Latha Krishnan

DEVELOPING ‘green’ build-ings — residential and commercial establishments that are energy-efficient —

is an important mainstay of sustain-able development. And a concerted focus on this is also one of the many significant measures that the Gov-ernment of the UAE has undertaken to promote sustainable growth and minimise environmental impact. The forming of the Emirates Green Build-ing Council (Emirates GBC), in 2006 is an outcome of that vision.

The Emirates GBC is a non-profit organisation formed with the goal of advancing green building prin-ciples that help protect the environ-ment and foster sustainability. “With a vision to actively support the UAE to be one of the five global leaders

in helping to reduce the ecological footprint of the sustainable building environment by 2015, the Emirates GBC’s mission is to help shape poli-cies for the built environment and facilitate collaborative solutions to promote sustainable practices in the UAE,” affirms Adnan Abdulrahman Sharafi, Chairman of Emirates GBC.

Setting an example by practising the philosophy it upholds, the Emir-ates GBC is in the final phases of moving to its new headquarters in Al Joud Building on Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai. The new offices demonstrate innovative sustainability features and are on course to achieve high sustainability ratings of both LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environ-mental Design) and BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method).

“We cannot leave behind the bad legacy of a damaged environment for the future generation. Only if all of us realise the importance of ‘reduce, reuse and renew’ without wasting precious natural resources and make the conservation of the earth and its climate a priority while living in energy-efficient, environ-ment-friendly buildings, can we be confident that the coming generations will

Committed to ensuring

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sustainabilityThe Emirates GBC is a non-profi t organisation formed in 2006 with the goal of advancing green building principles that help protect the environment and foster sustainability

Emirates GBC participates in various multinational events, conferences and forums and organises activities such as networking events, technical workshops, focus days and facilitated training based around specifi c issues related to the built-environment to meet the needs of its members

Adnan Abdulrahman Shara , Chairman of Emirates GBC

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lead a good healthy life. We are promoting energy-efficiency in both new and existing buildings,” says Sharafi. He and his team at Emirates GBC, as well as all its members hailing from a plethora of varied industries, are commit-ted to work towards providing an unrivalled base for knowledge-sharing and networking oppor-tunities to advance the various ideas of sustainability and imple-menting green building practices in the UAE.

Affiliated to the World Green Building Council (WGBC), Emir-ates GBC, which was the first in

the region and eighth in the world to join WGBC, is now involved in the setting up of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) GBC. Sharafi elaborates: “One of our founding members Dr Sadek Owainati is spearheading the es-tablishment of the MENA GBC in conjunction with like-minded in-dividuals from other countries in the region, several of whom are also setting up their own coun-cils. Strengthening the MENA net-work is very important to us and we find that one way to do that is to participate in various regional exhibitions that are geared to sustainability.”

Emirates GBC participates in various multinational events, con-ferences and forums and orga-nises activities such as network-ing events, technical workshops,

focus days and facilitated train-ing based around specific issues related to the built-environment to meet the needs of its mem-bers. The Council’s calendar for 2011 includes an impressive list of events, flagged off superbly on January 19 with a networking event held in Abu Dhabi — titled ‘Sense and Science’ by Dr Sue Roaf.

Forthcoming events include participation of Emirates GBC in leading international confer-ences and exhibitions, including World Future Energy Summit, Façade and Design Engineering 2011, WETEX 2011, Arabian Con-struction Week, 5th Annual Cost-Effective Sustainable Design and Construction Middle East and City Build 2011 and others.

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There should be a “take a plant to work” day. And while you’re at it, you should keep one on your desk. Or, better yet, have two or more in your

office and for every room in your home for cleaner, fresher air.

Most people spend 90 per cent of their lives inside, where the indoor air they breathe contains at least 10 times more pollutants than the outdoors.

Instead of wearing a mask to work or around your home, there’s a natural solution: indoor house-plants. Plants filter the very air you breathe round the clock from common pollutants and continuously re-lease oxygen and moisture in homes and offices.

Plants act as the ‘lungs of the earth’ by giving off ox-ygen and taking in carbon dioxide. Besides aesthet-ics, the mere presence of plants has been proven to lessen environmental pollution, increase labour pro-ductivity and reduce the cost of health care.

