A Process for Providing Environmentally Conscious Housing in the UAE

Abstract

Housing has become a core theme in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Recent reports have marked a shortfall in the required supply of middle-income housing, thus suggesting significant efforts to address the current imbalance.It is believed that several reasons have contributed to the current shortage of affordable housing, including the low adoption of prefabricated construction techniques resulting in higher construction costs, as well as lower financial returns; therefore, making such developments less attractive for developers.However, there are several projects that have proven to be successful in utilizing precast concrete towards practical and economical value, in addition to providing a viable solution to meet the expectations for efficient housing delivery with regard to quantity and quality.In this research, we propose a comprehensive process that combines a design and production model to enhance the actual practices and mechanisms of the precast concrete development.This paper proposes various stages of logic design implemented in an architectural process with the aim of reaching the highest level of sustainability in UAE housing while reducing the cost of construction, and the time of delivery.

Keywords Customization, Housing, Modular design, Precast concrete, Sustainability