Sustainability Solutions Conference - Beirut

Xsever

I came across the Sustainability Solutions Conference - Beirut and I was wondering if anyone attended the 1st one and/or is planning to attend the 2nd one this year.

It is organized by ecosolutions and more information can be found here: http://eecosolutions.com/events.html

The conference targets green solutions for buildings, LEED certifications, case studies and LED lightning for Lebanon along with other topics.

These subject are of great interest to me, but since I live in Canada now, I won't be able to attend.

So anyone who finds this of interest please let me know your thoughts/experiences.

Thank you.

mesa177

Thanks for the head's up! It's actually a subject of interest to my dad, I'll let him know about it. If he can attend, then maybe I'll post his review about it. Ps: I know Dr. Traboulsi from university days, great guy and a force to be reckoned with when it comes to civil and mechanical engineering. I advise all students majoring in civil, mechanical, electrical, mechatronics and architecture engineering to attend.

practo

I would have loved going if I was in Lebanon :(

Xsever

Thank you for responding mesa177. Please do not forget reporting back if you or your dad end up going.

It's nice to see this kind of initiative and interest in these subjects especially in Lebanon/Middle East where this is not the culture.

mesa177

Ok, so my dad made it today, and I'm sorry to let you know that it was a bit disappointing.

The only presentation that appealed to him was that of SCHOTT solar which was about building integrated photo voltaic panels (a.k.a. BIPV). The presenter Mr. Dabbagh was engaging, but seeing that the topic was common (photo voltaic panels are an advanced version of solar cells, where they don't need direct sunlight to work i.e. they still generate electricity on a cloudy day), the issue didn't induce extreme interest. Still, he finally found the supplier he was looking for to equip his future "Green Farm" house with solar panels.

He also said that the "ARZ Building Rating System", a project developed by the "Lebanese Green Building Council" which has recently issued a series of "green-building" requirements to evaluate currently built Lebanese houses and consequently rank them (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Certified, and Uncertified), was an excellent step towards improving the quality of built houses. This, coupled with the recently issued mandatory standards of "Compact Fluorescent Lamps" (CFL) and "Solar Water Heaters" (SWH) by the Ministry of Industry in 21 September 2010, will also lead to more energy-efficient housing systems. Since the presentation involved a lot of regulation talking, he was a bit bored (law-talk does that to people).

As for the brochures, which were all printed on eco-friendly paper (go figure), the only design and content that captured my engineerish attention was that of Somiral Energy. Maybe it was the perfect combination between schematics concerning product design and implementation, explanatory diagrams, product description, and project implementations (local and abroad), but it was the only one I bothered reading fully (I skimmed through the "Saving Energy" magazine from UNDP, drooled over the luxurious houses and apartments featured in Sayfco Holding's "Ekaruna" magazine, and enjoyed the high-resolution images of wild animals in "WE" magazine).

Hope the feedback was thorough.

mesa177

On a slightly related topic, I was watching "Deconstruction" on Discovery channel yesterday, and they featured an alternative to regular painting coats and wallpaper to cover the walls of your house: clay-based plaster which is supplied by "American Clay" in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Since the main ingredients of the plaster are 100% natural, the material is called "Natural Earth Plaster". They come in different shades of earth-tones and bold colors like azur (34 Destination Colors and eight Natural Depth accents).

The advantages are:

1)

The natural oxides and ochers used in our Color Packs ensure your finish will be naturally resistant to UV rays and will not experience the kind of fading normally associated with other finishes.

2) It regulates humidity: a big issue of interest in Lebanon, seeing that alot of paint jobs end cracking up even with using a water-resistive base, especially in the bathrooms. As this plaster uses clay as an ingredient, it absorbs and releases moisture naturally: low relative humidity causes a charge build-up, and clay is positively charged, so the negatively-charged moisture particles will be attracted to the clay. When the charge build-up in the room's atmosphere decreases (i.e. humidity level decreases), the absorbed particles are released back into the air.
3) It resists mold, absorbs sound, and is relatively easy to apply.
4) It contributes to 10 LEED credits, which would allow your house to be of better ranking on the "ARZ Building Rate System".
5) DIY links
6) More natural look for your house.

My dad and I liked the idea so much we're thinking of adopting it for the future "Green Farm" house.