Green building solutions – Accomodation modules
February 24th, 2010 by admin
Please select the following movie to view the solutions highlights: FormCraft_03
For more info please e-mail info@iconsfze.com
Bright futures for Qatar & Abu Dhabi
November 30th, 2009 by admin
November 2009
Construction Week Online
Development: Bright futures for Qatar and Abu Dhabi
Construction suppliers now see Qatar and Abu Dhabi as the key places to do business, exhibitors at The Big 5 have said.
Investors are showing growing confidence in the Middle East, particularly Doha, where there is an opportunity to build new projects.
“We supply foundation pumps for piling, shoring and dewatering and a lot of our business is going on in Qatar and Abu Dhabi now as there are new projects developing there,” said Austin Parfett Foundations sales manager Devanand.
Devanand predicts business to pick up in Dubai in the next couple of months as his company has future projects planned in the emirate.
Wilo, a manufacturer and supplier of pumps and pump systems for heating, air-conditioning, cooling, water supply and sewage disposal agreed: “Local companies are investing in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Developers and contractors feel comfortable starting new projects in the area because new developments are progressing at a steady pace and are not accelerating too quickly,” said the company managing director Simon Mrad.
Mrad explained that The Big 5 will give his company an opportunity to show the industry what it can do.
“We want to show delegates that we are here and ready to support and advice them. I predict that the exhibition will be a success.”
Wilo was the first company to introduce an electrical powered water pump, which is designed to save energy when circulating water around a building.
The company wishes to show that this kind of product can save energy and long term-costs.
Middle East NEWS: Bahrain to redevelop its shoreline
November 15th, 2009 by admin
November 2009
Construction Week Online
Bahrain is set to turn its coasts into a network of public corniches, it was announced at the Water Front Development Conference on Sunday.
The corniches will run around the country’s shoreline and offer coastal walks, shopping and restaurant promenades. Bahrain’s Municipalities and Agriculture Affairs minister Juma Al Ka’abiit told delegates that at least half of all future coastal developments will be devoted to public beaches and amenities.
“Many cities all over the world are improving their waterfronts, making them the most attractive parts of their urban development, something we also have in mind,” he said.
Diyar Al Muharraq CEO Aaref Hejres chaired the first day of the event, which concludes today.
The conference hosts delegates from around the world, and focuses on examining the best practices, design solutions and technology in this sector of the real estate industry, in the wake of the increasing number of waterfront developments being constructed in the region.
So far, the event has attracted over 200 delegates representing international and local organisations in the real estate and urban development sector.
Last Burj Dubai crane comes down
November 13th, 2009 by admin
November 2009
Construction Week Online
DUBAI NEWS: Last Burj Dubai crane comes down
Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, which is being developed by Emaar Properties PJSC, is nearing completion, following the dismantling of the last high-altitude crane used in the tower’s construction.
Having also completed the external cladding recently, the Burj Dubai construction team is now concentrating on the interiors and landscaping.
Mr. Mohamed Alabbar, chairman, Emaar Properties PJSC, said: “Working at great heights involving the use of massive cranes has been one aspect of the challenge. Dismantling the cranes is an exciting development because it shows that completion of the world’s tallest tower is just around the corner.”
Three huge tower cranes were used in moving construction materials up to level 156 of Burj Dubai. The cranes could each lift a staggering 25-tonne load and were designed to withstand 120km/hour winds.
Installation of the three tower cranes used for the construction of the higher levels of Burj Dubai was relatively straightforward, as sections of the cranes could be moved up the tower with the completion of new levels.
But as the tower grew in height, the floor plates and working area became smaller and smaller, providing insufficient room to fit the three cranes at the top of construction.
Dismantling the towers was considerably more complex than installing them. The first crane was removed in November 2007 and installed at Level 99 in order to serve as a future recovery crane.
For the next 11 months, the two remaining cranes continued their climb up the tower until October 2008 when one of them was removed due to the small size of the tower’s floor-plate. This left one final crane to continue with the rest of the exterior work.
In June 2009, the final crane had to be removed in order to allow the exterior cladding and finishing works to progress in the area it occupied. This longest serving crane had been in operation since the start of construction in March of 2005.
A small recovery crane was lifted up and installed at Level 159. With recovery cranes now positioned at Levels 99 and 159, the task of removing the last crane was ready to begin.
The process started with the crane climbing down from its working height of over 700 metres. The crane removed its own mast sections and lowered them to the ground until the boom and power pack were at the position of the level 159 recovery crane.
