The Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme (SZHP) and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Masdar today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand the development of the Masdar “Eco-Villa” sustainable home concept around the United Arab Emirates.
The agreement was signed by Mohamed Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Executive Director of Engineering at the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme (SZHP), and Yousef Baselaib, Executive Director of Sustainable Real Estate at Masdar, on the first day of the Arab Future Cities Summit Dubai 2017.
Launched during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2017 at Masdar City, the Masdar Eco-Villa is a functioning residential property designed to consume around 35 per cent less water and 72 per cent less power than a typical Abu Dhabi villa of the same size.
Under the terms of the MoU, the SZHP will build prototypes based on the Eco-Villa concept around the UAE with technical guidance and support from Masdar. The partnership is expected to generate additional performance data on sustainable housing, further enhancing its long-term commercial viability.
“Today’s agreement supports the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme’s vision of providing high-quality, affordable housing to UAE national families,” said Yousef Baselaib of Masdar.
“The fact that the Programme has decided to promote the Eco-Villa concept is an endorsement of the original goal of its design – and the aims of Masdar City as a ‘greenprint’ for sustainable urban communities.”
The Masdar Eco-Villa incorporates environmentally friendly features such as enhanced insulation and shading to minimise power consumption for cooling, as well as LED lighting and water-saving interior fittings to further limit energy and water use.
When fully equipped with rooftop solar panels, the Eco-Villa concept produces more electricity than it consumes from the national grid. Unsurprisingly, it is the first Abu Dhabi home to achieve a 4 Pearl rating based on the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council’s Estidama green building framework.
Most importantly, the Eco-Villa is designed to be affordable, practical and adaptable to the needs of modern families – potentially replicated on a much wider scale by UAE and Middle Eastern real estate developers.