Ecological Desert
Ecological Desert
Ecological Desert
H O S T E D BY
Alexandria University
SHORT COMMUNICATION
KEYWORDS Abstract
Ecological;
Nomads; • The Western Desert covers 700,000 km2 and occupies about two-thirds of Egypt’s land
Arid climate; area. It spans from the Mediterranean Sea from north to the Sudanese border at south
Vernacular architecture and from the Nile River east to the Libyan border west.
• The population density of the Nile valley is 1500 persons/km2 while the population density
of the western desert is 5 persons/km2.
• The yearly population growth rate average 2% in 2017. Although Egypt population is 95
million, by 2050 the population will reach 150 million.
• So we should start reclaiming the desert as the Nile valley became over crowded by
inhabitance.
• The tents of passing nomads occupies the desert land which is often considered as a prim-
itive wasteland. Shelter is principle for the life of all human beings as it must adapt to the
living requirements including climate, site conditions and human needs.
• Egypt is one of the solar belt countries which is characterized by arid climatic conditions.
• Ecological settlement is one of the best solutions for reclaiming the desert using natural
resources by the help of digital software named (AUTODESK FLOW DESIGN) (wind
simulation program).
• By using combination between vernacular architecture and high tech architecture the thesis
will introduce a desert settlement proposal in Bahariya oasis.
Ó 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria
University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
From buildings design perspective an architectural design ment and human needs the consumption of resources has
method is developed named Ecological Design or Eco-Design. increased thus the ecological systems is the solution in the
Thus architects and building designers can play a major 21 century.
role in decreasing the amount of carbon footprint released
from the building materials, and that is done by dealing 4.2. Using technology (autodesk flow design program)
with their projects through an Ecological and sustainable
approach. Ecological design is rather a mind-set and an By using architectural software simulation programs we can
ethical responsibility towards the new generations and the design a settlement unit with the best use of natural resources.
bio-system than a design method for approaching Using autodesk flow design which will show us the wind path
sustainability. around the unit and high or low pressure areas which will
Some of the most important natural resources in the desert affect the movement of wind.
is solar and wind power.
4.3. Why choosing the western desert?
2. Research aim
The Western Desert covers about two-thirds of Egypt’s land
Reclaiming the desert to overcome crowded population area. Thus, we should get benefit of this large area to decrease
around the Nile valley by creating an ecological desert the pressure over the Nile valley. Also the western desert is rich
settlement. in natural resources like solar energy & wind energy that can
Propose an ecologically designed prototype residential unit be used for the renovation of the desert.
by the help of the settlement case studies. The western desert has five important nodes (Siwa,
Baharya, elfarafra, eldakhla and elkharga oasis) that will help
3. Research question in starting the reclamation of the desert.
How could ecological architecture be a solution for the 4.4. Why choosing ecological architecture?
reclamation of the desert?
How could ecological architecture be a way to decrease the Due to the lack of artificial resources in the desert. Ecological
pressure over the Nile valley? architecture is one of the most important solutions for the
How could we use the natural resources to create a human reclamation of the desert. Ecological architecture depends
settlement in the desert? on reducing energy consumption. It depends on the use of
How to use computer software programs in creating an eco- renewable energy resources like solar energy and wind
logical house unit? energy.
Buildings are the largest energy consumers, both in the Eco-design is the approach of designing built environment
developed and developing countries. According to the Uni- with special consideration for the impact of the design
ted Nations Environment Program, building sector and the buildings on the planet Earth from an ecological
accounts 30–40% of global energy use. The consumption point of view. It’s about our understanding and percep-
of energy by buildings is not only during its construction tion towards environmental friendly architecture in both
but also during the period when the building is in use; the design process as well as the structure that results from
energy used for heating, cooling, lightening, ventilation so the design process, use local and sustainable materials,
we need to use ecological systems to save energy. and develop opportunities for improvements within the
The Nile valley became overcrowded by people so we structure.
should start reclaiming our desert and create human settle- The goal of eco-design is sustainability, which simply
ment in the desert where people can live and find their means that these products are built, used and discarded in
needs. a way that doesn’t cause a significant threat to the
environment.