From there, the level 159 recovery crane dismantled the remainder of the main crane, lowering the pieces of boom, mast and power pack to the recovery crane at Level 99, which further lowered them to the ground.
Final work on interiors and landscaping is underway as the Burj Dubai prepares to open on January 4, 2010.
33rd America’s Cup in Ras Al Khaimah
October 31st, 2009 by admin
October 2009
33rd America’s Cup – Port not right for cup storm
October 30th, 2009 by admin
October 2009
AN AMERICAN judge has ruled that the Ras al-Khaimah port in United Arab Emirates cannot host the America’s Cup based on the 19th-century document that governs sailing’s marquee regatta.
The decision by Justice Shirley Kornreich of the New York State Supreme Court is a blow to two-time defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland. The Swiss picked the Persian Gulf port for their February showdown against American challenger BMW Oracle Racing.
Kornreich said her decision was based on the stipulation in the 1887 Deed of Gift that the America’s Cup cannot be sailed in the northern hemisphere between Nov. 1 and May 1, not on concerns by the Americans that RAK was unsafe due to its proximity to Iran.
The rare one-on-one showdown in massive multi-hulled boats now appears headed to Valencia, Spain, unless the bitter rivals can agree on another port that complies with the Deed of Gift. In that case, it would have to be in the Southern Hemisphere.
Although Valencia is in the northern hemisphere, neither side objected earlier in the court fight to holding the best-of-three series in the Spanish port. Valencia hosted the 2007 America’s Cup.
Kornreich said she ruled from the bench Tuesday to speed an expected appeal by the Swiss.
The best-of-three series is scheduled to begin February 8.
Alinghi’s choice of RAK has been the most contentious issue in a convoluted, two-year court fight between Silicon Valley maverick Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp and Swiss biotech mogul Ernesto Bertarelli. Ellison owns BMW Oracle Racing and Bertarelli owns Alinghi.
Soon after the Swiss picked RAK in early August, Ellison raised concerns because the sailing would take place about 130km from Iran’s coastline.
New World Class Exclusive and Unique Resort Complex in the UAE
October 25th, 2009 by admin
First International
appoints
ICONS FZE – Innovative Concepts & Solutions
to carry out the feasibility study and pre-qualification of contractors and suppliers for the development, construction and management of a World Class Exclusive and Unique Resort Complex to be built in the Uinited Arab Emirates. A go to destination for unparalleled leisure and luxurious living.
The key elements that will identify the project and are also to be considered the milestones for the feasibility study are:
- Identification of the most appropriate location for erecting the World Class Exclusive and Unique Resort Complex
- Identification of Innovative Tourism and Marketing concepts
- Identification of Innovative and attractive investment packages focused on a balanced approach of Real Estate investments, Tourism, Ownership, Cost free living and Eco friendly solutions
- Utilization of the most modern Green Building Techniques
- Utilization of zero emission, carbon free and environmental safeguarding technologies
- Identification of the most appropriate Management organization
- Identification of eventual local partners
- Identification, pre-qualification and selection of suppliers, contractors and subcontractors
and any other requirement that ICONS FZE should deem necessary for achieving a state of the art, world class and successful – 5 Star World Class Exclusive and Unique Resort Complex.
The project will include 2,000 Waterfront Villa’s, Floating Villa’s, Luxury Hotels, Hotel apartments, Town Houses and Apartment units (in a complete harmonized project) on an estimated land extension of 100 Hectares. The 5 Star World Class Exclusive and Unique Resort Complex will also include Yacht Marinas, Sporting facilities, commercial areas, shopping centers and shopping malls, studied for appropriately serving the new community.
The architectural design and construction solutions of the buildings will be innovative and compliant to the latest green building specifications and of course reflect the maximum safety standards.
For the UAE region, the style will be Arabic and will distinguish itself for its simple, essential and unique local Arabic theme.
Along the side of the Arabic Style and Architecture, the Finishing will blend in the theme and reflect a comfortable living space with colours, lights, water themes and details that will leave the resident and / or visitor with a never ending memory of excellence and good taste.
The infrastructure will be designed to facilitate the residents and visitors with the right innovative services in order to reduce commutes to a minimum. The correct planning of the general services will be strategic to reach this goal. The road network will be designed to accommodate adequate service roads, mainstream roads and local roads. Water transportation will also be designed and given a priority over ground transportation wherever and whenever feasible.
