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UAE & GCC · Green Building & Net Zero Consulting
Dr. Fuad Baba, LEED GA
Assistant Professor · British University in Dubai · fuad.baba@buid.ac.ae
UAE & GCC experts in green building & net-zero strategy.
We help UAE companies, government bodies, and researchers reduce carbon emissions, achieve LEED & Estidama certification, and design high-performance buildings — backed by 13 years of academic research and AI-driven simulation.
800+
Citations across 44+ peer-reviewed publications
h=12
h-index · LEED Green Associate
BUiD
British University in Dubai faculty
archopt — optimization · gen 18/25
Energy Use Intensity
142.3 kWh/m²
Embodied Carbon
318 kgCO₂
Pareto Solutions
47 optimal
Design Variables
9 active
PARETO FRONT — ENERGY VS CARBON
GEN 18/25
72%
Expertise
Sustainable strategy for companies & governments
Net zero roadmaps, LEED/Estidama certification, building carbon reduction
Workshops
Training for students, firms & municipalities
BIM, DesignBuilder, PhD methodology, and sustainability upskilling
ARCHOPT Tool
Multi-objective building optimization software
Available on Microsoft Store — secure, verified download
Case studies, publications, and completed engagements
Ready to start a conversation?
Whether you have a building project, a government strategy brief, or a thesis to support — reach out.
Research & Expertise
Areas of Expertise & Research
Net Zero 2050UAE VisionSDG 7 · 11 · 13Embodied CarbonEnergyPlus
With 13 years of research and academic experience, my work bridges building science, simulation, and sustainable design — published in leading Q1 journals and funded by competitive international grants. I collaborate with universities, government bodies, and design teams across the UAE and GCC.
Building Science & Energy Simulation
Whole-building simulation, optimization, and green certification
▲
Building energy & carbon optimization
Multi-objective optimization — simultaneously minimize energy use, embodied carbon, and lifecycle cost
Passive cooling strategy assessment for hot climates: shading, glazing, thermal mass, cool roofs, natural ventilation
Whole-building energy simulation (EnergyPlus, DesignBuilder) for new builds and retrofits
60-year lifecycle energy and carbon projections scaled to floor area
Green building & compliance
LEED, Estidama Pearl Rating, BREEAM, and ASHRAE 90.1 compliance support
Embodied CO₂ analysis across full material lifecycle — concrete, steel, envelope systems
Thermal bridge assessment and envelope durability analysis
Carbon footprint reporting aligned with GHG Protocol and ISO 14064
Urban & district scale
Urban morphology optimization — block geometry, solar radiation, floor area efficiency
Outdoor thermal comfort analysis for masterplan and site design decisions
Climate resilience assessment and heatwave vulnerability mapping
Buildings sector decarbonization roadmaps aligned with UAE Net Zero 2050 and Vision 2031
Quantified emission reduction pathways for public building stock — offices, schools, hospitals
Carbon footprint baselining and milestone target-setting for government portfolios
Policy gap analysis: what is in place vs. what is needed to hit 2030 and 2050 milestones
SDG-aligned sustainability programs
SDG 7 — energy efficiency programs for public buildings and infrastructure
SDG 11 — urban heat island mitigation, passive cooling mandates, green infrastructure
SDG 13 — GHG inventory, reporting frameworks, and adaptation strategies for extreme heat
SDG 9 — green procurement criteria and embodied carbon thresholds
Climate resilience & future-proofing
Heatwave vulnerability assessment for the built environment under future climate scenarios
Overheating risk analysis for existing and new public buildings
Future weather file generation for long-term building performance modeling
Stakeholder workshops and policy implementation roadmaps with KPIs
Workshops & Training
Students, firms, municipalities & professionals
▲
For students (undergraduate & postgraduate)
BIM Introduction — core concepts, workflows, and industry applications in architectural and engineering projects
DesignBuilder Workshops — building energy modelling from geometry setup through simulation and results interpretation
PhD Literature Review & Knowledge Gap — how to map existing research, identify gaps, and position a novel contribution
Methodology Development — structuring a rigorous research methodology: LHS, simulation, surrogate modelling, optimization
Results Interpretation & Write-Up — translating Pareto fronts and sensitivity analysis into publishable thesis chapters
For companies, municipalities & professionals
BIM for building performance — integrating BIM data into energy simulation and sustainability reporting workflows
DesignBuilder for practitioners — applied energy modelling for new builds, retrofits, and compliance assessments
Sustainability upskilling for municipalities — passive design, overheating risk, and net-zero compliance fundamentals
ARCHOPT toolchain — end-to-end multi-objective optimization for in-house engineering teams
Core Expertise
Research-backed capabilities
Every service is grounded in peer-reviewed research — delivering green building consulting UAE companies and governments can rely on.
