A look around Masdar EcoVilla, the Emirati home of the future - in pictures

The internal courtyard.

Looking up to the solar PV panels on the roof of the EcoVilla.

The addition of solar panels allows the home to generate enough energy over the course of a 12-month cycle for it to ultimately run without having to draw excess energy from the grid.

Many of the EcoVilla’s savings have been arrived at thanks to measures that are either mundane – such as its use of energy-­efficient LED lights and water-­efficient taps – or entirely invisible.

The EcoVilla uses a system that consists of internal and external layers of insulation that sandwich and support an inner concrete core.

The EcoVilla claims to be 72 per cent more energy efficient than the traditional concrete structure.

The house may have taken only four months to build, but it’s taken two years to get to this stage, 12 months of which were spent calculating, testing and refining the design in order to maximise its potential ­performance.

The ultimate test of the Eco­Villa’s environmental claims, however, will only come when the building is occupied. So who wants to live here?

Masdar’s new EcoVilla may look like a normal home, but the prototype represents a residential future that is culturally sensitive and economically viable. All photos by Delores Johnson / The National