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ALRAQABA . ISSUE 16
sector. The latter represents the role of engineers
and architects in implementing sustainable
development within their profession.
Green Building Codes:
Due to the importance of green building and
the necessity to generalize that culture all over
the world, the International Code Council (ICC)
issued the International Green Construction Code
(IgCC) that states the minimum requirements
for green building. Green building codes are
different from that of conventional buildings.
Whereas the latter focuses on reducing the
negative impact of buildings on the environment,
green building codes are mainly concerned with
reducing the negative impact of the environment
on the safety and sustainability of buildings.
As a result, integrating the two codes will
guarantee the building efficiency and create a
balance among man, the natural environment,
and the built environment. Due to the increased
positive response to Green Building Codes,
they are constantly developed in order to
match the continued social and technological
developments.
Accordingly,
conventional
building codes were developed and overlapped
with green building codes and became a part
of moral obligation in architectural design and
community responsibility of the architects.
Green Building Rating Systems:
Any building that considers green building or
sustainable building standards in its design
shall be a green building. To avoid ambiguity
and to guarantee the designer’s neutrality
and efficiency, several countries developed
standards and control systems through some
non-profit organizations established for that
purpose. These organizations inspect the
building and make sure that it meets the
standards. Accordingly, certifications will then
be issued, proving that the building is green.
Some of the popular systems are BREEAM in
England and LEED in the United States
As for the Arab Gulf region, “GSAS” is adopted
in Qatar, and “Pearl Estidama” is used in
Abu Dhabi as a mandatory system for local
government projects and may optionally be used
for projects of the other entities. These systems
are different from each other in some aspects,
such as their rating mechanism, scoring system,
rating criteria, and weight of credits, which are
assigned based on the state’s needs, strategic
goals, and regional condition.
U.S. System “LEED”
Leadership in Energy and Environment Design
(LEED) is the most recognized green building
rating system in the world. It was developed
by U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in
1998. Four versions of this system were issued,
and the last one was 2013. The purpose of the
system is to provide healthy buildings and cities
and to save energy. The major seven goals of
LEED are similar to the nine goals of sustainable
development that were developed in 2015 by the
United Nations. The system is also intended to
achieve SDGs 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)
due to the fact that LEED is related to several
systems of saving energy and environmental
design and it depends on several American and
international guides as a base for assessment.
