Bee’ah aims to set new standards in the UAE through utilising 100% green renewable energy sources to power its new Headquarters and are ensuring that the maximum amount of recycled materials recovered from waste are used in its construction.

The Headquarters building has been designed with environmental considerations woven into every aspect of the design using a hierarchical approach to first limit the need to consume resources; where resources are required - to minimise their consumption; and finally to offset consumption of resources through the harvesting of renewable systems.

interior view render by MIR © Zaha Hadid Architects

Designed in response to its natural environment to provide comfort for visitors and staff alongside minimising energy and resource consumption, the formal composition of the new Bee’ah Headquarters building has been informed by its desert context as a series of intersecting dunes orientated to optimize the prevailing Shamal winds, and designed to provide its interiors with high quality daylight and views whilst limiting the quantity of glazing exposed to the harsh sun.

The 7,000 sq. m. Bee’ah Headquarters is located on a 90,000 sq. m. site adjacent to the Bee’ah Waste Management Centre. The large site enabled the development of the design as an array of dunes within its desert landscape leading to the two central dunes of the Headquarters building.

The two primary dunes of the Bee’ah Headquarters house the public and management section (entrance lobby, auditorium, visitors’ education centre and gallery, and management offices) and the administrative section (departmental offices and staff café). The two dunes intersect and connect via a central courtyard that forms an ‘oasis’ inside the building - enhancing the natural ventilation and maximising indirect sunlight to the public and administrative spaces within.

The building systems of the new Headquarters have been developed in conjunction with Atelier Ten to minimise both the energy required for cooling and the need for potable water consumption. In milder months, the façade is operable to allow natural ventilation - minimising the need to provide cooling to the building. When conditioning is required, it will be optimised for energy conservation via the use of ventilation energy recovery - allowing fresh air into the spaces with reduced energy impact, and the waste heat that would normally be rejected from the chillers into the atmosphere is to be harvested to provide free pre-heating of the domestic hot water supplies.

interior view render by MIR © Zaha Hadid Architects

The exterior finishes of the building have been selected to reflect the sun’s rays and help to further reduce energy consumption by providing a local heat profile that is akin to the natural desert environment (rather than the high heat profiles associated with conventional roofing systems).

These active and passive energy approaches are calculated to reduce energy consumption by 30%. All power required for the building will be generated via low and zero carbon sources, principally from the adjacent Bee’ah Waste Management Centre’s conversion of municipal waste (that would otherwise decay in landfill) into energy, together with large arrays of photovoltaic cells incorporated within the site’s landscaping.