Sustainable Buildings & Infrastructure
Build environmental performance into design decisions early, when improving energy, water and material outcomes costs least.
Better building performance decided at design stage, not retrofitted
Sustainable building advisory is design-stage support that improves the environmental performance of buildings, developments and infrastructure. It covers energy and water demand, material selection, indoor environmental quality and site-level environmental planning, and it reviews design options against defined performance objectives so that owners and design teams make informed decisions before construction locks in long-term operating costs and impacts.
In Saudi Arabia's hot, arid climate, a building's form, envelope, glazing and services largely determine its energy and water use for decades. Most of these decisions are made in concept and schematic design, often under time pressure and without a clear picture of their long-term consequences. Vision 2030 giga-projects, new communities and public facilities have raised expectations of environmental performance, and owners increasingly want evidence that a design will perform as intended rather than general statements of intent.
Sustainable design advice is most effective when it is part of the design process rather than an audit at the end. Early environmental planning of a development considers site layout, orientation, landscape and water strategy, mobility, heat island effects and the protection of sensitive features. At building level, the focus moves to envelope performance, cooling demand, efficient systems, water-efficient fixtures and reuse, material choices with lower embodied impact, and indoor air quality, daylight and thermal comfort for occupants.
Selorin works alongside architects, engineers and owners to set environmental performance objectives, review design options and track decisions through the design stages. We provide structured sustainability design reviews, highlight trade-offs between cost and performance, and document the rationale behind key decisions. Where the project also pursues a green building rating, our green building advisory service builds on this work. Where an environmental impact assessment is required, we align design measures with its commitments, so the project's environmental story stays consistent.
You may need this service when:
Agreed environmental objectives for energy, water, materials and indoor quality, set out in a project brief that design teams can work to.
Review of massing, orientation, envelope, glazing and building services to identify measures that reduce cooling and overall energy demand.
Assessment of indoor and landscape water demand, efficient fixtures, irrigation approach and opportunities for treated wastewater or condensate reuse.
Guidance on material choices that reduce environmental impact, considering durability, local availability, recycled content and embodied carbon where data allows.
Review of ventilation, daylight, thermal comfort, acoustics and low-emission materials affecting occupant health and productivity.
Structured reviews at key design stages, with clear comments, recommended actions and a decision log that records how each issue was resolved.
We agree environmental objectives, priorities and constraints with the owner and design team at project start.
We review layout, orientation, landscape, water and mobility to reduce site-level environmental impacts.
We assess design options for energy, water, materials and comfort, and highlight cost and performance trade-offs.
We review drawings and specifications at each stage and issue structured comments and recommendations.
We maintain a decision log and summarise the sustainability measures adopted for owners and stakeholders.
| Deliverable | Format | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| Sustainability brief and performance objectives | Brief document (PDF + editable Word) | Concept stage |
| Site environmental planning note | Technical note with marked-up plans (PDF) | Master planning or concept stage |
| Design options assessment | Comparison report with recommendations (PDF + Excel) | Schematic design |
| Sustainability design review reports | Review comment sheets (PDF + Excel) | Each design stage gate |
| Decision log | Register of measures and rationale (Excel) | Maintained through design |
| Sustainability design summary | Summary report for owners and stakeholders (PDF) | End of detailed design |
Requirements vary by activity, location and permit conditions. We confirm the applicable requirements for your project at the start of every engagement.
No. This service focuses on improving the actual environmental performance of a design, whether or not a rating is pursued. A rating system such as Mostadam, LEED or Envision provides a structured way to demonstrate performance, and our green building advisory service supports that process. Many projects use both: sustainable design advice to shape decisions, and rating support to document and submit them.
As early as possible, ideally at concept or master planning stage. Decisions about orientation, massing, envelope and site layout have the largest effect on energy and water use and are expensive to change later. Advice at detailed design stage is still useful, especially for systems and materials, but the range of affordable improvements becomes narrower as the design develops.
Some measures add cost, while others reduce it, for example smaller cooling plant resulting from a better envelope. The overall effect depends on the project and the objectives set. We highlight trade-offs between capital cost, operating cost and performance for each significant option, so owners can make informed decisions rather than relying on general assumptions about cost premiums.
We review and interpret design options for energy and cooling demand and specify where detailed modelling is needed to support a decision. Depending on the project, modelling may be carried out by the design team's engineers or arranged as part of our scope. [CONTENT REQUIRED: confirm whether Selorin performs building energy simulation in-house and which tools are used] In all cases, we ensure inputs and assumptions are consistent with the design.
Yes. Infrastructure projects such as roads, utilities and public realm schemes involve environmental decisions on land take, materials, water, energy use, drainage and community impacts. We provide environmental planning and sustainability reviews for these projects, and where a formal framework is wanted, Envision can be used as a reference. Our green building advisory service covers support for formal Envision verification.
Support for LEED, Mostadam and Envision: gap analysis, credit strategy, documentation management and submission coordination from design to construction completion.
Key benefit: A clear route to your target rating, without documentation surprises
Screening, scoping, baseline studies, impact analysis and mitigation, prepared as an EIA report ready for authority review and follow-up comments.
Key benefit: A defensible EIA that keeps your approval path predictable
ISO 14040/14044 life cycle assessments, product carbon footprints, comparative studies and hotspot analysis, with data support for environmental product declarations.
Key benefit: Product decisions based on full life cycle evidence
Decarbonisation pathways, science-based target setting, abatement cost analysis and a net-zero roadmap aligned with Saudi Arabia's 2060 net-zero target.
Key benefit: A costed, prioritised path to lower emissions
Share your project details and an environmental specialist will review your requirements.