01
Building energy simulation & optimization
Multi-objective optimization using NSGA-III and AI surrogate models — simultaneously minimizing energy use, embodied CO₂, overheating hours, and cost. Author of the ARCHOPT tool.
02
Indoor & outdoor thermal comfort
Analysis and mitigation of overheating and undercooling risk in buildings under current and future climates — applied to schools, residential, and commercial buildings in hot and cold climates.
03
Embodied carbon & lifecycle assessment
Full material lifecycle CO₂ analysis from construction through 60-year operation, aligned with emerging net-zero embodied carbon standards.
04
Urban heat island & morphology
Genetic algorithm optimization of district and block geometry to minimize solar radiation and improve outdoor thermal comfort — with published UAE case studies.
05
Climate resilience & heatwave adaptation
Quantitative resilience assessment of cooling strategies across climates and heatwave scenarios — methodology published in international research.
06
Overheating risk & energy efficiency
Analysis of high energy-efficient buildings and overheating risk under current and future climates, including ventilation thresholds and mitigation measures.
Aligned with UAE's international commitments
SDG 7 Affordable & Clean Energy
SDG 9 Industry & Innovation
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption
SDG 13 Climate Action
UAE 2050 Net Zero — Buildings Sector
Our Partners
Fuad Baba & Zeina Kittaneh
Fuad Baba leads research and technical consulting — building energy simulation, multi-objective optimization, passive cooling, and net-zero strategy. Zeina Kittaneh leads business development, client relations, and project management across the UAE and GCC.
IEA EBC Annex 80 contributor on resilient cooling. LEED Green Associate. Author of 3 books, 24 journal papers, and 11 conference papers. h-index 12, 800+ citations.
Z
Zeina Kittaneh
Partner · Business Development & Client Relations
Zeina leads client engagement, project coordination, and business development across the UAE and GCC — ensuring every engagement runs smoothly from first contact to final delivery.
"Buildings account for the largest share of energy use in hot climates. Solving this needs rigorous simulation, evidence-based design, and AI tools that find optimal solutions humans cannot reach manually."
800+
Citations
44+
Publications
h=12
h-index · LEED GA
Reach out to work together
Researchers, students, companies, and government entities — reach out to discuss your project.
ARCHOPT Software
The building optimization tool. Built for practitioners.
Combines EnergyPlus simulation, XGBoost surrogate modelling, and NSGA-III multi-objective optimization — delivering Pareto-optimal building designs in hours. Available as a consulting service or standalone software license.
The full simulation-optimization pipeline inside one desktop application. No coding required.
01
Define variables
Set design parameters — WWR, shading depth, glazing type, orientation — with ranges and constraints in the GUI.
02
EnergyPlus sampling
Latin Hypercube Sampling generates diverse design combinations. Each is automatically simulated in EnergyPlus.
03
Surrogate training
XGBoost learns from simulation data and builds a fast surrogate model, evaluating thousands of candidates in seconds.
04
Pareto front export
NSGA-III finds the optimal trade-off surface. Full archive, CSV data, and PDF report exported automatically.
Capabilities
Everything you need, in one pipeline
Built for real building projects — handling the complexity practitioners and researchers actually face.
Multi-objective NSGA-III
Optimize energy, embodied carbon, and comfort simultaneously. Handles 3+ objectives without compromising solution diversity.
Full IDF parametric control
Tag-based IDF substitution (@@tag@@) gives direct control over any EnergyPlus parameter — geometry, materials, HVAC.
XGBoost surrogate model
Orders-of-magnitude faster than brute-force simulation. The surrogate learns from samples and generalizes accurately.
60-year lifecycle analysis
Scale energy (kWh/m²) and carbon results over the full building lifetime. Floor area and study period are user-configurable.
