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BARWA and Qatari Diar Sponsors Qatar Society of Engineers (QSE) ‘Qatar Sustainability Assessment System (QSAS)' Workshop

Under the Sponsorship of BARWA Real Estate Company (BARWA) and Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company (Qatari Diar), Qatar Society Engineers (QSE) announces their Workshop ‘Qatar Sustainability Assessment System (QSAS)' taking place at Al-Sonbok Ballroom, Sharq Village on Thursday 28 May.

Once more, BARWA and Qatari Diar demonstrated their ability to lead Qatar’s sustainable real estate sector by supporting (QSE) in designing and delivering to senior executives, consultants and engineers from Qatar and other GCC countries workshop on ‘Qatar Sustainability Assessment System (QSAS)'.

As premier real estate developers in Qatar and the region, BARWA and Qatari Diar, are supporting Qatar Society of Engineers (QSE) to host the 1-day QSAS workshop aiming to empower over 100 senior consultants and engineers, who registered for 'QSAS', about how to create sustainable building projects which minimize ecological impact while addressing the specific sustainable needs of Qatar and the region.

Welcomed by 1,000 civic and political leaders from 43 countries during April’s Global City sustainable urban development forum in Abu Dhabi, Dr. Yousef Al Horr, Chairman and Managing Director in BARWA Knowledge, and Mr. Mohamed Al Hedfa, Deputy CEO for business developments in Qatari Diar, introduced QSAS as a ‘green building rating system’ developed by real estate conglomerates, BARWA and Qatari Diar, in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania’s T.C. Chan Center, Dr Ali Malkawi, and is considered the Middle East’s first performance-based ‘green building design’ rating system.

“QSAS allows the State of Qatar to take the lead in addressing regional and national energy efficiency policies, reducing carbon emissions, minimizing ecological impacts, and ensuring high indoor environmental quality,” says Dr. Yousef Al-Horr.

“By developing our own system that adheres to international standards and addresses sustainability goals specific to the area, the State of Qatar serves as a premier example for nations and companies in the region and the world.” Added Dr. Al Horr

Based on proven green building guidelines, a rigorous Sustainability Rating System and challenging water and energy standards, QSAS integrates best practice from 140 global assessment systems to create a ‘best of the best’ green building benchmark for the State of Qatar.

“Qatari Diar and BARWA set the standards for green building. The growing interest in QSAS demonstrates the importance developers, investors, and engineers increasingly attach to the support of a widely-recognized and robust rating system that QSAS provides," says Eng. Mohamed Al-Hedfa.

“Developing QSAS based on local needs while leveraging best practices is a definite advantage, especially for regions where environmental, economic, social, and cultural conditions are unlike other areas in the world, factors such as desertification, scarcity of water, pedestrian connectivity, and cultural heritage/identity are either omitted or unsuitably addressed,” added Mr. Mohamed Al-Hedfa.

Future QSAS workshops and research will be based at the recently announced BARWA and Qatari Diar Research Center, to be established in Qatar Science and Technology Park – QSTP. Providing educational opportunities and state of the art construction concepts and solutions to industry professionals through teaching and research partnerships, the QSTP based center will offer several QSAS workshops each year targeting engineers, architects and policy makers.

Eng Ahmad Jolo, Chairman of Qatar Society of Engineers said, “Today’s QSAS workshop is proof of QSE’s strong commitment to the professional development of its members, from the time they join the engineering industry as apprentices through to their establishment as highly skilled engineers. We would like to congratulate BARWA and Qatari Diar for once again supporting Qatar’s engineers.”

“Through the joint efforts of both companies, and the collaboration from QSE, we are establishing the BARWA and Qatari Diar Research Institute to focus on three key areas: Knowledge Creation, Applications and Consulting Services and Dissemination of Information,” concluded Dr. Al-Horr.