The first edition of Building Futures Gulf by Batimat kicked off in style on Sunday at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

Abu Dhabi Municipality general manager Jumaa Mubarak Al Junaibi opened the event, organised by Reed Exhibitions Middle East with the support and participation of the International Union of Architects (UIA) and the UAE Contractor’s Association.
 
The major building industry trade show, which runs up top April 23,  features 225 international and regional building industry players from 26 countries.

Leading international names such as Saint Gobain Glass, Knauf, Afico-Owens Corning, Technal, AMC Protection-Siplast, Dow Corning, Somfy, KME, Kingspan and Corus, and major local and regional companies including Tabreed, Emirates Iron & Steel, Unibeton and Emirates International Investment Company are showcasing their products at the show.

“UAE is witnessing an economic boom which is being reflected in the building and construction industry and such events are key to supporting the industry and the economic diversification of the government,' said Al Junaibi after inaugurating the exhibition. 

'The concept of the exhibition is new and it is important to support these initiatives. Abu Dhabi Municipality is pleased to support the event,” he added.

Frederic Theux, president of Reed Exhibitions Middle East, said that Reed was proud to bring such events to the local and regional markets at a time when the whole region is witnessing a major boom in all aspects of the industry and its related fields.

'Given the current wave of new real estate developments in the UAE and the Middle East region, we believe that the building industry is ready to look at the benefits of incorporating high-performance features, which result in saving long-term operating costs. High-performance buildings are also equally important for the end-user,” he said.

The opening day also witnessed the inauguration of the International Architects Conference featuring top international experts.

The presentations and discussions at the conference cover a wide variety of topics including the concept of wholelife value of buildings, environmentally sustainable construction techniques, as well as other key issues confronting the Middle East building industry from an architectural stand-point.

The conference, coupled with a number of seminar sessions being held in parallel with the exhibition, are expected to provide insights on current topics and future trends in the industry including energy efficiency, sustainable building performance, the ‘wholelife value’ of buildings and environmentally sustainable construction techniques.

The conference which is themed around “Fair Practices in the Building Sector” is being addressed by a panel of experts comprising world renowned architects from the UK, Colombia, Nigeria, France, Italy, Turkey, Tunisia, Australia, UAE, Lebanon and Greece. 

The exhibitors are showcasing the latest innovations aimed at enhancing building performance, including those focused on climate control, façade, structure and intelligence – all key aspects of modern building construction.

The umbrella event includes Structure Gulf Exhibition (focussing on structural technologies and implementation techniques); Envelope Gulf Exhibition (solutions for cladding, façade, joinery and shutters); Intelligent Building Gulf Exhibition (solutions, systems and networks to improve user comfort inside a building); and HVAC Gulf Exhibition (thermal comfort solutions focusing on temperature and air control, energy, plumbing and water treatment).-TradeArabia News Service