Embodied carbon calculator
Built-in material database with quantity take-off. Tracks embodied CO₂ alongside operational energy in every run.
Global Sensitivity Analysis
Understand which variables drive performance most — reveals the most impactful design levers before you commit.
Available on Microsoft Store
Download ARCHOPT directly from Microsoft
ARCHOPT is distributed exclusively through the Microsoft Store —
the safest and most trusted way to download Windows software.
Microsoft handles payment, licensing, and delivery.
Your purchase is protected by Microsoft's own policies.
Verified by MicrosoftSecure paymentAutomatic updates1 year · 1 device licenseMicrosoft Store policies apply
Microsoft Store
Windows 10 / 11
Pricing and license terms set by Microsoft Store policies
PhD & Research Support
ARCHOPT for your thesis
Beyond the software license, I offer full consulting support for PhD students — from methodology framing through to results interpretation and write-up review.
1
Literature review & knowledge gap
Position the methodology in existing literature. Articulate the gap between single and multi-objective approaches.
2
Methodology chapter support
Document LHS, XGBoost surrogate training, and NSGA-III in thesis-appropriate academic language. Justify variable and parameter choices.
3
Running the optimization
Full ARCHOPT pipeline run on your building model. Pareto front, simulation archive, and GSA results — fully traceable and reproducible.
4
Results interpretation & write-up
Walk through Pareto front interpretation in your thesis context. Review results chapter for technical accuracy before submission.
Ready to run your first optimization?
Download ARCHOPT from the Microsoft Store — or contact us about consulting and research support.
Revolutionises the way engineers and researchers fine-tune EnergyPlus building energy models.
Powered by a Hybrid Adaptive NSGA-II (HA-NSGA-II) optimisation algorithm — delivering faster convergence
and more accurate Pareto-optimal solutions for multi-objective calibration.
A selection of consulting engagements, applied research, and published studies. Projects are being added as they are completed.
Projects coming soon
This section is reserved for the portfolio. Case studies and completed engagements will be published here as they are finalised.
+
In Progress
Net-zero roadmap for UAE commercial building stock
+
In Progress
Overheating risk assessment — desert school retrofit
+
Upcoming
Government SDG strategy brief — municipality pilot
Have a project in mind?
Get in touch to discuss scope, timeline, and approach.
Academic Profile
Research, grants & publications
Peer-reviewed research spanning building energy simulation, multi-objective optimization, overheating risk, and climate resilience — with applications across the UAE, GCC, Canada, and Europe.
Researcher and contributor to IEA EBC Annex 80: Resilient Cooling of Buildings — a multi-country collaborative programme (2020–2023). Generated future climate datasets, developed passive cooling strategies, and co-authored the REHVA Resilient Cooling Design Guidelines (2024) published by REHVA.
Funded Research
Research projects & grants I lead
Externally funded projects investigating building performance, overheating risk, and climate adaptation across multiple regions and building types.
Principal Investigator Active 2025–2027
Apply Adaptive Thermal Comfort Concept to Optimize Cooling Setpoint to Reduce Energy Without Overheating Risk in Hot & Humid Climate
British University in Dubai — Internal Research Grant · 75,000 AED
Optimizing thermostat setpoints using adaptive thermal comfort models to reduce cooling energy in UAE buildings without compromising occupant comfort — under current and projected future climates.
UAEThermal ComfortCooling EnergyFuture Climate
Principal Investigator
Multi-objective Optimization of Building Envelope for Net-Zero UAE Buildings
British University in Dubai — Internal Research Grant
Developing the ARCHOPT methodology — combining EnergyPlus simulation, XGBoost surrogate modelling, and NSGA-III — to simultaneously optimize energy use intensity, embodied carbon, and lifecycle cost for UAE residential and commercial buildings under current and projected future climates.
UAEEnergyPlusNSGA-IIINet Zero
Principal Investigator
Overheating Risk Assessment & Adaptation for Desert School Buildings
Ajman University — Research Grant
Assessing overheating vulnerability in desert-climate school buildings under current and future climate scenarios (2020–2090). The study integrates adaptive cooling setpoint strategies — seasonal and daily — with passive measures including cool roofs, night cooling, and cross-ventilation, achieving up to 57% reduction in cooling energy.
