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Background to the Estidama Pearl Rating System
The Pearl Rating System™ (PRS) is a key component of Estidama, an
initiative developed and promoted by the Abu
Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) to
promote a more sustainable urbanisation. It
deals specifically with the built
environment and its performance in relation
to economic, environmental, cultural, and
social aspects. The scheme has been inspired
by the UK-equivalent
BREEAM scheme created in 1990 and the
US-equivalent LEED scheme created in 1998.
As of September 2010, the PRS became a
mandatory sustainability evaluation
methodology for any newly built villas,
buildings, or communities in Abu Dhabi. As
such:
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Any new community must achieve at least
one Pearl
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Any new private building or villa must
achieve at least one Pearl
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Any government-led project must achieve at
least two Pearls
About
the PBRS Scheme
The Pearl Building Rating System (PBRS) assesses new buildings
against a wide range of environmental and
sustainability issues, covering the
following 7 categories:
- Integrated Development Process
- Natural Systems
- Liveable Buildings
- Precious Water
- Resourceful Energy
- Stewardship Materials
- Innovating Practice
For each issue,
one or more ‘credits’ are available when
specific levels of performance or processes
are achieved. In addition, some
pre-requisite credits are mandatory for any
level of PBRS certification.
Overall, the
PBRS certification contains 177 points or
credits, in addition to 3 ‘Innovating
Practice’ (Bonus) points. The final Pearl
Rating is determined as described in the
table below:
|
Requirement
Pearl Rating Achieved |
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All Mandatory Credits
1 Pearl
|
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All Mandatory Credits + 60 Credits
2 Pearl |
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All Mandatory Credits + 85 Credits
3 Pearl
|
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All Mandatory Credits + 115 Credits
4 Pearl
|
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All Mandatory Credits + 140 Credits
5 Pearl
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The PBRS assessment process is currently characterized by two
distinct phases:
1) The Pearl Design Rating which rewards any environmentally
friendly measures undertaken during the
design development
2) The Pearl Construction Rating which ensures that the
commitments made for the design rating have
been implemented
Currently, only following these two reviews phases, can the
Certification be granted. However a third
phase - the Pearl Operational Rating – is
currently under development and might become
mandatory. This phase review assesses the
built-in features and operational
performance of an existing building and
ensures that the building is operating sustainably.
How EcoConsulting can Help
For more information about undertaking a
PBRS assessment, or on detailed advice on
how to achieve a target rating, please
contact us.
Our team can also assist on designing an
energy-efficient building through Dynamic
Thermal Modelling and 3D Daylighting
Simulations, thus maximizing the number of
‘Resourceful Energy’ credits
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