documentry about Bahrain world trade centre

BAHRAIN WORLD TRADE CENTRE

Abstract

This case study is about the Bahrain World Trade Center. This explains how it was designed, constructed, the problems faced, how those problems were overcome, and why this building is special from the others. The reason why this topic was chosen for the case study was because this building is unique from other buildings not because of its beauty, but because of its green technology. Also, this project takes an exceptional place in stainable technology. Taking all these factors into consideration, the topic “Bahrain World Trade Centre” was chosen.

Introduction

The Bahrain world trade centre which is located in Manama, which has two 50-storey sail shaped towers, which is having a height of 240m and contains three 29m diameter horizontal axis wind turbines. The towers are placed on top of a three story podium,  which accommodates a new 9600m^2 shopping Centre, fine hotels, food centers, business Centre, health club spa, and 1800 onsite parking spaces. But what makes this unique is not its height or beauty but its green technology.  Bahrain world trade center was designed by the south African architect Shaun Killa who is a specialist in using sustainable design buildings.

DESIGN

Background

The designing and the architecture was completely done by the great architecture Shaun Killa. A person who is ready to show the concept that Bahrain is not only interested in fossil fuels it is more towards sustainability. Designing this structure that is creating massive wind turbines in a building structure is not an easy task and if it was successful there is a lot of benefits from this project, and the knowledge of this technology can be shared worldwide

Unique design features of this building

The unique feature of this building is that the electricity is provided for the entire building using the three wind turbines which is fixed to the building. The turbine uses the wind energy to make its wings rotate and convert that energy into electrical energy. So to make this project successful they overcame a lot of problems.

The shape of the building

The basic design of this building was taken from sail boats. The building is designed in such such a way as shown in figure 1.1, so that the air is channeled between the two buildings using the principals of air flow, funneling the onshore winds between them and creating a negative pressure zone behind, so that it accelerates the wind velocity between the towers into the path of the turbines. The towers tapered shape with higher wind speeds at increasing height means that the three fixed turbines have a nearly constant vertical velocity profile. Within a 45 angle both sides of the central axis, the center of the wind stream is perpendicular to the turbines.

Figure 1.1. The shape of the building

Design of wind turbines angle and problems faced

The building is being installed with three wind turbines to generate electricity. Basically the wind turbines are pole mounted and it is facing the direction where the wind increases the odds of maximum energy. It looks easy to imagine but when it is applied practically it is really hard, because Bahrain has variable direction wind climates.  Most of the architectural studies regarding building-integrated, horizontal axis turbines follow the principle of a fixed turbine as in the case of this tower. Fixing vertical axis wind turbines to the towers are always encouraged and everyone gets a lot of advantages from it for being sustainable and low cost. Out of all the design development of this project has proved that using vertical axis turbines will not be available especially for building purposes.

    

Fixing a horizontal turbine has some problems like it can only be able to operate with wind from a limited angle. If problems faced with blade deflections and stressing or straining through excess air flow are to be avoided.  Since the building has been designed in such a way where the wind can be directed towards the wind turbine the problem can be resolved.

           

Wind tunnel modeling that was validated by CFD models. Have shown that the incoming wind will get deflected by the two towers and have an s shaped streamline flow as shown if figure 1.2 where the wind speed can be tolerated by the wind turbine. Engineers have predicted that the turbine can operate for the wind directions from the angle of 270 and 360. But still prevention measures have been taken and the angle has been reduced to 285 and 345. The wind turbine has an ability to automatically adapt to a standby mode when the wind comes from outside the give range angle. It is now clear that it was not a co incidence that the buildings are extremely have high power to prevail against wind.

Figure 1.2. The streamline flow of wind towards the building

The wind turbines which is fixed on this project contains the following contents,  Nacelle: which contains enclosure with gearbox, generator, cooling system and associated control systems, Rotor,  Bridge, Control, monitoring and safety systems,  Electrical Building Interface.

Nacelle and Rotor

The nacelle is the term used for the cowling containing the gearbox, brake, controls, etc. and in addition, there is the rotor.