Desert ClimateSchoolsOverheating2020–2090
Co-Investigator
Resilient Cooling Strategies for Canadian School Buildings Under Extreme Climates
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) & CMHC · $90,000 CAD
Calibrating building simulation models against measured indoor temperature data and applying multi-objective genetic algorithms to assess and mitigate overheating risk in existing Canadian schools under extreme current and future climates. Developed methodology using global and local sensitivity analysis to identify optimal passive adaptation strategies.
Urban Morphology Optimization for Solar Radiation Reduction in UAE Districts
British University in Dubai — Faculty Research Fund
Applying single-objective genetic algorithms to optimize urban district and block morphology — across random, radial, and grid street layouts — to simultaneously minimize solar radiation access and maximize building floor area efficiency in hot-arid UAE contexts. Published in Buildings (MDPI), 2024.
Urban Heat Island & Thermal Comfort in Sustainable Cities — Dubai Case Study
British University in Dubai — Research Support Fund
Evaluating and contrasting the impact of sustainable urban configurations (Dubai Sustainable City) vs conventional urban forms on reducing outdoor air temperatures, mitigating urban heat island effects, and improving human thermal comfort in hot-arid climates. Published in Future Cities and Environment, 2025.
Urban Heat IslandDubaiThermal Comfort2025
Co-Investigator
Typical & Extreme Weather Datasets for Building Climate Resilience Studies
IEA EBC Annex 80 — International Collaborative Research Programme
Contributing to a multi-country IEA Annex 80 effort to develop standardised typical and extreme weather datasets for studying building resilience to climate change and heatwaves across global climates. Published as a data article in Nature Scientific Data, 2025.
Resilient passive cooling strategies during heat waves: A quantitative assessment in different climates
Building and Environment · Q1, IF 7.4
IEA Annex 80Passive CoolingHeatwaves
2025
Reducing Heating Energy, Embodied CO₂, Overheating Hours, and Initial Costs Simultaneously: Methodology and Case Study in Cold Climate
Building and Environment · Q1, IF 7.4
Multi-objectiveEmbodied CarbonOverheating
2025
Effect of Sustainable Cities on the Urban Heat Island and Human Thermal Comfort — Dubai Sustainable City as A Case Study
Future Cities and Environment · 2025
DubaiUrban Heat IslandThermal Comfort
2024
Typical and Extreme Weather Datasets for Studying the Resilience of Buildings to Climate Change and Heatwaves
Scientific Data (Nature) · IF 9.8
Climate DataIEA Annex 80Resilience
2024
Genetic Algorithm for Optimizing Urban District and Block Morphology to Minimize Solar Radiation Access and Maximize Building Floor Area in the UAE
Buildings, MDPI · Q1, IF 3.5
UAEGenetic AlgorithmUrban Morphology
2024
Optimizing Cooling Setpoint Using Adaptive Thermal Comfort Concept for School Buildings in Desert Climates Under Current and Future Climates
Smart and Sustainable Built Environment · Q1, IF 3.4
Desert ClimateAdaptive ComfortFuture Climate
2023
Optimizing Overheating, Lighting, and Heating Energy in Canadian School for Climate Change Adaptation: Sensitivity Analysis and Multi-objective Optimization
Building and Environment · Q1, IF 7.4
Multi-objectiveSchoolsCanada
2022
Do High Energy-Efficient Buildings Increase Overheating Risk in Cold Climates? Causes and Mitigation Measures
Research partnerships, joint grant applications, and PhD supervision — get in touch to discuss.
Training & Workshops
Practical workshops for students & professionals
Hands-on training in BIM, DesignBuilder, and research methodology — designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as practitioners in architecture firms, engineering companies, and municipalities.
🏗
BIM Introduction
Concepts, tools & workflows
⚡
DesignBuilder
Energy modelling & simulation
📚
PhD Methodology
Literature, gap & methods
🏢
Industry Upskilling
Firms & municipalities
Available Workshops
Courses & Workshops
Graduate-level courses developed and taught at BUiD and workshops available for firms, research teams, and municipalities across the UAE.
