The Realities of Going Net Zero: Exclusive with Architect Abdulrahman Al Samhan

What is the most ambitious net-zero project you’ve delivered in Saudi Arabia, and what practical steps made it possible?
While the specifics of our projects remain confidential, I can discuss a highly representative and ambitious initiative that perfectly encapsulates the challenges and innovations of pursuing net zero in the Saudi context. The ambition was to go beyond just creating a sustainable building and rather create a living manifesto of the company’s mission, targeting the pinnacle of green building certification: LEED Zero Energy and LEED Zero Carbon. This was particularly ambitious due to Riyadh’s extreme climate, where high cooling demands traditionally result in significant energy consumption. Achieving net zero here is a far greater challenge than in more temperate regions, making the success of this project a significant milestone. The vision was made possible through a meticulously orchestrated series of practical steps, all underpinned by a foundational culture of deep collaboration and integrated teamwork. 
Tell us about a technical challenge, such as managing extreme heat or water scarcity, and how you solved it in one of your projects.
In one of our most technically demanding projects in Riyadh, a pioneering design for a research facility, the paramount challenge was the region’s extreme heat and profound water scarcity, which threatened to significantly increase the building’s operational energy load for cooling and irrigation, thereby jeopardizing its core sustainability goals. Our innovative solution employed a radical architectural approach: we designed the main working and research volumes to be sunk five floors into the ground, leveraging the earth’s immense thermal mass as a natural insulator to drastically stabilize internal temperatures and reduce cooling demand by mitigating the extreme heat gain typically experienced by above-ground structures. To counteract the potential psychological and environmental drawbacks of a subterranean design, such as a lack of natural light and connection to the outside world, we engineered a vast, central internal courtyard that penetrates through all levels. This oasis-like space became the project’s lungs and heart, serving as the primary source for diffused natural daylight, reducing the need for artificial lighting, while also functioning as a natural ventilation chimney that draws cool air through the building. Ultimately, solving this multifaceted challenge was a triumph of integrated, cross-disciplinary collaboration, where architects and engineers worked closely together from the outset to computationally model thermal performance, sun path angles, and hydrological flows, ensuring this bold subterranean concept functioned and became the very mechanism that allowed the building to achieve its net-zero aspirations in one of the world’s most extreme climates.

Have you used building automation or smart technology to meet energy targets? Can you give a real project example?

Absolutely, integrating advanced building automation and smart technology is no longer a luxury; it is a fundamental requirement for meeting ambitious energy targets, particularly in a context like Saudi Arabia, where peak energy demand is both high and costly. A prime example from one of our projects in Riyadh targeting LEED Platinum was the challenge of incorporating an extensive electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure for a fleet of over 100 vehicles. The initial concern was that simultaneous charging, especially at the start and end of the workday, would create a massive, instantaneous spike in electrical demand, overloading the building’s system and significantly increasing its peak demand charges, which would have severely undermined our net-zero energy goals. Our solution was to implement a smart, AI-driven Building Management System (BMS) that integrated the EV charging stations into a holistic energy management strategy. This system doesn’t just blindly supply power; it acts as a central nervous system, continuously monitoring the building’s total real-time energy consumption from all other sources, including HVAC, lighting, and plug loads. Using predictive algorithms, it then dynamically allocates available power to the charging stations, intelligently staggering charge times and even modulating charging speeds to ensure the building’s total demand never exceeds a predetermined threshold that would trigger a peak penalty. For instance, on a warm afternoon when the chillers are working at maximum capacity, the system might temporarily slow down non-essential charging, prioritizing vehicles that are plugged in but already have sufficient charge for the commute home, and then ramp up charging to full speed later in the evening when overall building demand decreases and solar energy from the carport PV panels might still be available. This seamless, automated orchestration transforms the EV fleet from a potential liability into a manageable, flexible asset, ensuring our sustainability investments in transportation directly support rather than contradict the building’s overarching energy performance targets.  

How do you collaborate with engineers, contractors, and consultants to reach net zero on complex projects?
Our collaboration to achieve net zero on our recent project is less a linear sequence of handoffs and more a dynamic, integrated ecosystem of continuous feedback, which was critically tested on a recent fast-track project in Riyadh, where conventional timelines were compressed. The unique challenge was that our aggressive schedule demanded we begin detailed energy modeling and systems analysis before the architectural and engineering designs were fully finalized, requiring us to work with iterative and often incomplete data. To navigate this, we instituted a mandatory weekly collaborative ritual that brought together the entire core team, comprising architects, sustainability consultants, mechanical, electrical, and structural engineers. This created a cyclical process of modeling, analyzing the results, and immediately applying those insights to refine the next design iteration in near real-time. For instance, the energy model might reveal that a particular wing’s afternoon heat gain was higher than anticipated; within the same week, the architects could adjust the shading device geometry, the MEP engineers would then recalculate the cooling load reduction, and the cost consultants would assess the financial impact, all before the next modeling cycle. This agile, transparent approach transformed the energy model from a final validation tool into a live, guiding compass that actively shaped the design, allowing us to make informed, high-performance decisions under immense time pressure. It fostered a culture of shared ownership where every discipline understood how their specific decisions impacted the collective net-zero goal, preventing costly redesigns later and ensuring that the project’s sustainability objectives were met and achieved with efficiency.

What accomplishment (big or small) do you look back on as a turning point in building your professional character? 
The accomplishment I look back on as the true turning point in building my professional character was the foundational experience I gained at the very start of my career, working extensively as an architect deeply involved in the complete project lifecycle. I was actively engaged from the initial concept all the way through to the final delivery. This hands-on, end-to-end involvement was absolutely critical; it provided me with a comprehensive and solid understanding of how a design evolves from an idea on paper into a physical, functioning building. It taught me the practical challenges of construction, the importance of meticulous documentation, and the ultimate value of seeing how users interact with a finished space. This robust foundation was what gave me the confidence, the credibility, and the thorough grounding necessary to successfully advance to a role where I was entrusted with full project ownership.  

Looking ahead, what is your vision for your own growth and for the future of the architecture department at Omrania?
I am fortunate to be part of Omrania and the Egis Group, where a positive work culture and environment are truly fostered. The culture encourages collaboration, creativity, and continuous learning, making it a great place to grow both personally and professionally. For me, it’s about having the opportunity to develop alongside a supportive team and an organization that values design excellence and innovation.