logo
Sustainable living should focus on comfort over beauty, says climate-focused architect

Sustainable living should focus on comfort over beauty, says climate-focused architect

Arab News11-02-2025

RIYADH: Architects need to shift their focus toward comfortable, climate-friendly designs rather than reaching for the stars with often unsustainable skyscrapers, said Sarah El-Battouty, founder of ECOnsult at a conference in Riyadh.
According to El-Battouty, who is also a UN Climate Change High-Level Champions global ambassador, buildings are the most used product on Earth, so modern designs must reflect modern needs.
'Everything is moving forward — machines, products, food, communication — except buildings,' she said.
ECOnsult, an Egypt-based architecture company specializing in green building and environmental strategy, developed the People's Brief, which examines the essential components people need in daily living. At the top of that list is comfort.
'We're no longer building things to impress. The future is to get the one target that is very difficult to achieve,' she said.
'I know it sounds simplistic, but it's really difficult to get people to sleep well, to feel firmer comfort when they're not too cold or too hot, to predict what is happening in the near future and accommodate the changes in seasonality, and fit all of that into an affordable, accessible, scalable, repeatable building.'
The next step, she said, is integrating sustainable development goals into people's homes and using that foundation to design climate-resilient communities.
Two years ago, ECOnsult introduced the Green Guidelines document, a set of standards for green architecture in rural, low-income communities.
'No one is sitting and figuring out how they're going to put these very advanced concepts and apply them to a completely different client… and whether these building technologies are actually scalable in rural communities.'
El-Battouty emphasized the need for a direct connection between technology, forecasting, and accessible adaptation strategies, making them usable for everyone rather than a select few.
Today, ECOnsult has developed the first World Green Building Council-certified small villages for green economies in Egypt.
Five villages have been built so far, housing a total population of 500,000 in energy-, water-, and habitat-saving environments.
By localizing goals and understanding the client, available technology at small scales has made a tremendous impact, El-Battouty said.
ECOnsult has also built the first net-zero rural communities project in the Middle East and North Africa region: a mosque.
Constructed from recycled brick and rammed earth and powered entirely by solar energy, the mosque's architecture supports 90 percent water recycling, material reduction, construction waste recycling, and the use of local materials.
Governments worldwide are committing to net-zero pledges, such as Saudi Arabia's goal of achieving 50 percent renewable power by 2030 on its path to net-zero emissions by 2050.
Developers in both the architectural and finance sectors are exploring green buildings and energy; however, 'why does it have to begin with the most expensive, large-scale?' El-Battouty asked.
'We are not there yet. We need to perfect this scale.
'Anyone who works in mitigation or quality assurance can understand that small is beautiful because you can test it,' she said.
In most of ECOnsult's projects, they have achieved up to 10-degree cooling without mechanical assistance.
With fresh air, adequate lighting control, stone, and strategic color usage, much can be accomplished affordably, El-Battouty noted.
'We need to use technologies that partner in informing us: today is a very hot day, your building is not doing well, I will adjust.'
Some of the company's other projects include the Pavilion Café in Italy, a net-zero building constructed entirely from discarded refrigerator casings and waste food.
Another project is a nursery/kindergarten in China, designed to combat outside air pollution by eliminating plastic casings, placing floor tiles on the ceiling, and ensuring an airtight structure.
Royal Herbs Village is also the first carbon-neutral project in the Middle East and North Africa region. Located on a 4,200-sq.-meter plot in the Western Desert, where temperatures can reach up to 50 degrees Celsius, eight buildings have been constructed to accommodate 120 people in a complex that operates without energy-intensive air conditioning units.
Other projects include a net-zero vocational school repurposed from an old structure using affordable local materials and a model for efficient tiny homes tailored to suit local climates.
Rather than relying solely on advanced technology to solve the climate crisis, El-Battouty stressed that the real solution, with high market return and economic value, lies in catering to local communities.
'We're not innovators. Villages and people have been building for thousands of years, understanding exceptionally well what to do in the winter, what to do in drought. Otherwise, they wouldn't have survived.
'Our job is to integrate all of this so we don't come out on one end, isolated in a much smaller market, and then clap for ourselves that we have succeeded in changing the way we are building.'
A small company with only 20 employees, ECOnsult has been working closely with the Saudi government, particularly in relation to UNCCD COP16, as well as with the Scottish government at the Glasgow climate conferences, to introduce climate-friendly and people-centric architecture into modern buildings and city plans.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Budget airline Jetstar Asia to close in weeks, customers offered refunds
Budget airline Jetstar Asia to close in weeks, customers offered refunds

