Representatives from Bayer Material Science, WSP, Buro Happold, iTech Holding and the Middle East Facility Management Association assembled for the first edition of the Sustainable Solutions roundtable, held by BGreen and the Emirates Green Building Council on 15 May, to dissect the globally successful Eco Commercial Buildings (ECB) programme on the verge of branching out to the Middle East.
Dr Pejman Norastehfar, Head of the ECB Programme, Bayer Middle East, and Dr Ommid Saberi, Associate in Building Physics from WSP E&E Middle East, kickstarted the discussion with an outline of the programme.
“Essentially, the ECB programme works on partnerships between various elements of the construction industry to create integrated and sustainable commercial buildings that will have an extended lifespan, while providing comfort and quality to the end-user,” Dr Saberi summarised.
Commenting on the role of Facility Management, Consultant, Trainer and BGreen expert contributor, Alan Millin, explained how being involved in the initial design stages of a project could avoid wastage in terms of time and money. “There are many technically brilliant buildings around, but if the FM isn’t factored in early on, it could lead to certain less efficient choices. For example, a building with food outlets on the mezzanine floor might need elevators that provide direct access for employees that work in the offices upstairs, cutting out the time wasted going to the lobby and back up in separate elevators,” he said, citing an real world example of poor integration between FM and design.
Facilitated by BGreen editor, Praseeda Nair, the roundtable was held at the Emirates Green Building Council’s office, and is the first in a line of many bi-monthly discussions.
Read the transcript of the roundtable in the June issue of BGreen.