Ahmed Mokhtar

Education: oriented visualization model for buildings cross ventilation

We propose a tool to extract the cross ventilation of a building space using commercially available software, Maya and the power of Maya Embedded language (MEL). A graphical user interface enables students to investigate and explore the special configuration of building with reference of cross ventilation.

Architectural Design Standards For Muslims Prayer Facilities In Airports

Increasingly, airports around the world are becoming hubs for the coexistence of different cultures. Therefore, they need to include facilities that can accommodate, as far as possible, the needs of passengers from various backgrounds. Among these are prayer facilities for people of different faiths. This paper focuses on the design and operational requirements for Muslim prayer facilities. Due to the nature of Muslim prayer patterns, airports that expect to serve Muslim passengers need to have prayer facilities of which the design and operating systems are adequate. Such facilities remove the necessity of Muslims having to pray in public areas in airports and performing ablution in public restrooms. If facilities dedicated to Muslim use are unavailable, the performance of these acts in public places may not only render those who perform them unable to concentrate, but also raise the curiosity of others or make them uncomfortable. The paper firstly describes the need for prayer facilities and the pattern of their use. It then defines the architectural and operational requirements, including location in the airport, the components of the prayer space and supporting elements such as ablution stations. The paper functions as a reference for designers and operators of airports particularly in areas with large Muslim populations, such as the Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Pacific Rim, Central Asia and Europe.

Comparison of Energy Efficiency Strategies for Mosques in the United Arab Emirates

As public buildings that are typically financed by charities, mosques are commonly designed, built, and operated using very limited resources. Hence, failure to design energy efficient mosques either affects occupants’ thermal comfort or re-orients the limited resources from other important activities to achieve that comfort. This paper documents part of an on-going study to determine the best allocation of limited financial resources to reach the most feasible energy saving in mosques in the United Arab Emirates. At this stage of the study, energy modeling is used to compare the impact of using various energy efficiency strategies on the cooling load. The results show the importance of controlling infiltration. They also show the value of insulating the walls and roof. However, a significant reduction in cooling load is achieved by splitting the mosque into two zones of operation. A similar result is demonstrated by using fans along with the air conditioning set at a higher temperature.

Defining an Architectural Design Strategy for Energy Performance - A Systematic Approach for Students

Managing the energy performance of a building should start from the preconceptual design phase. Architects at this phase need to analyze the nature of the site environment, the nature of the building, and the comfort requirements of the occupants. An accurate analysis of these elements helps them formulate a design strategy for optimizing energy performance. However, this requires good understanding of the energy behavior of buildings. Such understanding optimally starts at the undergraduate architecture education. This paper presents a systematic approach to construct such understanding through a required course in an architectural curriculum. The paper explains the subjects covered in the course for a student to grasp the fundamentals of analyzing a project from an energy performance point of view. It also explains how to help students manipulate environmental forces and create a building’s form that supports optimizing its energy performance. Finally, it discusses the common difficulties to propagate this systematic approach through the rest of the curriculum.

Architectural design standards for Muslims prayer facilities in airports

Increasingly, airports around the world are becoming hubs for the coexistence of different cultures. Therefore, they need to include facilities that can accommodate, as far as possible, the needs of passengers from various backgrounds. Among these are prayer facilities for people of different faiths. This paper focuses on the design and operational requirements for Muslim prayer facilities. Due to the nature of Muslim prayer patterns, airports that expect to serve Muslim passengers need to have prayer facilities of which the design and operating systems are adequate. Such facilities remove the necessity of Muslims having to pray in public areas in airports and performing ablution in public restrooms. If facilities dedicated to Muslim use are unavailable, the performance of these acts in public places may not only render those who perform them unable to concentrate, but also raise the curiosity of others or make them uncomfortable. The paper firstly describes the need for prayer facilities and the pattern of their use. It then defines the architectural and operational requirements, including location in the airport, the components of the prayer space and supporting elements such as ablution stations. The paper functions as a reference for designers and operators of airports particularly in areas with large Muslim populations, such as the Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Pacific Rim, Central Asia and Europe.

Comparison between measured and predicted values of axial end bearing and skin capacity of piles bored in cohesionless soils in the Arabian Gulf Region

The axial base and skin capacities of piles bored in cohesion less soils are often estimated using empirical, semi-empirical and theoretical methods. The aim of this paper is to assess the applicability and evaluate the accuracy of different predictions methods available in the literature, via comparison with data from 43 field pile load tests conducted on shafts drilled in the region of the United Arab Emirates. Janbus theoretical method (1989) with the parameter (ψ = 75°) and Vesic′s theoretical method (1975) yielded accurate predictions for the base resistances. Burland′s approach (1973) overpredicts the skin capacities with an average predicted-to-estimated ratio (qp/qe) of three times greater than the unity while using values of the coefficient of earth pressure (k = 05 ko) and the angle of soil-pile friction (δ = 23Φ).