Founded in 1988 as the first private institution of higher education in the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region, Ajman University (AU) is now being recognized as an emerging leader on the global academic map.

The 2020 QS World University Rankings lists AU in the top 800 universities globally and among the top 10 worldwide for international students and faculty! The &ldquo;Top 50 Under 50&rdquo; QS Rankings names AU as one of the top 150 young universities in the world. Even our distinct location in the Dubai/Sharjah/Ajman corridor is ranked by QS as the 61st best student destination on the planet. Recently, Ajman University earned Five QS Stars in three ratings categories -- Social Responsibility, Inclusiveness and Learning Environment. We also garnered Four QS Stars for both Teaching and Internationalization.

Ajman University

Reducing cooling loads in hot countries requires thermal insulation, and cooling methods be improved. Evaporative cooling, although problematic, is one solution that can be explored since it is significantly more efficient than regular compressor air conditioners, and the net result of using one is cooling. Furthermore, while compressor air conditioner efficiency decreases with rising temperatures in summer, evaporative ones, up to a point, are the exact opposite. A novel hybrid cooling system capable of combining both showed an 80% decrease in cooling load. The system’s efficacy was assessed in this paper by thermally simulating designs that are suitable for the hot Middle East region. Two locations with different environments and building guidelines that are representative of the variations in the area were selected. The first was the hot, dry Baghdad environment; the other was Dubai’s coastal, more humid city. Two different houses were designed to suit the municipal rules of each and accommodate the hybrid cooling system. As expected, the simulation results showed that savings in the dry Baghdad climate were high at 78% compared to a non-insulated alternative. In Dubai, unsurprisingly, they were less at 52% on the more humid coast. Further simulations revealed that this latter figure in the humid coast could also be achieved using good thermal insulation.

Department of Architecture

College of Architecture, Art and Design

International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies

Evaluating an active low-energy cooling upgrade to the building envelope in the hot climates of the Middle East

International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering Innovation

The Analysis of the Spatial Configuration of Rem Koolhaas’ Seattle Public Library

<a href="https://submit.confbay.com/conf/imceis2021">Re-Evaluating Luis Baragán's Emotional Architecture with the concept of Synesthesia.</a>

<a href="https://submit.confbay.com/conf/avest2021">The Analysis of Peter Zumthor's Emotional Architecture in Therme Vals.</a>

<a href="https://submit.confbay.com/conf/aicees2021">The Implementation of the Concept of Atmosphere in Kazuyo Sejima's Architecture.</a>

Dubai has recently witnessed new horizontal low-rise developments (less than 40 meters in height) with open public spaces, simulating types of outdoor shopping malls. Projects such as City Walk, Box Park, and La Mer, proved that outdoor shopping malls can be successful, despite the issue of weather. Although there are no distinct attractive elements or landmarks, such places became favorite destinations for Dubai residents and tourists. What attracts people to visit those places? What are the hidden factors behind their success? The purpose of this article is to explore and discover the visible and invisible elements that attract people to visit and spend time in these urban outdoor open spaces. Initially, we extracted eight key elements from the literature: placemaking, various anchor facilities, contextual links, diverse programs, community, regional identity, security, and convenient services. Based on the statistical analysis, we found that the users are more metropolitan than neighborhood types. Overall, Dubai users considered placemaking, various anchor facilities, convenient services, and contextual links as the most important factors, followed by regional identity.

The International Journal of Architectonic, Spatial, and Environmental Design

A Comparative Analysis of Urban Outdoor Open Spaces in Dubai’s Low-rise Developments

The Sahara desert covers third of the total surface of Africa with a quarter of this area within the national boundaries of Algeria. Sand drift and deposition is considered one of the major factors of the desertification process in the area. It is estimated that a third of the world's hot arid lands are covered by aeolian sand deposits, forming extensive sand bedforms. The Gourrara region in the Grand Erg Occidental (west of Algerian Sahara) and the region of Souf in the Grand Erg Oriental (east of Algerian Sahara) have been chosen as case studies. These were significant cultural and trading centers for many centuries despite their remote location and their harsh desert environment particularly solar radiation and sand drift and deposition. The architecture of the sustained vernacular settlements in each of the two regions has unique design features for this environment. So do the irrigation systems used - palm groves and the foggara system for capturing and distributing groundwater. However, the ecological balance which enabled the Saharans to live with the desert has been upset. New buildings often use technology based on models imported or imposed from areas that climatically have little in common. These make the inhabitants live ‘in the desert’ rather than ‘with the desert’. This paper will describe the qualities of the vernacular architecture and demonstrate its effectiveness and adaptability to the region’s harsh desert environment in comparison with contemporary buildings. Developing design guides and approaches based on lessons from the traditional architecture is important to ensure sustained livelihoods of the inhabitants in these areas. &nbsp;

International Journal of Architectural and Environmental Engineering

Design with Nature: Vernacular Buildings Adaptation to Sand Landforms in Sahara Desert

Sustainability in Desert Communities. Desert Knowledge Symposium (1-3 November 2006), Alice Springs, Australia. Key note speaker

Cambridge, Cambridge University press, 1997

Gypsum Vaults, Encyclopaedia for Vernacular Architecture of the World edited by Paul Oliver

El-Oued, Encyclopaedia for Vernacular Architecture of the World edited by Paul Oliver

Housing design performance affected by sand deposits in the Sahara desert. Eighth International Conference on Development of Drylands, Feb 25-28, 2006, Beijing, China

World University root node

Effects of wind residuals on the development of human settlements in the emirates Bedouin society. Conference of the Bedouin Society in the Emirates. 26/2-1/3/2006, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E

Climate, Desertification and Sustainility (23-24 may 2018), Key note speaker, 5th world conferene on Climate change and Global Warming, New York , USA