4.1. Methodology and design
The scope of this research is the study and analysis of eco- 5.1. Sustainable design
logical architecture as a significant tool for creating an eco-
logical desert settlement in the Egyptian western desert. Sustainability is approaching built environment through
First, collecting data about the western desert oasis and application of three concepts: cyclic, solar, and safe:
studying their nature, secondly presenting case studies for ‘‘Cyclic” is the production of goods using materials that are
built residential areas that are ecologically designed then sug- recyclable.
gesting a residential settlement in the western desert in one ‘‘Solar” refers to the products made using renewable
of its important nodes (Siwa, elkharga, El dakhla, el baharia, sources of energy.
and elfarafra oasis) by the help of Autodesk Flow design ‘‘Safe” manufacturing process and by-products released
(wind simulation program). Due to the continuous develop- into the environment should be nontoxic.
Ecological desert settlement Egypt western desert 293
6. Methods for achieving sustainable design The most familiar type of electricity-producing windmill is
the horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT). Most have three
1 Economy of resources large blades that turn parallel to their towers, where the pri-
mary rotor and generator are found
Input-reduction methods reduce the flow of non-renewable
resources input to buildings.
By using a low level of waste and proper waste management
7.3. Advantages of using wind energy
output-management methods reduce environmental pollution.
Historically, architects have designed building forms that offer Over 96% of Egypt’s landmass is desert, from the arid
shading in summer and preserve heat in winter. This basic peaks of Sinai and the Eastern Desert to the dunes and
requirement is frequently ignored in modern building design. slopes of the Western Desert including the Nile valley in
Using the sun’s energy for the heating and cooling of living between.
spaces is called passive solar design. The Western Desert covers about two-thirds of Egypt’s
land area. It ranges from the Mediterranean Sea north to
6.2. Natural ventilation the Sudanese border south and from the Nile River Valley
east to the Libyan fringe (see Fig. 1).
Natural ventilation, additionally called passive ventilation,
uses natural outside air motion and pressure differences to cool
and ventilate a building. It may include design techniques like 9. Climate
wind ventilation, the stack effect, and night ventilation.
Temperatures differ widely in the desert areas, especially
3 Water conservation in summer, where they may range from 7 °C (44.6 °F) at night
Reuse water onsite. to 43 °C (109 °F) during the day. During winter, temperatures
Reduce consumption. in the desert is low and could reach 0 °C (32 °F) at night (see
Fig. 2).
Collecting sunlight produces solar power which is converted 10. Settlement case study
into electricity. This is done by using solar panels. It is most
often used in remote areas, although it is becoming more 10.1. Masdar City
popular in urban areas also.
The major advantage of solar power is that it creates no Masdar City vision is to develop a Sustainable City that incor-
pollution in the process of generating electricity. Solar porates the highest quality of life with the lowest environmen-
energy is environmentally the most clean and green energy. tal footprint.
It is renewable, clean and sustainable (unlike gas, oil and LOCATION:
coal), and that keeps our environment clean.
It generates power that has no running costs, as solar radi- It is Located in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab
ation is free everywhere. Once installed, there are no costs Emirates.
after that despite repairing costs. Masdar City is being built 17 kilometres (11 mi) south-east
of the city of Abu Dhabi, adjacent to Abu Dhabi Interna-
tional Airport.
7.2. Wind power
The main components of the Masdar City plan:
Wind energy is produced by the movement of air (wind)
from high pressure areas to low pressure areas and trans- 1. Orientation: orienting the city grid and buildings to mini-
formed into power for human control. Wind has been uti- mize solar heat gain on building walls and the street, while
lized as a source of energy for more than a thousand maximizing night time breezes (see Fig. 3).
years, but was substituted by non renewable energy sources
for much of the 20th century. Today, wind is widely used as The city’s streets have been built to be optimally oriented
a source of electricity and power. on a southwest-northeast axis, thereby providing shading at
294 M.M. Khalifa, M.I. Abdelall
See Fig. 4.
4. Solar photovoltaic
street level throughout the day. The materials used for the Bahariya oasis is the closest oasis to Cairo 390 km far.
building façades are also designed for cooling purposes. Bahariya is reachable by car by paved highway in about 4–
5 h from Cairo.