Saudi Gazette

time13 hours ago

  • Saudi Gazette

Budget airline Jetstar Asia to close in weeks, customers offered refunds

SINGAPORE — Singapore-based budget airline Jetstar Asia will close down at the end of July, with affected passengers to be offered full refunds. The low-cost airline has struggled with rising supplier costs, high airport fees and increased competition in the region. More than 500 employees will be laid off. The shutdown of Jetstar Asia will not impact the operations of Australia-based Jetstar Airways, nor those of Jetstar Japan, according to its part-owner Qantas. The budget carrier will offer a progressively reduced service over the next seven weeks and travellers will be notified if their flight is affected. Passengers with tickets to fly after the 31 July closure will be contacted by the airline. Some affected customers could be moved onto alternative flights operated by the Qantas Group. Jetstar Asia is advising people who booked through a travel agent or separate airline to contact those providers directly. Sixteen routes across Asia will be impacted by the shutdown, including flights from Singapore to destinations in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The closure of Qantas' low-cost arm will provide Australia's national airline with A$500m ($325.9m; £241.4m) to invest towards renewing its fleet of aircraft. It will also redeploy 13 planes for routes across Australia and New Zealand. "We have seen some of Jetstar Asia's supplier costs increase by up to 200%, which has materially changed its cost base," said Qantas Group Chief Executive Vanessa Hudson in a statement. The discount airline, which has operated flights for over 20 years, is set to make a A$35m loss this financial year. Fifty one per cent of the company is owned by Singapore firm Westbrook Investments, with the remainder held by Qantas. Former customers have expressed their shock and sadness at its closure. In a comment under Jetstar Asia's Facebook post about the shutdown, one user said they were "very saddened to hear this news about a very warm, efficient, wonderful airline". Another thanked the airline for "opening up and popularising the budget travel market". All employees affected by Wednesday's announcement will be provided with redundancy benefits. "We have an exceptional team who provide world leading customer service and best in class operational performance and our focus is on supporting them through this process and helping them to find new roles in the industry," said Jetstar Group chief executive Stephanie Tully. Qantas, Australia's national carrier, will continue to provide low-cost flights to Asia through its Jetstar Airways arm, which offers services from Australia to destinations in Thailand, Indonesia and Japan, among others. Jetstar Asia was launched in 2004 as Qantas looked to gain a foothold in the growing low-cost air travel market in Asia, but has faced increased competition from other budget outlets including AirAsia and Scoot. — BBC

Egypt seeking FDI boost with tourism sector investment opportunities
Egypt seeking FDI boost with tourism sector investment opportunities

Arab News

time13 hours ago

  • Arab News

Egypt seeking FDI boost with tourism sector investment opportunities

RIYADH: Egypt is intensifying efforts to attract foreign direct investment by opening new opportunities in its tourism and archaeological sectors, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said during a high-level strategy meeting. The gathering, which took place at the government headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, aimed at following up on the efforts of the Ministries of Tourism and Investment, according to a statement published on the Cabinet's official Facebook page. This aligns with Egypt's goal of attracting 30 million tourists annually by 2028, aiming for a 25 percent to 30 percent year-over-year increase in inbound tourism as part of the nation's Vision 2030 for sustainable development. 'The government is working to formulate clear plans with specific targets to offer investment opportunities in various sectors, contributing to increasing foreign direct investment,' Madbouly said during the meeting. During the assembly, Minister of Tourism Sherif Fathy announced the formation of a dedicated unit to monitor investment prospects. The initiative aims to establish an 'investment opportunities bank' that will showcase available projects in the tourism sector, supporting the country's efforts to meet its growth targets. The statement said: 'In a related context, the Minister explained that 2024 witnessed an increase in hotel capacity of 7,200 additional rooms — 55 percent of which are new capacity, and during the current year 2025, it is expected to add approximately 19,000 new hotel rooms — new projects, expansions of existing projects, and initiatives.' During the gathering, Fathy also presented the targeted investments in the field of antiquities preservation and restoration, noting that the Supreme Council of Antiquities has implemented an average of 36 projects annually over the past five years. The minister then outlined the targeted investment distribution for the tourism and antiquities sectors from 2025 to 2031 across various governorates. The plan includes developing hotel rooms, restaurants, safaris, camps, and amusement parks. It also focuses on investing in the rehabilitation and utilization of archaeological sites, establishing museums in partnership with the private sector, and enhancing services at heritage locations. During the meeting, Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Hassan El-Khatib noted that the implementation timeline includes holding bilateral coordination meetings between the his department and the relevant ministries to present the strengths of each sector, available investment opportunities, proposed projects, and the challenges facing attracting investment. He also stated that each ministry will conduct a comprehensive sectoral study, form joint working groups between the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade and each relevant ministry, and submit periodic reports to the Cabinet to monitor progress in implementing the sectoral investment strategy and achievement rates.

Egypt allocates Red Sea land for issuing bonds and lowering debt
Egypt allocates Red Sea land for issuing bonds and lowering debt

Arab News

time16 hours ago

  • Arab News

Egypt allocates Red Sea land for issuing bonds and lowering debt

CAIRO: Egypt has allocated a 174 square km plot on the Red Sea coast to the finance ministry for use in Islamic bond issuances and in efforts to lower the country's public debt, the official gazette said on Tuesday. The gazette did not elaborate on how the land would be used, but Egypt, which has been mired in a slow-burning economic crisis, signed a $35 billion deal with the UAE early last year to develop a 170-square-km tract along the Mediterranean coast. Since then, Egypt has been seeking similar large-scale investments as it tries to overcome the economic crisis. It has been in talks with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait in a bid to attract major investments, according to investment bankers and news reports. In tandem, Egypt also plans to issue $2 billion in sukuks, or Islamic bonds, in 2025, Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk told Reuters in April.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store