As the engineers of the future, we have a responsibility to tackle global sustainability problems. These problems are not just environmental but also social and economic.

In Dubai, with its tropical desert climate and extensive city growth, it is even more urgent to overcome these challenges. We want to show the world our solution to a more sustainable built environment at the Solar Decathlon Middle East 2018.

Our concept, LINQ connected to improve, is unique; LINQ lets smart technologies complement and strengthen each other, LINQ stimulates people to use, personalize and learn from these technologies and LINQ creates a social environment in which people interact and share experiences with each other. This way, LINQ connects people and technologies to improve efficiency, collaboration and quality of life of current and future generations.

The concept of LINQ is translated into an apartment complex with the same name, to be located in an existing neighborhood in Dubai. This neighborhood is transformed into a lively community, diverse in terms of people, functions and opportunities for interaction. LINQ contains social facilities and a lush green atrium connecting different floors and shared spaces. It runs on a net-zero solar energy system, innovative technologies and a smart system that stimulates the users to live in an efficient and sustainable way.

On the Solar Decathlon Middle East 2018, we portray our vision by building one of the apartments of LINQ.