Qatar plans green building project for hotels

Qatar's hospitality sector is to benefit from an initiative geared towards making hotels sustainable by studying their indoor environmental quality.

An event aimed at evaluating sustainability in Qatar's hospitality industry brought together indoor air quality experts and hotel senior officials in Qatar to discuss sustainability in the hospitality sector aimed at helping the country reduce residential energy use by 50%.

The event was hosted by QGBC, a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.

Topics included acoustics, indoor air quality, filtration systems, foundations used, lighting and natural ventilation and a number of elements affecting the health and well-being of buildings tenants.

"The pilot project highlights the advantages of green buildings, besides applying the old idea of conserving water and saving electricity," said QGBC managing director Meshal al-Shamari.

"The objective is to scale and identify the minimum requirements with regards to air quality, noise levels, energy and water consumption, recycling, facility management and other factors that should be in a hotel," he added.

Speaking of future goals in Qatar, Al-Shamari stressed that the new generation of green buildings should focus on the well-being of users and tenants, providing them a healthy indoor environment.

"The project initially focused on the hospitality sector but it can be scaled or applied to other buildings either it is a government or private building, home, hospital or school," al-Shamari said.