lower carbon footprint than mainstream concrete composites.

Site Location: Al Owainah - Al Ain

Aggregate: Sandstone Building Stones Factory - Abu Dhabi

Cement: Emirates Cement Factory - Al Ain

GGBS: CEMEX Falcon LLC - Dubai

Site

Aggregate - 88km

Cement - 10km

GGBS - 107km

Material Experiment | Carbon Emission Comparisons:

GGBS + Cement (C15 Ratio):

Materials: Water Fly Ash

Cement Desert Sand

Aggregate 3 - 5mm

Starting Weight: 2330 grams

Compression Test Results: Maximum Load at Failure: 99 kN

Compressive Strength: 9.9 N/mm2

Predicted Strength:

Day 14: 13.5 N/mm2

Day 28: 15 N/mm2

The most widely used manmade building material in the world is concrete. After water, it is the second most consumed resource on the planet. Concrete is primarily made out of a mixture of sand, aggregates and cement, as previously highlighted in the domain and research chapters.

Cement is the key constituent in the concrete composite that emits the largest amount of CO2 during production. Cement is made out of a mix of raw materials such as limestone and clay that are crushed and mixed with other materials such as iron ore and ash. This mix is then fed into a kiln which is heated to 1450 C in order to split the material into a new substance called clinker, calcium oxide and CO2. This clinked is cooled and ground to be further mixed with gypsum and limestone after which it is ready to be transported and used (Rodgers, L., 2018.) The production of this clinker accounts for most of the CO2 emissions within cement production and is responsible for 90% of the emissions in the over-all process (Lehne, J. and Preston, F., 2018.)

Carbon emissions generated per ton of cement amount to around 860 kg CO2e/tonne from the start till it is delivered to the factory. By replacing the cement used in concrete with a byproduct of an industrial process such as GGBS there can be a significant decrease in the overall carbon emissions of the concrete. GGBS only amounts for 79.6 kg CO2e/tonne and is 9.256 percent of the CO2 emissions of concrete.

Using our derived material composite as a basis for the following comparisons we determined a few key figures that highlight the carbon impact of traditional concrete versus our concrete composite. These figures and percentages are an approximation as it is quite difficult to get an accurate range of figures for this topic.

The following figures are based on a C/M 15 concrete mix ratio for and a cubic metre of concrete:

By having a 50:50 ratio of GGBS and Cement, the carbon emissions of the binder itself can be reduced to a little more than 50% of a normal concrete block. By replacing the riverbed sand with locally sourced desert sand and aggregates, it can also be assumed that the carbon emissions associated with the sand and aggregate would be significantly lower as well.

According to the Mineral Products Association, approximately 72.1 kg CO2/tonne I is created for a tonne of concrete. By utilising our mix and materials it can be assumed that the overall reductions in emissions could amount to at least 5070 %. This would mean that it would take approximately 10 - 20 kg CO2/tonne to create our concrete which can cause a significant reduction and high impact.

Urban Research | Al Ain 2030 Masterplan:

The Al Ain 2030 masterplan is a detailed urban structure framework plan that was created by the Abu Dhabi Urban planning council to aid and support architects, urban planners and designers by establishing guidelines to design with.

For the Urban Genetic Algorithm conducted on WallaceiX, we extracted and abstracted plot sizes, road widths and public function positioning data in order to design our simulation. The drawings below show the urban planning intent for the housing clusters across the city, which has resulted in a regular and orthogonal grid. Furthermore the houses are very segregated and occupy massive plots that are used inefficiently.

In order to create a more integrated urban patch, the principles we extracted and applied are the following:

- Have a integrated fareej block that can allow Emirati extended families and expatriates to live together.

- Integrate walking spaces and green spaces throughout the neighbourhoods.

- Have a variety of street types that include a variety of transportation systems and pedestrian spaces.

- Have various public functions spread across the plot and not condensed in a certain area.

Ain Al Fayda Aerial View

Image 51 : Ain Al Fayda Perspective View

The following images are an example of a segregated neighbourhood were houses are exact replicas of each other.

Urban Experiement | Genetic Algorithm 1 Setup:

Aim:

1. Conduct this experiment using a genetic algorithm that would provide optimum results to select from and conduct post analysis on.

2. To subdivide the urban plot into blocks and clusters of varying sizes.

3. To create a road network that consists of — primary and secondary and tertiary roads which will service cars along with alleyways and walkways which will service pedestrians only.

Setup:

The focus of the first experiment was to create a road network with varying widths in order to subdivide the plot into a grid. This road network also allows for varying levels of privacy within the urban plan. An orthogonal grid oriented north — south was chosen as it is advantageous in reducing the thermal gain experienced by individual dwellings. This will be further explained in Experiment 2.

The secondary network was generated by extending the roads of the existing neighbourhood located east of our plot. Roads oriented North-South were generated in order to complete the secondary network, generating neighbourhoods. Each block was further partitioned into a group of clusters containing 20 m by 20 m plots, that would accommodate our assorted house morphologies. The tertiary roads would connect the internal clusters to the secondary network. Pathways and sidewalks are integrated into each road type along with internal alleyways that would be for pedestrians only and would serve the clusters within each block.

Once the overall urban partition was generated, plots that were 1600 square metres in area or smaller were designated as public green spaces. This segregation of green spaces, hierarchy of street network and the public function allocation are all related to the Al Ain 2030 masterplan and its requirements for new residential neighbourhood developments.

Experiment Setup:

Generations: 100

Individuals: 50

Run Time: 10 hours

Genes: 35

Fitness Criteria: 5

Select nodes to generate road network Generate plot partition and primary network

Area: 1,468,882.30 m2

Fitness Criteria 1: Aims to increase thermal comfort, allow for more public spaces, encourage native vegetation species to be planted and increases the amount of walkable spaces on the site.

Fitness Criteria 2 & 3: Aims to reduce motor oriented networks and reduce the amount of overall roads on the plot by using shortest walk to create the network.

Fitness Criteria 2 & 3: Aims to create compact, integrated and high density neighbourhoods and clusters.

Minimise

Urban Experiement | Genetic Algorithm 1 Results:

Each generation had 50 individuals and 9 were randomly selected to be extracted. It was assumed that out of these 9 individuals one of them would contain the optimal results for all fitness objectives. Due to multiple conflicting criteria and none of the fitness objects prevailing in importance over the others, it was difficult to select one individual.

Gen 99: Ind 8

Gen 99: Ind 23

Gen 99: Ind 40

Parallel Coordinate Plot

Since it was difficult to select only one individual option to carry forward and explore further for the thesis, the individual that had an average of fitness ranks was selected to be developed further. This individual addressed all the objectives equally.