All levels
🏗
BIM Introduction
Building Information Modelling — fundamentals to application
A practical introduction to BIM workflows for architecture, engineering, and construction. Covers core concepts, software tools, and how BIM connects to energy performance and sustainability compliance.
What BIM is and why it matters for sustainable design
BIM levels, LOD, and industry standards (ISO 19650)
Linking BIM models to energy simulation tools
BIM for LEED, Estidama, and green building compliance
Building energy simulation — from setup to results
Step-by-step training in DesignBuilder and EnergyPlus — from building geometry input through to simulation runs, result reading, and interpretation for design decisions and regulatory compliance.
Building geometry setup and zoning in DesignBuilder
Defining materials, constructions, and HVAC systems
Running EnergyPlus simulations and reading outputs
Literature review, knowledge gap, methodology & results
A structured series of sessions guiding postgraduate students through the full arc of thesis research — from identifying a knowledge gap through to writing defensible results chapters.
Conducting a systematic literature review in building science
Identifying and articulating the knowledge gap
Structuring a rigorous research methodology chapter
Running and reporting optimization or simulation studies
Interpreting and writing up results for publication
MSc studentsPhD candidatesResearch assistants
Professional
🏢
Sustainability for Industry
Firms, developers & municipal professionals
Practical sustainability upskilling for professionals working in architecture, engineering, real estate, and municipal building departments — covering passive design, carbon literacy, and regulatory frameworks.
UAE Net Zero 2050 targets and what they mean for buildings
Passive cooling fundamentals for hot-climate design
Embodied vs. operational carbon — what to measure and when
LEED, Estidama, and BREEAM for project teams
Overheating risk assessment and adaptation strategies
A focused workshop on integrating multi-objective building optimization into academic research — covering the full ARCHOPT pipeline from Latin Hypercube Sampling through surrogate training and Pareto front interpretation.
Setting up parametric building variables in EnergyPlus / IDF
Latin Hypercube Sampling for design space exploration
Training and validating XGBoost surrogate models
Running NSGA-III and reading the Pareto front
Global sensitivity analysis for results chapters
MSc studentsPhD candidatesResearchers
Custom
✦
Bespoke Programme
Tailored to your institution, firm, or team
Need something specific? We design bespoke workshop programmes for universities, engineering firms, government departments, and municipalities — matched to your tools, level, and objectives.
Custom topic selection from any combination above
Delivered on-site at your institution or online
Available in English or Arabic
Certificate of completion for participants
Follow-up Q&A and support included
Any audienceOn-site or online
Who attends
Built for two audiences
Students — Undergraduate & Postgraduate
Architecture, engineering, and built environment programmes
Undergraduate students needing hands-on BIM and energy simulation skills for final-year projects
MSc and PhD students developing their research methodology, literature review, and thesis chapters
Students preparing to use DesignBuilder or ARCHOPT in their dissertations
Research assistants and early-career academics building their simulation and optimization toolkit
Professionals — Companies & Municipalities
Architecture firms, engineering consultancies, developers & public bodies
Architects and engineers in firms adopting BIM or energy simulation for the first time
Municipal building departments needing to understand UAE Net Zero 2050 obligations
Developers and project managers requiring carbon literacy for green building certification
Sustainability teams in local government, utilities, and infrastructure organisations
Ready to bring a workshop to your team?
Get in touch to discuss format, audience, topics, and scheduling — on-site or online.
Pricing
ARCHOPT v2.0 · Software License · Last updated May 2026
NetZero Gulf · Partners: Fuad Baba & Zeina Kittaneh
ARCHOPT is sold exclusively through the Microsoft Store. All purchases, payments, refunds, and license terms are governed by Microsoft Store policies. Microsoft acts as the retailer — please refer to Microsoft's return policy for any purchase issues.
License Tiers
Feature
Student / Academic
Professional
Enterprise
Price
$1,000 USD
$2,000 USD
Custom
License duration
1 year
1 year
Custom
Devices
1 computer
1 computer
Multi-seat
Full ARCHOPT application
✓
✓
✓
EnergyPlus integration
✓
✓
✓
XGBoost surrogate model
✓
✓
✓
NSGA-III multi-objective optimisation
✓
✓
✓
Commercial project use
✗ Academic only
✓
✓
Warranty / guarantee
Per Microsoft Store policies
Refunds
Per Microsoft Store policies
No Refund Policy
All sales are final. Due to the digital nature of the Software, no refunds are issued under any circumstances once the license key has been delivered. By completing your purchase you confirm that you understand and accept this policy.