                     Table 1.1. Components used and their performances

Nominal electrical power generated	225kw
Power regulation	stall
Rotor diameter	29m
Rotor speed at full load	38rpm
Air brake	Centrifugally activated feathering tips
Maximium wind speed for blades	80m/s (any direction)
High speed mechanical brake	Fail safe type disc brake
Low speed mechanical brake	Caliper type
Generator	Closed 4 pole asynchronous induction 50Hz
Yaw system	Fixed yaw
Cut in wind speed	4m/s
Cut out wind speed	20m/s (5minute rolling average)

The machine of the turbine is designed to fixed on the top rather than into the bridge so that it is easy to provide its functions easily to the turbine. The designed turbine is simple and reliable it can be controlled easily. Then the turbine rotor blades are bolted into the hub and then it is fixed in the desired angle to make sure that it makes the maximum use of the wind. The wind creates turbulence on the front side of the blade hence the power output will always be the maximum output.

The maximum power which is about 225W will be reached when the speed is at 15 to 20m/s but it might change according to the wind density and other factors. When there is conditions like high speed wind, the wind turbine which is operating or in standby mode the tip of it extends by the centrifugal force and then it rotates to act as it has self-working brake and exerts drag force and finally it makes the turbine stop.

Bridges

The main parts of this unique design is the loads on the rotor, through the nacelle and then onto the key part of the design, such as bridges and the tower.   Hence the structure should be analyzed for strength and other properties. Calculations regarding the load and all for this project have been made by the bridge designers and in conjunction with the wind turbine manufacturers where they use a specially adopted version to become the best wind turbine design. This machine which was designed for this purpose has the ability to take note of the influences of the buildings, bridges and fans.199 different types of load cases has been applied for creating this model of turbine and validating calculations or operational processes prepared to theatrically demonstrate that the turbine and the bridge has the capacity  for excessive pressure and load. At the early stages of construction adjustments were made to theoretical value and experimental values were considered so that the energy yield could be increased or decreased.

The bridges have been designed aerodynamically and the structure is complex as shown in figure 1.3, because it maintains free bearings where they connect to the buildings to allow the two towers 0.5m relatively. Moreover the bridges which is 317m long have been designed to support a nacelle with a mass of 11 tones have been designed to withstand the vibration and vibrations created by the all three wind turbine. The bridges have been analyzed by the bridge designer to estimate the natural frequency of the bridge and to ensure it is safe even when it is having high vibrations due to itself of by the building. Further precautions have been taken in the design like the bridge has been damped, so that it won’t be problematic anymore during commissioning. Another precaution taken was adding spoilers to the bridge and mass damper is tuned and adjusted.

Figure 1.3. Shape of the bridge

The bridge is designed in a shallow V shape in an angle of 173 degrees to prevent blade deflection during extreme conditions and to afford enough clearance and to prevent blade strikes to the building. Moreover under all these conditions, blade clearance to the bridge which is 1.12m is achieved. The worst part was the blade tips was extended giving a factor-ratio of 1.35 safety margin, and under all these conditions adequate clearance was given to do. Moreover a laser blade is fixed where it monitors the system that will set the turbine to stand steady if the deflection becomes excess.

Turbine speed control design

The wind turbine control system is a quality control system that is specially being designed to control and monitor functions of the turbine. The design is trustable and reliable because it is able to shut down turbines safely when there is a huge change in the climatic condition or due to other factors which will threaten safety of human life or the building. Moreover the system is designed online so it can be accessed from anywhere and it can be controlled under the grants of the appropriate organizations. There is another machine fixed inside the turbine where it is independent which comes to a standby mode if there is any real emergency like fire or hurricane etc.     

CONSTRUCTION

Planning

As the building was designed the hardest part begins now that is the construction of it. So since Shaun Killa proposed the design, the construction started as proposed in the design, bull dozers started to clear the places and the work began. At the same time Shaun Killa started to search for the turbine manufactures and bridge engineers. But the problem he faced was other turbine engineers didn’t share his visions. They thought it might be dangerous for human life because the turbine which is in the middle of the tower is inches away from the building so there are chances for accidents.

                

However after reaching six months that is when the building was reaching its fifth floor, two engineers from Danish respond. Earnest sungill who designs turbines and laas torback engineers bridges. The two engineers did several experiments with models and they found the design can be successfully applied and constructed on the building. But before that they overcame a lot of problems. One of it was how strong the components need to be, so the engineers took 20 years of wind data from Bahrain airport and they found how strong it should be hence the turbines were manufactured.