This individual was found in generation 99, Individual 7 indicating that the progression of the simulation was trending towards optimisation for all fitness objectives. This is one of the multiple options that could have been developed through the thesis.

Clusters

Parks

Wadi ( River Channel )

Primary Roads

Secondary Roads

Tertiary Roads

Alleways

Total Number of Blocks: 260

Number of Green Spaces: 65

Generation 99: Individual 7

Graphs showcasing average on each fitness criteria

Parallel Coordinate Plot of Average

FC FC 2

FC 3

FC 4

FC 5

Cluster Research | Shaabi House and Area Research:

One of the main reasons for the selection of Al Ain as the city to develop our experiments was because it houses 41% of the total Emirati population within the United Arab Emirates (Statistics Centre, 2017).

Moreover, it is also expected for the total population of Al Ain to increase from 627,000 residents in 2020 (167,000 Emirati and 460,000 expatriates) to 1,000,000 residents in 2030 (290,000 Emirati and 710,000 expatriates) (Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, 2015) addressing the importance of designing for this growing demographic.

The Bedouins were a primarily nomadic population before 1971 and the consolidation of the country into a Union. They used to live as extended families in tents and Arish houses, cultivating their own food in the surroundings areas (Yasser Elsheshtawy, 2019). In 1966, the State created a housing scheme named Sha’abi housing that catered to this transient local population. The standard module was inspired by the arish houses and had a series of rooms within a boundary wall that looked onto a central courtyard. The house had a grid system that allowed for adaptability when required by individual families.

Due to the top down approach of the Sha’abi house, many residents took it into their own hands to customise and rectify some design problems that they identified in their houses. Additional rooms were added and positions of bathrooms and toilets were changed. The courtyard was adapted and used for cultivation of crops or used to house camels and other domestic livestock. Another of the main consequences of these housing and urban programmes was the suburbanisation of the areas designated to the Emirati families (plots larger than 15.000 ft2) (Michael Pacione, 2005).

This historical data and the problems associated with the Sha’abi housing led to a different understanding of the program. The Emirati demographic and their cultural implications needed to be addressed in terms of functions, program and hierarchy of privacy. The designers of the sha’abi housing addressed the matter of privacy in an extremely rigid way. It is important to note that in the desert, there was no privacy, but rather separate spaces where women and men socialised at a neighbourhood scale. Privacy in the urban planning and architectural sense needs to be looked at in a more fluid manner rather than harsh segregations. These spaces should flow into each other naturally and interconnect like a labyrinth.

For our thesis, the functions of the house were divided into Public (Guest Areas), Semi Private (Kitchen, Dining Room and Living Room), Private (Family Rooms and Bathrooms) and Open Spaces (Courtyards and Terraces) that were all interconnected and within one house morphology as opposed to segregated modules positioned across the entire plot.

1. Outside Wall

2. Guest Bathroom - 3.5 m2

3. Majlis (Sitting room - Guest Reception) - 22 m2

4. Huwi (Courtyard) - 135.7 m2

5. Liwan (Seating area next to Courtyard) - 13.2 m2

6. Kitchen - 14.4 m2

7. Storage - 4.8 m2

8. Bedroom - 17.2 m2

9. Family Bathroom - 5.7 m2

Architectural relationships and program of a typical Sha’abi house in Al Ain

Image 50: Shaabi Housing Aerial

Image 51: Al Ain Shaabi House Transformation

Image 52: Sha’abi House Transformations

Al Meqbali House Transformations:

Image 54: Shaabi Housing Doorway Transformations

A relationship diagram was created in order to help organise the 4 groups of spaces and design the base morphologies. The areas of each space would increase as the family size increases but all houses would be contained within a 20m x 20m plot. 8 different geometry types were abstracted and designed to be configured into multiple different typologies. Some of these geometries when placed onto a 20m x 20m plot inherently create two separate courtyard spaces out of which one will be used as a private space and the second as a public space. The other geometries that don’t create 2 separate courtyards will either be split or used for the upper floors.

Using these 9 different geometries, multiple different spatial configurations can be achieved, which result in various house morphologies varying built coverage and different overall areas. This aggregation can then house a multitude of different family types in one cluster.

TYPE A:

Average Area: 200 sqm

Plot Size: 20m x 20m

Occupancy: 4 - 6 people

Built Coverage: 36%

GEOMETRY AA: 144sqm

TYPE B:

Average Area: 250 sqm

Plot Size: 20m x 20m

Occupancy: 6 - 8 people

Built Coverage: 40%

GEOMETRY BA: 160sqm

TYPE C:

Average Area: 350 sqm

Plot Size: 20m x 20m

Occupancy: 8 - 10 people

Built Coverage: 52%

GEOMETRY CA: 208sqm

TYPE D:

Average Area: 400 sqm

Plot Size: 20m x 20m

Occupancy: 10 + People

Built Coverage: 64%

GEOMETRY DB: 256sqm

Cluster Experiment | Set up:

The following cluster was chosen due to its close proximity to the wadi, park and its proximity to a variety of road types.

Aim:

1. Conduct this experiment using a genetic algorithm that would provide optimum results to select from and conduct post analysis on.

2. Create a variety of volumetric and spatial configurations that result in different building footprints and courtyard spaces.

3. Create an integrated cluster network that encourages walkability.

Setup:

The cluster plot is subdivided into 20m x 20m plots. These plots are then populated with the geometries at a ground level and first level. The original surface is then split with the building footprint in order to create the courtyards.

The first two fitness criteria aim to create more interactive spaces. The third fitness criteria aims to create a variety of house types for different families. The last two fitness criteria tackle environmental criteria and aim to reduce the overall radiation on surfaces within the cluster.

Experiment Setup:

Generations: 100

Individuals: 50

Run Time: 3 hours

Genes: 35

Fitness Criteria: 5

CHOSEN CLUSTER AND SITE CONTEXT

Step 1: Select surface from GA 1 and subdivide into a 20 m x 20 m grid to get house plots.

Step 2: Populate plots with geometries at grounds level.

Step 3: Populate plots with geometries on first level.

Step 4: Split original surface with ground level geometries footprint in order to generate courtyards.

Fitness Criteria 1: Minimise number of shared courtyards

Fitness Criteria 2: Maximise shared courtyard area

Fitness Criteria 2: Equally distributed geometries.

Fitness Criteria 4: Maximize shared walls.

Fitness Criteria 5: Maximize shadow on courtyards.

Cluster Experiment | Genetic Algorithm II Results:

This experiment was run 2 times prior to this iteration and multiple changes were made to the way it was set up. Even after these alterations the simulation was failing to optimise. Due to multiple conflicting criteria and none of the fitness objects prevailing in importance over the others, it was difficult to select one individual. The first 9 individuals from the last generation were extracted to run a post analysis on and further develop the cluster scale.

