September 16, 2015: Students from the Canadian University Dubai (CUD) Bachelor of Architecture program have visited the city’s Hamdan Sports Complex to understand more about the design and construction of sustainable swimming pools.
The venue was selected as a local case study for the group as part of their environmental design course, which challenges students to look at the principles of sustainability in a wide range of architectural design scenarios.
Accompanies by Assistant Professors, Dr. Hoshiar Nooraddin and Mr. Luca Donner, the students learnt about the fundamental design features and functions that enable the world-class sports facility to operate in an environmentally-conscious way.
From the sophisticated filter system that allows the pool’s water to be recycled and re-used, to the application of solar energy to maintain the water temperature and outdoor lighting, the students witnessed some of the most ground-breaking environmentally friendly technology in the field.
Completed in 2010, the Hamdan Sports Complex boasts two 50-meter swimming pools and a 15,000 seating capacity. Set on 24 hectares of land on the Emirates Road, it is one of the biggest multi-purpose developments of its kind in the world, with the capability to be transformed into a dry-land facility for non-aquatic and non-sports events.
What most impressed Architecture student Irada Boucherabine was the holistic nature of the design. She said, “The entire development – the Complex and its surrounding landscape – has clearly been designed as a whole, to maximize the natural environment and resources that help to promote sustainable features, such as the use of sunlight.”
For fellow student Yasmeen Adel, it was the design’s use of technology to achieve optimum functionality, as well as sustainability, that most stood out. She said, “The pools featured moveable floors that could change their depth at the touch of a button, making the complex a really versatile as well as sustainably operated facility.”
The group of students will now be challenged with adopting and adapting some of these high-tech concepts and features in creating their own vision for a sustainable swimming pool design.
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