Architecture

Zaha Hadid's sustainable Bee’ah HQ rises out of the desert like a sand dune

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The new Bee'ah headquarters will be located in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (Image: Zaha Hadid Architects / MIR)
Judging by the renderss, Hadid's familiar flowing style looks well suited to the surrounding landscape (Image: Zaha Hadid Architects / MIR)
The new Bee'ah headquarters will be located in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (Image: Zaha Hadid Architects / MIR)
The expected constructed date, budget, and completion date of the Bee'ah headquarters are yet to be revealed (Image: Zaha Hadid Architects / MIR)
The two primary "dunes" intersect and connect with a courtyard which is likened by ZHA to an oasis (Image: Zaha Hadid Architects / MIR)
Significant portions of the building will be constructed from materials recovered from the local construction and demolition waste streams managed by Bee’ah (Image: Zaha Hadid Architects / MIR)
When air-con is required, it will be provided via an energy-efficient heat energy recovery system, which channels waste heat into pre-heating the domestic hot water (Image: Zaha Hadid Architects / MIR)
ZHA is aiming for LEED Platinum Certification (Image: Zaha Hadid Architects / MIR)
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Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has released some preliminary details concerning a new planned headquarters for Bee'ah, a Middle East environmental waste management company. The LEED Platinum-seeking project will run solely from renewable energy sources, and also serve as a learning center to promote environmental awareness in the area.

Situated on a large 90,000 sq m (968,751 sq ft) plot in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, the Bee’ah headquarters measures 7,000 sq m (75,347 sq ft), and is oriented to make the most of the prevailing breeze for natural ventilation.

Judging by the renders, Hadid's familiar flowing style looks well suited to the surrounding landscape, and the headquarters rises to a height of 18 m (59 ft) like a series of large futuristic sand dunes. The building also features a large courtyard, which is likened by ZHA to a desert oasis.

ZHA is aiming for LEED Platinum Certification: a green building certification system developed by the US Green Building Council that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices.

ZHA is aiming for LEED Platinum Certification (Image: Zaha Hadid Architects / MIR)

All of the building's operational energy needs will be met by renewable sources. A large solar panel array will provide electricity, and some energy will also derive from recycled waste, which will be converted in a nearby waste processing plant owned by Bee'ah.

As of writing, we've no additional information available on how the latter will work. We've requested more details, but we're guessing that it might be something similar to Edmonton's Waste-to-Biofuels complex we covered back in 2010.

The new headquarters will feature an operable facade that allows air into the building in cooler months. When air-con is required, an energy-efficient exhaust heat recovery system will channel waste heat to pre-heat the domestic hot water.

ZHA also reports that a significant portion of the building will be constructed from materials recovered from local construction and demolition waste.

The expected constructed date, budget, and completion date of the new Bee'ah headquarters are yet to be announced.

Source: ZHA

View gallery - 7 images
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5 comments
DonGateley
That's sheer genius. Zaha Hadid and her company are incomparable. Thank goodness for their being so prolific.
christopher
If only they could sinter the structure from the desert sand, then it literally would be a dune that raises out! (not to mention; it would save millions, maybe billions, in construction costs...)
Slowburn
Eco-building that require extra material to build for the space. I don't understand.
martinkopplow
In this case, I am with Slowburn. This does admittedly look very impressive, even more than the ZHA building a few meters down the road from the place where I work, and which - despite being quite new - has suffered from technical problems ever since, leaked, and is also in need of renovation already. In my opinion architecture it is not so much about just looking impressive on renderings or press releases, but actually being a working piece of purposefully created environment for a sustainable period of time. Only then can it impress me, and so far I must criticize ZHA for not reaching or possibly even seriously targeting that goal. Time will tell.
Buzzclick
"Form follows function" as the maxim goes. Somehow this strikes me as all about the form. These radical designs are mostly to impress, and I am not surprised to see that they've had flaws and maintenance problems.
If architects focus on the style and leave the infrastructure short, it will only hurt their reputation. Many artists also end up doing what worked for them over and over in their careers, but unfortunately, the work becomes predictable and loses appeal. Design of lasting aesthetics certainly is not easy, but there is a better chance of success with: "Less is more".