An Authentic destination where people can live a real experience made of relaxation, enjoyment, history and culture. The visitors will enjoy the heritage combined with activities such as: watersports, from sailing and deep sea fishing to romantic cruises, waterskiing, scuba diving, kayaking, wind surfing, yachting, SPA’s, health care centers, beauty centers, relax and massage centers. Outdoor living all year round and great life by the water.
A fantastic life experience.
Did you know that…?
October 15th, 2009 by admin
- Posted the 14th Jan. 2010 by RAK Chamber: UAE ranking first among Arab & Middle Eastern region for trade with Malaysia.
- Posted the 11th Jan. 2010 by RAK Chamber: 44 times the value of re-export growth in the UAE, as it increased from one billion US dollars in 1981 to 44.4 billion US dollars in 2008.
- Posted the 7th Jan. 2010 by RAK Chamber: UAE ranking second in the Gulf in submitting application for the registration of trademarks by 8,018 applications in 2009.
- Posted the 12th Nov. 2009 by RAK Chamber: Issuances of Islamic “SUKUK” increased by 40% during first ten months of 2009.
- Posted the 9th Nov. 2009 by RAK Chamber: Remittances value of GCC labor force recorded one 40 billion US dollars in 2008.
- Posted the 5th Nov. 2009 by RAK Chamber: UAE ranking first worldwide in terms of importation of reinforcement steel in 2008, by 27,3% of imports.
- Posted the 2nd Nov. 2009 by RAK Chamber: GCC petrochemicals sales income during 3rd quarterof 2009 reached8,4 billionUS dollars.
- Posted the 26th Oct. 2009 by RAK Chamber: UAE exchange trade Growth during the period 2004 – 2008 by 174,9%.
- Posted the 26th Oct. 2009 by Construction WEEK: Sustainability is not being taken seriously and is a race to the bottom, said experts on the sidelines of the Construction Week Building Sustainability into the Middle East Conference that was held on Sunday in Abu Dhabi. Speaking to Construction Week, Holly Chant, corporate sustainability director, KEO International said: “Most projects and building materials manufacturers in the region are using tools like Leed certification and the ‘green’ word to market themselves or their products. There is a lot of green washing going on in the construction industry.” “If one has to truly become sustainable, you have to incorporate green solutions right from the concept stage. You cannot ‘green wash’ your project in the construction stage and expect it to be sustainable.”
- Posted the 25th Oct. 2009 by Construction WEEK: Further signs of a general recovery in construction are coming from the recruitment sector, which reports that companies are looking to increase their staff numbers. Experts report that the UAE, and Dubai in particular, has suffered the most in terms of a recruitment decline, but the GCC as a whole appears to be stabilizing. “A lot of clients who put recruitment on hold are now preparing their budgets for 2010 and hiring. Infrastructure work is still going ahead, so it’s certainly busier now than it was eight or nine months ago,” said Budge Recruitment general manager Nigel Walker.
- Posted the 25th Oct. 2009 by Construction WEEK: Developers must be proactive to encourage truly sustainable buildings, according to a panel of experts. At a green building roundtable hosted by dmg, the organisers of Big 5, Ramboll sustainability engineer Jeff Smit said that simply getting LEED certification wasn’t enough. “LEED is almost entirely based on design and construction. There’s no real requirement for you to stay sustainable afterwards,” he said. “We should talk more about good practice rather than certification.”
- Posted the 25th Oct. 2009 by Construction WEEK: A sustainability expert has said the region should aim for alternatives to buildings with extensive glass facades. Speaking at the Construction Week Building Sustainability into the Middle East conference, Abu Dhabi Department of Municipal Affairs’ consultant on environmental and sustainability planning Matthew Plumbridge said that constructing “glass buildings in the desert is inappropriate.” “Creating buildings with vast amounts of glass is irresponsible and doesn’t reflect the local culture,” said Plumbridge. “We shouldn’t look to copying ‘Western’ models of success.”
- Posted the 21st Oct. 2009: UAE – Abu Dhabi codes to set strict energy requirements. All buildings designed in Abu Dhabi will have to comply with minimum environmental standards when the city’s building codes are revealed next year.
- Posted the 21st Oct. 2009: UAE – Stabilising copper price boosts construction. The ‘stabilising’ copper price is helping the local construction industry become more cost-effective, as well as give a fillip to stalled projects.
- Posted the 19th Oct. 2009 by RAK Chamber: UAE non-oil foreign trade in terms of precious metals reached 26.5% with a value of AED209 billion in 2008.
