The rapid development of the Middle East coupled with the emerging environmental sensitivities of urban development will be key areas of discussion during a lecture at the Institute of the Built Environment at the British University in Dubai.
Keith Clarke, CEO of Atkins PLC, the largest engineering consultancy firm in the UK and the world’s third largest global design firm will look at designing buildings that not only have a reduced ecological footprint, but are successful in terms of both the human and economic aspect of design.
The built environment directly or indirectly affects nearly every environmental sensitivity – from land use to greenhouse emissions, but often environmental design has been seen as an expensive add-on and been neglected.
Other topics under discussion during the evening will be energy efficiency, material source and its use, water consumption and the social and economic aspects of sustainability.
A recent report by the WWF claimed that the world’s population is living way beyond the planet’s means and that the UAE had the biggest per capita “ecological footprint” of any country in the world.
People in the Emirates need the equivalent of almost 12 hectares per person of productive land or seas in 203 to provide natural resources they used and to re-absorb their waste, the report claimed. The global demand was 2.2 hectares, far above the available supply of 1.8 hectares per person, the WWF’s Living Planet report concluded.
“Knowledge transfer and innovation are a central theme of the institute and we are delighted to share the views and approaches of leading industry figures,” said David Lock, Registrar and Acting Chief Executive of BUiD.
A lecture given by Mr Clarke will be held at BUiD’s Knowledge Village campus in Dubai on Tuesday, 7 November at 7pm.
The Institute of the Built Environment at BUiD provides cutting edge programmes and research to support the rapid development of the Middle East and address the resulting concerns.
The Institute offers full-time and part-time Masters degree programmes in collaboration with The Welsh School of Architecture at Cardiff University which has received the highest research rating 5A for Schools of Architecture in the UK.
About British University in Dubai
The British University in Dubai (BUiD) is the Middle East’s first research-based, postgraduate university. The University was established to facilitate access to world-class education, training and research in the Middle East. BUiD aspires to the highest, internationally recognized British standards as reflected in its partnership with the University of Edinburgh, the University of Birmingham, the University of Manchester, Cardiff University and now the Cass Business School at City University, London. Each has a five or five-star rating in the UK national Research Assessment Exercise that signifies research of international standard.
The not-for-profit university offers full and part-time Masters Degree programmes and Continuing Professional Development courses in Information Technology, Project Management, the Built Environment, Finance and Banking, Education and IT Management.
All BUiD’s current Masters Programmes have received Accreditation Eligibility Status from the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research’s Commission for Academic Accreditation.
The founders of the University are the Al Maktoum Foundation, the Dubai Development and Investment Authority, Rolls-Royce, the British Business Group and the National Bank of Dubai. The University is governed by a Council under the chairmanship of Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
The Emirates Group, DUCAB, Atkins, Dubai Duty Free, Hyder Consulting, the Emirates Foundation and DUGAS are supporters of the university through financial contributions or the provision of scholarships.
For further enquiries call BUiD on +971.4.391.3633.
