Design for a Local Environmental Sustainability Project-Saudi Arabia - Case Study Example

Design for a Local Environmental Sustainability Project---Saudi Arabia Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course: Date:   Table of Contents 1.0.Project Overview 3 2.0.Rationale and Aim of the Project 4 3.0.Project Context 4 4.0.Project Research 5 5.0.Project Management Plan 8 5.1.Cost Management Plan 8 5.2.Procurement Management Plan 9 5.3.Project Scope Management Plan 9 5.4.Risk Management Plan 10 Design for a Local Environmental Sustainability Project---Saudi Arabia 1.0. Project Overview In as much as social and economic development have been at the forefront of the agenda in Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom may not have committed its policies to environmental sustainable projects especially projects that are responsible for stewardship of the environment, that also include its desert habitat, natural spaces and marine life. For instance, the Wadi Hanifa Comprehensive Rehabilitation Project has resulted in a 120-kilometers valley that has indeed polluted the city of Riyadh (Stegall, 2016). The result of these effects is that there need to design local environmental sustainability project that abode well with Saudi Arabia’s vision for sustainable environment. In as much as environmental sustainable interior design remains to be an issue in Saudi Arabia, projects such as the Arriyadh Development Authority’s (ADA) work on Wadi Hanifa shows that for Saudi Arabia to be environmentally sustainable and attain her 10th Development Plan 2015-19 (Al-Oqla and Sapuan, 2014), the design of environmental sustainable interior creates a road map where the country will be able to attain value added of natural resources in the country’s economy, diversification of resources and attaining sustainability along with the protection of the environment. To conceptualise the design process, the project will study current demand and supply for sustainable, green and Fair Trade design practice for interiors of houses in Saudi Arabia. In the first case, a comprehensive study of the current sustainable, green and Fair Trade materials will be understood through a study. Two projects is designed in the project with one having interior design comprising of sustainable, green and Fair Trade design while the other with ordinary materials that have been used in construction of residential houses in Riyadh and other parts of Saudi Arabia. 2.0. Rationale and Aim of the Project The project has been designed to provide an understanding of environmental sustainability of modern interior designs of houses in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, the design has been undertaken to redefine sustainability within the context of Saudi Arabia to mean social, economic and environmental aspects of life. It therefore means that the aim of the project is to focus on the practice of reusability of environment aspects such as graywater and rainwater which are scarce in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs have provided structured approach that dictates what constitute sustainable construction of residential building. One of such approaches is to achieve sustainability in interior design (Asif, 2016). In addition, different authorities in Saudi Arabia individual municipal authorities such as Riyadh Municipality, the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA), Yanbu, and the Royal Commission for Jubail have called for projects that will enhance sustainability of interior designs (Susilawati and Al Surf, 2011). Based on this rationale the aim of the project is to integrate Saudi Arabia’s sustainable environment goals by developing a comprehensive conceptualisation of what constitute a sustainable interior design of residential building on the choice of green materials and consequently undertaking a case study on interior designs currently in place within Saudi Arabia major towns. This aim will help to ascertain a snapshot of current demand and supply of green, environmental sustainable or fair trade products for interior designs. 3.0. Project Context While the challenge of environment sustainability remains a concern in most parts of Saudi Arabia, the design project will be contextualised within Riyadh. Within the environmental context and cultural characteristics of the town (Riyadh), the design of the interior house is developed to be constructible. To meet the geographical and historical context of the town, the interior design will use common and accessible materials and creation of a repetitive design that conform to Green Building Councils and their policies that guide designing of healthier and energy-efficient and environmentally responsible designs (. It is essential to ascertain whether the design project fit within a specific policy framework. To conceptualise this point, the State-owned entities and partially State-owned policy frameworks are responsible for the reduction of Saudi Arabia’s heavy industries and utilities (Baum and Council, 2007). For instance, the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has their policy frameworks for sustainable environment and this is the case with agencies such as Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) and independent water and power producers (IWPPs). The design project woks within the frameworks of these agencies as it designs a project that employ modern technologies and practices in interior design so as to meet the minimum certifications by these agencies for green or sustainable design while at the same time meeting criteria that have been set by Arriyadh Development Authority. 4.0. Project Research The debates regarding environmental sustainability has become rife with policy makers and researchers adopting the academic and local contexts in arguing the need for design projects that enable environment sustainability. Based on local environmental challenges that have been supported by evidence researches from Riyadh, the choice to design has been influenced. To begin with, existing environmental sustainability projects or residential housing in Riyadh have influenced the selection of materials. Currently, research from studies such as Jones (2008); Kua and Lee (2012); Salama and Alshuwaikhat (2006) have indicated that housing units in Riyadh have not placed greater emphasis and awareness towards the world’s natural resources in interior designs. As a result of a growing demand for energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable interior designs in Saudi Arabia and specifically Riyadh, material selection will give consideration to impact on sustainable outcome of the entire project’s interior design so that it can conform to requirements of different agencies (Alshuwaikhat and Aina, 2014). A survey conducted by Ahmad (2012) indicated that interior designed projects in Saudi Arabia have been selecting materials based on the preferences of clients, aesthetics and cost of these materials without considerations to the effects of such materials on environmental sustainability. This research is in line with studies undertaken by Iwaro and Mwasha (2010) who found that projects around Jeddah High-Rise Market including Burj Rafal in Riyadh did not go green in interior design. The design project therefore picks on such projects as they exist in Riyadh to design interior of a residential building by considering knowledge about sustainable