Generation 99: Individual 0 Generation 99: Individual 1 Generation 99: Individual 2

Generation 99: Individual 3 Generation 99: Individual 4 Generation 99: Individual 5

Generation 99: Individual 6 Generation 99: Individual 7 Generation 99: Individual 8

Cluster Experiment | Selection Criteria:

Due to the limitations with the initial genetic algorithm experiment, we segregated the cluster design into 2 parts. The first part being the genetic algorithm and the second part being post analysis and design. For the second part of the cluster experiment a selection criteria was created to determine the individual that has a maximum internal path length, through path and a maximum number of connections to the boundaries of the cluster. This relates to creating an integrated network between the cluster scale, its surroundings and the overall urban network. Individual 0 of Generation 99 was chosen because it had the highest values in all criteria.

Generation 99: Individual 0

Structural Module Experiments | Setup:

The aim this experiment was to test different roof structures that generate low tension values and have low radiation values on the roof. Through our material experimentation and aims to use less reinforcement, we designed structures that primary work under compression. In the domain chapter, the importance of using prefabricated elements was also highlighted which relates to faster assembly times and low material waste.

For this experiment 4m x 4m modules were designed to be tested. The modules designed in the M.Sc phase that had dimensions of 5m x 5m are also shown in this catalogue to have data that can help compare and make an informative decision with.

Additionally, parameters like radiation and low-tension structures need to be considered because of the high temperatures faced in the region and the tension limitations of the material. Therefore, solar radiation analysis and tension stress analysis were conducted in order to give parameters and help determine which is the most suitable structural module to populate the volumetric spatial configuration achieved on the Cluster Scale Genetic Algorithm.

The tension stress results demonstrated that the new designed modules present less tension stress values compared to the structural modules developed during the MSc phase. In the MSc phase the aim was to design compression only modules cast in site. In the M.Arch phase we changed the construction system to be prefabricated instead to further reinforce our aim to be as resource efficient as possible. The current structural module is divided into 4 different elements: beams, columns, slabs and roof. The roof will be constructed using the Catalan Vaulting technique to minimise the amount of structural reinforcement needed.

The Solar Radiation analysis results demonstrated that the radiation on the roof of the modules developed on the MSc phase was not performing well, whereas with the new designed modules it is evident that there is less direct radiation visible on them. From the finite element analysis and the radiation analysis it is evident that the module is performing well in both criteria and will be further developed and adapted to the program in the design development phase.

Modules - Primitives

Set up:

Type of Analysis: Linear Static and Solar Radiation

Material: Concrete C12/15

Elastic Modulus: 2700 KN/cm2

Shear Modules: 1125 KN/cm2

Specific Weight: 25 Kn/m3

Tension Limit: 0.24 KN/cm2

Compression Limit: 0.8 KN/cm2

Supports: Load: Gravity/Self Weight

Tension Stress Analysis

Solar Radiation Analysis - North and South

Openings Experiment | Computational Fluid Dynamics:

Aim:

1. To test the effectiveness of opening details such as 10 and 90 degree draft angles and the impact internal space in terms of temperature and velocity.

2. To test the presence of screens and determine its impact on the internal space in terms of temperature and velocity.

Setup:

This phase of tests were conducted on architectural elements such as windows and ducts to facilitate airflow in small portions of a dwelling. The highest indoor temperatures in traditional architecture in the Gulf region such as courtyard houses are in the afternoon. This is the period where the thermal mass of the building has accumulated heat throughout the day and begins to dissipate the heat as the temperatures drop. Tests were conducted to test the effectiveness of architectural details in evacuating higher indoor temperatures out of the dwelling.

Tests were conducted with indoor temperatures of 35°C with wind temperatures of 20°C while wind speed was 5 Meters Per Second. Window frames with varying degrees of draft angles, window placements within a room and the presence of mashrabiya screens in the windows were all tested. All windows had the same cross sectional areas.

Window frame draft angles:

Window Draft & Duct

5x, 5x, 4x room

Window Area: 2.393

With Screen Boundary Conditions

5m/s, 25C wind facing window 30C inside room

The 90 degree draft angle was chosen to be implemented for openings throughout the cluster and applied to the overall architectural design because an improvement is notiable with the increased draft angle. It also shows that the temperature gradient is roughly aligned to the velocity gradient in the room.

Mashrabiya Screens Test:

The same set of tests was also conducted with the presence of screens in the window. This proved in all instances to be effective in directing air into the room more efficiently, increasing the cooling effect. In comparison to the previous experiment without the mashrabiya screens it is evident that the temperature has reduced significantly within the internal space. The mashrabiya screens are not only beneficial in reducing the internal temperature but they also reduce the amount of radiation that filters inside as well as acting as a privacy barrier between the private and public spaces.

Temperature:

Velocity:

Cross Ventilation:

The final set of tested were conducted to establish the most advantageous placement of windows in conjunction with one another to promote cross ventilation. These tests were conducted with windows on either side of a room. The alignment of the opposing windows was tested in either aligned or staggered orientations along with the presence of screens. Similar to the previous tests the screens proved to be advantageous in directing airflow. The difference between aligned and staggered orientations proved to be negligible. Both proved to evacuate heat from the room effectively.

Aligned Without Screens Staggered Without Screens

Aligned With Screens Staggered With Screens

Aligned Without Screens

Aligned With Screens

Staggered Without Screens

Staggered With Screens

• Difference in Turbulence and heat evacuation appears to negligible between specimens.

From these tests it is evident that the addition of the mashrabiya screen greatly reduces the turbulence but doesn’t affect the temperature gradient as much. It can also be seen that when the windows are staggered there is a higher amount of heat is drawn out of the internal space. For the design proposal, staggered windows will be used and mashrabiya screens will be applied where required.

Openings Experiment | Panel Design and Analysis:

Research about the construction within the United Arab Emirates in the domain chapter, highlighted that due to unskilled labour, extreme weather conditions and in situ construction systems, project timelines were highly inefficient and the entire construction process was usually elongated or delayed. In order to improve and fast track construction and assembly pre fabrication systems were studied. Based on grid system and 4m x 4m modules, a 1m x 1m panel grid was chosen to be designed and taken further. The computational fluid dynamics experiment also led to the selection of 90 degree draft angle openings combined with mashrabiya screens when necessary.

The 1m x 1m panels will be used for openings as well as solid walls and aggregated together to create various wall types. These panels have a 35cm thickness which also contributes to reducing the heat stored in internal spaces due the thick walls acting as thermal mass and having high absorption levels.