Questions before purchase
We strongly recommend you contact us with any questions before purchasing. Email fuad.baba@buid.ac.ae — we are happy to clarify what the Software does and does not do.
Terms of Service
Effective date: 1 May 2026 · ARCHOPT v2.0
NetZero Gulf · Partners: Fuad Baba & Zeina Kittaneh
Important: By purchasing, downloading, or using ARCHOPT, you agree to these terms in full. If you do not agree, do not purchase or use the Software.
1. Parties
This agreement is between the Licensee and NetZero Gulf (Fuad Baba & Zeina Kittaneh, partners). ARCHOPT software is developed and maintained by Fuad Baba.
2. License Grant
Subject to full payment, you are granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use ARCHOPT on one (1) computer for a period of 12 months from the date of purchase. No rights are granted beyond those expressly stated in this agreement.
3. Permitted Use
Student / Academic license: Non-commercial academic and research use only.
Professional license: Commercial use within your own organisation only.
Enterprise license: As defined in the separate written agreement.
4. Restrictions — What You May Not Do
You may not, and you may not permit any third party to:
Copy, share, resell, sublicense, or transfer the Software or your license key to any other person or organisation
Activate the Software on more than one computer at any time
Reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to extract source code from the Software by any means
Remove, alter, or obscure any copyright, licensing, or proprietary notices
Use an Academic license for any commercial, professional, or paid purpose
Attempt to circumvent, bypass, disable, or tamper with any license verification, machine binding, or expiry mechanism
Violation of any restriction above will result in immediate and automatic termination of your license with no refund.
5. Software Provided "AS IS" — No Warranty
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.
No representation or warranty is made that:
The Software will meet your specific requirements or expectations
The Software will operate uninterrupted, error-free, or produce correct results for your specific use case
Any defects or errors in the Software will be corrected
The Software is suitable for use in professional engineering decisions, regulatory submissions, or any specific building project
Results produced by ARCHOPT are for research and decision-support purposes only. They must be independently verified by a qualified professional engineer before use in any real building design, construction, or policy decision. Neither the website owner nor the developer accepts any responsibility for decisions made based on ARCHOPT outputs.
6. No Liability — Complete Exclusion
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, NEITHER ZEINA KITTANEH (WEBSITE OWNER) NOR FUAD BABA (DEVELOPER) SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGE, LOSS, OR EXPENSE OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SOFTWARE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
Loss of data, profits, revenue, business, or goodwill
Engineering errors, incorrect simulation results, or flawed optimisation outputs
Decisions made based on results produced by the Software
Software incompatibility, installation failure, or technical malfunction
Interruption or unavailability of the Software or license validation service
Any consequential, indirect, incidental, special, or punitive damages
This exclusion applies whether the claim is based on contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or any other legal theory, and even if advised of the possibility of such damage. Your sole remedy for dissatisfaction with the Software is to stop using it.
7. No Refunds
All sales are final. No refunds are available for any reason, including but not limited to: software not meeting your requirements, technical difficulties, change of mind, duplicate purchase, or cancellation. By purchasing you confirm you understand and accept this policy.
8. No Support Obligation
No technical support, maintenance, bug fixes, or updates are guaranteed. Any support provided is offered at the sole discretion of the developer and does not create any obligation or liability.
9. License Expiry & Renewal
Licenses expire 12 months from the purchase date. The Software will cease to function upon expiry. Renewal requires a new purchase. No data is deleted upon expiry.
10. Machine Binding
Your license is bound to one computer upon first activation. Transfer to a new machine may be permitted once per 12-month period at the sole discretion of the licensor, and is not guaranteed.
11. Termination
This license terminates automatically and immediately, without notice and without refund, if you breach any term of this agreement. Upon termination you must destroy all copies of the Software in your possession.
12. Intellectual Property
The Software and all associated algorithms, methodologies, documentation, and materials are the exclusive intellectual property of Fuad Baba. No ownership rights are transferred by purchase of a license. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.
13. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Zeina Kittaneh and Fuad Baba from and against any claims, damages, costs, and expenses (including legal fees) arising from your use of the Software or your breach of these terms.