What’s in the air: Modern life depends on technol-ogy, but ordinary products like paints, tobacco smoke, printer inks and even carpets hold hidden dangers that plants can help reduce.

Today, there are over 80,000 synthetic chemicals that emit off-gases. Formaldehyde is one of the lead-ing chemical compounds found in indoor air emis-sions and is a component in paper products, paints, upholstery, drapes and pressed wood products.

Plant magic: Plants improve air quality through their natural filtering ability. Indoor houseplants ab-sorb up to 87 per cent of ammonia, formaldehyde and benzene found in many homes and offices. And cer-tain indoor houseplants clean the air every 24 hours. How? They absorb toxins into the leaves and root zone where they’re turned into nutrients. Some tropical plants actually suppress airborne mould.

Working day and night: Some of the hardest work-ing plants are the peace lilies, ferns, palms and spider plants. These natural botanical air purifiers make per-fect bedroom buddies to refresh and beautify your room for a truly healthy, restful night’s sleep.

Bring a plant to work: Put a plant on your desk and feel happier, enjoy better health and be more pro-ductive. Office workers should have at least one plant in their personal breathing space where most of the work is done to effectively remove indoor pollutants. Snake plants, broad sword ferns and rubber plants are among the top 10 air purifiers recommended. They’re easy to grow, are natural humidifiers and remove air-borne chemicals. Other green heroes are chrysanthe-mums, Gerbera daisies and spider plants.

Location: Consider the light, humidity, and tem-perature of your indoor spaces to determine the best choices for your home. Put a majesty palm in your living room, fern in the family room and peace lilies in the kitchen. Add heartleaf philodendron for beauty and maximum air cleansing benefits. In your fast-paced life, plant-filled rooms help keep you in touch with nature and the ability to view living plants enhances our psychological and physiological well-being. You should place as many plants as space and lighting will allow. — ARA

Indoor houseplants act as natural air purifi ers and enhance the aesthetic as well as psychological well-being

HAIL

PLANTthe mighty

• CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Latha Krishnan

BASF is the largest chemical company in the world. What has helped put the or-ganisation is the key business philosophy encapsulated in their slogan — ‘we help to shape the future’. Earth’s future depends on the development and use of energy e! -cient, sustainable solutions. At BASF, they live this philosophy. It’s what prompted company to become a founding member of the Emirates Green Building Council (EGBC) in 2006, and what today drives them to continue to strongly support this initiative.

Harald Kroll, Managing Director of BASF FZE in Dubai says: “BASF is a 100-year-old company and its activities have evolved and grown over time. Our commitment to the environment has, however, remained con-stant. We actively pursue this eco-philos-ophy through ongoing research, develop-ment and commercialisation of intelligent, energy e! cient and sustainable solutions for housing, mobility, and industry. By sup-porting the EGBC, we further assist in the advancement and adoption of green build-ing principles, so better protecting the cli-mate and environment, and ensuring sus-

tainability in this country.” BASF takes a strategic approach to sus-

tainability, integrating social and ecologi-cal issues in its business processes to en-sure long term economic success – for the company and its customers. Recognition for BASF’s eco-e" orts has once again seen it listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability In-dex, with a special mention by analysts for its risk and crisis management, environ-mental policy, reporting, and climate strat-egy. But BASF also believes sustainability should not know, or have, any borders.

“The EGBC is an important platform to drive awareness of eco challenges. For green construction practices to be broadly adopted, the support of business, science, politicians and society, and the entire con-struction value chain is needed - and they need to actively engage in terms of seeking out sustainable products and processes. We are thus fully supporting EGBC in its task of encouraging neighbouring countries to establish their own green building councils and set up a network among the regional councils,” says Kroll.

Kroll believes there is a distinct lack of awareness in the Middle East of the need to save energy. “Organisations need to take on the challenge of conducting business re-sponsibly, minimising their impact on the environment and on health by minimising waste and following energy conservation guidelines – and using products and apply-ing solutions that enhance sustainability and are created in an eco-principled man-ner. It can be done.”

