Drees & Sommer launches innovation hub in Dubai
Hub will bring simplification to processes, cost-effectiveness, process streamlining and solution provision to different challenges
Drees & Sommer (D&S) has launched a new Dubai-based innovation hub. The move is said to enhance the firm’s research and development (R&D) efforts across the Middle East.
According to D&S, the innovation hub will be able to address everything from designing a fully digitalised building with a central artificial intelligence brain comprising of thousands of sensors, to optimising performance through data collection, statistical analysis and operation automation.
“It has always been part of our corporate culture to promote our own ideas and initiatives. Increasingly, digital transformation and our clients are calling for completely new and disruptive business models. The Innovation Centre is one of our responses to these challenges. All 3,200 staff members can upload their ideas virtually. Promising concepts will be developed, funded and localised for any market which sees the potential. Adding the Dubai innovation hub emphasises our status as a global innovation company by being one of the few companies doing R&D in this region,” said Steffen Szeidl, executive board member at Drees & Sommer.
The hub will provide a collaborative platform to support D&S’ employees as well as start-ups, by identifying market gaps and devising solutions to challenges faced by the industry, in verticals including planning, construction and operations, the statement says.
Abdulmajid Karanouh, head of interdisciplinary design & innovation at Drees & Sommer Middle East, leads the Dubai innovation hub. He comments, “There is a huge demand in this market for contextual solutions as most models and systems are imported from abroad with little to no adaptation to the local culture, economy, and environment. As a consequence of this approach, we are facing major challenges related to user-comfort, efficiency, manageability, durability, and overall sustainability and feasibility of the built environment in the region.
The launch of the hub in Dubai is said to follow the implementation of regional hubs around the world. D&S says all its hubs connect it to external research institutions and start-up organisations and drive specific initiatives.
