H.E. Eng. Dawood Abdulrahman Al Hajri, Director General of Dubai Municipality, officially opened the region’s largest events dedicated to the glass, windows, doors, and facades industries today. Running until September 26 at the Dubai World Trade Center, Gulf Glass and Windows, Doors & Facades Event (WDF) offer a glimpse into tomorrow’s city skylines.
From responsive facades to the latest glass technologies, the co-located events unveil trends and innovative products brought to Dubai by over 300 regional and international companies.
A high-level conference gathering the who’s who of the facades industry, the Future of Facades Summit, shed light on the way forward in the sector today. According to David G. Daniels, the Director of Architecture at SSH and a key speaker at the Summit, the major trend in facade design and the future of facades is, indeed, technology.
“In the region, facades will become far much more contextual, responsive, not just to the environment externally but also to the occupants and the programs that they carry out daily within the buildings,” Daniels said.
“The outlook for the facades industry in the GCC going forward is exciting and very positive. The market is actually in a good place and is becoming much more progressive,” he concluded.
With technology come new, energy efficient solutions turning sustainability from just a buzzword into the sector’s norm. “As early as 2025, eco-home ratings for energy-efficient and environmentally friendly construction will be standard everywhere,” predicts Ammar Alul, Managing Director of Schüco Middle East, a leading supplier of high-quality window, door and façade systems, exhibiting at WDF.
“Energy efficient solutions are a more and more prominent trend today: there’s a strong call to cut down energy waste and countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia are actually rolling out important regulations in this field. Commercial and residential buildings are increasingly being assessed for their eco-balance, worldwide as well as in the Middle East Region,” Alul added.
Glass plays a big role in moving the facades industry towards a more energy efficient future. Ahead of her participation at Gulf Glass to present the new Advenira’s SDN® technology, Dr. Elmira Ryabova, the President, CEO, CTO and founder of the California-based Advenira Entreprises, stated:
“It is vital that all key players and contributors in this arena attack emissions and pollution issues from every possible angle to make sure our children and generations have a clean world to live in.
“In case of glass, which is widely used in construction and transportation industries, the ultimate goal is to make it as energy efficient as possible, not only in terms of performance parameters, but in terms of manufacturing process efficiency as well.”
Industry professionals will be able to further learn about glass technologies, fire and life safety, building design, and BIM at a two-day free and CPD-certified “Facades Seminar Series”, presented by Gulf Glass and Windows, Doors & Facades Event on September 25 and 26.
Leading brands including Schüco, Glaston, Orgadata, HEGLA, Gutmann, Elumatec, Bottero, Reynaers, Hueck, MJ Building Materials, Saint Gobain, and Asahi India will also present the latest solutions and innovative products across the show floor, engaging with thousands of industry professionals from across the region until September 26.
Gulf Glass and Windows, Doors & Facades Event, organised by dmg events, are sponsored by Schüco, Reynaers, Mountain Glass, Glass Source, AGC Obeikan, Dow, Advenira, Thomas Bell-Wright International Consultants, Vetrotech Saint-Gobain and Dubai Creative Group.
The events, which will return in 2021, are free to attend, and run from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm daily, from 24 to 26 September at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Sheikh Maktoum and Sheikh Rashid Halls.
- Exhibitor voices
Reynaers Aluminium, a leading European specialist that manufactures and markets innovative and sustainable aluminium solutions for windows, doors, curtain-walls, sliding systems, sun-screening and conservatories, is among the major brands participating at the event this year. Celebrating its 15th anniversary in the Middle East at the Windows, Doors & Facades Event, Ali Khalaf, Managing Director, Reynaers Middle East, said:
“Reynaers’ stand this year features several modes of digital engagement for clients where they can experience products mainly through the HTC Vive Virtual Reality system.
“Specific building information models (BIM) are connected to the system, which allow users to move in a 3D space and use motion-tracked handheld controllers to interact with the environment, thus allowing them to experience the specific system in depth. Additionally, the ‘World of Reynaers’ features Reynaers products displayed in a 3D model viewed on touch screens, allowing users to see different products with different frames and colours.”
TECFIRE, a specialist leader in fire-rated glass systems, and involved in some of the most iconic projects in UAE, spanning from the Louvre Museum to the Opera House Dubai and the Skyview the Address, is launching innovative products at WDF. Its Chief Executive Officer, Jorge de la Rosa, said:
“TECFIRE displays the most innovative range of fire-rated glass systems on the market: the all-new Alufire aluminum fire rated sliding door system with up to one hour of fire resistance and has the slimmest profiles in the market; the all-new Glassfire fire-rated frameless door system with up to one hour of fire resistance, and also it is a door system made of glass with no profiles; and the all-new Alufire aluminum double acting pivot door system with up to one hour of fire resistance.”
MJ Building Materials Materials Trading DMCC presents a wide range of products including the Hyline Minimalistic System, Glassline, and MJ Aluminium Extrusion Solutions. According to the company's Chairman, Modar Al Mekdad,
“The products are sustainable, environment friendly, reduce the carbon foot print, and address the customers' requirements in terms of quality, performance and functionality.
“The exhibition is a very good platform to exchange information and experiences for both the customers and the suppliers,” he added.
Juergen Grimm, the Managing Director of Weiss Chemie + Technik GmbH & Co. KG, a leader in the segments of adhesives and sandwich panel technology, commented:
“We are very proud of expanding our setup of bio-based products, where we are focusing on using raw, sustainable and green materials in our solutions for a better future.
“We acknowledge a huge demand for “greener” options to have them in existing applications as an example to be more sustainable and to be technically innovative. The Middle East is one of our future core markets where we plan and intensively work on setting up a huge and healthy foundation for future business.”
