UVa School of Architecture | Asst. Professor John Quale Participates on Jury at World Future Energy Summit in UAE

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Asst. Professor John Quale Participates on Jury at World Future Energy Summit in UAE

John Quale, Assistant Professor of Architecture and ecoMOD Project Director, recently served on an international architectural jury for a carbon-neutral, “positive energy” building to be constructed in the United Arab Emirates. The jury, which was held in the UAE, included architects from France and the U.S., and academics from Harvard and Carnegie Mellon – all with noted experience with sustainable design or in the Middle East.

The winners were announced and the city master plan revealed at the first ever World Future Energy Summit, an international meeting of renewable energy experts working towards sustainable energy solutions. The conference participants included Prince Charles, Prince of Wales; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; the presidents of Iceland and the Maldives, architects Norman Foster and William McDonough (former dean of the School), and the CEOs of several energy companies, including BP and Shell. President Bush was briefed on the Masdar Initiative during a state visit to the UAE the week prior to the jury and the summit.

The jury selected the Chicago-based firm of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architects to design the headquarters for the Masdar Initiative, financed by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company. The building will be located in the new car-free and fossil-fuel free city of Masdar, near the airport in Abu Dhabi, one of the emirates of the UAE.

Smith and Gill are former partners at the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), where they designed the Burj Dubai (nearing completion), the world’s tallest building in the neighboring emirate of Dubai. In contrast with that building, the Masdar headquarters will be no more than eight stories high, and embedded in a new, dense urban context. It will make extensive use of passive design principles, and be powered by one of the world’s largest building-integrated photovoltaic arrays. It will also have what is believed to be the largest solar thermal driven cooling and dehumidification systems.

The original 159 design teams were narrowed to 15 and then four finalists. The four finalist teams produced large-scale models and videos for the final jury review in Abu Dhabi. The building is being integrated into a master plan by the London based firm Norman Foster & Partners, architects of many notable sustainable buildings around the world. Quale and other members of the jury have been asked to consult with the project over the next few years while the developer aims to complete the project by 2010.

For more information, please see:

Time Magazine - article on the Future Energy Summit

	Home > Calendar > In the News > Thursday, February 28, 2008 Asst. Professor John Quale Participates on Jury at World Future Energy Summit in UAE John Quale, Assistant Professor of Architecture and ecoMOD Project Director, recently served on an international architectural jury for a carbon-neutral, “positive energy” building to be constructed in the United Arab Emirates. The jury, which was held in the UAE, included architects from France and the U.S., and academics from Harvard and Carnegie Mellon – all with noted experience with sustainable design or in the Middle East. The winners were announced and the city master plan revealed at the first ever World Future Energy Summit, an international meeting of renewable energy experts working towards sustainable energy solutions. The conference participants included Prince Charles, Prince of Wales; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; the presidents of Iceland and the Maldives, architects Norman Foster and William McDonough (former dean of the School), and the CEOs of several energy companies, including BP and Shell. President Bush was briefed on the Masdar Initiative during a state visit to the UAE the week prior to the jury and the summit. The jury selected the Chicago-based firm of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architects to design the headquarters for the Masdar Initiative, financed by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company. The building will be located in the new car-free and fossil-fuel free city of Masdar, near the airport in Abu Dhabi, one of the emirates of the UAE. Smith and Gill are former partners at the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), where they designed the Burj Dubai (nearing completion), the world’s tallest building in the neighboring emirate of Dubai. In contrast with that building, the Masdar headquarters will be no more than eight stories high, and embedded in a new, dense urban context. It will make extensive use of passive design principles, and be powered by one of the world’s largest building-integrated photovoltaic arrays. It will also have what is believed to be the largest solar thermal driven cooling and dehumidification systems. The original 159 design teams were narrowed to 15 and then four finalists. The four finalist teams produced large-scale models and videos for the final jury review in Abu Dhabi. The building is being integrated into a master plan by the London based firm Norman Foster & Partners, architects of many notable sustainable buildings around the world. Quale and other members of the jury have been asked to consult with the project over the next few years while the developer aims to complete the project by 2010. For more information, please see: Time Magazine - article on the Future Energy Summit	This Week This Month : May In the News Feature Stories Archive Lectures & Symposia Exhibits Podcasts UVa Academic Calendar UVa Events Calendar UVa Student Activities Calendar
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