UAE projects world’s most innovative, least wasteful

Dubai / Emirates Business

Legoland Dubai headlines UAE mega-projects that have been recognized as among the world’s most innovative, industry experts announced on Monday ahead of The Big 5 construction exhibition.
One of the world’s most attractive construction markets, the UAE hosts a robust construction pipeline of more than US$700 billion, over one-third of the GCC’s pipeline, according to the recent report “Powers of Construction: 2016” by the consultancy Deloitte. Legoland Dubai’s Castle Kingdom and Building Experience joins the Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal, Al Habtoor City Theatre, Dubai Opera, and NAS Arena as UAE projects that won Tekla Global Building Information Modeling (BIM) Awards, reconizing their leading use of 4D digital models that can enhance productivity and collaboration.
“Bringing to life Legoland Dubai’s medieval fantasy theme with rides, models, and building experiences required complex designs that in turn needed BIM. Using BIM, architects, engineers, and contractors visualized questions and errors, gained faster approvals, and opened Legoland Dubai on time and on budget. BIM will be essential for the UAE’s upcoming leisure and tourism destinations,” said Omar Uwanda,
General Manager, Amana Industries.
Experts agree that the UAE government is driving BIM adoption, such as with the Dubai Municipality’s BIM Mandate that requires BIM on mega-projects, and the Dubai 3D Printing Strategy, with BIM supporting 25 percent of buildings to be pre-fabricated with 3D printing by 2030.
“This year has been a seminal moment for GCC construction innovation, and 2017 will see continued momentum with government BIM directives, 3D printing and pre-fabrication, and BIM gaining wider take-up. The UAE’s strong showing in international awards demonstrates the country’s standing as a global BIM leader,” said Paul Wallett, Regional Director of Trimble Solutions Middle East.
There is a major opportunity for general contractors, which work on the majority of GCC projects.
“In 2017, technology innovation will be the most important investment for general contractors to gain a competitive advantage. General contractors can start small on BIM with rebar fabrication or concrete pouring to detect clashes, have less waste, and less re-work on-site,” added Paul Wallett. Trimble is also seeing strong GCC response to the recent interoperability partnership between Trimble and Autodesk, which allows the industry to share open models, files, and data.
At The Big 5, Trimble is partnering with its construction technology partner Sitech Gulf, which delivers innovative geospatial hardware solutions that cover the entire construction project lifecycle.