Dubai gets its first sustainable smart house

A team from the University of Bordeaux has started implementing the university’s sustainable smart house at a prestigious property in Dubai.

The BaityKool team from the University of Bordeaux had won third place at the first Solar Decathlon Middle East (SDME) organised by Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA). Now they are building a sustainable smart house in Dubai.

SDME is a partnership between DEWA and the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy with the US Department of Energy.

“BaityKool is now integrated into Dubai to test its innovations in a living-lab approach involving students, professors and professionals of sustainable construction. After SDME 2018, this is a great opportunity to demonstrate the originality of our technologies and better than Net-Zero-Energy performance in a real residential situation,” said Philippe Lagiere, coordinator for the University of Bordeaux.

The BaityKool team from the University of Bordeaux, France; the National School of Architecture and Landscaping of Bordeaux (ENSAPBx), France; Arts et Métiers Paris Tech Bordeaux (ENSAM), France; Nobatek/Inef4 France; Amity University in Dubai, UAE, and An-Najah University in Palestine collaborated on the smart house during the first SDME. They came up with an innovative project for a sustainable home, using natural cooling technologies and radiative cooling in addition to producing food at home using aquaponics. The home exteriors are inspired by the ‘mashrabiya’ designs seen in the Middle East. DEWA is organising the second SDME in conjunction with Expo 2020 Dubai.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, on this occasion, highlighted the role of competition in supporting sustainability, limit carbon emissions, preserving the environment, and encouraging creativity and innovation. This supports the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, which outlines an integrated roadmap for urban development based on sustainable development to make Dubai the world’s best place to live.