- Posted the 15th Oct. 2009 by RAK Chamber: UAE ranked 6th globally and 1st at GCC States level in energy consumption rates.
- Posted the 12th Oct. 2009 by RAK Chamber: UAE positioned first amongst Arab countries in terms of internet national domain “.ae” usage, with a rise of 3o% in 2009.
- Posted the 8th Oct. 2009 by RAK Chamber: AED 4.8 billion sales of cooperative associations in the UAE in 2008.
- Posted the 9th Sept. 2009 by RAK Chamber: RAK Ramadan Festival 02 Expo: Blood Donation Campaign, Medical Check-ups, Characters and Clowns, Contests & Competitors, Heritage & Events.
- Posted the 30th Jul. 2009 by RAK Chamber: UAE ranked 2nd amongst GCC countries for yearly budget expendaturespertaining to public holidays, by 5 billion US dollars.
- Posted the 23rd Jul. 2009 by RAK Chamber: During the past 2 months the number of travellers worldwide decreased by 7,7% compared to the same period in 2008.
- Posted the 25th May 2009 by RAK Chamber: UAE is the first for foreign direct investments worth AED 128,4 billion in 2008.
- Posted the 18th May 2009 by RAK Chamber: AED 1.052 billion sales value of consumer cooperatives, by 16,6% growth rate in the first quarterof 2009.
- Posted the 7th May 2009 by RAK Chamber: AED 3 billion annual market size of private security servicesd in the UAE.
- Posted the 30th Apr. 2009 by RAK Chamber: 13 UAE companies listed among the Forbes Global 2009 with assets estimated at 125 trillion US dollars.
- Posted the 27th Apr. 2009 by RAK Chamber: AED 950 billion total bank deposits during the first quarter of this year.
- Posted the 23rd Apr. 2009 by RAK Chamber: AED 1.48 trillion assets of the banking sector growth rate, by 21% in 2008 compared to AED 1.22 trillion in 2007.
- Posted the 20th Apr. 2009 by RAK Chamber: UAE quoted third globally and the first in the Middle East & North Africa within the index of the best index marks countries in the first quarter of 2009.
- Posted the 16th Apr. 2009 by RAK Chamber: 39.5% of the total oil revenue in the GDP in 2008.
- Posted the 13th Apr. 2009 by RAK Chamber: Gulf economy grew 26.4% in 2008 compared to 11.3% in 2007.
- Posted the 6th Apr. 2009 by RAK Chamber: AED 13,7 billion size market consumption of gold in the UAE with a growth rate of 17% in 2008.
- Posted the 23rd Feb. 2009 by RAK Chamber: Total cash source in the UAE to AED 42.92 billion in 2008 compared with AED 29.04 billion in 2007, an increase of AED 13.05 billion and the growth rate of 44.94%.
- Posted the 19th Feb. 2009 by RAK Chamber: The UAE first in Arab advertising expenditure for the third year in the value of AED 7.2 billion of the total expenditure during 2008.
- Posted the 16th Feb. 2009 by RAK Chamber: The UAE obtained 67.4 points in the best index marks countries in 2008 becoming the first regional and 5th in the world.
- Posted the 5th Feb. 2009 by RAK Chamber: 9,645 AED per month is the average family spends in the UAE on non-food goods and services, equal to 85.5% of the average total expenditire of the family.
- Posted the 22nd Jan. 2009 by RAK Chamber: Studies & Information Directorate releases the sixth issue of the “Economic Vision” pubblication, reflecting on Emirates and world economic issues.
- Posted the 15th Dec. 2008 by RAK Chamber: UAE ranked eighth in the regulation index of credit for the employment and business sectors, estimated by 5.6 points in 2008.
- Posted the 27th Nov. 2008 by RAK Chamber: 10% remittances of foreign employment by 2.6 billion AED annually.
- Posted the 23rd Oct. 2008 by RAK Chamber: U.S. lose 1.4 trillion US dollars due to the financial crisis.
- Posted the 20th Oct. 2008 by RAK Chamber: The Emirates ranked First Arab country in the report of finacial developments of the 2008 World Economic Forum.
- Posted the 6th Oct. 2008 by RAK Chamber: 653 new licenses issued by the Chamber of Commerce & Industry in the third quarter of 2008.
- Posted the 27th Aug. 2008 by RAK Chamber: RAK Ramadan Festival 02 Expo: Lecture on the healthy “smoking”, Competitions, Heritage, Entertainment, Film, In addition to entertainment in Safeer & Manar Mall, Effectiveness begins at 9.30 pm.
