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September 3rd : Skyscraper Day

September 3rd : Skyscraper Day

Sep 12, 2016

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September 3rd : Skyscraper Day was chosen as a day to celebrate building of tall habitable structures.  It is the birthday of architect Louis H. Sullivan, who called the “father of skyscrapers” as he is considered to have designed the first ones in his home town of Chicago.  Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, better known as SOM of the US is one of the world leading architecture and engineering firms.  www.som.com has produced the design of residential tower that is object of the article below.

Commemoration of September 11, 2001, where nearly 3,000 people were killed in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center (WTC) twin Towers in New York took place yesterday. 

First and foremost, an overwhelming majority of structural engineers agree that the tragedies of September 11 were the result of a terrorist attack that caused catastrophic damage to WTC 1 and 2 as explained by William Kotterman, Licensed Engineer (SE, PE) in San Francisco in his writing dated 10 September 2013.  The construction industry is traditionally known for its slow adoption of new technology and innovation.  But at SOM as evidenced by the following story, innovative thinking is obviously being encouraged so as to create that well known competitive advantage. 

This article is available to members of MENA-Forum only.

Global Lifestyle Review – 2016

Jul 18, 2016

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Dubai among Top 5 Cities Globally for Entrepreneurs . . .

Dubai Emirate has been ranked among the Top 5 cities globally for entrepreneurs, according to a new report released by property advisory firm Knight Frank in their Global Lifestyle Review – 2016. Knight Frank, is a leading UK  and global marketing residential & commercial properties consultant with a strong presence in the Middle East.

The estate agent firm proceeded with the review of the most important lifestyle elements that individuals would consider when relocating their businesses.  It analysed the lifestyle that are predominant in in 26 ‘favourable’ tax locations around the world for people at three different stages of their life.  It has weighted various lifestyle elements and identified the top ten places to live for 3 types of individuals; e.g. an entrepreneur, family and retired couple.

For the entrepreneur, it marked Hong Kong top of the list, followed by London and Vancouver.

Cities were ranked on the basis of as various factors as many like safety and security, cost of transport and distance to airport, hours of sunshine per year, cost of petrol, and of annual healthcare, property market performance and above all else of quality of life generally.

Dubai, which ranked fourth globally, shared its position with Geneva, Sydney and Vienna.

For retired couples, the emirate ranked 5th for families following Luxembourg, Vienna, Hong Kong and Geneva.

The above publication happened in a background dominated by the persistence of low oil prices and restricted budgets.  Two snapshots, one of each the stream’s ends of the property market would possibly best illustrate Dubai’s situation.

  • Closer to the ground, high house prices and deposit requirements mean more and more people living in the UAE rent their homes rather than buy them according to new survey.
  • Also when asked what the problems are with the region’s construction industry, the professionals of mainly the international contracting giants would quite happily list lots of ponderables.

Top 10 Cities for Global Green Buildings

Jun 24, 2016

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Top Ten Global Cities for Green Buildings in 2016 . . .

A white paper by Solidiance, a corporate strategy consulting firm with focus on Asia, in an international survey of the development of green buildings in the world’s major cities was released last week.  In the “ Top 10 Cities for Global Green Buildings ” study by Solidiance, the world’s global cities have been ranked for their green building performance, compared to a set of agreed criteria.

Dubai has secured a place as one of the top 10 global cities.  And here is how the UAE’s local media reported on the white paper :

Globally, Paris, Singapore and London were found to have topped the list, with the largest number of green buildings and initiatives.  Three of the categories focused on the number of green building initiatives and their effectiveness, while one category focused on each city’s overall green performance.

The emirate ranked eighth on the list, which measured cities for their green building performance across four different categories.

Dubai was given a score of 43.52%, scoring most strongly in the ‘green building efficiency and performance’ category.  However, the emirate scored poorly in the waste recycling metric and in its renewable energy consumption levels.

