Strategical framework in Retrofitting existing Buildings using Sustainable Design Techniques in the UAE

one of the most vital issue that the world is facing today is the increase in global warming and the construction industry adds about 30 to 48% of global warming. Researchers and the local governments are striving to conserve the existing buildings and building new structures to be self-sustainable to create a balance between the growing population, depletion of existing natural resources and the climate change. It is also of great significance and value with reference to the construction industry to revisit the environmental and energy usage of existing buildings and develop a framework that could guide to retrofit the existing structures into a sustainable and energy efficient structures. Globally, existing structures use more than 58 % of electricity and 38 % of other primary energy resources. The objective of this paper is to study existing energy pattern and build strategical frameworks and guidelines that could be applied for both residential and commercial buildings to retrofit it into energy efficient building using sustainability techniques and materials. UAE, being hub of current construction market had undergone a rapid growth in the past four decades. Though there is lot of current development in UAE that follows framework and guidelines formulated by UAE Government and Emirates Green Building Council (EGBC), there is also an immediate need to retrofit the existing structures with sustainable design principles.