Welcome to Part Two of our blog for City of Dreams Mediterranean in Cyprus. Aristos Aristotelous, Managing Director of ELEMEC GBC, describes their role and picks out his highlights of the development.
How did you first become involved with the City of Dreams Mediterranean project?
ELEMEC was founded in 1974 and is considered as one of the most reputable building services engineering firms in Cyprus. We formed a specialist sustainable consulting department in 2009 (GBC), whose reputation has grown year by year. We were brought into the project at the early stages to provide our consultancy services and experience of projects in the Mediterranean region. Our specialist knowledge of BREEAM in the region was also an asset, and the project was looking to develop strong sustainability credentials and become an exemplar for sustainable tourism. We worked closely with ADW Developments, our trusted advisors, throughout the project. ADW were instrumental in helping achieve BREEAM credits including Mat 01, Man 02, Wst 05 and others
What do you think are the most striking features of the development?
The passive design philosophy that underpins the development is one of its most striking features. This not only reduces energy consumption but creates an aesthetically pleasing structure.
The accommodation features large long balcony areas with shading which will allow guests to enjoy fine views and fresh air. The technology that is employed, in areas such as heat recovery and PV panels, are very impressive. Over two thirds of the hot water will come from heat recovery for example, and there are over 4,000 PV panels.
The developer had an ambition of achieving BREEAM Excellent for the project. Were there any aspects that were particularly challenging?
The mixed-use nature of City of Dreams Mediterranean has meant that aspects such as energy monitoring provided a particular technical challenge. The BREEAM assessment required sub-metering for each service on each floor which was something of a challenge for the economic viability of the project. This was also an area where we had to go back and question what the sub-metering was intending to achieve.
What aspects of the project are you most proud of?
City of Dreams Mediterranean is a large project and has been designed to be sensitive to its local surroundings. It also has a very adaptable design, for example, the building design allows for further expansion should that be required. The range of future expansion or adaptation is very broad, and that means ultimately that the building is more sustainable. The project uses many locally sourced materials including local stone. The design also incorporates a careful choice of materials, which has resilience and durability at the forefront.
In addition to playing a key role in the development achieving an Excellent rating, you are commissioning ADW to carry out post-occupancy evaluation. Why is this important and what will this involve?
The building will be occupied and used all year round, and on a 24/7 basis. Post-occupancy assessment is something that has rarely been done in Cyprus previously. However, we see it as an important activity when you consider the nature of the building and its purpose. Over time we will be looking at the seasonal commissioning of the building and will be using the post-occupancy study to contribute to the optimisation of this. We are also looking to future proof the building. We will be looking at any upgrades that might be needed to respond to new legislation in the future. This is so a flow of data on the performance of the building and the satisfaction of users is invaluable here.