For the openings, 3 different types of opening widths were created within the bounding

Openings for Doors and Windows:

Panels options for the rest of the walls and Radiation Analysis:

Opening

Width: 30cm

Low

Solid wall panel Planter / Shading panel

Fabrication Experiments | Setup:

Aim: To test foam + plywood casting and sand + plywood casting and determine which fabrication techniques were better suited to our project based on the following criteria:

- Mix alteration

- Drying times

- Repeatability

- Ease of fabrication

For the foam casting technique, plywood formwork was used on 4 sides and the foam was positioned at the base of the box to give the panel its curved shape. The sand casting technique was altered to be conducted at home due to the lack of resources and lab space therefore sand was only used at the base of the box to give the panel its curvature.

1. Panel and Strips 2. Foam Casting

3. Sand Casting

A. Scale down the solid panel to 50x50 cm

A. Position Foam Formwork between sheets of Plywood

A. Clamp formwork and pour sand B. Press foam mold into formwork to create sand mold

B. Clamp formwork, pour concrete mix and let dry

C. Pour concrete mix and let dry

C. Remove the casted piece from formwork

D. Remove the piece from the Plywood and the Sand Formwork

B. Choose two di erent strips from the panel and CNC the strips on high density foam

Fabrication Experiments | Results:

Foam and Plywood Cast:

This fabrication technique was used as a guide test as this is an industry standard for concrete component fabrication. For this test the material mix developed during the material scale experiments was used and was not altered. The resultant component had accurate curvature but due to the lack of water in the mix the finish was highly textured and had a lot of air pockets. Only one component was created using this method.

Sand and Plywood Cast:

The second fabrication technique was sand casting. This technique is fairly new and has not been explored in detail for concrete casting. Using sand as a cast for the component can be extremely beneficial in reducing the amount of plywood during the construction process and result in an environmentally friendly technique. The negative cast moulds that are used to shape the sand itself also can be reused multiple times.

For the first trial, the same mix was used to create the component. We observed that the sand was draining a lot of water out of the mix which resulted in a highly crumbly texture with a finish that had a lot of voids. This component had the lowest drying time of 2 days.

For the second cast, the initial mix was altered and the water content was increased. This component had a better finish and less water drained out into the sand but the edges were crumbling slightly. Less air pockets were visible on the surface and the sand imprint left a beautiful natural finish to the component.

For the last cast, the water content of the mix was increased even further. This component had the best finish however the edges were breaking off and there was a significant amount of breakage. It can be assumed that this component had the least structural stability in comparison to the rest of the components.

Foam and Plywood Cast #1:

Altered Mix: No

Increase in Water: None

Drying Time: 4 days

Initial Weight of component: 6690

Material Requirement:

Foam Cast & Marine Plywood

Repeatability: Yes

Sand and Plywood Cast #1:

Altered Mix: No

Increase in Water: None

Drying Time: 2 days

Initial Weight of component: 6690

Material Requirement:

Foam Cast, Marine Plywood & Sand

Repeatability: Yes

Sand and Plywood Cast #2:

Altered Mix: Yes

Increase in Water: 30% more

Drying Time: 3 days

Initial Weight of component: 6690

Material Requirement:

Foam Cast, Marine Plywood & Sand

Repeatability: Yes

Sand and Plywood Cast #3:

Altered Mix: No

Increase in Water: 60% more

Drying Time: 4 days

Initial Weight of component: 6690

Material Requirement:

Foam Cast, Marine Plywood & Sand

Repeatability: Yes

Observations:

- Plywood was working well but drying time is high.

- After a few rounds the plywood and foam material will start to wear off and have to be replaced due to water content.

Observations:

- The sand was draining the water in the mix and the component was drying out faster.

- The finish of the component was grainy and it was brittle.

- Foam does not deteriorate.

Observations:

- More water was added to this mix and the finish was much better.

- The surface finish was also much smoother than before.

- Structural capacitymay be reduced

- Drying duration was 3 days.

Observations:

- More water was added to this mix and the drying time was significantly increased.

- The surface finish was less smooth than the previous trial and the component was prone to chipping.

Foam Casting Sand Casting

Both techniques performed well in terms the respective materials used. For the Foam casting with plywood technique it was observed that the repeatability would be reduced after a series of tests due to their water permeability and the deterioration in both foam and plywood. The foam mould would eventually either become too damp to support the concrete mix or it would start chipping away. This increases the material usage of this particular technique and leads to an unsustainable fabrication system.

The sand casting with plywood technique was altered to be conducted at home due to lack of lab space and resources. Traditionally sand would be used to cast the entire panel but for our experimentation sand was used to create the curvature of the panel and the sides were supported using plywood sheets. This technique allows for less material waste because sand can be repurposed, but the downside was that fabrication times were elongated. Further tests would be more insightful for this technique to determine its efficiency without plywood as the supports.

6: DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

Design Development | Introduction:

The experiments conducted in the previous chapter are a starting point for entire design proposal of the project. The systems developed will now be analysed and further explored to enhance the design and bring a new layer of depth into the project.

Urban Scale:

The urban plan will be developed using space syntax analyses to populate public functions and transportation systems. Vegetation and topographical analysis will also help guide the design proposals for the wadi and irrigation systems.

Cluster Scale:

Spatial relationships and courtyards were designed using the cluster scale plan generated using the Genetic Algorithm.

Architectural Scale:

A more pronounced and integrated architectural system is being developed using the panels and structural system developed in the previous chapter. These architectural elements are going to be combined together and improved further.

A plug in for grasshopper called Decoding Spaces was used to analyse the street network generated by the genetic algorithm in the research development phase. The street network from the selected individual were extracted as lines and fed into the plug in to analyse and help allocate various public programs and public transportation nodes using 3 criteria:

1. Betweenness centrality which measures the number of shortest paths that pass through a node ( junction )

2. Closeness centrality that measures how close nodes ( streets ) are to more centrally located nodes ( streets )

3. Gravity that measures how attractive roads are based on their distance from the central node to other nodes.

In our attempts to create an integrated urban network and limit the use of cars, the existing bus and public transport network was analysed and extracted. This data showed that no bus routes passed through our chosen plot because it had not been developed. Since all three analyses highlight certain primary and secondary roads that were centrally located and highly accessible a new bus network was created that connects the new urban plot to the existing urban fabric through these primary roads. This space syntax data also helped position the bus stops in areas that had a high gravity factor and high accessibility.

