The second edition of Smart Skyscrapers 2015, Middle East’s biggest skyscrapers summit, returns to Dubai with the spotlight on the most innovative sustainable building technologies, design principles and solutions for high-rise green buildings from around the world. The two-day summit will see presentations, case studies and roundtable sessions from local and international experts at the Sofitel Dubai The Palm Resort and Spa in Dubai, during May 11-12, 2015.

Delegates at the event will include over 300 senior architects, engineers, policy-makers, developers, contractors and building managers from across the GCC and worldwide. At the core of the summit is sustainability, viewed against the context of development of skyscrapers. Topics will span the range, from planning challenges, design constraints and facility management, to intelligent façade technologies in architecture, vertical transportation and natural ventilation. Case studies at the summit will feature some of the most well-known tall building projects such as the Cayan Tower, the Shanghai Tower and the Kingdom Tower.

Speakers at the summit will include renowned experts from the world of sustainable development and green buildings, including Ahmad K Abdelrazaq, Senior Executive Vice President, Samsung C & T; Saeed Alabbar, Director ­ AESG, Chairman ­ Emirates Green Building Council; Abdulmajid Karanouh, Director ­ Head of Façade, Ramboll Middle East; Dr. Yasser Mahgoub, Associate Professor of Architecture, Qatar University; Simon Lay, Director ­ Fire Engineering, AECOM; Thomas D Bohlen, Chief Technical Officer & Head of Corporate Sustainability, Middle East Centre for Sustainable Development; Montasser Hussein El-Raie, Senior Lead Engineer ­ CAYAN (Infinity) Tower, Khatib & Alami, and many more.

The 2014 edition saw over 350 senior delegates committed to the smart development of high-rise buildings exchanging knowledge, ideas and networking over the two days of the event. The success of the summit is evident from what some attendees had to say about the event. Ahmed Bukhash, Director ­ Urban Planning and Design Management, Dubai Properties Group, felt, “It’s a great event to meet with the professionals from the different fields. We’ve met contractors and consultants as well as developers so it gives us a nice opportunity to meet them and also learn about the new innovative products. And for us as developers, it also allows us to learn, to basically understand the current trends and how to implement them in our future projects as well.”

This view was backed up by design experts such as Dr. Mikkel Kragh, Global Façade & Architectural Design Leader, Dow Corning, who mentioned, “It’s a big group here, it’s a good list of delegates, so I think that it’s a success from a turn-out standpoint. The speakers here are phenomenal so you have people representing the designers and the suppliers exchanging view and ideas. I think the presentations have been very high-level.”

The worldwide push towards sustainable development is particularly relevant to skyscraper projects, with their specific challenges, not just in terms of architecture, design or faced development, but also in terms of energy, lighting, transportation and safety. Brad Hariharan, Regional Director, Expotrade Middle East, organizers of the conference, said, “Tall building development in the region is expected to continue. However, what makes this expansion even more interesting is the complexity that goes into making sure these high rises are not just tall, but are energy­efficient and sustainable as well. Exploring global trends and sharing best practices will give us a chance to understand these complexities better. It gives us great pleasure in presenting a platform for this to our delegates and sponsors. ”

According to the year in review report from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, 97 skyscrapers were completed in 2014, with Asia leading the way with 74 of them. Closer to home, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar share the third position in developing the most skyscrapers in 2014. The surge in building tall buildings is juxtaposed against the global drive towards sustainable and energy efficient buildings as an integral part of smart city development.

Asia in general and the Middle East in particular, are primed to be at the epicenter of high-rise building in the next few years. The Smart Skyscrapers Summit 2015 is the ideal platform to understand the nuances of this movement in order to ensure business growth. To know more on the event, log on to www.smartskyscrapers.com .