Telecommunication towers often appear unsightly due to their utilitarian design, characterized by metal lattice structures devoid of aesthetic consideration. Their primary function prioritizes functionality over visual appeal. However, Red Sea Global (RSG) has, with a combination of thoughtful design, artistic expression, and camouflage, significantly enhanced the visual appeal of telecommunication towers, transforming them from mere infrastructure into landmarks that contribute positively to their surroundings. Saudi Projects spoke to the Group Head of Technology at Red Sea Global, Dr. Ahmed Alsohaily, to find out more.
Saudi Projects: Which materials and construction methods were used in the telecom towers to ensure sustainability and minimize environmental impact?
Dr. Ahmed Alsohaily: Our destinations offer astonishing diversity and landscapes spanning coral beaches, sand dunes, majestic mountains and even dormant volcanos; which meant there wasn’t a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to telecom towers. Subsequently, every tower was meticulously designed, positioned, and installed to perfectly blend in with its surrounding environment. For example at the Southern Dunes, rooftop antennas were constructed on hills and covered by 3D printed camouflaging to preserve the guests’ views. On the other hand, minimalistic towers were leveraged to blend in with the surrounding buildings at RSI airport and the Turtle Bay Village hosting RSG employees. Ummahat Island, hosting the St. Regis and Ritz-Carlton resorts, used special fabrics to blend in with the resort designs and sandy beaches.
“Every tower was meticulously designed, positioned, and installed to perfectly blend in with the surrounding environment”
Saudi Projects: How do the telecom towers incorporate renewable energy sources to reduce their carbon footprint?
Dr. Ahmed Alsohaily: The towers, along with the entire Red Sea destination, are powered by the world’s largest zero-carbon grid, comprising 760,000 solar panels and a 1 GWH battery storage system.
“The towers are energy efficient by design”
Saudi Projects: Tell me about the energy efficiency of the towers and end-of-life considerations?
Dr. Ahmed Alsohaily: The towers are energy efficient by design, with careful thought being put into the choice of frequencies, radios, and antennas to eliminate the need for air conditioning in many of the tower cabins and to transmit using just enough power to achieve area coverage targets. The metals, fiberglass, and fabrics used in the towers are all recyclable.
Saudi Projects: Can you provide information on the tower’s resilience to extreme weather events and natural disasters, considering the increasing challenges posed by climate change?
Dr. Ahmed Alsohaily: All tower materials used have a high tolerance to all weather conditions of the region.
Saudi Projects: How do the telecom towers support and enable sustainable communication practices, such as efficient network sharing or the promotion of eco-friendly telecommunication devices?
Dr. Ahmed Alsohaily: All towers are being shared by service providers with both passive and active sharing are being utilized. We also use the lowest possible power levels. Where possible, we tend to rely on local contractors and local materials/manufacturing. We are extremely proud to have members of the local community on our implementation team as well. We had to put in great efforts and do things that go beyond what you would imagine (such as putting a 4-ton foundation on top of a mountain). The end results were extremely satisfying and all the towers look great. The most rewarding moment was when we started to see others follow our lead to do towers in the elegant way we have.
Red Sea Global