Wednesday, March 25, 2009


A view of the popular landmark in Dubai (the burj Al Arab) from the rear side of Madinat Jumeirah, a luxury resort designed in old Arabian style architecture. The modern architectural design of the Burj Al Arab makes a good backdraft for the old arabian architecture. Madinat jumeirah has a lot of amenities to offer tourist, having hotels, villas,spa, restaurants, souk (market), water taxi's and a fantastic beach front.
I like eating in the restaurants and checking bargains in the souk. There are a lot of tourist scouring the alleys and taking pictures of the nice views that can be found.

This is one of my mobile phone shots from the parking lot of the Emirates Tower, overlooking the DIFC (Dubai international Financial Center) and the towers along the Sheikh Zayed road. In this shot, there are still unfinished buildings in between the towers which is currently under construction.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Green and Sustainable technology in the construction industry

With the advent use Green and sustainable technology in the construction industry, you would often see a lot of this widely used words such as green, sustainable and recyclable. Most of the companies that offer services and materials will associate these words in their adverts, as if it were a magnet for their clients. A lot of the materials utilized in this field are thermal insulation materials, which would reduce the use of aircondition, especially in this part of the world, the middle east. Where, in the summer season, the temperatures soar more than 40 degrees centigrade outside. Suppliers for insulation materials have proliferated in the market, promising the use of sustainable materials and compliance with international standards utilized around the world. One has to be very well familiar with the use of insulation material, since there are a lot of materials which promises compliance with standards. You can always check the certificates, issued by well known agencies attesting the compliance of the material or these materials can be sent to a laboratory for testing. It is not just in the insulation, that green and sustainable technology are widely used, home and office automation also helps in reducing the use of electricity by turning off lights when not in use. Automatic sprinklers will turn on in designated times and automatic blinds will close when the sun is shining directly on the windows to reduce the heat transmission. It will still be a long way, when we are going to see all the construction sites comply with green and sustainable requirements. During these times of crisis around the world, contractors and clients will tend to search for alternative ways to reduce the construction cost of projects.

With the advent use Green and sustainable technology in the construction industry, you would often see a lot of this widely used words such as green, sustainable and recyclable. Most of the companies that offer services and materials will associate these words in their adverts, as if it were a magnet for their clients. A lot of the materials utilized in this field are thermal insulation materials, which would reduce the use of aircondition, especially in this part of the world, the middle east. Where, in the summer season, the temperatures soar more than 40 degrees centigrade outside. Suppliers for insulation materials have proliferated in the market, promising the use of sustainable materials and compliance with international standards utilized around the world. One has to be very well familiar with the use of insulation material, since there are a lot of materials which promises compliance with standards. You can always check the certificates, issued by well known agencies attesting the compliance of the material or these materials can be sent to a laboratory for testing. It is not just in the insulation, that green and sustainable technology are widely used, home and office automation also helps in reducing the use of electricity by turning off lights when not in use. Automatic sprinklers will turn on in designated times and automatic blinds will close when the sun is shining directly on the windows to reduce the heat transmission. It will still be a long way, when we are going to see all the construction sites comply with green and sustainable requirements. During these times of crisis around the world, contractors and clients will tend to search for alternative ways to reduce the construction cost of projects.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Project Sites kickoff

I have started this blog “the project sites”, as I’m currently in the field of construction. The blog will provide information and insights on construction project sites, from the Construction methodology, information on sample projects and topics about the construction site. Since I’m based in Dubai, I will start with construction projects situated in the region and expand to other areas. Dubai’s construction market has slowed down due to the global financial crisis, but still you will find a wide variety of projects currently under construction. This made it possible for many companies in the construction field from contractors, material and equipment suppliers to propagate in the region. Different types of construction methodologies were introduced from all over the world for the construction of residential and commercial buildings, shopping malls and residential developments. A lot of the prestigious projects in Dubai were even referred as wonders of the new world, from the tallest building in the world “Burj Dubai” to the palm tree shaped reclamation development the “Palm Jumeirah”.