Materials used during the construction

During construction a lot of materials were used, and most of them were renewable or recyclable. Some of the materials which were used are given in table 2.1.all the materials were bought to the construction site through heavy vehicles like huge trucks to save time and money.

Table 2.1. Materials used during the construction

Concrete	4000cubic meter
Steel reinforcement	730 tonnes
Cement	1600 tonnes
Stone and sand	7400 tonnes
Water	1600 litre

Construction of the building

As according to the design and the plan the work stated with the foundation. The foundation used was deep foundation. The main problem the engineers were facing during construction was building the correct shape as planned and designed. Since the most sides of the building were curved, it was really hard to achieve that task. The window glasses was fiber glasses which is really strong enough to withstand some force.

                                          

                                            Figure 2.1. Construction progress

Manufacturing the wind turbines

Once again the engineers undergo a lot of problems that is manufacturing. For factories it is really small orders and it was hard to make. But finally they got that done from a factory from eastern Denmark. This blade is the largest blade ever constructed. Another problem they faced was installing the bridges as specified in the design.

Installations of the bridges

After two and a half years the building construction it finally reaches 240m as designed. Now the installation of bridges begins. This is most dangerous task they faced in this project. Each of the bridges were carried up and installed. But the process was really hard. Each bridge was weighing 68 tones and lifting them up is act of an absolute precision. Since the bridge is shaped aerodynamic this is like airplane wings, so hanging on cables makes its sleek shape difficult to control in high wind. The bridge was carried up at 11m/h. once the bridge is taken up only one side was bolted and the other side was placed on solid steel rollers.

Installations of turbine and the propellers

The next task of the construction is installing them and the group was given only seven days to complete the task. But still again a lot of problems was faced. After installing two generators the wind increases it reaches 50km/h where lifting it would be risky hence they lost a lot of time but then they installed it when the wind speed was 32km/h. after the turbines were taken up 18 bolts which is 27mm thick was used to fix the turbines to the bridge. But the strenuous challenge was raising aerodynamic blades designed to accelerate wind has to be raised between the two towers. They came across another problem as well there was storm which was preventing them from carrying up. Basically the three blades were fixed to the central hub and were ready to be raised. Each blade contains 50 layers of fiber glass glued together around wood reinforcements. Hence, it is really hard to control their movement while installing so they used longer ropes to maintain the balance and to prevent colliding with the building. Finally the 4.2 tone turbine was raised to the top and bolted, where the first one is fixed at 61m height. Then all three was installed successfully.

Recommendation

The Bahrain world trade center is showing us that the world is running out of non-renewable resources. So we should come up with something where it is renewable, sustainable and cost effective. This is just one of the examples but the human society will be facing loads of sustainable engineering wonders very soon.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Introduction

Project management is very important in the construction of a building for it to be successful. It involves team leadership and coordination, diligent project planning and effective oversight of the delivery process. This section offers guidance for the entire team to effectively carry out a high performance building project since it is critical to satisfy client and end user needs.

Value for the money in construction requires the completion of a project on time, on budget and to a level of quality that meets the predetermined needs. Project management ensures that the project will be well-programmed and will continue to provide value and meet user needs throughout its lifetime as well as contribute positively to the environment in which it is located with a wide range of both social and economic benefits.

Early investment in planning, programming and design can help deliver these benefits without unnecessary costs and delays but the responsibility for delivering high-quality products rests with the entire team.

When the project is being planned, the whole-life value should be considered not just initial capital costs. The building should have performing facilities during its whole lifetime. Hence planning by the client, design and construction teams can have enormous benefits to the project value and make the job easier.

People Involved:

Table 3.1. People involved in the construction

Engineering and design consultancy	Atkins
Architect and Design director	Shaun Killa, Atkins Middle East
Management	Atkins Ramboll
Managing Partner	Ole Sangill, Norwin A/S
Main Contractor	Norwin A/S Elsam Engineering
Senior Section Manager	Simon Hill, Murray and Roberts
Country Manager and Director of leasing and managing agents	Bob Addison
Project director	Lars Thorbek, Ramboll Danmark A/S

Progress of construction:

Location: Manama, Bahrain

Total costs: USD $ 150 millions

Table 3.2. Progress of the construction

Year construction started	2004
Year construction ended	2008
Total duration of construction	4 years
Time taken for twin towers to reach 5th floor	6 months
Time taken for twin towers to reach 240m/ 50th floor	2.5 years
Time taken to install bridges, generators and turbines	7 days
Time taken to install turbines and blades	3 days
Time taken for building to be completed	Approx. 44 months

The lowest wind turbine was tested eight months after it had been installed has  while the other two were tested ten months after they had been installed.

