Since the inception of the Masdar Initiative in 2006, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has invested a considerable amount of resources to promote renewable sources of energy like solar and wind. With an aim of achieving 7% of its electricity from renewable sources by the year 2020, there is much that the emirate needs to do in order to reduce its reliance on hydrocarbons while still planning capacity for future electricity demand. This report explores the effectiveness of a smart grid infrastructure as a mechanism to afford the flexibility and functionality required to incorporate renewable energy sources into the electric grid, as well as leveraging a real-time data network to attain reductions in peak demand consumption. Specific regulatory structures that exist in Abu Dhabi's electric and telecommunications markets are evaluated to understand the role they will play in dealing with interoperability standards, privacy concerns, and consumer participation issues that influence the effective integration of smart grid into Abu Dhabi's energy future. / text

The thesis aims to deconstruct the traditional dualities between design and use and blend the boundaries between them. It characterises design as a process that is complex, dynamic, and integral to other processes, such as use. The thesis utilises Latour's concept of the collective. Although this concept has been applied to architectural contexts in previous studies, this thesis expands the collective to include actors of use. The thesis elaborates on the inscription and description of technologies inspired by Akrich (1992). It shows how the collective is shaped and reshaped through such processes. Building parallels with previous studies, it analyses the importance of fluidity and fluid actors in de-scribing technologies and reshaping the collectives. The thesis utilises the case of Masdar City, which has been designed in the UK by the architectural and urban planning firm Foster + Partners and implemented in the Middle East, specifically in the United Arab Emirates. The thesis focuses on its first developed stage represented by Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST). Based on a qualitative and inductive approach, the conducted research utilises interviews and site observations with the designers, users, and other main contributors. Through this approach, the thesis reflects on the concept of sustainability that is itself contested, changeable, and vague. The thesis concludes that sustainable design processes should be seen as continuous loops between design and use. In acknowledging this, it is further suggested that concepts such as the living laboratory, which support the adaptation of designs and learning from use, are adopted at the outset in architectural production.