14. Governing Law & Jurisdiction
These terms are governed exclusively by the laws of the United Arab Emirates. Any dispute arising from or related to these terms or the Software shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Dubai, UAE. The UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply.
15. Entire Agreement & Severability
These terms constitute the entire agreement between the parties regarding the Software and supersede all prior communications, representations, or agreements. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full effect.
16. Changes to These Terms
These terms may be updated at any time. Continued use of the Software after updated terms are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.
17. Contact
For any questions regarding these terms, email fuad.baba@buid.ac.ae before purchasing.
Privacy Policy
Effective date: 1 May 2026 · ARCHOPT v2.0
NetZero Gulf · Partners: Fuad Baba & Zeina Kittaneh
This policy describes what personal data is collected when you purchase or use ARCHOPT, how it is used, and your rights. We collect the minimum data necessary to operate the license system.
1. Data Collected by Paddle (Payment Processor)
Payments are processed by Paddle.com, which acts as the Merchant of Record. When you purchase, Paddle collects:
Name and email address (to deliver your receipt and license key)
Payment card details (stored and processed entirely by Paddle — we never see these)
IP address and country (for VAT and tax compliance)
When you activate and run ARCHOPT, the Software collects only what is needed for license enforcement:
A hardware fingerprint of your computer — derived from CPU ID, motherboard serial, and disk serial number, then hashed using SHA-256. The raw hardware identifiers are never stored or transmitted. The hash is used solely to bind your license to your machine.
License activation status and date, stored on Paddle's servers and in a local encrypted cache file at %APPDATA%\ARCHOPT\ on your computer.
3. What We Do Not Collect
We do not collect, access, transmit, or store any project files, simulation inputs, IDF files, results, or any work you do inside ARCHOPT
We do not collect usage statistics, analytics, or behavioral data
We do not use cookies on this website
We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with any third party for any marketing purpose
4. How Your Data Is Used
To deliver your license key and download link after purchase
To validate your license each time the Software is launched
To enforce the 1-computer, 1-year license restrictions
To send renewal reminders before your license expires (via Paddle, not by us directly)
5. Data Retention
Purchase records are retained by Paddle as required by law (typically 7 years). License activation data is retained for the duration of your license plus 90 days, after which it is deleted from Paddle's servers. Local cache files remain on your computer until you delete them manually.
6. Your Rights
You have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal data held by us or by Paddle. To exercise these rights, email fuad.baba@buid.ac.ae. Note that some data may be retained for legal compliance purposes.
7. Security
All sensitive strings in the Software (API endpoints, credentials) are encrypted and encoded — they are not visible in plain text in the binary. Your hardware fingerprint is hashed before use and never transmitted in raw form.
8. Changes to This Policy
This policy may be updated at any time. The effective date above reflects the most recent revision.
Effective date: 1 May 2026 · ARCHOPT v2.0
NetZero Gulf · Partners: Fuad Baba & Zeina Kittaneh
ARCHOPT is sold exclusively through the Microsoft Store. All refund and return requests are handled directly by Microsoft under their published policies. We do not process payments or refunds — please contact Microsoft Support for any purchase issues.
Microsoft Store Handles All Purchases
ARCHOPT is sold exclusively through the Microsoft Store. Microsoft acts as the retailer for all transactions. We do not process payments, hold payment information, or manage refund requests. All of these are handled entirely by Microsoft.
How to Request a Refund
All refund requests must be submitted directly to Microsoft:
ARCHOPT is a research and decision-support tool provided "as is". No warranty is made that the Software will meet your specific requirements or produce results suitable for any particular engineering or construction project. Results must be independently verified by a qualified professional before use in real design or policy decisions. Neither Zeina Kittaneh nor Fuad Baba accepts any responsibility for decisions made based on ARCHOPT outputs.
Before You Buy
We strongly recommend contacting us with any questions before purchasing to confirm the Software is suitable for your needs. Email: fuad.baba@buid.ac.ae
License Revocation on Breach
If the Terms of Service are violated — including sharing a license key, activating on multiple machines, or tampering with the Software — the license will be revoked immediately. Refund eligibility in such cases is subject to Microsoft Store policies.
