Campuses Upgrades
The engineering departments undertake the design and execution of all construction and development operations, managing them in a manner that considers the environment. This approach is aimed at reducing the building's impact on the environment, alongside decreasing construction, maintenance, and operational costs. It involves efficient management of energy, water, and air quality to meet present needs while ensuring the rights of future generations to access their own requirements of water, energy, and clean air. The management aims for the continuity of construction as much as possible, adapting to environmental, societal, and economic changes. The consideration is given to ensuring that the operating and maintenance costs of new buildings (and required development spaces) are minimized.
- Reducing thermal loads by utilizing light-colored shades for facades or roof tiles along with implementing a thermal insulation layer for building surfaces. Using materials with good thermal reflection properties and designing abundant agricultural beds on-site.
- Relying on architectural solutions based on natural airflow studies within corridors and student gathering areas within buildings rather than depending solely on ventilation and industrial cooling. Positioning planned buildings to optimize natural light and ventilation, enhancing internal temperature. For instance, specifying and implementing reflective colored glass to reduce solar radiation intensity.
- Utilizing high-efficiency lighting systems to conserve energy (LED).
- Incorporating renewable energy to power certain building sections and generating electricity for distribution companies.
- Implementing renewable energy for centralized building heaters.
- Employing high-efficiency, smart, and low-maintenance systems to conserve energy (VRF centralized air conditioning systems that allow for up to 100% fresh air integration for building cooling).
- Substituting standalone air conditioning systems (Split Units) in comprehensive building development projects with centralized systems.
- Discontinuing the use of environmentally harmful R22 refrigerant gas and adopting air conditioning systems operating on R410a gas with low levels of harmful fluorocarbon emissions.
- Following multiple analyses of groundwater components at the Abu Qir headquarters and ensuring their quality, utilizing them extensively for irrigating large green spaces and filling firefighting water tanks.
- Replacing the heating system for the training swimming pool from electric heaters to gas or solar-operated boilers.
- Emphasizing environmental and sustainable consumption of finishing materials and furnishings by specifying products from factories adhering to environmental conservation standards.
- Considering aesthetic and visual design elements.
- Managing facilities concerning water and energy consumption, waste management, environmental policies, indoor air quality, and operational sustainability for premises and buildings. Focusing on building operation and maintenance methods to reduce environmental impacts alongside enhancing occupants' well-being and comfort by:
- Exploiting all available spaces in public areas to increase agriculture, flower beds, trees, shrubs, and native plants.
- Employing drip irrigation techniques in agricultural beds during public site modifications around projects instead of water-intensive flood irrigation.
- Controlling rainwater flow in paved areas by installing drainage channels with deep and perforated pipes to redirect rainwater into the soil, feeding natural groundwater reservoirs to reduce stress on drainage networks.
- Employing open drainage on public grounds for roofs and walkways to divert rainwater to agricultural beds and green areas, lessening the burden on sewage networks.
- Expanding the construction of deep wells to extract groundwater for irrigation, reducing pressure on potable water supply networks. Regularly analyzing samples to ensure suitability for irrigation.
- Using high-performance sanitary fixtures and faucet nozzles for water efficiency.
- Implementing a phased plan to replace all lighting units, both inside buildings and in public areas, from fluorescent and compact fluorescent systems to LED lights to minimize the impact of building lights and reduce glare for improved night vision and decreased light pollution.
- Phased replacement plan of air conditioning systems in buildings from traditional standalone units (high energy consumption using R22 refrigerant gas) to VRV systems (smart, energy-efficient, and low-maintenance, operating on R410a gas).
- For a limited number of expired Split Units used in air conditioning, installing Inverter technology-based units using R410a refrigerant gas.
- Expanding the installation of water and energy consumption metering devices to monitor operational performance for each building, rectifying deviations that lead to increased consumption above correct operational rates promptly.
- Site-wide lighting controlled by photocell cells, illuminating at dusk and turning off at dawn.
- Expanding waste collection units to segregate recyclable materials from waste at the source and collect them in designated areas, contracting waste collection companies to transport them to recycling facilities.
- Prohibiting smoking inside buildings and restricting it only to open areas and public sites.
- Requiring contracted cleaning and maintenance companies (Facility companies) to supply and use cleaning materials and liquids from companies accredited by European standards for quality and health safety.