Proper orientation: Bahariya is the Oasis which has so far met with the least
modernization. For the visitors who wish to immerse them-
selves in a rural area where most of the daily work is still
performed by hand, this oasis is very impressive.
Population of Bahariya is distributed on the six main com-
munities: al-Bawiti, Mandishah, al-Qasr, al-Zabw, Mining
-Minimize the solar gains. -Reduce energy consumption.
area and al-Hayz.
-Increase energy efficiency. -Maximize the wind flows.
Bahariya oasis is connected by a road to Siwa.
Ecological desert settlement Egypt western desert 295
Direction
Orientation:
Sun diagram: see Fig. 7.
By mimicking Masdar City street orientation axis, The res-
idential unit is oriented north south the solar panels are ori-
ented to face the sun.
Wind diagram:
See Figs. 8 and 9.
Ventilation diagram:
The prevailing wind is the north west wind thus openings
are made facing the north direction to catch wind By mimick-
ing Masdar City street orientation axis.
Due to the heat acquired by the openings facing the sun, the
hot air rises upwards causing the wind to enter the residential
unit through the wind catchers and move outwards through
the perforations facing the sun causing natural air circulation
(see Fig. 10).
Fig. 3 Masdar City orientation (source: Global Sustainable By mimicking Masdar City street orientation axis, The resi-
Cities Network). dential unit is designed to resemble in its function the wind
tower since the cool air entering the unit rises upwards through
Bahariya oasis is connected to El farafra in south direction. the perforations by using the solar heat directed from the sun,
causing air circulation and natural ventilation (see Fig. 11).
Swot analysis: Courtyard diagram:
See Table 2. The air gets hotter and rises because of the solar radiation
Concept: incident in the courtyard. Cool air from the ground level
The concept depends on the function of the residential unit moves through the openings of rooms surrounding a court-
and how it deals with the climate of the desert, the proposal yard, thus producing wind current (see Fig. 12).
has two inclined directions for its roof one direction will face During the evening, the warm roof surfaces get cooled by
the sun consist of the solar panels and the other direction will convection and radiation. the roof surfaces are inclined
face the wind direction used as ventilation. towards the inner yard, the cooled air goes down into the court
The proposal is designed to get use of the prevailing wind and enters the living space through lower openings, gets
and the solar energy incident on the unit all over the day warmed up, and leaves the room through higher-level
(see Fig. 6) openings.
296 M.M. Khalifa, M.I. Abdelall
The courtyard keeps the house ventilated all over the day
without using mechanical ventilating systems (see Fig. 13).
By using FLOW DESIGN (wind simulation software):
Inputs:
The Egyptian western desert covers about 700,000 km2 Future research and development:
about two thirds of Egypt’s land and it has many important
nodes (oases) which can help in the reclamation of the By using ecological architecture design we can create
desert. human settlements that are sustainable, and reduce
Using courtyard in the building is a good solution for air energy utilization and it is possible to utilize the environ-
ventilation and decreasing the temperature inside the ment to enhance overall energy consumption and quality
building. of life.
Connecting the north of the western desert by it south This project depends on creating a logistic city at El salloum
through its important nodes (Kharga oasis, Dakla oasis, and another one at Halayeb and Shalateen and connecting
El farafra, El baharia, Siwa and El salloum) by connecting them by each other using a railway station that passes
these nodes by each other we could create human settle- through the western desert (Siwa, Baharya, Farafra,
ments in the desert and attract people to live in. Dakhla and El kharga oasis) till it reaches Halayeb and
These nodes could be connected by Cairo, Luxor, Aswan Shalateen.
and Libya, this will help creating a human settlement that This railway will facilitate the transportation of merchan-
will be easy to grow and be a revival artery for the western dise from north to south since the transportation by train
desert. is faster than the transportation by ships.
Ecological desert settlement Egypt western desert 301
The construction of a railway transportation between the [4] Karwan, Taib Fatah, Architecture, between a design
oases will help in the reclamation of the desert and the rise mythodology and environmental attitude: ECOLOGICAL
of human settlements (see Fig. 17). DESIGN (Eco-Design), 2012.
[5] Mady A.A. Mohamed, Traditional ways of dealing with climate
in Egypt, The Seventh International Conference of Sustainable
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of Architecture in Arab Region, 2010.
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