                   

                                                

Figure 3.1. The testing of the turbines

Difficulties encountered:

Design stage

Problem 1: The first difficulty encountered was to figure out where the wind turbines should go. It was finally decided that they would be part of the building on horizontal bridges between the two towers stacked on each other but the major problem was that wind turbines are normally mounted on vertical poles and can turn to face winds in different directions so that they can receive uninterrupted wind coming at them so as to send it to a generator which converts it into energy. The wind turbines of the building would however be on a horizontal axis fixed into position unable to turn into the changing winds. Also since wind speed increases with height, the uppermost turbine would rotate more quickly creating more power while the lowermost one which receives less wind power will create less power. The three turbines needed to rotate at the same speed so that one does not wear off before the other.

Figure 3.2. The design of the turbine on a horizontal bridge

Solution 1: To counter this, the building was designed in such a way that it resembled the sails of a boat. This particular shaped would cause the wind to be funneled and would cause the bottom turbine to rotate more quickly while making the top one rotate less quickly as well as receive uninterrupted wind flow.

Problem 2: Temperatures in Bahrain can reach up to 48°C, much heat would be absorbed into the Bahrain World Trade Center. Hence, maintaining a cool temperature inside the building would be more costly

Solution 2: the windows would have to be tinted and double glazed so as to reduce 85% of the heat which would have otherwise been absorbed into the building. 

Construction stage

Problem 1: The construction was already under way and neither turbine manufacturers nor bridge engineers were interested in his project since there was the risk of blade failure and the machine could topple over and if it happened in a commercial center where there are people inside the building only inches away from the blade, then the possibility of the getting hurt is possible. All the turbine manufacturers and power providers were turning down the project. The construction was still going on past six months and had reached the fifth floor when a Danish company, Norwin A/S, responded to the offer.

Problem 2: Blade manufacturers were not interested in this project as they were used to receiving orders to a large scale and this building only required three wind turbines and three wind generators. It was then finally decided that a pre-existing blade model would be used but the safety features would have to be enhanced since the blades will be spinning above a shopping mall

                                                                  

Problem 3: The lifting of the bridges was a very difficult task since each one weighed about 68 tonnes, hanging on cables, their particular shape made it difficult to control in high wind. The crane operators had to lift the bridges slowly at a speed of only 11 metres per hour. The workers bolted only one side of each bridge to the tower while the other ends were placed onto solid steel rollers.

Problem 4: On the day that the first set of blades were to be installed, the wind was blowing at more than 85km per hour and it was impossible to lift the blades since each one was strong, flexible and aerodynamic; it would be prone to rotate in the blowing wind therefore making it difficult to control during its ascent. It was finally in the afternoon that the speed of the wind finally decreased to about 21km per hour. Ropes were used on each blade by the ground crew while they were being lifted to prevent them from rotating due to the wind hence ensuring that the towers the blades did not collide with the tower. It was also a difficult task to dock the blades to the turbines as the wind was blowing in the opposite direction hence causing the blades to move away from the bridge. The blades had to be tied in position to the bridge using ropes and bolted so as to maintain it in place.

Problem 5: Ground crew members had much difficulty in controlling the last set of blades as the wind speed was higher than the cut off speed they had decided and the angle at which the blades were being lifted was much steeper. They took longer than planned to complete the installation of the last set of blades.

                         

Figure 3.3. The installation of the third set of blades

Recommendation

The dimension of the set of blades should have been smaller since the distance between the blades tip and tower wall was only 3.8 metres. The crew took a big risk as it was also quite windy on the days that the blades were being installed causing the probability of collision to be higher. If the collision had occurred, they would have suffered a big loss.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

Introduction

Health and safety is of great importance in the construction industry. Occupational safety and

health (OSH) aims at providing and maintaining a safe and healthy work environment

to people engaged in work or employment so that they do no leave their jobs due to a health

problem caused by their working conditions. It also places workers in a job which is adapted

to their physiological and psychological capabilities. It may also protect co-workers, family

 members, employers, customers, suppliers, nearby communities, and other members of the

public who are being impacted by the workplace environment as well as reduce medical care,

sick leave and disability benefit cost.