BASF has a broad portfolio of products ranging from chemicals, plastics and per-

formance products to agricultural prod-ucts, fi ne chemicals, and oil and gas. In 2008, BASF set a new goal to reduce specifi c greenhouse gas emissions per metric tonne of products sold by 25 per cent by 2020 (baseline 2002). Kroll adds: “A comprehen-sive carbon footprint analysis shows BASF can protect the climate with modern chem-istry. Our products save three times more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire amount caused by the production and dis-posal of all BASF products.”

Masdar City, which aims to be the world’s fi rst carbon neutral and zero-waste city, will clearly demonstrate how eco-friendly construction and operation principles can be practically applied, believes Kroll. BASF has entered a strategic partnership with Masdar for collaboration in the construc-tion of Masdar City, with BASF named a ‘preferred supplier’ of construction ma-terials and system solutions for the City’s construction.

Says Kroll: “Masdar City will take on a light house function. It’s an appropriate model for a ‘city of the future’ that organi-sations and complexes in the region can emulate.”

BASF products and expertise are making great inroads in incorporating energy e! -cient climate friendly solutions in several other projects. BASF is active in industries such as construction (ready mix produc-tion), chemicals (oil and gas industry), and specialties (plastics, sea water desalina-tion) in the Middle East.

BASF’s operations in the Arabian Gulf re-gion comprise BASF FZE, BASF Kanoo Gulf FZE, Elastogran Kanoo LLC and BASF CC

UAE LLC. These organisations sell the en-tire BASF product portfolio. Together they employ more than 400 people. Worldwide, BASF has approximately 105,000 employ-ees and posted sales of more than 50 billion Euros in 2009.

KHALEEJ TIMES ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT KHALEEJ TIMES ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT Tuesday, January 25, 2Tuesday, January 25, 2011011 IIIEmirates Green Building Council

LATICRETE was founded more than 50 years ago on the prin-ciple of making tile and stone installations easier and more e! cient. Since then, the company has been a leading innova-tor and pioneer in the industry. Dozens of their revolution-ary products and services enable more versatile applications, which are more a" ordable to install, more durable and easier to maintain in virtually any climate or environment.

Since revolutionising the tile and stone industry in 1956 with the invention of thin-set mortar adhesive, Laticrete has con-tinued its commitment to innovation, expertise and service.

Laticrete is committed to creating solutions today that help preserve a better tomorrow. Laticrete proudly provides tile and stone installation materials certifi ed by Greenguard based on criteria used by the US EPA, OSHA and the US Green Build-ing Council’s LEED-CI programme.

Laticrete continues to innovate and set the standard in both service and product in many areas, including tile grout, radi-ant fl oor heating systems, crack suppression, waterproofi ng, sound control, adhesives, mortars and more.

Laticrete is working on a ven-tilated façade system to con-serve energy and make buildings breathable. Also, the company produces No VOC/ Low VOC products.

Laticrete HydroBan allows fast-track waterproofi ng, which can be fl ood tested on the same day of the application which saves time as well as labour.

All their products contribute to LEED points to achieve dif-ferent levels of LEED certifi ca-tion. There are many projects in the Middle East that have used Laticrete products in or-der to achieve LEED certifi ca-tion. Some of which are King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia (fi rst platinum project in KSA), MASDAR in Abu Dhabi and many more are currently using Laticrete products.

With the introduction of Estidama, now Abu Dhabi has its own rating system, which addresses the unique local condi-tions relevant from the perspective of sustainability. All the products contribute to achieve various levels of this new rat-ing system.

Industry leaders, innovators, pioneer and a trusted partner, Laticrete continues to set the industry standard for quality, in-novation, service and integrity.

Laticrete is dedicated to creating innovative solutions today to help in preserving a better tomorrow

TRANS Gulf Electro-Mechanical L.L.C started its operations as early as 1972 in Dubai and has established its branch o! ces in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Qatar and India.

With an excellent and proven track re-cord in quality, health and safety of employ-ees and environment protection in over 486 MEP projects in line with ISO9001, ISO14001 and OHSAS18001, Trans Gulf Electro-Mechanical LLC is one of the lead-ing names in the fi eld of electro-mechanical projects since the last 38 years and it has made its presence felt in the business of sup-ply, installation, testing and commission-

ing of electro-mechanical solutions which include district cooling plants, pipelines, air-conditioning and ventilation systems, electrical and low current systems as well as wet services such as plumbing, drainage and fi re-fi ghting systems.

