Construction for a Changing Climate

Expo City Dubai’s Terra combines sustainable architecture with innovation to be part of the climate solution.

In the face of a worsening climate crisis, with the 10 most recent years being the hottest on record, we desperately need solutions. Buildings, responsible for a staggering 39% of global carbon emissions, are a major contributor to the problem. But what if they could be part of the solution? 

Expo City Dubai’s Terra – Latin for “planet Earth” – is an architectural marvel that offers a glimpse into a future where buildings “breathe”, generate their own energy and coexist in harmony with nature. The project also offers a place for testing, measuring, and verifying potential climate solutions.  

Building design: merging form with function   

Having earned the prestigious LEED Platinum certification, Terra’s design, masterminded by Grimshaw Architects, is an example of sustainable best practices in action. The building’s dynamic, organic form is inspired by natural processes and is tailored to optimize energy use and enhance the surrounding environment.    

Terra’s commitment to sustainable energy management is inherent in all aspects of its design. Its exterior, featuring a canopy inspired by the distinct Dragon Blood Tree of Socotra, does more than captivate onlookers; it captures solar energy while providing crucial shade, creating a cooler microclimate for the comfort of its occupants. The funnel shape of the canopy creates air flows that naturally ventilate the inner courtyard and let in ambient light, further reducing energy requirements.   

Buildings are responsible for a staggering 39% of global carbon emissions. But what if they could be part of the solution?

Phillip Dunn

Much of the building is underground, which reduces the need for energy and helps prevent energy loss, while investing in highly efficient lights, air conditioning systems, and sensors reduces operational costs in the long-term.   

Terra’s attractive grounds feature more than 100 species of native and desert-friendly plants, nurturing biodiversity, conserving water, and supporting local ecosystems while also influencing how the building functions, with its green spaces and outdoor areas providing tranquil views and community spaces that enhance human wellbeing.   

Energy: harnessing renewable resources and maximizing efficiency    

Terra is far from a typical building. The canopy and the building’s 18 surrounding Energy Trees are equipped with 12,000sqm of highly efficient photovoltaic (PV) cells and generate up to four GWh of electricity annually – enough to power the building during daylight hours and produce a surplus that is fed back into the grid. Bi-facial (double-sided) solar panels on the rotating Energy Trees create up to 25% more energy than traditional, stationary solar panels.

The building’s smart, integrated infrastructure makes it possible to track energy generation and consumption in real time or over select periods through an integrated dashboard. The team then uses that data to swiftly pinpoint challenges or areas for improvement and can adjust for greater efficiency.     

Tracking and measurement also reinforced the significance of well-known energy-saving techniques, such as setting essential equipment to ‘eco’ mode and shutting down others during off-hours, measures that have reduced energy consumption by up to 45% compared to what these appliances would typically use.

Terra’s energy performance is complemented by its state-of-the-art water efficiency systems, which are critical in the UAE’s arid climate.

Similarly, the adjustment of the operating schedule for Terra’s air-handling units, which regulate indoor air quality and comfort, has reduced the system’s consumption by over a quarter. Additionally, Terra achieved a 23% reduction in the system’s power consumption by completely shutting down one of the building’s two chillers during periods of low demand while letting the other provide the cold air needed for the building, instead of operating both at minimum capacity.   

Water: solutions from nature and innovation

Terra’s energy performance is complemented by its state-of-the-art water efficiency systems, which are critical in the UAE’s arid climate. Advanced technologies like sensors, efficient water fixtures and grey- and black-water recycling systems make it highly water efficient and dramatically reduce consumption. The sensors and fixtures alone have already led to a 35% reduction in indoor water use compared to the LEED baseline for similar buildings.   

Terra serves as a testing ground for innovative water collection methods, such as HVAC condensate capture, which collects up to 500 litres of water daily. This water is then treated and used in the building’s bathrooms, demonstrating the viability of circularity.    

Terra continues to observe and gather data on a Water Tree: a pilot project designed to capture water from the atmosphere by channelling condensate to the building’s water management system. It can capture up to 30 litres of dew per day, illustrating a simple and practical way for obtaining water in an urban environment. 

Terra’s water management system also includes treating and reusing wastewater for irrigation and flushing, reducing dependence on municipal water supplies via techniques such as filtering blackwater through reed beds – an effective, nature-based solution to water treatment that also boosts biodiversity and is a model of green infrastructure that can be easily replicated in other projects.

A beacon of optimism

As the centre of Expo City’s new master plan, Terra is leading by example in a city that is setting new benchmarks in urban planning, balancing human needs with environmental stewardship and societal advancement. 

Terra demonstrates that real-world testing and technology adaptation can pave the way for resilient, regionally tailored yet internationally relevant sustainable solutions that address several challenges in one go. By sharing its success stories as well as its lessons learned, it also serves as a beacon of knowledge, providing information for constructing and operating other buildings – inside Expo City and elsewhere.