The main focus in occupational health is on three different objectives:

1.      the maintenance and promotion of workers’ health and working capacity

2.      the improvement of working environment and work to become conducive to safety     and health

3.      Development of work organizations and working cultures in a direction which supports health and safety at work and in doing so also promotes a positive social climate and smooth operation and may enhance productivity of the undertakings.

Health and safety of the workers can be increased by looking into the workplace accidents and safety, safety management and control, maintaining safety and work place regulations.

Risk management:

Accidents on the construction site are something which mankind cannot avoid. There is risk in every human activity. There are many accidents which occur on sites which can result in serious injuries or even death. If the management team actually takes into consideration on the safety of the workers, the risk management process should be carried out so that accidents and injuries at construction sites can be improved. In order to do so, three steps should be followed

1.      identifying the risk

2.      assessing the risk

3.      choosing an alternative or a risk treatment method

Table 4.1. Number of deaths per year for each type of accidents in the world

Types of accidents	Approx. deaths per year
Construction site falls	300
Crane accidents	140
Electrical accidents	350
Fires and explosions	200
Dangerous construction equipment	1000
Elevator accidents	30
Forklift accidents	100

        

Figure 4.1. Percentage of deaths worldwide

Precautions taken by workers:

All the workers were required to wear hard hats, boots and safety vests which are very bright in color. These safety vests are reflective hence the workers are noticed easily at night. Those who were handling the glass panes and machineries wore safety gloves as well as safety glasses. Workers required to work on the bridges to bolt the turbines wore a safety harness which was buckled to the bridge. Additionally, workers working near loud machinery wore ear plugs to protect their ears from ear damage.

Evacuation processes and emergency exits:

There are several emergency exits on each floor of the Bahrain World trade center but the multiple floors of the building creates a problem which is the fact that all the people have to travel great vertical distances on stairs in order to evacuate the building.  The process of evacuation in some of the largest high-rise buildings in the world may take up to almost two hours. This is why an early alarm is given so that the people in the building can start the evacuation processes.  Emergency personnel are trained to know all the emergency exits so that once they have assessed the degree of danger; they can then assist the occupants to the emergency exits.

Fire emergency procedure:

The fire and life safety systems include automatic smoke detectors and fire sprinkler protection which is designed to control a fire henceforth decreasing the need to evacuate all

occupants. Fire extinguishers are also placed in each corridor.

The normal fire evacuation procedures state that the occupants of the fire floor and the floors immediately above and below it should immediately use the exit stairs to descend to a floor level that is at least several floors below the fire floor, and await further instruction from safety officials.

Each building has a senior official as well as a nominated deputy and each floor has a fire warden. The fire wardens are responsible for ensuring that the workers are aware of the location of the fire alarm points. The workers are trained to know the fire emergency evacuation plan. They also have to ensure the regular use of the primary and secondary escape routes. Regular drills should be carried out using varying escape routes assuming the normal evacuation route is not available. An assembly point should also be determined and a roll call of workers taken. These assembly points should be far enough from the building so as to ensure that workers are not in danger of falling debris.

Maintenance of turbines:

The Bahrain World Trade Centre is equipped with a control system that has been made specifically to control and monitor the wind turbines. It is robust and reliable and has control and monitoring functions. It can shut down the turbines in case there are adverse climatic conditions or due to other factors that will damage the turbine and generator. It is an on-line system which allows authorised operators anywhere in the world to gain access to the operating data and hence control the turbines. It has an in-built independent, emergency, safety surveillance system which will self-monitor possible faults in the turbine as well as in the immediate turbine operating environment and will shut down if necessary. In case of a control system failure, the turbine is forced to standstill by a power fail – failsafe mechanism. In the event of an outage or reduction in voltage/frequency from the board’s power supply the turbines will be shut down.

Security:

The Bahrain world trade Centre has been equipped with very high security. It has structured cabling systems which integrate SMART features which encompass all forms of surveillance, data, energy and other operating systems. It also includes the latest Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)  24 hour surveillance and monitoring, automated access for tenants to common areas, parking facilities and individual floors. There are control rooms on each floor as well as security guards in charge of each floors.

