IESL Qatar Chapter inauguration Continuous Professional Development (CPD) program titled Introduction to Sustainability and Relevance in Middle East” hosted at Shalimar Darbar Auditorium, Doha, on 9th March,2018, for the Professional Sri Lankan Engineers who are currently working in the State of Qatar.

CPD event was conducted by Eng. Lakshmi Suryan, Principal Sustainability Consultant at Mott MacDonald Limited, Qatar. She is a Grade A registered Architect with 16 years of experience and considerable expertise in the development and implementation of sustainability assessment and rating systems.

Lakshmi has a multidisciplinary background which facilitates low energy design of buildings with experience from early stage design to design development including microclimate analysis, energy modeling, master planning, sustainable material procurement and sustainability reviews and assessments. Lakshmi engaged in projects range from Doha Metro, Master Planning and Advisory Services in Qatar and Port Development in Kuwait.

Starting the CPD event, Lakshmi explained that aiming to transform Qatar into an advanced country by 2030, Qatar is pondering to promote sustainability, energy preservation, environment protection, and hence the green building specifications are likely to become mandatory for developers in the near future.

Furthermore, Lakshmi said that many Public and Private Companies have started complying with green building specifications. For example, ASHGHAL, Schools, Hospitals, Lusail City, Qatar Economic Zone, Qatar Metro Rail Stations and 2022 Football Stadiums ect.

During the CPD, Lakshmi explained what levels of sustainability rating system such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and GSAS (Global Sustainability Assessment System) are being used in Qatar contemporary architectural projects.

Speaking on the cost of green buildings, Lakshmi said that green building projects cost three to 10 percent more compared to the traditional building, but with increasing the availability of materials and techniques in local markets the cost would decrease gradually.

The green buildings have less operational costs, much better indoor environment like air quality, natural ventilation, natural lighting, and they are energy efficient,” emphasized by Lakshmi.

The two- hour CPD event was attracting over 60 Professionals from Sri Lanka, India and Nepal and Certificates were awarded to all Attendees.

C.Eng. Jagath Gunasekara
Chairman-IESL Qatar Chapter, 2017/2018