The report comes even as Dubai has embarked on its clean energy strategy 2050 under which 7% of the city’s energy will be derived from clean energy sources by 2020, rising to 25% by 2030 and 75% by 2050.  The strategy also aims to maintain the city’s position as one of the global leaders for green buildings.

TOP 10 GLOBAL CITIES FOR GREEN BUILDINGS IN 2016

  1. Paris
  • Performance index score: 71.74%
  • Green buildings as a percentage of total number of buildings: 64
  • Green building policies and targets: 10%
  1. Singapore
  • Performance index score: 70.32%
  • Green buildings as a percentage of total number of buildings: 48
  • Green building policies and targets: 12.50%
  1. London
  • Performance index score: 67.77%
  • Green buildings as a percentage of total number of buildings: 68
  • Green building policies and targets: 10%
  1. Sydney
  • Performance index score: 62.93%
  • Green buildings as a percentage of total number of buildings: 6
  • Green building policies and targets: 10%
  1. Tokyo
  • Performance index score: 59.99%
  • Green buildings as a percentage of total number of buildings: 8
  • Green building policies and targets: 10%
  1. Hong Kong
  • Performance index score: 51.75%
  • Green buildings as a percentage of total number of buildings: 4
  • Green building policies and targets: 10%
  1. New York
  • Performance index score: 50.62%
  • Green buildings as a percentage of total number of buildings: 5
  • Green building policies and targets: 10%
  1. Dubai
  • Performance index score: 43.52%
  • Green buildings as a percentage of total number of buildings: 8
  • Green building policies and targets: 10%
  1. Beijing
  • Performance index score: 41.00%
  • Green buildings as a percentage of total number of buildings: 11
  • Green building policies and targets: 12.50%
  1. Shanghai
  • Performance index score: 36.94%
  • Green buildings as a percentage of total number of buildings: 15
  • Green building policies and targets: 12.50%

Excerpts of the paper’s preface of Solidiance white paper are reproduced herewith :

THE TOP 10 GLOBAL CITIES FOR GREEN BUILDINGS

This white paper ranks the performance of 10 global cities: Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, New York, Paris, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo (not in particular order) with regards to green buildings performance.  Each city was analysed to assess green building policies and targets, adoption of green building certification and construction projects, and the efficient performance of the city’s built environment.  The purpose of the paper is to benchmark and publish the green building performance of these global cities, in order to evaluate global progress towards sustainable development, increase knowledge-sharing, share best practices, and better understand what is best (and what is not) working for cities on the global green building stage.

The methodology used in the assessment and development of this white paper is based on four main categories:

  • City-wide Green Building Landscape
  • Buildings Efficiency and Performance
  • Green Building Policies and Targets
  • Green City Culture and Environment

Read more at http://www.solidiance.com/whitepaper/download/the-top-10-global-cities-for-green-buildings.php

Tokyo Sky Mile Tower to double Burj Khalifa

Feb 9, 2016

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Tokyo Sky Mile Tower to double Burj Khalifa of Dubai, UAE.

The image above is a rendering that shows the plan by Kohn Pedersen Fox Assoc. and Leslie E. Robertson Assoc. for “Next Tokyo.”  Here is the story.

Tokyo Sky Mile Tower to double Burj Khalifa

If the plans are accepted – ‘Sky Mile Tower’ would be surrounded by a series of man-made hexagonal islands, that are designed to protect Tokyo from flooding and act as foundation for homes for around half a million people.

The tower and satellite islands also come equipped with wind, solar and algae farms to provide electricity and its façades have been designed to collect, filter and store water from the elements of the surrounding weather.

All vertical population movement will be make use of Thyssen Krupp’s cable-free, magnetic levitation elevators, which can run vertically and horizontally.

Assuming it is approved, the man-made marvel is set to be completed by 2045.

This Is What Tokyo Will Look Like in 2045—Including Its Mile-High Skyscraper . . . 

This article is available to members of MENA-Forum only.
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