Urban Design | Space Syntax Analysis: CCGravity BC CCGravity BC CCGravity

Betweeness Centrality: Closeness Centrality: Gravity:

Existing

Existing

Urban Design | Mosque Allocations:

Islam is the official religion of the United Arab Emirates and majority of the population are muslims. The mosque is an integral part of the urban fabric and has evolved from only a place of prayer to a place of communal gathering. According to the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning council and rules of the country, in a residential area, a mosque needs to be positioned every 350m from any home. This allows for residents to be within a 5 - 10 minute walk from their nearest mosque.

All plots that had an area of 1600 sqm or small were selected as nodes. When these plots were selected and positioned on the space syntax analyses we observed that all of the plots were located to secondary roads that had high values of closeness centrality and gravity. Circle packing was conducted on the plot to determine the best positions for the mosque. Plots that were the closest to the centroid of the circles were selected to be the plots for the mosque. The circles were repositioned to check whether the radius was exceeding 400m and adjusted as required. In total 6 mosques were positioned on the urban plot.

Betweeness Centrality: Closeness Centrality: Gravity:

350m

Circle Packing Result 1: Selection of Closest Plots:

Repositioning of Radius: Final Outcome and Mosque Selection:

Final Urban Plan with Facilities

Public Park

Sports Centre: (Gym, Pharmacy, Courts, Pools )

Bus Stops

New Bus Routes

Existing Bus Route 1

Existing Bus Route 2

Existing Bus Route 3

Existing Bus Route 4 Mosques

School Commercial Spaces

Clinics

Promenade

Library

Urban Design | Water Accumulation:

Wadis are a common geological feature in many Arabian countries that face harsh summer. These rivers are dry throughout the summer season and only contain water when it rains. These dry river beds are characterised by being intermittent or ephemeral according to their location. There are two main wadi branches passing through the site of the project, one on the eastern boundary of the site which extends to the northern boundary and continues further into the city.

To understand how to design these wadi banks and integrate it to our newly designed urban fabric, water accumulation analysis was conducted to better understand the seasonality and the water levels during rainy seasons.

During the dry season that is usually from April to October, the wadi is dry and most of the water is accumulated in underground aquifers. The city of Al Ain is known to witness sporadic rain throughout the year and in these situations water could also accumulate in the wadi with the water level reaching about +1m above the riverbed on average.

During the rainy season which runs from November to March, the wadi is exposed to flash floods and could reach a height of 4m and potentially flood the surroundings. It is important to take the worst case scenario’s and design the urban plot accordingly to limit the damage.

Existing flow of water ( based on topography and terrain )

Urban Design | Irrigation Systems:

Al Ain has 3 wadis running through the city along with multiple wells that are interconnected by an underground irrigation (falaj) system. The city has a multitude of farms and to support these during the summer months underground irrigation channels were created with a large number of them being over 100 years old. Due to the flash floods and the presence of a wadi on our plot a new irrigation system and overflow system were designed that will be linked to the city wide channels.

All the green spaces on the plot were selected as nodes to be connected together. In order to create the underground channels, the road network was extracted as lines. A shortest walk analysis was conducted to created the shortest channels that connect all green spaces with the wadi. These channels that run under alleyways and pedestrian walk ways will also help with evaporative cooling and lower temperatures during summer months.

These underground falaj systems can also be used as overflow channels in case of flash floods. During dry conditions, water can be pumped from the city wide system to water the green spaces. During the rainy season or in the case of flash flooding, water will be collected in the underground reservoirs near the wadi. If the water levels increase over a certain level, they will be redirected to the falaj system and eventually irrigate or evaporate.

This system uses sustainable techniques to irrigate green spaces, enhance evaporative cooling throughout the urban fabric as well as prevent damage to the road network and houses in case of flash flooding.

Nodes to connect Network to connect through Final Channel Layout

Urban Development | Vegetation and Habitat:

The geography and biodiversity in the United Arab Emirates is very vast and diverse. A variety of habitats include the coastlines which stretches for approximately 650 km on the east and west side of the country, the offshore islands, and the mangroves that are primarily found in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and Ajman. The Rub Al Khali desert covers majority of the country’s land mass and is a vast untapped resource of desert sand. The city of Al Ain lies within the Buraimi oasis and houses a multitude of plantations.The wadi running through the city has also created many gravel plains due to climate change and the drying up of these intermittent river channels.

Existing in the variety of different terrains within the country are a plethora of varied animal and plant species. In order to enhance the urban environment natural species of vegetation were studied that could be positioned on the urban plan as well as in the wadi and green spaces. Trees with strong roots and high water absorption capacities were studied and will be positioned along the wadi to stop flooding.

Majority of the plant species in the United Arab Emirates are highly drought resistant because rainfall in the country is quite minimal. These trees require little amounts of water that can be provided through the city wide irrigation systems. The trees and shrubs extracted from our research we compiled into a table with the following information: Height: This information will help position appropriate trees with appropriate heights in the internal cluster spaces, the private courtyards and the public green spaces.

Root length: Long and intertwining roots can interfere with plumbing and structural systems therefore it is imperative to position the right tree in the right areas to avoid damage to structures and plumbing. Habitat: The habitat of the trees will also be imperative in positioning trees and shrubs. If plants are better suited along the wadi they will be positioned there and if they are adaptable, they will be positioned in the green spaces and private courtyards as well.

Shade casted and canopy diameters: The shade casted by a tree can have a great impact on the internal space of a building as well as in public spaces. High shade values and large canopies can create spaces where residents can rest. This information will also be helpful in positioning appropriate trees in compact courtyards that may have limited space.

Types of Habitats:

Sand Plains Gravel Plains Wadis Plantations Sand Dunes

Image 55 Image 56

Image 57 Image 58 Image 59

Summer Season

Urban Design | Wadi Design:

Five different scenarios were designed for the wadi and the urban development with and around it that considered the seasonality of the wadi, the programs and the vegetation that could be positioned along it. In all the five scenarios, strategies creating steps and slopes with different heights and inclinations were adopted to contain the water during various seasons.

The first three scenarios create different types of programs on the riverbeds with parks and public areas. Materials like limestones, sand and local bushes are used to create these different steps to maintain the absorption and reduce the floods. The two last scenarios are designed for the areas with higher probability of flooding, containing bigger areas with local vegetation. These scenarios are going to be populated on the urban plan based on the final urban plan, the water accumulation analysis and the surrounding context and program.

Winter Season

Flash Flood Season

Cluster Design | Sha’abi Majlis Research:

Hospitality, gathering and community play a huge role in Emirati society and this is also reflected in their traditional communal spaces known as majlis and informal gathering spaces that existed in the modified sha’abi housing as are also commonly seen in new modern builds (Elsheshtawy, 2016).

