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David Scott and Lootah at the conference.

Dubai’s leadership role in sustainability praised

01 April 2008

The eighth World Congress of the Council on Tall Buildings & Urban Habitat (CBTUH) closed on a successful note last month with 965 participants representing 44 countries and 92 speakers presenting papers on a variety of topics related to the congress theme ‘Tall and Green: Typology for a Sustainable Urban Future.”

The conference concluded with the participants agreeing on how Dubai was well suited to lead the world in creating sustainable dense cities, if it followed new radical fundamental planning and sustainable designing strategies.
“The race to achieve new heights has not been without its challenges,” said Antony Wood, CTBUH executive director. “With the advent of innovative technologies and sustainable designs, I believe towers and skyscrapers will continue to soar skyward. Whether it is in the UAE, UK, US or Asia, tall buildings are not only a global trend, they also portray nationalistic ambitions and pride. Interestingly, the Dubai government’s vision of contributing to a more ‘sustainable built environment’ seems to best sum up the aspirations of those leaders gathered this week in Dubai.”
Speakers at the CTBUH congress said that sustainability is a philosophy that should be incorporated into the design of tall buildings from inception, noting that future tall building design should also address both the physical and the environmental aspects of the location and reinvent itself as the ideal solution for both dense and sustainable cities.
“I believe that tall buildings can be unique and can deliver a positive contribution to society,” said Adrian Smith from Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture, and designer of Burj Dubai whilst at Skidmore Owings and Merrill. “Having said so, great care must go into the design and the execution of a landmark tower because it speaks to the viewer not only about its architect, but its owner and its country.”
In the middle of the last century, one out of three people were living in towers and cities. Today, a majority of the world’s population lives in urban settings. According to a recent United Nations (UN) report, 50 per cent of the world’s population now reside in urban centres. The report projects that in another 25 years, two-thirds of the world’s population will be urbanised. By 2015, there will be 23 ‘mega cities,’ with 19 of them located in developing countries.
“Tall buildings offer significant challenges regarding the implementation of sustainable priorities because of their size and relatively small footprint,” said Ken Dalton, the chief executive of Aecom Europe. “However, they offer a more sustainable approach to development if a broader picture of urban development is considered. I think Dubai is on the right track on this issue.”
The congress had three plenary sessions, as well as 21 multi-track sessions, which turned out to be a huge success. The first plenary session discussed the issue of tall buildings and sustainable cities taking Dubai, Chicago and London as urban case studies. The other two plenaries highlighted mega-projects, taking Burj Dubai as the case study, and tall, articulated sustainable towers (see page 127). Other topics included urban sustainability, the sustainable design of tall buildings, energy creation at height, design thinking, façade and design dynamics of tall buildings, interior and social issues, fire and safety and the financial aspects of building tall (see page 78).
Habiba Al Marashi, the co-founder and chairperson of Emirates Environmental Group, discussed the urban challenges facing Dubai due to the current construction boom.
The three-day congress, which was sponsored by Emaar, included a number of keynote speakers: Mohamed A Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties, Hussein Nasser Lootah, the deputy director general of Dubai Municipality, Gordon Gill from Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture, Sadhu Johnson, chief environmental officer of the City of Chicago, Peter Wynne Rees, head of the City of London Planning Department and William Baker from Skidmore Owings and Merill, among others.