January 08 2014 | Last updated 21:15 January 07, 2014

Analysis
The Big 5 talks green loading
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PW speaks to participants at the region’s largest
construction event about sustainable practices
By R. Ganeriwal, Special to PW
Published: 20:00 December 17, 2013

Image Credit: Gulf News

 Archives/Virendra Saklani
The Big 5 is the region’s biggest construction showcase
and also serves as a major platform to discuss
sustainability issues

Sustainable building practices and smart technologies

are among the topics that dominate discussions in the
construction industry. The growing focus on these areas
has been reaffirmed by the implementation of green
building codes by different countries in the region and
the emergence of the smart city concept as an integral
component in the drive for urbanisation 
in the region.

Sustainability and smart technologies were major

themes at the recent The Big 5 exhibition in Dubai, the
largest building and construction exhibition in the Middle
East. The Big 5 is an important platform for key industry
players to interact and discuss new trends, solutions and
prospects in the Middle East market.

“The Big 5 offered attendees and vendors alike a great

opportunity to exchange ideas and the latest information
about building development products and services,”
says Thomas Bohlen, Chief Technical Officer, Middle
East Centre for Sustainable Development (MECSD), an
organisation that aims to promote sustainable
development through policy certification and research.
“This is always a good way to stay connected.”

Some of the participants at the event talked to Property

Weekly about their efforts to promote sustainability and
smart technologies.

Upholding sustainability

There was no doubt that sustainability was a major

theme this year, given the high-profile presentations and
segments that focused on sustainability issues. There
was the Green Building Code presentation by Dubai
Municipality, the Gaia Awards for exceptional yet
sustainable innovations in the industry and the two-day
Sustainable Design and Construction Conference, which
drew high-profile dignitaries.

While sustainable development has been the trend for

many years, Bohlen says the concept has greatly
evolved from individual projects to encompass more
ambitious, large-scale developments such as
sustainable cities or smart cities.

Even the theme of Dubai’s bid to host the World Expo

2020 — “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” —
points towards the concept of smart cities, says Bohlen.

“Sustainable development for the future is all about

connectivity,” he says. “This connectivity is fast
becoming the link between humans, machines and the
biosphere.”

Technologies and methodologies in building systems

will continue to improve, adds Bohlen. “MECSD has
made great effort to become Building Information
Modelling [BIM] proficient in order to best serve our
building teams in the green building process.”

BIM manages graphics and data, enabling the design,

construction and operations teams to make better-
informed decisions over the building’s entire life cycle.

“It is worth noting that although sustainable architecture

and construction is important within the larger global
context, it takes on a bigger role in the Middle East, as
the region suffers from a harsh climate and has limited
resources compared to its consumption,” says Engi
Jaber, Sustainability Coordinator and Architect at Dewan
Architects and Engineers.

Solutions from the West

And things can go from bad to worse when the Middle

East buys technologies and solutions designed for
Western countries and applies them here, as most do
not meet the unique requirements of the region, says
Abdulmajid Karanouh, Director — Head of Façade at
Ramboll, a consulting engineering group.

“This is causing problems on many levels: low

performance, both in terms of comfort and efficiency;
poor economy, as both capital and running costs are
high; loss of identity and ability for local clients and
practices to understand the origin of such technologies
and how to improve them; and, most importantly, apathy
towards research and development at home,” says
Karanouh, one of the speakers at the two-day
conference on sustainable design and construction.

“The development of contextual and culturally specific

solutions is a genuine step towards a more sustainable
building design, engineering and construction industry.”

Sustainability needs to be integrated as a process and

approached holistically, adds Jaber, who delivered a
presentation at The Big 5 on balancing local iconic
architecture with sustainable design. “The ultimate goal
is to provide a facility that adds positive value to
everyone and everything, including the environment, and
assuring investors that their investments have
contributed to the society and will last a lifetime,” she
says.