Nomads in the past would build arish houses close to each other, or joint families would live together in large arish homes where communal spaces were inherently present. In new builds, many residents have taken it upon themselves to create or occupy in-between or external spaces, that reside outside the confines of their courtyard homes to create informal majlis or gathering spaces.

Modifications to the outside of the plots include the addition of vegetation and benches to shade people sitting outside from the harsh sun, elevated majlis spaces, covered majlis rooms, informal seating areas and more. These additions became spaces for informal interaction that have been lost in new developments that have been designed to have segregated and dispersed neighbourhoods.

Our cluster design aims to integrated these informal communal spaces within the design of the cluster itself and not come as an afterthought. The 20m x 20m plots have been broken down into three aspects, the building footprint, the private courtyard, and the public courtyard. These concepts will be explained further in the cluster design page.

Cluster Design | Courtyard Design:

Generation 99: Individual 0

Individual 0 of Generation 99 was chosen after doing a post analysis selection criteria due to limitations with the Genetic Algorithm. This individual was then further designed to achieve the segregation of public pathways and private courtyards.

Using the through path line a 4 meter wide walkway that can be used a public space was created. This pathway would be connected with the urban plot, encourages walkability and can be used as an informal communal space. Due to the configurations of the houses, there is no direct view to the internal areas of cluster which deters unknown visitors from exploring the area and as a result enhances the privacy aspect of each cluster.

Connections to urban pedestrian network were only through urban alleyways. No direct connections were created when the cluster was bordering a primary, secondary or tertiary road in order to reinforce the concept of privacy. The remainder of the space that was left after the creation of the 4m walkway was split into public and private courtyards. 40% - 50% of this space was allocated to the residents of the cluster who could use it as a communal semi public space. The resulting 40% - 50% was utilised as private courtyard spaces.

The private courtyards and houses themselves were elevated 1m above the pathways and communal spaces. By elevating the private spaces, a more secure and intimate area was created. This also created a more distinct separation between public and private which is cultural requirement. Although the spaces have been segregated there is still a sense of community and a more integrated neighbourhood due to the semi public gathering spaces and the walkways that connect to each house within a cluster.

Path Length: 302m

Through Path: Yes

Connections: 4

Only generate connections with the alleyways in order to retain privacy within the clusters.

South East Top Floor Perspective

Allocate 40% - 50% of the individual remaining plot space for the private courtyard. Use the rest to be part of the public courtyards.

Elevate the built spaces and the private courtyards +1m to allow for privacy within the houses and create a separation with the public pedestrian network.

South East Ground Floor Perspective

Cluster Design | Radiation Analysis

Traditional Islamic architecture employs a range of strategies in order to deal with the extreme heat in the middle east during the summer months. The most common of these are adding porosity to the walls of the structure by adding recessed windows, shading devices such as screens and mashrabiya, and having narrow alleyways to allow for circulation whilst also having pathways in shade for most of the day.

The intent in this design proposal was to use shading devices such as mashrabiyas, pergolas, recessed windows and cantilevered forms in order to keep the urban spaces and the residential spaces as cool as possible. The radiation analysis on the Ladybug plug in for grasshopper was utilised to run this analysis on the cluster scale and highlight the areas of the cluster that received the highest amount of radiation in the summer months.

Radiation Analysis Results:

From the results of the radiation analysis it is apparent that the roof is the most highly exposed element and the design should incorporate techniques that will reduce the impact on the internal spaces. The terraces are also one of the most exposed areas and a shading device system will need to be developed to address this. In some areas, the courtyards also face a high amount of radiation. Vegetation and other shading devices will be applied in these spaces. Different seasons also affect the radiation as the angle of the sun changes.

Cluster Design | Program Distribution

Using information derived from the domain chapter on courtyard housing and functional requirements of the local population along with solar radiation analysis, a program distribution was developed to organise the internal spaces and help position appropriate modules in appropriate locations.

As privacy is a key factor in the local society, some key features were also embedded into the design. On the ground floor, programs such as living rooms, dining rooms, kitchen and majlis are positioned which relate to more public and visitor functions. On the first floor, more private spaces such as study room, bedrooms and terraces are organised. Spaces have their own entrances and open terraces always overlook their own respective courtyards.

Terraces

Cluster Design | Structural Modules:

Based on the results from the structural modules experiment, and the programmatic distribution, the height of the selected module is adapted to serve different programmatic and environmental needs such as passive cooling.

Modules that have a maximum height of five meters can accommodate only on floor, modules with a maximum height of eight to ten meters can accommodate two levels and can also serve as double height spaces. Modules of twelve-meter height can accommodate three levels and the uppermost floor functions as an open air terrace.

Tension Stress analysis was also conducted to understand if the change in heights affects the tension values. Results shown that tension values remained low and modules could be aggregated. For slabs and terraces, since the material developed works primarily under compression, the needs for reinforcement on the prefabricated slabs was added in one direction.

Specific

5m Module Always Positioned on First Floor Larger Face Facing Courtyard

Edge Modules - Larger Face Facing Outwards

Architectural Design | Module Air Flow Paths:

The aggregation of modules with varied heights results in voids in the walls that can be used for passive cooling techniques. These vents, that are covered by mashrabiya, filter the air and inherently cool the internal space.

The double height modules allow for the cool air to enter from the vents facing the predominant wind directions. The cool air circulates the space and the hot air rises and exits throughout the vents. By allowing for these double height spaces in the frequently used areas throughout the day, such as living rooms and dining rooms, the thermal comfort is increased.

The windows and vents act together in cross ventilating the internal spaces and keeping them cool throughout the day. The following diagrams show the potential flow paths, and vents for two different scenarios commonly occurring

Double Height Spaces

Double Storey Spaces

Architectural Design | Facade Strategy:

The façade strategy was designed considering the various gradients of privacy as well as the solar radiation. 3 different types of walls were designed which had small, medium and large openings. These openings were then allocated not only based on programmatic requirements but also solar radiation analysis.

For the more public areas that require a lot of light, such as living rooms, study rooms, entrances and rooms facing the inner house of the courtyard bigger openings were allocated. Semi private functions such as corridors, kitchens, bathrooms and majlis spaces, or rooms facing the courtyard, medium to small openings would be applied. Rooms facing private spaces of other houses, public courtyards and walls that received a high amount of radiation no openings were put to limit the impact on the internal space and not compromise privacy.

Architectural Design | Shadow Analysis:

A shadow analysis was conducted on one wall type to test and determine the outcome of the self shading panels. The following diagrams show the amount of self shade casted on the wall itself. This will have a direct impact in reducing the direct amount of radiation received on the wall.

