SPEAKER INTERVIEW: DJ ARMIN

DJ Armin will be speaking at the Design Talks during The Big 5 in November. He is the Managing Partner at ZAS Group of Companies and he will be sharing his insight on "Promoting the green building revolution of Middle Eastern projects with sustainable design."

What are the top 3 important elements considered while designing green buildings for the region?

First and foremost is determining a sustainable design strategy that aligns and is complementary to the client’s vision, goals and operations. A successful green is not a building design that just bolts on the latest sustainable features without considering the client and the building users.  Instead green building design must grow naturally and incorporate features that are seen as beneficial to occupants and in this way will be valued and maintained over the life of the building.

Second is to think of the building in the larger context, not just one building in isolation but as part of a community of buildings that from a city and is connected to global infrastructure.  We see our designs for green buildings as a catalyst for more sustainable development, a first step in a long journey, towards a more sustainable future generally.

Third element to consider is measurable results.  We incorporate sensors to measure real world results of the sustainable design strategy.  This allows fine tuning of the building to improve environmental performance and for us to improve designs for future green buildings based on the data from previous builds.               

What are the challenges faced to get a building to be certified as sustainable?

Certification requires demonstration of adherence to global or regional standard, however, the best sustainable solutions are almost local based on the specific site and context.  Some times it can be difficult to demonstrate the best green design for a specific project also fits into the standard checklist     

 What is your take on the future of green building revolution?

The future is moving to larger scale sustainability, beyond a single building, to sustainable communities.  Measurement and variation of sustainable claims will also become more important in the future – showing that the promise of improved environmental performance and operational savings are actually delivered.   

What will be the key take away by the audience attending your talk?

Green buildings are growing in importance and market share. In the future sustainability will broaden to whole green communities and that green performance will be expected to be verified and measured. 

About DJ Armin -

DJ is a senior principal and Managing Partner of ZAS Group of Companies, he has extensive experience in managing and designing tall buildings, large scale and complex developments. His creative approach to developments has earned him a reputation of being one of the most credible people in the industry.

DJ has been an international expert advisor to many governments and semi-governments such as Government of Caribbean Island, Toronto Muncipality, Government of Libya, and Government of Ivory coast. His extensive design and management expertise of large scale & complex, mixed-use, high rise, and master planning projects has led to the successful completion of several large neighborhoods, infrastructure, cultural, corporate, institutional, residential, hospitality, passenger terminals, city centers and private / public sector projects.

Over the last 35 years, he has been associated with several high-profile projects in UAE, Canada, Caribbean Islands, France, Ivory Coast, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Oman, Kurdistan, Morocco, India and Angola.

Dr. Armin has a PhD. in Architecture and a Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Sorbonne University in Paris.

You can hear more from DJ Armin on "Promoting the green building revolution of Middle Eastern projects with sustainable design" at the Design Talks on 29th November, 12:00 - 12:45.