The organisation’s portfolio includes: fi ve-star hotels, resorts, airports, malls, luxury villas, residential/commercial build-ings, infrastructure projects and hospital projects, etc.

While growing from strength to strength, Trans Gulf Electro Mechanical’s commit-ment towards society is clearly visible in

the fact that it is the founding member of Emirates Green Building Council, mem-ber of Emirates Environmental Group, and actively takes part in Clean-up world cam-paigns, etc.

Sekhar Reddy, the company’s General Manager, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our hardworking employees, our customers (clients, project managers, main contractors and consul-tants), our suppliers and all our well-wish-ers. These achievements and success would have not been possible without all your sup-port.”

Growing from strength to strength, Trans Gulf Electro-Mechanical is committed to ensuring the well-being of society as an active member of environmental groups in the country

Boasting ‘a clean’ record

Dedicated toinnovation

BASF and Emirates Green Building Council are focused towards building a more eco-principled future and in the adoption of building green principles

Shaping an eco-friendly future

BASF products and expertise are making great inroads in incorporating energy-effi cient climate-friendly solutions in several other projects. BASF is active in industries such as construction (ready mix production), chemicals (oil and gas industry), and specialties (plastics, sea water desalination) in the Middle East

Laticrete proudly provides tile and stone installation materials certifi ed by Greenguard based on criteria used by the US EPA, OSHA and the US Green Building Council’s LEED-CI programme

Sekhar Reddy

DUCAB is jointly owned by the govern-ments of Dubai and Abu Dhabi (50 per cent each) and has one of the most modern man-ufacturing units in the region. It occupies an area of 590,000 square metres in Jebel Ali, Dubai, and nearly 330,000 square metres in Mussafah, Abu Dhabi, spread over two fac-tories.

Today, Ducab produces over 110,000 tonnes of copper equivalent low-voltage, medium and high-voltage cables, to emerge as a leader and the fi rst choice of prestigious customers in the Middle East. Ducab’s prod-uct range covers high-voltage cables up to 132kV, Ducab Powerplus medium-voltage cables up to 33kV, low-voltage power cables, control and auxiliary cables, wiring cables and lead-sheathed cables, Ducab-Smoke-master low smoke and fume cables, and Ducab-FR (fi re resistant cables), cable com-ponents and cable accessories, as well as cop-per rod that Ducab manufactures at its own copper rod plant. Ducab HV, the fi rst high-voltage plant in the region is a joint venture between Ducab, ADWEA and DEWA, which

will make cables of up to 400 kV. It is under construction currently and will be ready by the end of fi rst quarter in 2011.

Ducab is an ISO9001:2000 certifi ed com-pany for both its factories. Ducab manage-ment systems are certifi ed with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and BS EN OHSAS 18001 stan-dards across all of its factories. The Abu Dhabi factory was recently awarded an ISO 14001 Environmental Management Sys-tem certifi cate and an OHSAS 18001 Oc-cupational Health and Safety certifi cate by BASEC UK (British Approval Services for Cables). The cables comply with British and international standards and are approved by the full British Standard of the BASEC UK, Loss Prevention Certifi cate Board UK (LPCB) and Lloyd’s Register, UK.

These certifi cations are the latest in a string of recognitions achieved by the com-pany, which is a two-time winner of Gulf Ex-cellence Award, three-time winner of Dubai Quality Award, two times (1998 and 2004) in the Gold category. Ducab was honoured with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Business Excellence Award for its achievements in the manufacturing sector. The award was presented at a ceremony held in April 2009 in the presence of His Highness Shaikh Mo-hammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-Pres-ident and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Ducab has also won other awards such as the Investment Corpora-

tion of Dubai (ICD) Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Economic Value Creation in the Industrial Sector. Ducab has also won the Superbrands award for two consecu-tive years in 2009 and 2010 for excellence in branding.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Ducab has marked it success in every major project in the UAE and internationally; especially UAE’s massive projects such as Burj Khalifa, Dubai Metro, Emirates Palace, Burj Al Arab, Atlantis, The Palm, and Yas Marina Circuit. Also, Ducab has supplied power cables to projects like the Ras Gas Project, Lulu Cen-tre and the Dasman Hypermarket (Qatar), Central Bank of Oman, Al Manah Power Sta-tion and the Oman Culture Centre (Oman), Sur Hospital Bahrain, Gulf Air Headquar-ters, Bahrain City Centre, Bahrain Financial Harbour (Bahrain), Kuwait Oil Company and Kuwait National Petroleum Company (Kuwait).

