Implementing Optimized Sustainable Design Processes in Graduation Projects of Architectural Engineering BSc. Programs: A Case Study

The presented Capstone Graduation Project, undertaken by a group of 5 senior students and supervised by three Instructors from the ABET-accredited Architectural Engineering Undergraduate Program at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) University, depicts a case study of the very recent transformation of the commonly followed conventional architectural engineering design process into a high-performance and integrated one. The presented challenging case study is a design project for an iconic 'Crystal Pavilion' to serve the UAE University with fully glazed facades, roofs, and internal partitions. This prestigious pavilion design aims to ‘narrate' the UAE University's history, achievements, and aspirations. The innovative design process has successfully dealt with the multiple challenges of designing such a fully glazed building in a context with harsh climatic conditions like Al Ain city, where the UAE University campus is located. These design challenges included reducing heat gain to achieve ASHRAE and Estidama Energy Use Intensity (EUI) benchmarks, availing required daylighting into the pavilion while avoiding glare, effectively integrating building construction, structure, and electromechanical systems, overcoming the problem of the desert dust accumulation, attenuating outside noise, and utilizing renewable energy resources. While meeting these design challenges following the relevant codes, a high-performance integrated design process has been applied and the efficiency of the designed advanced building systems and technologies has been validated.