- Posted the 7th Aug. 2008 by RAK Chamber: 677 billion AED deposits in the UAE Banks with a growth rate of 20% during the first half of 2008.
- Posted the 4th Aug. 2008 by RAK Chamber: 7,243 is the total number of certificates of origin from the chamber of Commerce & Industry in the second quarter of 2008 showing a growth rate of 25%.
- Posted the 28th Jul. 2008 by RAK Chamber: 12.3 billion AED is the size of the insurance market in the UAE in 2007.
- Posted the 21st Jul. 2008 by RAK Chamber: UAE sixth globally in the countries list of minimum for fuel prices by 1.7 dollars per gallon.
- Posted the 17th Jul. 2008 by RAK Chamber: One trillion and 832 billion AED is the total UAE trade value over the last 5 years.
- Posted the 14th Jul. 2008 by RAK Chamber: Iron registers a price rise of 167% over the price of 2,375 AED since the beginningof this year.
- Posted the 7th Jul. 2008 by RAK Chamber: UAE is the first Arabian country and 23rd globally in the trade capacity of amongst 118 elected States in the world.
- Posted the 26th Jun. 2008 by RAK Chamber: 2.6 million barrel per day (bpd) production capacity of the UAE’s oil.
- Posted the 23rd Jun. 2008 by RAK Chamber: The consumer loans in UAE increased by 5 billion AED in the first quarter of 2008.
- Posted the 19th Jun. 2008 by RAK Chamber: The Environment Protection Department Authority celebrates over 5 years of Prince H.H. Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, since his assumption as Crown Prince.
- Posted the 16th Jun. 2008 by RAK Chamber: 605,1 is tyhe total number of certificates of origin from the Chamber of Commerce & Industry issued in the first quarter of 2008, showing a 26% growth rate.
- Posted the 12th Jun. 2008 by RAK Chamber: 210 billion AED value of capital invested by companies registered with the Chamber of Commerce & Industry in the first quarter of 2008.
- Posted the 10th Jun. 2008 by RAK Chamber: 75% of the Chamber of Commerce & Industry memberships are owned by UAE Citizens.
- Posted the 5th Jun. 2008 by RAK Chamber: 3,220 are the total flights of Ras Al Khaimah International Airport during the first five months of 2008.
- Posted the 2nd Jun. 2008 by RAK Chamber: 12.5 billion AED is the size of the perfumes market in the UAE in 2007.
- Posted the 26th May 2008 by RAK Chamber: 3.3 billion users of mobile phones in the world in 2007.
- Posted the 22th May 2008 by RAK Chamber: 40 billion US dollar is the size of the trade exchange between UAE and Japan in 2007.
- Posted the 19th May 2008 by RAK Chamber: UAE cement companies produced 24.75 million tons of cement in 2007.
- Posted the 12th May 2008 by RAK Chamber: 40 factories registered in the RAK Chamber of Commerce & Industry during the first quarter of 2008.
- Posted the 8th May 2008 by RAK Chamber: The Arab countries together have consumed 38 million tons of iron & steel in 2007.
- Posted the 14th Apr. 2008 by RAK Chamber: Annually $ 80 is the average per capita consumption of medicines in the UAE.
- Posted the 10th Apr. 2008 by RAK Chamber: 470 Banks in the Arab World, manage $ 1.7 Trillion.
- Posted the 2nd Apr. 2008 by RAK Chamber: Emirates child spends annually on games about 1200 AED.
- Posted the 25th Mar. 2008 by RAK Chamber: “RAK STEEL FACTORY” which specializes in producing steel reinforcement bars has opened in RAK with value of 184 million AED.
- Posted the 23rd Mar. 2008 by RAK Chamber: 1,79 billion US Dollar China’s imports of wool in 2007.
- Posted the 2nd Mar. 2008 by RAK Chamber: Total amount of imports in Ras Al Khaimah was 6.2 billion AED in 2007.
- Posted the 25th Feb. 2008 by RAK Chamber: 24% Growth rate in sales of gold in the Emirates during 2007.
- Posted the 24th Feb. 2008 by RAK Chamber: Rak Chamber studies and information Directorate, releases the second issue of its monthly “Economic Vision” publication. Reflecting on Emirates and world economic issues.
- Posted the 24th Feb. 2008 by RAK Chamber: 17,840 were the total establishments in Ras Al Khaimah in 2007.