Abstract
Green walls are a traditional system that has been rediscovered for addressing and combating effects of climate change on the urban environment. The greening of walls is one of the sustainable techniques towards green architecture, and it has become a significant part of the passive design. This research employed an integrated approach to create healthy urban spaces and improve people’s overall quality of life through introducing the concept of biofacades to make a city more sustainable. Today, accelerated growth in urban development is occurring in Doha, the capital city of Qatar, including in large-scale urban developments and architecture and infrastructure projects, causing significant changes to the built environment. This paper assesses the performance of biofacades in Doha’s hot and arid climate. For this purpose, four biofacade walls were installed on the campus of Qatar University, with plant species that are suitable for this region. These walls were regularly monitored to observe the adaptation of the biofacades to prevailing climatic conditions in Qatar. The project had three main steps. Step 1 involved the selection of suitable plants that could survive in Doha; Step 2 entailed the distribution of plants in four different orientations across the building; and Step 3 included monitoring, testing, measurement, observation, and analysis to determine the most suitable plants for the biofacade. The findings of this research will enable architects and engineers to formulate guidelines for the selection of appropriate plants to improve energy performance and reduce the urban heat island effect in the arid climate of Qatar.
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Acknowledgements
This research/publication was made possible by a National Priority Research Program NPRP award [NPRP-07-1406-2-507] from the Qatar National Research Fund –QNRF-(a member of the Qatar Foundation). The authors would like to acknowledge the support of Qatar University for creating an environment that encourages scientific research. In addition, the authors would also like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Irina Susorova, and Kari Brooke Elwell who provided insight and expertise to the research. The authors are solely responsible for the statements made herein.
Funding
This research/publication was made possible by a National Priority Research Program NPRP award [NPRP-07–1406-2–507] from the Qatar National Research Fund –QNRF-(a member of the Qatar Foundation). Title of the project/grant: The Design, Development & Use of Innovative Bio-Green facades: Towards improved urban microclimates and enhanced building thermal performance in Qatar. [LPI: Dr. Fodil Fadli].
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Payam Bahrami: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Investigation, Writing—Original Draft, Funding acquisition, Visualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data Curation, Resources. Fodil Fadli: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Investigation, Writing—Original Draft, reviews and revisions, Project administration, Project management, Funding acquisition, Funding Management, Supervision, Visualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data Curation, Resources. Sara Mazen Zaina: Writing—Original Draft, Visualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data Curation, Resources. Abdollah Baghaei Daemei: Preparation, commentary or revision – including pre-or post-publication stages, including mentorship external to the core team. Amiraslan Darvish: Writing – review & editing: Final preparation, critical review, and revision. Seyedeh Maryam Abbaszadegan: Writing – review & editing: Final preparation, critical review, and revision.
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Highlights
• Monitoring of the performance and characteristics of more than 24 plants adapted to the desert climate of Qatar in one year
• Analyzing of plant characteristics and selecting proper species in Doha’s hot and arid climate
• Analyzing of wall orientations to assess the best biofacade location
• Evaluating appropriate plants for using the green walls under the shade and direct sunlight, especially in the summertime
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Bahrami, P., Fadli, F., Zaina, S.M. et al. Plant performance analysis of biofacades in a hot, arid Region of Qatar. Urban Ecosyst 25, 1653–1678 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-022-01257-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-022-01257-0