JEDDAH – KSA – JEDDAH GREEN LIBRARY

The National Environment Awareness and Action Program (NEAAP) in Saudi Arabia has introduced environmental green library to serve different goals.

The main goal of (NEAAP) is to assist the people of Saudi Arabia in becoming an environmentally literate, action-oriented and compliant society that acts responsibly and protects the environment for generations to come.

The problematic was divided into five categories;

Waste management, the increase demands for electricity, water unavailability, marine and coastal resource degradation and unsustainable consumption.

Those objectives can be achieved:

• By increasing environmental awareness and fostering the adoption of responsible environmental behaviors, Saudi citizens, as well as leaders of government, the private sector, religious community, academia, and civil society can collectively work to transform the Kingdom into a model of sustainable development.
• By drawing upon the country considerable financial resources, over time, Saudi Arabia can become the recognize leader of environmental stewardship and innovation across the Middle East. Therefore the project’s main objective is:

• To create a community at a high level of awareness.
• To call for the application of positive environmental behaviors for the preservation of the environment.
• To explore the relationship between the human ecology and the natural ecology.
• To use the whole project as a teaching tool to interact with the everyday functions in ways that raises the awareness of energy conservation.
• -EDUCATION The « Green Library » project is located west side of the Saudi Arabia Kingdom in Jeddah on an elliptic 11,000m² plot surrounded by urban arteries & roads.Therefore the architectural concept of the “Green Library” came as a respond to the extreme weather and environment of this region of al Hijaz. The idea of the project was to create a replica of Cracks that nature forms after the dryness of a muddy layer…Actually when a Crack starts to expand, it is the Nature response to dryness, and earthen soil contracts to expand in the lower layers holding as much as possible humidity. Doing that, CRACKS start taking forms. It is Nature’s design for sustainability.The architectural shaped library is an elevated cracked layer of stone, coming from the soil, connected to its environment, a protective and fertile layer hosting public spaces and the Jeddah Green Library.The protective shell allows the use of its whole surface as a 5th facade, in order to provide solar energy, in an optimal way with the possibility of experimenting a new skin composition for the building, using photovoltaic elements applied in the roof, making the complex work as a living element and why not providing energy for the whole neighborhood? A one way parking lot organization is applied to avoid congestion and limit carbon release in lower levels. The project uses the state-of-the-art technologies in design & execution.Psychological, Sociological, Environmental, & Perceptual means:The landscape can enhance learning for students who prefer variety over routine. The outdoor landscape provides a treasure trove of elements that can support the needs of kinesthetic, visual and verbal learners. Students will learn about thinking green, to be mindful of and sensitive to the natural environment in their daily life through;
• In the other hand, the indoor spaces; the multimedia library, will offer inventive scenographies using new communication tools, and using interactive screen dedicated for the 5 major categories.
• Move education to outdoor by creating learning plantations circuits. Trees or local plants varieties will be named and children will learn about their growth, water needs …
• The central garden landscapes can provide a wide range of opportunities for both impulsive and reflective learners.
• While creating outdoor and indoor spaces to support the way our children learn; the outdoor areas goal is to challenge the intellect and reward the spirit of students, through:
• The shell of the building is designed as a tough, mineral, protective skin, but the substance of the Library works as an organism, with a malleable plan organization and recyclable materials such as wood, plastic, aluminum, glass or green facades.
• The library grows as a solid on the whole parcel, getting an optimum 360 degrees site orientation.The shape and thickness of the roof allows avoiding heat raises and direct lighting in order to provide a nice and efficient reading atmosphere. The dynamic spaces resulting from interior volumes emphasize the natural ventilation.
• Similar approach is applied as a sustainable design for the “Green Library”. The expression of crack will be applied by using appropriate materials in the meshing & roofing process, from the cracks the living emerging expressing the oasis or the green area of the project.
• In fact Nature builds its geometrical forms in the research for optimum resources.
• The extreme heat and aridity are characteristic of most of the region weather.
• As consequence the “Green Library” was proposed as a project for educating people for the generations to come by applying sustainable approaches and international LEED Standards.
•             -MEDIA and the establishment of THE ENVIRONMENT CENTERS.
• The Implementation of this program will be through:

• Civility that means respecting the standards we live by.
• Thinking of the duties and responsibilities that come from being a member of this larger community.
• Thinking critically about actions and the impact they have on the community.
• And to be open to learn new things and enjoy being able to get better understanding and appreciation of others and, finally, the world.

“Jeddah Green Library” a green stain to sustain!!