Arc Middle East 2019

Synopsis

The presenter prefaces the session with a brief history of façade design over the last 2 decades and then proceeds to select a series of aspects peculiar to designing facades in the Middle East. Aspects covered will be the thermal environment, glass selection, opaque area treatment, roofing, fire, the design process and culture.

The intention is to provide the audience with a sense of ‘how it all works out here’ by picking out and highlighting idiosyncrasies of both interest and importance.

There will be a mixture of technical and procedural views, based on the presenter’s opinion and experience.

Synopsis

Dr. Eisenberg will begin by quickly looking at current and future global economic condition with particular attention being paid to the primary consumers of energy including the USA, EU, China, Japan and India, their economic growth and their paths of monetary policy. Dr. Eisenberg will then look at global oil demand and supply over the next few years and in the process discuss the role of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), OPEC, marginal oil producers and what this all means for global oil prices. Elliot will close this talk by looking at the economy of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States with particular attention being paid to GDP growth, oil production and revenues, public finances and population growth.

Synopsis

A variety of sustainability certification schemes are applicable in the region. Their fundamentals are examined to better understand their impacts. The benefits differ between available schemes.

In many cases, energy reduction was not the key factor for achieving certification. Water reduction played a more crucial role. Anecdotal information indicates that operational buildings are consume more energy and water resources than projected. The reasons behind such variations are examined.

Delivering a sustainable project can have a broader positive impact on socio-economic benefits.  Application of sustainability does not only provide something that can be labeled as “green”, it also provides a final product, of better quality and a higher value than the norm. Investment in sustainability can have a very short payback period.

Synopsis

This presentation explores the development of the world’s first fully functional and permanently occupied 3D-printed building. It gives brief overview of the history of 3D printing in construction and how it has the opportunity to reduce project costs in terms of transportation, labor and waste. The presentation describes the structural, functional and aesthetic aspects of the system and the realities of delivering a 3D-printed building project within the given constraints of time and budget. The presentation concludes by outlining future possibilities for 3D-printed concrete and construction techniques, and emphasizes that, regardless of the technology or the method of construction used, timeless design attributes (such as quality of light, space, proportion, views, privacy, and community) are still central to the enterprise.