Gulf Organization for Research and Development (GORD) has launched the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) as the standard for excellence in sustainability in the Mena region.

It also launched “Eco Villa”, as a landmark project that will reinforce Qatar’s reputation as a leading advocate of sustainable development.

The green villa has been designed to achieve a score of four stars based on the GSAS, as it offers a genuinely sustainable, smart and healthy living environment for residents.

GORD has selected three consulting firms -- LSI Architects, MYAA Architects & RHWL Architects -- to design a sustainable Qatari modern villa. A committee has been formed consisting of representatives from the Museum Authority, Ministry of Cultural, Arts & Heritage, Qatar University and Private Office, in addition to region's experts to manage the bidding process and oversee the design of the Eco Villa.

Dr Yousef Mohammed Al-Horr, founding chairman of GORD, said: “The Eco Villa exemplifies the vision of Qatar to be one of the global leaders in the pursuit of sustainable socioeconomic growth and development. Moreover, it is being developed according to stringent standards of the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS). The Green Villa will be one of the most coveted residential addresses in Qatar, while it will also serve as a model community for sustainable living.”

The sustainable features of the Eco Villa include on-site renewable energy generation system, water-efficient plumbing fixtures and irrigation system, energy reduction, indoor lighting design, and intelligent building control system. The Eco Villa will also be constructed using sustainable and recycled eco-friendly building materials that have low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emission rates.

Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS), formerly known as Qatar Sustainability Assessment System (QSAS), is the most comprehensive sustainability rating system in the world. The change in name came to support the all-inclusive offering of the system in assessing all types of developments starting from macro level such as master plans for cities to micro level such as single buildings.

GSAS is unique in catering for specific typologies such as sports and mosques. It looks into various types of typologies such as GSAS Core & Shell, GSAS Schools, GSAS Residential Single, GSAS Residential Group, GSAS Mosques, GSAS Hotels, GSAS Light Industries, GSAS Neighbourhoods, GSAS Construction, GSAS Operations, GSAS Health Care, GSAS Railways & others.

Al-Horr said: “The launch of the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS/QSAS) is a huge step forward in our mission to promote sustainable applications and practices within the framework of a globalised society. We have conducted in-depth studies of 40 green building codes from around the world in order to develop a truly comprehensive and genuinely global-oriented assessment scheme. GSAS/QSAS embarks on creating a new standard for sustainable benchmarking in green building developments.

GSAS/QSAS has recently been incorporated Qatar Construction Specification 2010 as chapter 7 “Green Construction”.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s Ministry of Environment has launched the fourth edition of Qatar Construction Specifications (QCS 2010), specifying a series of measures to pave way for green buildings and gardens in the country and to ensure safety of construction workers. 

Making the announcement at a formal ceremony held at Marriott Hotel, the assistant under-secretary for laboratories and standardisation at the MoE, Dr Mohammed bin Saif Al Kuwari, said: “The launch of the new specifications will have far reaching results as all new government buildings such as mosques, schools and hospitals, being approved from December 31 onwards will have to adhere strictly to the green building specifications.”  - TradeArabia News Service