3rd Annual Smart Skyscrapers Summit Begins Today
MONDAY MAY 16, 2016
The third edition of the highly successful Smart Skyscrapers Summit, held under the patronage of Dubai Municipality and supported by Dubai Supreme Council of Energy commenced today at Sofitel Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa.
Dubai is growing upward with huge investments outlined for skyscraper development in the city. In the line with this growth trajectory, the summit agenda covers over 20 topics surrounding the theme of super tall structures - tall buildings inside out; smart solutions for skyscrapers; managing skyscrapers; tall towers and the people who live in them; making of a Smart Skyscraper; sustainability and LEED from a lighting design perspective amongst many others.
Salim Mohammad Zid of Dubai Municipality, opened the summit with a session on Dubai Green Building Regulations and Specifications, which was followed by a presentation on Hybrid Buildings in Hybrid Cities by Albert Abut of Albert Abut Architecture.
The summit featured over 25 regional and international experts including Dr. Hisham Jomah, Chief Development Officer, Jeddah Economic Company, KSA; Jeevan D’Mello, Senior Director, Emaar Group; Dr. Florian Troesch, Vice President - The PORT Technology, Schindler Group; Gary Rawlings, Design Director, Gensler and Bart Leclercq, Senior Technical Director, Property and Buildings, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff share information on the latest trends in the industry through a series of presentations, interactive panel discussions and case study presentations.
Dr. M Ramachandran, Senior Advisor, U.S. Green Building Council delivered a presentation on the use of LEED in tall buildings, emphasizing upon green skyscrapers & LEED skyscrapers, while Faisal Rashid, Director - Demand Side Management, Dubai Supreme Council of Energy spoke on the use of energy intensity mapping in the building sector. He provided an overview of Dubai Supreme Council of Energy’s Demand Side Management (DSM) programs and policies for the building sector, and lay focus on the energy intensity mapping pilot project.
Mr. Brad Hariharan, Regional Director, Expotrade Middle East, organizers of the event said, “Following the success of last year’s edition of the summit, we are thrilled to be back on a much larger scale this year. We are grateful to Dubai Municipality and Dubai Supreme Council of Energy for their relentless support. The Smart Skyscrapers Summit provides a platform to share knowledge on the challenges and solutions in sustainable skyscraper development.”
The panel discussion on Defining the Communities We Live In: The Middle Eastern Perspective on Skyscraper Living with a Cultural Context saw experts Albert Abut, Founder, Albert Abut Architecture; Hassan Younes, Technical Director & Partner, Griffin Consultants; Martin Valentine, Lighting Expert, Abu Dhabi City Municipality and Hussam Abdelghany, Associate Director, Atkins Global participate in an interactive discussion that focused on the Middle Eastern skyline and the illumination and sustainability in tall buildings.
As the region’s most prominent high-rise and skyscraper event, the summit attracted senior industry professionals, including architects, high-rise construction experts, engineers, policy-makers, developers, contractors and building managers from across the GCC.
The exhibitor lounge featured over 20 supporting organizations including Schindler, MMFX Steel DMCC, Allegion, Effibar and Kone showcasing their new products and latest innovations.
Day 2 of the summit will feature sessions by global experts such as Susan Lamont, Associate Director, Arup; Stephan Frantzen, Group Director, P&T Architects and Engineers and Fariborz Hatam, Founder, FHSI Architects amongst others.
More information on the Summit is available now at http://www.smartskyscrapers.com/. Follow the Summit on social media with the hashtag #SKYSUM2016.
