Al Shera’a Building

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) a new headquarters named Al-Shera’a (Arabic for sail), will be the tallest, largest, and smartest net Zero Energy Building (ZEB) in the world.

The Al-Shera’a building will have over a million square feet, over 200,000 square feet of land. It is being built in the heart of the Cultural Village in Al Jadaf. This latest achievement conforms Dubai’s global position as a role model for leading organizations in sustainability, innovation, and shaping the future.

The building is designed to accommodate 5,000 employees, in addition to customers and visitors. The new HQ building will house Corporate, Planning, Engineering, Administration, Customer Service, Human Resource, and Information Technology departments of DEWA.

The 16,500 m2 of photovoltaic solar panels will produce over 3,500 kilowatt hours (kW/h). There will be about 10k m2 of Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV), producing over 1,100 kWh. Total renewable energy generated by the building will be over 7k megawatt hours (MW/h) annually. The building will have an Energy Utilization Intensity (EUI) of 70 kW/ m2 per year.

Al-Sheraa’s design was inspired by the UAE’s traditional houses, where enclosed spaces overlook an open courtyard. The courtyard will be the focal point and most prominent feature of the building.

The project incorporates a sustainable facade design and deploys renewable technologies which achieved LEED Platinum, WELL Silver and Al Sa’fat Platinum status.