Maximise benefits of sustainably available water

In the desert cities of the Gulf, you might think we should minimise water use. When you know the region you will understand that maximising the benefits of available water is the more sustainable approach.

The Makers District tree gardens

Towers cast shade. In Abu Dhabi that sounds like a good thing, and for people it is. For trees it is a problem. Too dark for trees, too hot for people. At the Makers District, that paradox changed how we planted.

Shade It Like You Mean It

Conventional shadow studies fix on the solstices and equinox — dates set by the calendar, not by climate. This guide shows how to get real value from the analysis, with a sample brief developers can issue: study the shoulder seasons, matched to how people use each space.

Sample RFP for Urban Thermal Comfort Modelling (UTCI)

We respect regional rating schemes —more shade, higher SR/SRI, better baselines. But they don’t guarantee how a place feels. Most schemes don’t set UTCI-by-programme targets, don’t pair results with NEN 8100 wind comfort, and don’t ask for a reliability metric showing how often comfort is achieved across real seasons—which is odd, because the tools to measure these are common.