Type 1: Big Openings Type 3: No Openings

Type 2: Medium/ Small Openings

7: DESIGN PROPOSAL

Design Proposal | Introduction:

The design proposal chapter will showcase detail drawings and diagrams for all scales of the thesis project.

Urban, cluster and architectural plans and sections will highlight the spatial quality of the project whilst also giving a detailed view to the systems applied and integrated at each scale. Wadi configurations, street networks and cluster scale diagrammatic plans will show the relationship between public and private spaces.

Plans and sections will showcase the modularity of the architectural proposal. Detail drawings and diagrams at an architectural scale will showcase how different individual systems interlink and culminate in the final design proposal.

Lastly a proposal for a construction sequence at both an architectural scale and urban scale will be highlighted at the end of the chapter.

Urban Scale | Urban Plan and Wadi Sections:

At an urban scale , 3 different sections were designed using the topographical analysis, vegetation analysis and programmatic analyses to create various options for the wadi.

These 3 sections show a variety of public functions that are integrated at different positions along the wadi. These sections also house different types of vegetation that help control flash flooding and absorb water.

Public functions are only located on the left banks of the wadi as this site is easily accessible from the urban plot and the residential areas. The right side bank of the wadi is bordering a main road and therefore is not accessible for pedestrian access.

Section A

Section B

Section C

Urban Scale | Urban Sections:

This section showcases the various transportation systems alleways and pedestrian links between clusters. The different modules, heights and relationships between private and public space are also visible.

Urban Scale | Wadi Seasonality Usage Diagrams:

The following isometric diagrams show a variety of public functions that are applied to the wadi across and can be utilised in all 3 seasons.

The first four functions are situated on the left hand side banks of the wadi and the last function is situated on the right hand side of the wadi.

The first function is a park, bike and pedestrian path located in the upper corner of the wadi. This is located in the allocated public park of the plot and is an open green space.

The second, third and fourth functions are all staggered terraces that can be used as pedestrian paths as well as seating zones. These various functions are located throughout the rest of the left side bank.

The fifth function located on the right side bank is only filled with vegetation and is not accessible for residents. This side of the bank is bordering the main road and also faces the brunt of the water flow and is unsafe to use as a pedestrian zone.

Function 1:

Function 5:

Function 2:

Function 4:

Function 3:

Regional Scale | Urban Plan:

The regional scale floor plan shows the relationships between the clusters and the urban surroundings. The ground floor building footprints, private courtyards as well as the alleyways are shown. There is an increase in walkability due to integrated spaces and alleyways.

Cluster Scale | Ground Floor Plan:

The cluster scale floor plan shows the relationships between the internal space of the house, the private courtyards and the public courtyards and walkways.

The use of shared walls limits the amount of direct radiation received in the internal spaces. Staggered windows also enhance cross ventilation and facilitate the cooling process. By having ponds and vegetation in courtyards decreases the overall temperature and makes these spaces more likely to be used for informal gatherings and social functions.

Building Footprint Private Courtyards Alleyways

The cantilevering elements from the level above also help in casting shade over the ground level public spaces. All these elements and design considerations work in conjunction to create a space that is comfortable to be used in all different seasons and weather conditions.

Cluster Scale | Sections:

Section A

Section B

Section C Section D

Cluster Scale | Radiation Comparison:

Once the architectural elements such as mashrabiya screens, windows and pergolas were added to the volumetric aggregation, the cluster of dwellings was tested in order to establish the effectiveness of the shading devices developed in earlier tests. These tests were conducted for the entire year and the EPW location was the city of Abu Dhabi.

The use of curved Catalan vaulting reduced the amount of direct radiation. The double height spaces were chosen not to be covered with shading devices. The tests proved that the shading devices had a significant impact in reducing the amount of radiation on the terraces.

Other areas that received high radiation such as the courtyards would be shaded by vegetation or not used as much as the covered courtyards in the summer months.

Due to limitations with the software and the high amount of panels the final analysis was only conducted on the roof structure.

Architectural Scale | Selected

House:

One house was chosen to highlight the spatial quality of the space and the relationship between the architectural elements. The chosen house has a Z shaped morphology on the ground floor and a L shape morphology on the upper level. The house has 3 bedrooms and can house 4 - 6 people.

Selected Floor Plan

South View

South West Perspective

Architectural Scale | Selected House Floor Plans:

Architectural Scale | Selected House Sections:

Roof Layers - Exploded View:

Architectural Scale | Roof and Component Details:

Catalan Vault System:

The Catalan vault roof system is constructed out of 3 different materials. Bricks are laid with mortar at 45 degree angles to enhance the structural capacity of the vault itself. The vault requires little to no formwork although it requires skilled labour. The bricks are prefabricated and the entire roof can be made very swiftly. As soon as the first layer of bricks and mortar have dried the second layer can start assembly.

To increase the internal thermal comfort within the space, a locally sourced insulating material which is date palm fibre mesh is sandwich between the brick layers. Date palm fibres, also known as arish in the United Arab Emirates was a material used by the nomadic community long before settlement. The material is abundant in the middle east and has high insulating properties. The only downside of this material system is that it is not fire resistant but when embedded within a brick and mortar formwork it will be relatively safeguarded.

Layer 1: Bricks laid with mortar horizantally.

Layer 2: Date Palm Fibre Mesh laid on top.

Layer 3: Bricks laid with mortar at a 45O degree angle to the right.

Layer 4: Date Palm Fibre Mesh laid on top.

Layer 5: Bricks laid with mortar at a 45O degree angle to the left.

Concrete Brick Concrete Brick Mortar

Brick Layers Section:

Column - Roof Detail

1 cm thick palm fibre mesh

2 cm thick mortar layer

2cm thick concrete bricks

30cm x 30cm Concrete Column

Three different panel types are used within the architectural system and the following diagrams show how they aggregate together. Each 1m x 1m x 35cm panel has two systems that join together to create a wall structure:

1. A interlocking system which consists of a positive piece at the top of each panel and a negative slot at the bottom of each panel.

2. Each panel also has rebars that help join them together and keep them from buckling.

Each piece also has a 2cm gap in the positive and negative void spaces to fill with mortar as an additional binding element.

Due to these panels being prefabricated, their assembly times are greatly reduced and this allows for a fast construction process and the completion of homes in a shorter period of time.

100cm x 100cm x 30cm desert sand concrete component

2.5cm steel rebar

2cm void for mortar

Construction Elements and Sequence | House Scale:

The following diagrams show the 4 main architectural elements that are compiled to create one house as well as the construction sequence.

