Sustainable Development of High-Rise Residential Architecture from 1970-2014

Abstract

The Government of Dubai implemented Green Building Regulations & Specifications & Specifications (GBRS). In March 2014. Dubai has more than 1000 high-rise buildings in which more than 2 million residents are accommodated. However, 62% of the existing residential high-rise buildings dating from 1970-2014 do not meet the requirements of the new GBRS. The paper suggests a sustainability plan framework for the modern heritage buildings in Dubai that satisfies the new building regulations. This will require the development of a new set of tools to adequately protect and keep the identity and heritage of the existing buildings instead of replacing them with new ones. In this context, several case studies are presented, analyzed and discussed to present the potential and the challenges of keeping these buildings.Many of the existing buildings built in the City of Dubai from 1970-2014 are part of the memory of the place and contribute to the story of Dubai’s development in the recent past. This research aims at protecting and documenting an important phase of the history of the urban development in the City of Dubai, highlighting the time period in which the initial principles that govern and guide the development of the city were developed. As part of Dubai modern heritage, the buildings under study have had a major impact on shaping the urban environment and crystallizing the architectural character of Dubai’s development in the 1970s and 1980s. Besides that, the headlong modernization of Dubai will eliminate all evidence of the city’s evolution. As a result, retrofitting of existing buildings should not only improve energy efficiency and performance but also keep theidentity and heritage of the City of Dubai instead of replacing buildings with new ones.