City Centre Almaza ... LEED-Gold certified.
Third CRTKL-designed mall wins green acclaim
01 July 2020
CallisonRTKL (CRTKL), a global consultancy specialised in architecture, design and technology, has announced that its project, City Centre Almaza (CCA), has received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-Gold certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC).
This is the third mall project for UAE-headquartered Majid Al-Futtaim – a leading developer of shopping malls, retail, and leisure establishments in the Middle East and North Africa – that has won green recognition.
The certification was awarded to one of the biggest retail malls in Egypt commending its sustainable design, construction, and operation standards, says the consultancy.
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The mall features clerestory glazing. |
With the use of sustainable strategies and designs, energy savings, water efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduction, the shopping centre has been classified as one of high environmental quality.
The project comes in line with CRTKL’s commitment to performance-driven-design organisation, applying technical advancements to enhance and optimise design solutions that contribute to a more sustainable and productive environment.
CRTKL Shopping and Entertainment District’s Director Nick Guy says: “Throughout the first few years of a building’s lifetime, there is a lot of focus on the energy in use as shopping centres are heavy energy consumers. While designing the City Centre Almaza shopping centre, the design team operated with energy efficiency in mind as we saw significant opportunities for savings in line with regionwide efforts to tackle sustainability challenges.”
Guy says one of CRTKL’s particular design focus areas was allowing the right amount of daylight into the building without creating unnecessary heat gain. “As such, we adopted a predominately clerestory glazing strategy, keeping overhead rooflights to a minimum. This gave good natural ambient light-levels with some shafts of sunlight allowed without compromising the environmental systems,” he explains.
The 120,000-sq-m shopping centre was built by a joint venture between Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) and the Egyptian company Hassan Allam Construction. According to CCC, the energy-efficient systems implemented saves 14.6 per cent of electricity. The development also used recycled and locally sourced materials throughout the design and construction processes.
Over the years, CRTKL has delivered the design, functional, commercial and environmental requirements needed to create highly successful retail developments owned and operated by the Majid Al-Futtaim.
Designed by CRTKL and owned by the group is the award-winning Mirdif City Centre, which is a hit with customers and the environment after becoming the first LEED Gold mall in the region. Another project that showcases joint work between Majid Al-Futtaim and CRTKL and has gained recognition by US Green Building Council is the Mall of Egypt. The mall showcases CRTKL’s expertise in delivering multi-disciplinary design services tailored to cultural and environmental context.
CRTKL, a global architecture, planning and design practice, began operations over seven decades ago and has evolved into a cultural agency to advance positive outcomes in local and global communities. Through a human-centric design approach its team addresses the imperatives of resiliency, wellbeing and technology and their influence in the built environment.