materials and products. By extension, the design is intended to consider environmental sustainability issues such as health of the residents and as such factors such as susceptibility to microbiological growth, volatile organic compound (VOC) and long-term environmental impact will be given consideration while choosing materials for the interior design. The recent data from United Nations that was released through the United States Department of Energy’s Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centre, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s per capita carbon dioxide production reached about 21.2 metric tonnes per individual between 2012 and 2014 (Al Surf, Susilawati and Trigunarsyah, 2012). The same research found that the country’s cumulative carbon dioxide emissions were standing at about 550million metric tonnes during the same period. The implication of this status is the need to reduce the current statistics with regard to sustainable environment. This trend can be alleviated by deigning interiors of residence houses in Riyadh to emit less carbon dioxide. Just like it was the case with King Abdullah Financial District project, the design aims to reduce the current state of 21.2 metric tonnes per individual by about 20 per cent by recognising environmentally sustainable aspects of interior design so that principles such as Green Building Rating System and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design can be given considerations. As the process of design will be elaborated in the next session, building guidelines of the interior design will not only borrow successful projects such as King Abdullah Financial District but embraces the current environmental problems in Riyadh by incorporating guidelines such as performance management, energy conservations, material choice, waste production and management and indoor environmental quality (Celik et al. 2014; Shaahid et al., 2013; Mandeli, 2008). Studies have recognised that environmental sustainable interior design is the engineering practice in which all materials and systems are designed with emphasis being on the integration into a whole for the purpose of reducing negative effects on the occupants and environment and maximising positive environmental impact with record to the social and economic systems over the life cycle houses or building (Shaahid et al., 2013; Mandeli, 2008). It is this perspective that informed the need for green building in Saudi Arabia. In mid-mid 2014 there was a royal decree to companies in Saudi Arabia that there should comply with modern technologies in interior designs that seek to sustain environment (Asif, 2016). As a matter of fact, the royal decree gave these companies five years to comply with modern standards in water, air and pollution standards that are measured against international standards such as United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system of certification. It is from these bases that the project design in Riyadh will be in tandem with Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs guidelines for green building within Saudi Arabia. The project aim is to develop interior design that checks on energy efficiency, water efficiency, material selection and indoor environmental quality so that the resultant project emulate modern projects in Saudi Arabia such as King Abdullah Finance District that have been designed to meet LEED specifications by adopting local building materials that reduce consumption of energy, district cooling that reduces expenditure on air conditioning and automatic lighting that switches off when a room is not occupied. 5.0. Project Management Plan The current environmental problem in Saudi Arabia informs the process of the project management plan. For instance, reports have indicated that in Riyadh alone, there is almost 80 per cent consumption of energy in residential building and about 75 per cent of that energy is used in running air conditioning due to high temperatures that are witnessed in these regions. From the one hand, Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs will be responsible in enforcing the project to ensure that there is improvement to both air conditioning and energy efficiency units and the insulation adopted in the process of designing of the building within the Riyadh have a significant effects and these issues are addressed in accordance with the new regulations including that of LEED. However, the management plan will take the following categories: 5.1. Cost Management Plan This plan defines how the cost on interior design will be managed by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs throughout project lifecycle. Generally, management of cost will be undertaken by Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and the accounting department of Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs will be in charge of approving costs and changes to the project costs. Quality assurance department from Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs will be in charge of cost performance especially when it comes to quantitative measurement of project progress. In addition, Cost and Schedule Performance Index will borrowed structured provided by LEED so that Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs can report the project cost index on a weekly or monthly basis. 5.2. Procurement Management Plan As already noted, one distinct feature of this project is material selection for interior designs. As a result, project management will provide the needed oversight and management plans for the type of materials to be bought but such will consider frameworks given by LEED, Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Saudi Electricity Company and Saline Water Conversion Corporation so that environmental sustainability issues to be addressed with these materials is the carbon dioxide rates of emission in Saudi Arabia which is currently standing at 21.2 metric tonnes per individual. 5.3. Project Scope Management Plan This management will establish work progress, delays, unnecessary work, cost overruns, failure to attain deliverables and other unintended consequences. The authority responsible for scope management will be the project designer in conjunction with Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. The scope of work will be defined and progress reported on weekly basis. The project management and design team will be responsible for accepting the final project deliverables and acceptance of the scope of the project on a monthly basis. 5.4. Risk Management Plan The processes of designing interiors of residential houses in Riyadh have a number of risks and some of these risks include deviating from the requirements of LEED, Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Saudi Electricity Company and Saline Water Conversion. The process of managing these risks include a methodological process by which the project team as led by the designer will identify, ranks and scores the various risks. Risk managers will be providing status updates on their assigned risks in their fortnight project team schedules so that the project sticks to its aim. References Ahmad, A. E. M. K. (2012). Attractiveness Factors Influencing Shoppers' Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Word of Mouth: An Empirical Investigation of Saudi Arabia Shopping Malls. 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