Autodesk launches sustainable design campaign within Dhs812bn UAE construction industry

The company will focus on driving awareness and adoption of conscientious building practices among developers and contractors by delivering solutions that help in making its implementation easier and more efficient.

The announcement was made at a press conference held yesterday at 'The Monarch Hotel' Dubai, where Ahmad Al Jassim, Country Manager, Autodesk, Middle East; Louis Khoury, Industry Sales Development Manager, Autodesk, Middle East; and Christian Rust, AEC Sales Development Manager, Autodesk, EMEA Emerging, highlighted the industry-leading Autodesk Revit solutions and Autodesk 2009 portfolio.

The UAE is witnessing the rise of many innovative and landmark projects, which have adopted sustainable design principles in line with the directive issued by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. At present, there are over 70 buildings in Dubai and Abu Dhabi awaiting green building certifications, which is a clear indication of the industry's steady movement towards the total adoption of green building guidelines. A part of Autodesk's strategy in further driving the awareness for sustainable design is highlighting the outstanding benefits of its solutions, which enable architects and developers to minimise water and electricity usage thereby leading to significant savings for property developers over the long term and the lessened production of harmful pollutants.

Speaking at the press conference, Christian Rust, AEC Sales Development Manager, Autodesk, EMEA Emerging, said:

"As the largest construction market in the region, we have identified the UAE as a strategic location to launch our region-wide campaign to encourage the adoption of sustainable design principles in the construction sector. Amidst the growing popularity of sustainability principles, regional and international property developers are seeking advice on green building compliance, which presents us with a perfect opportunity to disseminate vital information. Additionally, our collaboration with the world's leading architects, engineers, and product designers to develop our Revit solutions and the Autodesk 2009 portfolio attests to our commitment to ethical construction strategies for a cleaner and healthier environment."

Recent industry statistics show that a building in the UAE uses up to an average of 30,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, 70% of which is allocated for air conditioning. According to Emirates Green Building Council (EGBC), a structure constructed in accordance to sustainable principles can achieve energy savings of up to 50%, bringing significant cost cutbacks for property developers. By utilising Autodesk's building design software, which has been purpose-built for building information modeling (BIM), developers can further benefit from a multitude of technologies that will ensure a significant reduction in time, resources and costs necessary to create truly sustainable buildings.

"The fact that green buildings increase the property asset value for developers and its many advantages in the environmental front are the two main focuses of our efforts to bring our Revit solutions to a larger number of developers across the region. Our goal is to help customers incorporate sustainable design principles into their practice, thereby increasing their energy efficiency while facilitating a more accurate evaluation of their project's lifecycles,"

concluded Louis Khoury, Industry Sales Development Manager, Autodesk, Middle East.

Autodesk is committed to driving awareness and adoption of sustainable design through public and private partnerships with organizations such as the U.S. Green Building Council and Integrated Energy Solutions. Autodesk also provides technology, education and support for initiatives that inform and promote innovations that address current and future sustainable design challenges. This involves an active role in spearheading programs such as the 'Autodesk - Enterprise Gold Program' for corporate businesses, which offer Autodesk experts' personalized attention, higher ROI and productivity of software investments, and access to an elevated level of technical support, which can aid organizations attain their business needs as well as their sustainability goals.