Further abroad in Asia, the company’s milestone contributions include working on the Public Utility Board (Singapore), ICC Tower (Hong Kong), HSBC Corporate Of-fi ce (Hong Kong), the Delhi Metro (India) and Shiraz Metro (Iran).

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Ducab is the fi rst choice of prestigious customers in the UAE and it has been part of many prestigious projects across Asia

Milestones galore

“PITTSBURGH Corning is the world’s biggest supplier of Cellular Glass Insu-lation, which is used for thermal pro-tection of the whole building envelope and industrial applications like oil and gas production and chilled water pip-ing. FOAMGLAS is our brand name and stands for quality, durability and sustain-ability,” says Marco Thomas Vincenz, Di-rector Middle East.

He adds that the company is achieving

a lot of ecology certifi cates and approv-als, like ecospecifi er, greenspec and their latest achievement is the approval from the MASDAR sustainability department.

“We are doing very well after the crisis due to di! erent and a better awareness of ecology, durability combined with quality resulting fi nally in sustainability. The short time speculators are displaced with sustainable investors. So we knock on open doors when we contact clients and consultants. FOAMGLAS has a wide range of di! erent projects — buildings with amazing infrastructures such as Doha Airport, midsize industrial build-ings and private villas. Louvre Museum is in plans with FOAMGLAS in the build-ing envelope as well as Arzanah Hospital, Cleveland Clinic, Jubail University. Some Army projects and many more other projects are in process in the entire GCC area,” explains Marco Vincenz. “Thanks

to the growing ecological awareness, combining the extreme durability and performance, availing a huge advantage to our competitors.”

Pittsburgh Corning is a member of the Emirates Green Building Council since the company launched in the Middle East in 2006. “The need of consistent creation of awareness, education and training in the construction industry is essential. EGBC has done an excellent job and everybody should join it through membership.”

FOAMGLAS is the supplier of thermal insulation witha very low carbon footprint and is part of many prestigious projectsin the GCC

Effective building envelope

FOAMGLAS application Voith workshop in Dubai

THERE has never been more interest for products, systems and services that are friendly to business and forgiving to the environment. Trane endeavours to meet this demand with chilled-water systems that deliver measurable, supe-rior performance, at lower operating costs. Thanks to energy-e" cient de-sign, Trane EarthWise™ systems help building owners reduce utility costs and lower potential negative impact on the environment.

By driving down supply tempera-tures and raising temperature di! er-entials, EarthWise™ systems typically operate at lower fl ow rates than other chilled water confi gurations. The knock-on e! ect is the requirement for smaller pumps, fans, ductwork and pip-ing, which translates into lower initial and operating costs. The design char-acteristics, which deliver this perfor-mance is the low-temperature, direct drive, low-speed chiller technology.

A fully optimised EarthWise™ sys-tem delivers:

Exceptional energy-e" ciency• Enhanced reliability, durability •

and serviceabilityLower lifecycle costs• Reduced materials and mechani-• cal system footprintLow noise characteristics•

The low-fl ow, low-temperature char-acteristic is well-suited for Variable Air Volume (VAV) systems, which system designers and building owners often specify to keep cost under control while delivering high levels of comfort, indoor air quality and acoustics.

Trane EarthWise™ systems can be found in many prestigious installa-tions such as Palm Jumeirah, Crescent and Trunk (140,000 TR), Jumeirah Beach Residence (60,000 TR), Mall of the Emirates (13,000 TR), Discovery

Gardens (100,000 TR), DIFC (48,000 TR), Dubai Investment Park (50,000 TR), Dubai Health care City (30,000 TR), Dubai World Central (100,000 TR), and Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa (40,000 TR). This last installation includes an ancillary Trane chiller lo-cated on the 159th fl oor, making it the highest chiller in the world!