Recommendation:

Since the building has three wind turbines the risk of blade failure is also possible if there is an earthquake or some other natural disaster. This could also cause machine and turbines failure and the bridge could topple over. If there are people inside the building, they could get seriously hurt and it could result in the death of many people. Instead of using wind turbines, solar panels could have been used as Bahrain has a mainly cloudless sky.

SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES

Introduction

The word ‘sustain’ is mostly described as to ‘maintain’, ‘support’ or ‘endure’. The definition that is generally used for sustainability and sustainable development is of the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations on March 20, 1987: “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The Bahrain World Trade Centre fits the above description quite well as it is one of the buildings in the world that excels at sustainability.

Atkins

Atkins is the sustainability engineer of the Bahrain WTC. It is also the civil, mechanical and electrical engineer, while being one of the architects of the building too. Their community of 650 architects makes them one of the world’s leading architecture organizations. Architecture is just one of the services they offer. They have design studios all over the world, for instance, London, Dubai, Shanghai, and Bangalore. Atkins won the Architect of the year 2008 award from the Building Design Awards for this project.

Wind power

Figure 5.1. The wind turbines

The Bahrain World Trade Centre is considered an engineering marvel due to the amazing revolutionary technology that has been used to construct the building. It uses numerous energy saving methods, but the focal point is the three wind turbines. Three sky bridges connecting the two sail-shaped towers support these 29m-diameter turbines. The special shape of the towers, which is inspired by the Arabian wind towers, helps the towers channel the sea breeze into the turbines and accelerate the wind velocity between the two. In order to attain a roughly equal amount of wind velocity, the upright shaping of the towers gradually diminish the pressure to be combined with the increasing speed of the onshore wind at growing heights.

Comprehending this miraculous concept was one of the main factors that led to the success of this design. Excessive amounts of wind tunnel testing established how the relationship of the shapes and the space of the towers can shape the airflow into an ‘S’ which guarantees that the centre of the airstream stays perpendicular to the turbines inside a 45° wind angle from either side of the central axis. This vividly increases the turbines’ capacity to generate power.

Sustainability of the building is vastly increased by the wind turbines because between 11% and 15% of the building’s electricity needs are generated by these turbines which calculates up to 1,100MWh – 1.300MWh a year. 50% of the time, the turbines function at a windspeed of 15m/s to 20m/s with full power being produced.  The predicted life span of the three turbines is 20 years and each turbine has a total output of 225MW. The maintenance requirement by the generators is very low and they are being controlled by centres located in the towers.

The Bahrain WTC holds the record as the first project to accomplish large-scale execution of wind turbines in a building. The issue so far was the high cost of developing the turbines which has a possibility to sum up to 30% of the cost of the building. But Simha LytheRao Senior Project Manager for Atkins in Bahrain says, “The use of established technologies, including type-tested turbines with minimal modifications, ensured that the additional cost incurred by incorporating turbines into the project was reduced to around 3.5% of the overall project value, making it not only an environmentally responsible but also a financially viable venture.” (AFP, 2008)

Environment Considerations

The design of the Bahrain WTC is intelligent and ecologically responsive. Reduction of solar gain is achieved by incorporating enough buffer space between air-conditioned spaces and the outside environment. Solar gain is lessened by the two car park decks above and on the southern side of the building that decrease solar air temperature. Moreover, kinetic insulation is provided by the deep gravel roofs.

The air temperature of the building is reduced by the extra high-quality solar glasses which are used with low-shading coefficient. Suitable sheltering is provided by the balconies to the slanting elevations with overhangs. The opaque materials installed in the building are given heightened thermal insulation.

Atkins have made a link to the district cooling system, a system which has a mechanism of sea water cooling and heating rejection and is efficient in converting high-energy, assisting to maintain low carbon emissions. The Bahrain WTC is cooled by chilled water, and they have built reflection pools at the entrances of the building which offer local evaporative cooling.

Furthermore, the reflective power of the location is reduced, CO2 is produced, and the car parks on the ground level are provided shade by extensive landscaping. During the winter, the mixed-mode procedure is supported by the windows that are fitted in the building that can be opened and low-leakage.

