The organizers of The Big 5 exhibition, which takes place at Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre on November 23^rd – 27^th, 2008, recently announced the winners of the Big 5 Gaia Award, which recognizes construction products and services that reduce environmental impact.

 

The Big 5 Gaia Awards – named after the mythical Greek goddess of the earth - provide a platform for leading green products and services and feature over 30 products and services. Finalists included Swegon for its Chilled Beam Parasol, and the award winners (for example, the Bronze Award went to Brakel Aluminium for its Innova Smoke & Heat Ventilators, among others) were announced on 5 November 2008. Nominations were received from the 2,900 exhibiting companies at this year’s Big 5 and a distinguished panel of judges representative of the regional community awarded 27 medals of merit and one Gaia gold medal. The judging panel was assembled with the support of Ecospecifier International and included David Baggs, Technical Director and Principal Consultant, Ecospecifier; Dr Ashraf Hegazy, Sustainable Projects Manager, Aldar; Gonzalo Seminario, LEED accredited Senior Architect, Nakheel; Samuel Keehn, Environmental and Sustainability Manager, Energy Management Services International; and Georgina Legoe, CEO, Sustainability Advisory Group.       

The Big 5 exhibition, with more than 3000 exhibiting companies and expecting more than 50,000 visitors, will also feature a Technical Conference on Monday, November 24^th, where regional and international experts will present practical project case studies on energy efficient green building solutions and environmentally friendly technologies, United Arab Emirates green building compliance requirements and rating schemes. The conference and Gaia Awards respond to the introduction by the Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, of a green building directive underscoring Dubai's support for efforts to address global environmental challenges, reveals the organizers’ press release.