Bohlen says the region, especially Abu Dhabi and Dubai,

has made great strides in improving construction
practices over the past few years. The green building
movement that started in early 2008 in Dubai and a little
later in Abu Dhabi has raised the level of consciousness
about sustainable building methods.

However, poor waste management continues to be one

of the biggest problems in the construction sector.

“Construction waste can usually be recycled through

proper waste management programmes, which can
minimise the waste that ends up in the landfill by 20-75
per cent. Several of the projects we have LEED-certified
in Dubai have even achieved above 90 per cent,
including Easy Hotel in Jebel Ali Free Zone, which had a
96 per cent reduction,” says Bohlen.

Other building practices that affect the environment

adversely include using materials and chemicals that are
high in volatile organic compounds for finishing works,
grading of construction sites without watering down to
prevent airborne dust from getting into the atmosphere,
using flammable building cladding and failing to properly
orientate new buildings, resulting in more solar gain.

Green only in name?

“We find so many buildings that look almost exactly the

same in terms of design and use almost exactly the
same systems, materials and technology as those in the
recent past, yet they are achieving sustainability
certificates,” says Karanouh.

“We are seeing minor improvements here and there in

terms of contextual consideration, such as orientation
and weather conditions. This is coupled with recycling of
materials and resources and the implementation of low-
efficiency renewables such as photovoltaics, wind
turbines etc. While all this effort is highly appreciated, it
is not yet sufficient to elevate building design,
engineering and construction to a genuinely sustainable
industry.

“The challenges everyone is facing in terms of

developing sustainable solutions require a higher
strategic planning and a deeper and more fundamental
understanding of key influencing contextual factors of
the design-to-delivery process, including geopolitical,
political, economic, cultural, the market and business
model and so on,” he says.

Revenue, competition

A glass industry insider working with an international

glass manufacturer and distributor who wishes to remain
anonymous shares Karanouh’s view on the lack of
concrete efforts to promote green practices. He says
talking green is all the rage in the region, but all too often
a higher premium is placed on a sustainable bank
account than on sustainability in the built environment,
while short-term gains outweigh long-term environmental
issues.

Competition is probably at the top of the list of worries of

most businesses in the construction and related
industries, now more than ever.

“The HVAC [heating, ventilation and air conditioning]

industry is in the process of consolidation,” says Navin
Valrani, CEO — Engineering Services Group at Oasis
Investment Company, part of Al Shirawi Group of
Companies. “As the market picks up, only those
companies with access to working capital and
sustainable business models are succeeding. This is
quite different from a decade ago when market liquidity
was high and there was room 

f or everyone.”

Maintenance

The lack of regular maintenance will result in reduced life

expectancy of any concrete structure, Hamid Rahim
Khan, Marketing Manager — Gulf States at Fosroc, tells
Property Weekly. Moreover, a reduced lifespan due to
poor upkeep points to inefficient use of raw materials
and, therefore, directly impacts sustainability.

I n this
regard, regular asset maintenance is vital for all concrete
structures, especially in this region, adds Khan.

“The environment in the Middle East is very aggressive

in terms of corrosive agents present in the atmosphere
such as chloride, carbon dioxide and sulphates. Proper
periodic maintenance must be practiced to increase the
life expectancy of structures.”
The Big 5

The 34th edition of The Big 5 had an estimated 25 per

cent increase in visitor numbers. The region’s biggest
construction exhibition brought together 2,500
manufacturers and distributors from more than 65
countries and showcased 30,000 innovative products.

“Construction in the region has really gained confidence,

and this is quickly being converted into real business
growth,” says The Big 5 Event Director Andy White.
“This year’s Big 5 was one of the largest in terms of size
and overall attendance for a number of years, with
around a 25 per cent increase in visitor numbers, subject
to the final audit.”

The Big 5 also hosted the Middle East Concrete and the
PMV (Plant, Machinery and Vehicles) Live, which were
free-to-attend exhibitions.