Interior portion of the building also has interesting sustainable methods. Loads are balanced and peak demand is reduced by the use of thick concrete core and floor slabs, which results in a low usage of air and transport systems that run on chilled water. Chilled water pumping, in which the volume of the water can be varied, requires a lesser amount of power to function than conventional pumping.

Additionally, for the low-pressure loss circulation for primary air and transport arrangements, less fan and pump power is needed. There are two drainage systems in the building for foul and waste water, separately. This also adds grey water recycling at a later date. Other features that contribute to the sustainability of the building are energy-saving fluorescent lighting which is specific to certain areas, and on the outside there are amenity lighting and high-frequency, and a solar-powered road.

Chief architect of the building, Shaun Killa, states that this advancement is technologically exemplary. Through this project, he hopes to universally raise awareness of the significance of environmentally sustainable designs. "We are very optimistic about the future because we have clearly demonstrated that we can create a commercial development that is underpinned by an environmental agenda." (Winds of Change from Commercial Designs Trends)

Figure 5.2. Interior lighting

Recycling Initiative

The Bahrain WTC implemented a large-scale recycling initiative which was launched within the building’s offices and retail places as a commitment to environmental safety and sustainability. It is targeting to contribute to safeguarding Bahrain’s natural resources, improving the quality of lives for inhabitants and motivating the growth of a greener economy.

The success rate of the Bahrain WTC is impressive so far. It has recycled 2.72 tonnes of paper and 3.45 tonnes of cardboard, which is equivalent to saving 92.55 trees or 40678.81 of gallons of water or 2344.60 gallons of oil in the Kingdom. Though the attention is primarily on recycling waste items like cardboard and paper, it will take on glass, plastic and other waste matters in due course.

Bob Addison, Country Manager of BWTC’s Managing and Leasing Agents DTZ, stated, “Conservation and sustainability of existing resources is one of the most pressing environmental concerns that need to be tackled by Bahrain’s community today. We are shaping the Kingdom for years to come, and we must make every effort to leave as minimal a footprint as possible on the environment for future generations. We wanted to initiate a simple in house, cost effective solution for our tenants to help protect the environment. Realizing that recycling is one of the most effective strategies to promote sustainability, we are planning to roll out the program to all our office tenants in the towers as they move in to the BWTC, which is currently underway.”

Earth Hour

Earth Hour originated from Sydney in 2007 by 2.2 million homes and businesses switching off their lights for one hour. By 2008, this had turned into a worldwide sustainability movement with more than 50 million people switching off their lights. The Bahrain WTC took part in the Earth Hour by turning off all of its external lighting for hour on the 28^th Saturday of March 2009 from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm.

When inquired about the reasons for participating in Earth Hour, Mr. Bob Addison, Country Manager of DTZ (BWTC's Managing and Leasing Agents) said, "The Earth Hour initiative is an important step towards decisive action on global climate change. The BWTC is proud that this year, countries within developing and emerging economies have united as the driving force behind the tremendous growth in this year's campaign. As the world's first development to incorporate wind turbines, Earth Hour is aligned with our objective of promoting Bahrain's efforts in sustainability to local, regional and international audiences.”

Awards

The Bahrain WTC won many a number of awards for its usage of sustainable methods in a large-scale building design.

• 2010 PALME Middle East Awards (Exterior Category) for ‘Best Use of Lighting’
• 2009 NOVA Award in Innovation for integrating technology to improve quality and reduce development cost
• 2007 Short-listed for International Environmental Excellence Award
• Arab Construction World ‘Sustainable Design Award’
• 2006 LEAF Award for ‘Best Use of Technology within a Large Scheme’

Recommendation

The sustainability of the Bahrain WTC is exceptionally high with its groundbreaking novel ways of using the wind turbines to produce the energy needed for the building. It is not an easy task to maintain this machinery owing to the lack of facilities that are compatible with the unusual technology. But with the support of all the high tech experts, it is a plausible matter.

IMPACTS ON THE SOCIETY

Introduction

The green technology the Bahrain World Trade Center has used in its novel designs impacts the society in a tremendous way. While the great sustainability methods and smart functions have positive impacts on the society, carbon emission negatively affects the society. Also, the comfortable environment and the convenience provided by the latest user friendly mechanisms present people a new world to which they are tempted to adapt. The Bahrain WTC is a life changing experience for people, as well as world changing.

