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Jeddah to host Green Building Day at Stone and Surface Exhibition

 
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9 Apr 2018

Experts are joining a ‘Green Building Workshop’ in Jeddah this week – taking over a full day of the three-day conference at Stone & Surface Saudi Arabia 2018 (10-12th April 2018) – set to reveal Saudi’s position as a world leader in sustainable construction, with an “intelligent cities” green built environment on its horizon.

According to the Saudi Green Building Forum (SGBF), Saudi Arabia is transforming its built landscape with 1,218 projects currently underway across the country covering a total 22 million sqm gross, registered or certified with the LEED green building rating system – including smart, sustainable mega cities.

More than 1200 green building projects are currently underway throughout Saudi Arabia
More than 1200 green building projects are currently underway throughout Saudi Arabia

“Saudi Arabia is currently the third most invested country globally in green building and is fast set to become the world leader,” commented H. E. Faisal Alfadl, Secretary-General of SGBF, who will chair the workshop with topics covering Saudi Arabia’s green building outlook, cities performance, green building international code and best practice at the Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events this Tuesday (10th April).

Al Fadl added: “The Kingdom is already home to one the highest concentrations of Gold and Platinum LEED certified buildings in the Middle East, with a cluster of more than 50 towers together at the King Abdullah Financial Districts in Riyadh.

“Saudi Arabia led the way in the 50’s supplying energy with global oil, and now once again the country is set to lead the way in green building, planning world clean energy solar plants with mega infrastructure projects including smart city NEOM, leading into the future with Saudi Vision 2030.

“In the future, buildings here will not only be sustainable – they will be ‘intelligent’, able to communicate with humans and be in synergy, to understand and interact with diverse culture and lifestyles, and inter-relate to ensure that there is no unnecessary waste of energy or water being consumed, and provide a better quality of life for occupants.”

The Green Building Workshop will also be led by Ahmed Abunada, saaf® Professional, LEED AP and USGBC Faculty and Buthina Aljehani, LEED GA Associate Architect at Istithna Consultant Engineering, and will take over the conference (4pm-8pm) during its first day at Stone & Surface Saudi Arabia 2018.

Alfadl added: “At the Green Building Workshop we'll be revealing the first translated green building code specific to the Arab world and conceptualized in Arabic – the only one of its kind in the world alongside the original English version by International Code Council.

“The code will include a series of concepts and implementation tactics relevant to the Middle East with a focus on preserving cultural heritage whilst incorporating new technological advancements, materials and techniques to achieve the ultimate in green building and comply with all current regulations.

“The workshop will also introduce saaf® green city by SGBF a programme that is specifically designed to help all those involved with developing sustainability in the built environment in Saudi Arabia and has been developed to complement actions being taken globally to address the urban challenge with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

The Stone Conference will run for three days during the second annual edition of Stone & Surface Saudi Arabia 2018, the Kingdom’s premier event for the stone and surface design industry, 10-12th April 2018 at the Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events.

Other highlights throughout the CPD-certified conference include a keynote from JLL, a talk on the use of local stone, granite and other green surface materials in Saudi Vision 2030 from the Saudi Concrete Chapter and Green Quality Consulting Engineering Office, a look at the most essential elements of construction contracts from Hanmi Global Saudi, and much more.

Find out more about Stone & Surface Saudi Arabia, co-located with The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia 2018, and register to attend the events for free at: www.stoneandsurfacesaudi.com



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