Towards a Sustainable Touristic Buildings in Egypt Using Innovative Wall Materials

Abstract

By the unprecedented development witnessed by the world in the field of construction, especially in the tourism sector in Egypt, as well as the efforts of the engineering department of the Egyptian armed forces to make a boom in all standards in the fields of construction. Therefore, it is necessary to search for building materials that are both environment and economy efficient to raise the standard of occupants' life of these facilities, which represented in thermal comfort and all necessities to enjoy the accommodation and the convenience of the intended future operation and maintenance. The objectives of the research are: 1) to evaluate the materials used in the construction of the walls in touristic buildings in the coastal areas of Egypt; 2) to choose the suitable and the economic materials, which is compatible with the surrounding environment, whereas maintaining the level of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in the buildings; and 3) to proof of this compatibility computationally and geometrically by comparing simulation results with experimental results of these new materials. The Methodology of this research followed the comparative analysis of the simulation results of using traditional Egyptian building materials and innovative ones used in the construction of walls (red bricks and light bricks). Pros and cons were identified according to: savings in construction’s initial cost, providing internal thermal comfort, and reducing electric loads. The study showed the advantages of each type of brick and the benefits gained from it in the near term and the revelation in 2080 (based on the projected climate changes) and calculate the amount of reduction in thermal loads and savings of running costs and other advantages acquired. Moreover, the research showed that light bricks needed to use less reinforcing steel in construction, which was founded to be a fair compromise to compensate its high price.