The Barwa & Qatari Diar Research Institute (BQDRI) and King Fahd University for Oil and Minerals have agreed to cooperate in the field of teaching and implementing the Qatar sustainability assessment system (QSAS) in the university curriculum.

“After four years of hard and continuous work in developing QSAS, we believe with no doubt, it provides strong scientific base to accomplish sustainable development in the urban scene in whole GCC countries” said Dr Yousef Al-Horr, BQDRI's founder and chairman.

“Our groundbreaking partnership with King Fahd University, one of the leading educational institutions in the region, will advance the reliability of the system and will open new horizons for mutual cooperation in the fields of research, development and training, which will have positive impacts on QASAS in all sides,” he added.

Dr Adel Aldosari of King Fahd University said: “By introducing QSAS in our curriculum, King Fahd University is teaching the engineers and architects of the future to adopt a sustainability ratings assessment system that contributes to preserving the architectural identity of the Gulf region, preserve the natural resources and maintains the economic and environmental balance for the benefit of the region. This is in line with international trend directing toward expanding the adoption of sustainable building practices.”

Under the terms of the memorandum of understanding (MoU), QSAS will be integrated into the teaching and academic research curriculum at King Fahd University, to connect the students with scientific tools and knowledge which enhance their education.

In addition, the parts of QSAS which exceed 25 folders, will form a live and momentum material for the students’ graduation projects and will help to put the theoretical frames into practical models on the real ground.

Developed by the BQDRI in cooperation with experts and researchers from the T.C. Chan Center for Building Simulation and Energy Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, QSAS focuses on local needs and implements the best practices taking into consideration the region’s social, economic, environmental and cultural conditions that are different from other parts of the world.

Dr Aldosari added: “Issues such as resource smoothing, power consumption, scarcity of water and cultural identity are at the core of QSAS and are interpreted in a way which meets the needs of the GCC climate and environment. This will be useful to our students and will provide important scientific material to the teachers to conduct more studies and research on it, and we are going to provide BQDRI with our research and study results to benefit from them in developing QSAS.”

The initiative of King Fahd University to adopt QSAS as one of its supporting programmes in its educational curriculum comes within many important initiatives to activate QSAS and transform it from theoretical field to implementation.

Lusail City has taken the initiative to adopt QSAS as a main aspect to get the building license in the city since last June, where BARWA real estate has announced its adoption of QSAS in all its future projects.

Dr Al-Horr announced that QSAS will be the focus of the first Green Building Solutions Conference & Exhibition (GBS) 2011, the Middle East’s largest event related to sustainable development in the construction industry, taking place in Doha from March 2 to 4, 2011. – TradeArabia News Service