Title: Green Open Space Approach to the Building Mass Arrangement in Yogyakarta: Case Study of the Revitalization of the Tugu Rail Station

Abstract:This paper is to analyze the green open space approach to the building mass arrangement in urban block areas. The case study is “The Project Preparation Consultant for Revitalization of Yogyakarta Rail Station and Pedestrianization of Malioboro.” The Green Open Space (GOS) Regulation in Indonesia states that the minimum green open space in urban area is 30%. With an 85% BCR (Building Coverage Ratio), the railway station project tends to maximize the lot for building construction. Therefore, it is difficult to wish the building ownerships providing 30% GOS from their lots. Due to such a problem concerning on the GOS regulation, how to encourage building ownerships to provide at least 30% of their lots to be GOS during their site development in central urban lot areas for the future constructions for any public services such a railway station. This paper tries to model and encourage (public and private) urban developers to provide more green open space on their lots to be replaced by more space on top of its floor area ratio based on the current building code. The method is using the case study of the Tugu rail station development of in Yogyakarta as a model of analysis. The researcher believes that the incentive floor area to reduce the current BCR will increase green open space on urban lot areas. In this respect, the character of the building mass is determined by the BCR and representing how the green approach of its open space. This model will support the urban GOS regulation in Yogyakarta and Indonesia generally to have minimum 30% of GOS in the near future urban areas.

Title: A Case Study of Al-Madinah’s Water Resources and Reclaimed Wastewater Reuse Perspective

Abstract:The last twenty years have seen a swift transition in the water supply source for Al-Madinah al-Munawarah region from a full dependency on ground water to almost a complete reliance on the desalinated water from the Yanbo desalination plant, which is augmented by a limited amount of water extracted from the Abiar Almashi well field. Most of the extracted groundwater is mainly utilized for agricultural purposes. The city of Al-Madinah has managed to deal with the imparity between its renewable water resources and the demand for water basically by means of desalination and the ground water abstraction at a rate greater than natural replenishment, requiring some better alternate options in the shape of reclaimed water reuse, water conservation and newer technological interventions for sustainable solutions. Reclaimed wastewater is important from the viewpoint and need for exploiting new resources of water for meeting the ever increasing demands of water for the purposes of agriculture and landscape irrigation, industrial activities and for the possible recharge of aquifers. Sometimes the supply of desalinated water is stopped or hindered due to technical problems in the desalination plant or external reasons like an oil spill around it, yet groundwater aquifers are still to be considered the safest and most strategic water reserve. Renewable water resources are the only water resource in this area. The present study thus, assesses the available water resources and scope of water reuse in Al-Madina focusing mainly on the feasibility of reusing water wisely from wastewater and greywater. Using water wisely in an arid zone with increasing demands is an important aspect that deserves continuous research and good collaboration between relevant agencies. The recommendations of the present study provide possible guidelines that may assist the decision makers to invest wisely in water reuse.

Title: Sea water Reverse Osmoses and Desalination Plants in Saudi Arabia

Abstract:The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the countries using the reverse osmosis technique to desalinate sea water. It is located in between two seas; the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf. Because coasts are subject to certain factors such as pollution, the quality of each sea is different. Accordingly, the treatment process in the desalination plants will be different. In this paper, a comparison between two desalination (reverse osmosis) plants is researched; one (Jeddah SWRO plant) located on the Red Sea and the other (Al-Birk SWRO plant) located on the Arabian Gulf. It has found that there are no significant differences in the process, but there are materials used in one and not in the other.

Title: Universal Design Model for Reinforced Concrete Sections in Flexure

Abstract:The development of a design model for steel reinforced concrete section is presented in this paper. The required area of reinforcement steel in the concrete can be easily found using the model. Various geometrical cross- sections including solid and hollow rectangular and non-regular sections can be treated by the method for both elastic and plastic designs. The only requirements in the method are the yield stresses of Steel and Concrete, and the section modulus of the cross section chosen. Results from the proposed design method are comparable to those of various codes and standards in the case of reinforced concrete and so validate the method. Some new results are established for cross sections that cannot be easily handled by the present codes and standards.