Selected House to Detail: Architectural Elements

Ground Floor - L Shaped Morphology

First Floor - Z Shaped Morphology

1. Catalan Vault - Roof

2. Structural System

3. Foundation / Floor

4. Prefabricated Panels

Extraction of sand Piles driven into ground

Compacted earth/sand layer

Pile cap poured

House floors poured in situ

Prefabricated structure assembled

Catalan roof assembled

Ground floor panels assembled

Second floor panels assembled Glass panels assembled

Planters and Ponds positioned Mashrabiya screens assembled

Conclusions | Conclusions and Observations

Material Scale:

The research and experimentation which was undertaken to incorporate desert sand into a concrete compensate was successful in achieving a C15 / M15 Concrete composite. This used desert sand from the UAE as an alternative to construction sand as well as GGBS to replace a portion of cement within the mixture. GGBS is a cementitious material is a byproduct of metal manufacturing which is local to the UAE, produced within 110km radius of the site in Al Ain.

It can be assumed that if the supply chain for concrete was reorganised in order to produce this composite on an industrial scale, the carbon emissions associated with transporting the raw material and environmental damage associated with its extraction would be significantly reduced relative to conventional concrete. Based on our research a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions would be feasible. This study suggests that the UAE is capable of producing primarily locally sourced concrete.

The same study may be undertaken in other desert countries and regions around the world in order to establish whether locally sourced concrete is viable for construction in the region. These studies will yield different results depending on the morphology of the sand grains and industrial processes in the region. The adaptation of this desert sand concrete composite to other regions of the world will be highly beneficial in creating a low carbon construction material and has a lot of future potential.

Observations & Further Steps:

During the material experimentation it was evident that there is a lot of potential for the desert sand concrete composite. If more time was allocated for research, the following aspects could be further developed:

- Further testing of different ratios of desert sand and binding material along with materials that could improve tensile strength.

- Further testing of concrete compressive strength ratios eg; C.20 - C.25.

- A variety of laboratory testing could be conducted including compression testing, tensile strength testing and more to fully understand the material properties of this new proposed composite.

- Different ratios with different compressive strengths and weights would be able to be studied and positioned across the project. This could potentially result in varied thickness of walls as well as different structural capacities of different panels throughout the wall. If time had permitted this would’ve enhanced the architectural and material quality of the project

- Different materials could be further tested and used for different architectural elements within the project. For example the clay composite was promising but due to time constraints we were not able to test further. If a fibre that increase tensile strength and reduced the weight of the clay brick was tested it would have been applicable to be used for the Catalan roof system.

Urban Scale:

We succeeded in achieving our aim for the urban scale which was to create a compact urban patch that integrated the pedestrian networks with the the hierarchy of road networks and various transportation systems. The least amounts of roads were created with a high level of accessibility and all of these roads included walkable spaces that encourage walkability throughout the urban plot.

According to the Al Ain 2030 masterplan we also fulfilled the major requirement of new urban blocks. Some of these requirements were integrating multicultural neighbourhoods that encouraged Emirati and expatriate living, creating more public spaces as well as creating a green neighbourhood. The varying levels of privacy are very apparent even by looking at the urban plan. The dimensions of the roads further enhance this privacy aspect and they get smaller and more intimate as they approach internal and private spaces.

Observations & Further:

- The road network for the urban genetic algorithm experiment would need to be re-looked at as the secondary street generation didn’t perform as well as anticipated. The roads created had a lot of road segments and this is not efficient for drivability.

- The wadi could also have been further developed and integrated with the urban plot. It could have been redirected within the urban plot as opposed to just being situated along the northern and eastern boundaries. The overflow and irrigation system could have been transformed into a branch of the wadi which would eventually improve the overall thermal comfort of the urban space.

Cluster Scale:

A compact neighbourhood was achieved with varying degrees of privacy and unique architectural forms for each block. The cluster scale and the urban scale both interconnected well and were not disjoint in terms of plot scale or user access. The designed urban network was part of a new typology of living that took inspiration from the traditional urban configurations of Arabian cities as well as modern sustainable city design principles. This design was starkly different from the current segregated and dispersed neighbourhoods in the city.

Multiple morphologies were produced within these compact clusters that allow for various multifunctional spaces with different gradients of privacy that enhance the architectural quality and encourage social interaction as well as walkability. Different types of geometries were aggregated in various ways that give each cluster a unique architectural design whilst also performing optimally in terms of environmental criteria. The design also succeeded in maximising the amount of shared walls between buildings which limits the amount of direct radiation on the internal space of the house.

Observations & Further Steps:

- Further environmental analyses could be conducted to enhance and further develop these spaces in terms of spatial relationships and house morphologies.

- More base geometries could be developed in order to achieve more variation of cluster types and house aggregations.

Area: 32.776 m2

Houses per block: 3

Built Coverage: 24.5%

Area: 7.200 m2

Houses per block: 18

Built Coverage: 65%

Urban Block - Al Owainah

Developed Urban Block - Cluster Scale

Architectural Scale:

Based on computational fluid dynamics and radiation analysis it can be assumed that less mechanical systems would be required in order to cool the interior spaces during summer months. The shading devices such as the mashrabiya that were added to the courtyards and windows succeeded not only in limiting the amount of radiation that affected the internal spaces but also directed wind flow and allowed for varying degrees of privacy.

The pergolas that were added to the accessible terraces also performed in the same way and provided for privacy from neighbours as well and decreasing the amount of direct radiation on the roof structures as well as the accessible terraces. The prefabricated system and the limited number of module types allowed for more control within the construction process as well and a resource efficient system that could be assembly efficiently and quickly.

Observations and Further Steps:

- If more time was allocated the panels could be further developed to have better connections with the structural system. The opening strategies for could be more thought out and critically designed based on sun orientation, internal function and gradients of privacy.

- The roof modules could also be adapted and tested with more varying curvature and heights that could enhance the self shading and overall shading capacity of the model. This could also be further studied in terms of module aggregation and various internal programmatic uses.

- Mashrabiya types could be designed and tested for different parts of the house. Percentages of voids, designs and positioning could have been tested and analysed based on environmental criteria that could enhance the architectural quality of the overall space.

Fabrication Scale:

We were successful in testing and creating doubly curved surfaces in the sand casts using our concrete composite mix but this still technique requires a lot of testing and has a lot of potential.

Observations & Further Steps:

- It would be more insightful to test the fabrication systems in a more controlled environment and at a 1:1 scale.

- The casting system could be automated to allow for faster production times.

- The current system required a lot of water to be used, tests could be conducted to determine ways in which little to no water would be required in the formwork itself.

- It would also be interesting to fabricate and build one section of a wall to see whether the interlocking system is performing well and whether the use of prefabricated panels reduced the overall time needed to construct one house.

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Alyina Ahmed

Maria Luiza Gomes Torrres