Gulf Times: Gulf Times

The Qatar National Convention Centre and Exhibition Hall has become the first facility of its kind to receive gold certification from Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED).

The recognition, under the US Green Building Council’s LEED for New Construction (LEED-NCv2.2) rating system, also makes it the first LEED certified project on the Qatar Foundation’s Education City campus.

QNCC was earlier this month named ‘Middle East’s leading exhibition & convention centre’ at the World Travel Awards in Dubai.

Since its official opening last December, the QNCC has hosted well over 100 events, including the 20th World Petroleum Congress, the World Innovation Summit for Education, the Qatar Foundation Annual Research Forum, the Arab Expatriate Scientists Symposium and Unctad XIII.

In November and December this year, QNCC will host the COP18 international climate change conference. With 30,000 delegates from 192 countries and 5,000 journalists in attendance, the three-week-long event will be the largest-ever hosted in Qatar.

The number of visitors to the facility, that spans 1,157,500s ft featuring spacious exhibition areas, conference spaces and offices, has exceeded 130,000.

The building has been designed to reap energy cost cuts and imbibes onsite-renewable energy sources which help meet some of its energy requirements.
The roof surfaces incorporated in the structure support a photovoltaic array that provides nearly 12% of the facility’s energy requirements with the rest covered with a high-albedo roofing material to repel heat.
Quality of indoor air is maintained in the building through implementing a non-smoking policy indoors and within 25ft of the building.

The property comprises a greywater capture system which is fed from all of the low-flow showers, fixtures and sinks installed for the sewage conveyance from the building.

The use of a combination of cast-in-place and precast concrete and a steel super-structure for the building composition adds to its sustainability.

Other green features include use of concrete floors and other reclaimed finish materials, and locally-manufactured materials. The presence of bicycle storage racks within 200ft of a primary entrance boosts the green venture.

There is an external link bridge which acts as a liaison between the exhibition hall and the Qatar Science and Technology Park. It would also function as the mass transit system (People Mover) station for the two buildings when the service is established in future.

Kansas City-based Burns & McDonnell, which served as the executive architect on QNCC and provided the civil, mechanical and electrical engineering, recruited Vertegy, also a US company, to assist with the sustainable design of the project.

The two companies, working together on several projects on the QF campus since 2007, have sought innovative ways to demonstrate QF’s commitment to the environment.

The building is comprised of a combination of cast-in-place and precast concrete and a steel super-structure. The concrete floors, supporting members and other selected finish materials added to the quantity of recycled content. Locally extracted and manufactured materials were also used.