Features

• 240m height twin office towers
• New shopping mall
• Anchor tenant
• Garden court
• Business complex
• Food outlets

Figure 6.1. Shopping mall

New shopping mall. This is an extension to the shopping mall that was originally constructed. It consists of one story which is built according to the same building statures, spatial parameters, mall measurements and shop sizes as the previous mall, in order to add more boutiques.

Anchor tenant. The entire area between the two pedestrian spines to the front of the mall is occupied by an exclusive display area for an anchor tenant. For the exclusive use of privileged clienteles to the anchor shop, a private VIP lift lobby with its own VIP parking bays is found in the basement.

Garden court. This is a feature shared by both the malls. It is a spectacular sky-lit, circular, indoor patio garden that forms the centerpiece of both malls. This acts as a well-ventilated transition area between the Malls and the Sheraton Hotel.

Office towers. These twin towers are constructed opposite King Faisal Highway, adjoining the main entry point. The towers are 240m tall and each consists of 45 functioning office floors. A business center, a cafeteria, and an exclusive health club are situated at the platform level. At ground level and at podium level, entrance drop-offs are provided.

Car parking. Up to 1,670 cars can be parked in the car park, including 1175 covered spaces and 473 open parking.

SMART Features

•  
• High speed broadband internet access with IP telephony and wireless, unified messaging on a single converged voice-data-video network
• Advanced security systems with intelligent secured access, protection, surveillance, warning and responses
• Intelligent lighting control enabling architectural lighting and energy management
• District cooling system provides a cost effective environmentally friendly alternative to traditional air conditioning systems
• Exceptional management systems to reduce costs, and deliver one bill to occupants that include rent, energy and infocomm technology (ICT) services
• (CIS)

Playing Host

Figure 6.2. University students and professors visiting BWTC

The Bahrain World Trade Centre hosts tours of the building for various groups of people. In October 2008, students and professors from the College of Architecture and Planning, King Faisal University of the Kingdome of Saudi Arabia, and in November 2008 and May 2010, a party of architecture students and their instructors from the University of Bahrain (UoB), visited the Bahrain WTC along with another batch of students from the Singapore Management University (SMU). The Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), the leading professional engineering association in the United States, also visited the BWTC in 2010.  The main objective of all these tours was to comprehend the elements of original and sustainable design used in the building. On all these occasions, everyone was given the opportunity to experience the site, firsthand. This assisted them to learn about the exceptional design of the Bahrain WTC and its commitment to sustainable progress.

Shortcomings and Solutions

“This building is not intended to be a low carbon emission solution by European and other worldwide standards,” and only, “reduce carbon emissions when compared to other buildings in the Middle East.” - Shaun Killa, principle architect

According to the Chief executive of Atkins, Keith Clarke, there are several measures the engineers can take in order to lower the carbon emission:

•         Effectively de-carbonise the energy sector (a >75% reduction in GHG emissions, whilst allowing for major carbon investment in new renewables and the transmission and distribution grid)

•         Halve the carbon used to operate commercial buildings whilst allowing for carbon investment in retrofit and new build)

•         Halve the carbon used to operate the transport sector (whilst allowing for mass electrification - which will also reduce operational emissions)

•         Allow for an increase in the use of carbon in the public sector to take account of investment in the infrastructure

•         Halve the carbon used to supply the residential sector (whilst allowing for carbon investment in retrofit and new build)

•         Significantly improve the carbon efficiency of the industrial sector whilst recognising that we will need to use oil as the base material for many essential products

•         Significantly improve construction and manufacturing efficiencies to avoid waste generation.

Recommendation

The Bahrain WTC has a huge impact on the society. This organization ought to be wise in what impacts it wants to impose on the society, because not all of it is positive. With the solutions that are suggested by the experts of the field, it is possible to maintain the towers with the least harmful impacts on the society, while maximizing on the positive ones.

Conclusion

In conclusion we have learned that the Bahrain World Trade Center is a one of a kind green building with a unique architecture. It is the first building to have been designed to use wind turbines to convert wind energy to electrical energy. It is also equipped with other green technologies besides the wind turbines so as to provide for most of the energy that the building will consume. We have also learned about all the difficulties that they had to face during the construction process was quite a complicated one. During this case study, we have also learned how to work as a team.