- New school to be built in Durrat Al Bahrain will be the country’s first to meet international environmental standards
Bahrain’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accredited school will be built in the coastal resort city of Durrat Al Bahrain, according to Taaleem, the Dubai-based school management company building the school. The first phase of the 20 million dinar project will be operational by September, 2009 and will offer students an eco-friendly, state-of-the-art learning environment. The facility will be Taaleem’s first project outside of the United Arab Emirates.
The 85,000 square metre school will be fully internationally accredited and offer both the National Curriculum of England and the International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes. Situated on prime beachfront property alongside the golf course, the facility will be a focal point of the community offering an early childhood centre for over 400 students aged between 2 and 5 and a primary and secondary school for over 2000 students.
World renowned architects, WS Atkins are developing Durrat Al Bahrain and have worked on similar projects in the UAE with Taaleem, namely Raha International School and Greenfield Community School. They are also working on Taaleem’s flagship school, in the DUBAILAND™ development, which will also be a LEED-accredited facility. With both Atkins and Taaleem bringing their joint experience and expertise to the projects it guarantees first rate and well managed environments that have the students’ best interests at heart.
Dr Sadru Damji, Director Academic Development, Taaleem justifies the initial costs of the project as an investment for Taaleem, the environment and the community. “In the short-term, achieving LEED accreditation for this school will drive up building costs by roughly 5%,” he explains. “In the long term, however, the cost of running the facility will be reduced by 25% a year. This makes the decision to build a green school both environmentally friendly and financially viable.”
The LEED Green Building Rating System promotes the global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally accepted tools and performance criteria. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Taaleem’s Durrat Al Bahrain school will include a unique eco-friendly design to meet the strict criteria. Innovations include:
· The use of natural light and shading to maximize visibility but cut the cost of cooling the school
· Plenty of greenery using native plant species that have low water requirements. Some of the water required will come from recycled grey water from sinks, showers and air-conditioning condensate
· The use of recyclable building materials and a recycling station on site
· Installation of renewable energy projects that will be used primarily for education purposes but may be implemented later on, including wind turbines, photovoltaic cells and solar thermal panels.
“This is Taaleem’s first venture outside the UAE and we intend to bring the highest level of educational standards enjoyed by all our schools to the Kingdom of Bahrain,” says Ziad Azzam, CEO, Taaleem. “The fact that this is a green school also means that we are setting an example which we hope others will follow. With this school, we take another step towards our joint goals of increasing the quality of education available and ultimately transforming the education landscape throughout the Gulf.”
Durrat Al Bahrain is jointly owned by the Kingdom of BahrainCs government and Kuwait Finance House and is set to become the countryCs largest city resort and a landmark project that will position Bahrain as a premier tourist destination. This 20 square kilometres coastal resort city will include 13 different islands with over 2,000 villas, more than 3,000 apartments and includes luxury hotels, restaurants and more.