This commitment to e" ciency and the environment is refl ected in the rest of the Ingersoll Rand family of which Trane is now a proud member. This $13-billion global diversifi ed engineer-ing organisation strives to o! er its cli-ents products and services that help make their facilities and businesses more e" cient, more secure and more comfortable.

Trane EarthWise™ systems help building owners reduce utility costs and lower potential negative impact on the environment

Effi cient method of lowering bills

The beauty of the EarthWiseTM

CenTraVacTM chiller goes far beyond its obviious good looks

FAISAL Jassim Trading Company LLC was established in 1988, specialising in the electrical and mechanical fi elds re-lated to the building services industry. In just over a decade, FJTCO has built for itself a venerable reputation of exper-tise and excellence, for its high-quality equipment and reli-able services. FJTCO understands the importance of having excellent service back-up and workshop facility.

The company’s team comprises experienced technicians, well-equipped with tools and machinery to execute qual-ity work. FJTCO is a member of the Emirates Green Build-ing Council. FJTCO engineers have been trained to assist designers in optimising their selections to meet the most stringent energy e" ciency requirements.

The company’s vision is to become a market leader in ev-ery product they provide to the building services industry, contributing to clients’ and employees’ success.

FJTCO activities are spread between the following divi-sions:

Pumping equipment• Electrical switchgear and controls• Pre-insulated HVAC ducting and insulation• Air distribution terminals• Air handling units• Valves• Cooling towers and heat exchangers• Air-conditioning equipment•

Boiler, plumbing and solar heating systems• Ventilation equipment•

FJTCO is constantly working on improving its services and enlarging its line of products to ensure a comprehensive coverage of the building service industry. The company has geared up their local manufacturing and expanded produc-tion to cater to the increased demand in the GCC markets.

FJTCO head o" ce is located in Dubai, with branch o" ces in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Riyadh, Oman, Iraq and India. The com-pany’s workshops, storage and assembly lines are located in Dubai Investment Park in a purpose-built 18,000-metre square facility and also enjoy a presence in the retail mar-ket through their 450-metre square showroom in Al Qusais, Dubai.

Faisal Jassim Trading Company LLC has built for itself a reputation of expertise and excellence in high-quality equipment and reliable services

Building efficiency

Ducab’s product range covers High Voltage cables up to 132kV, Ducab Powerplus Medium Voltage cables up to 33kV, Low Voltage power cables, control and auxiliary cables, wiring cables and lead-sheathed cables, Ducab-Smokemaster- Low Smoke and Fume cables, and Ducab-FR (Fire Resistance Cables), cable components and cable accessories, as well as copper rod that Ducab manufactures in their own copper rod plant

FOAMGLAS is achieving several ecology certifi cates and approvals

AL ARSH Facility Management Ser-vices is a division of Al Arsh Properties LLC established in Dubai in 2007. The aim of the organisation is to provide ef-fi cient facility management services for government, commercial, residential buildings, hospitals, light industrial units, parks and grounds, clubs, malls, hotels and serviced apartments with the focus to prolong the lifecycle of the clients’ built assets, reduce operational costs and promote sustainability.

The organisation’s people have the optimal blend of capabilities and tech-nical expertise in civil, mechanical, electrical and HVAC services to help clients achieve the optimal level of per-formance.

Al Arsh Energy Management Services deliver a broad range of energy manage-ment services. From energy e! ciency audit, consultation to commissioning and recommending alternative energy sources (renewable energy). Below are the benefi ts for facilities and building owners:

Improved operational perfor-• mance of energy systems resulting in reduced running energy costsReduced maintenance costs• Improve environmental perfor-• mance

The company’s team of energy man-agement professionals includes LEED®-

AP, CEM® and CEA® accred-ited experts, multi-disciplined e! ciency and conservation engineers and operators cov-ering nearly every type of facil-ities, for solutions that power businesses forward.

Al Arsh Owners Association Management Services is a sister concern of Al Arsh Properties and Gerab Group. Al Arsh OAMS has been formed in sum-mer 2010 to o" er independent services to developers and homeowners, from

the interim transfer stage to the day-to-day operation of the buildings and com-munities. The central part of our strat-egy is to keep the service quality high, to make sure that service charges are col-lected and spent wisely, reserve funds are managed carefully, and all owners are kept fully informed.

The organisation brings together fa-cilities, energy and strata management expertise to o" er the region’s most pro-fessional owners’ association manage-ment services.

KHALEEJ TIMES ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT KHALEEJ TIMES ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT Tuesday, January 25, 2Tuesday, January 25, 2011011 VEmirates Green Building Council

Services that prolong facility’s lifecycleAl Arsh Facility Management Services offers optimaltechnical expertise to achieve competent level of performance and ensure improved environmental performance

THE call for sustainability in our daily lives is now essen-tial due to the increasing global environmental hazards, depletion of natural resources, damage to ecosystems and loss of biodiversity resulting from increasing human population, consumptive lifestyle (a# uence) and tech-nology. The construction industry in particular has been recognised as having a major negative impact on the envi-ronment as it consumes signifi cant amount of resources both during construction, operation and maintenance of a building.

The quest for economical benefi t has tended to super-sede the environmental impacts of a building. The quality of both the indoor and outdoor environments will su" er greatly if economical and environmental benefi ts are not considered together. A sustainable building must support the health, comfort and well-being of its inhabitants (in-door air quality, acoustic comfort, visual comfort, thermal comfort and spatial comfort) as well as having minimal impact on the outdoor environmental (materials and re-

sources). A sustainable building must also address the rel-evant physiological, psychological, sociological, economi-cal reliability and fl exibility.

Integration between the di" erent building systems (mechanical/electrical, interior, envelope and structure) starts with an integrated design team/process and con-tinues throughout the operation and maintenance of the building. E" ective commissioning is an essential, yet un-derestimated, process required to insure the proper and continued e! cient operation of all of the building’s sys-tems. A building designed, constructed and operated in such a manner will excel in performing its intended task with minimal impact on recourses and the environment over its lifecycle. Such a building is often referred to as an intelligent building.

To prepare construction professionals, policy-makers and stakeholders in this industry for the challenges, the British University in Dubai (BUiD) o" ers two MSc degree programmes: Sustainable Design of the Built Environ-ment (SDBE) and Intelligent Building Design and Auto-mation (IBDAA) in association with Cardi" University and the University of Manchester. Both universities have high standing in terms of education and research as high-lighted in the recent UK Research Assessment.

British University in Dubai (BUiD) provides integrated professional higher education for sustainable and intelligent building

Imparting knowledge on harmony

JEFFREY WILLIS, Associate Direc-tor, Arup Gulf Ltd and Vice-Chairman EGBC, shared his views on the part-nership between EGBC and Arup.

“In March 2006 the EGBC ap-proached the international design, en-gineering and consultancy fi rm Arup to participate as a founding member in the embryonic organisation. As a breakthrough moment in the history of the built environment in the UAE,

Arup gladly accepted as it has for some time been our belief that the creation and maintenance of a sustainable built environment is of the utmost impor-tance to society and it is incumbent upon the construction industry to lead the way.

Arup is proud to have played a lead-ing role in the success of the EGBC, not only in the UAE, but also interna-tionally through relationships with

the WGBC and the USGBC, resulting in the EGBC making a major contri-bution to education for sustainable building design in the UAE.

In addition, with all that has trans-pired in the last almost fi ve years, it

is interesting to remember one of the original aspirations, which stated that the EGBC “could become a model for the region to follow”. Today the EGBC assists many other GBC’s in the region and has signifi cantly been given the important role of leading the MENA group with the world body.

For all new design commissions that Arup secures in the region it is apply-ing the ideology of the EGBC on proj-ects as diverse as energy supply strat-egies for major new master-plans to updating of existing building stock to reduce future energy demands whilst increasing the remaining asset value.

As the EGBC moves forward into the latter part of its fi rst decade, Arup is committed to a continued role in “shaping a better world” through leadership and active participation in the EGBC.

Arup has played a leading role in the success of the EGBC, not only in the UAE, but also internationally through relationships with the WGBC and the USGBC, resulting in the EGBC making a major contribution to education for sustainable building design in the UAE

Playing a pivotal role

Jeffrey Willis

The LEED-ER in GREEn

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