Emirates glass furnished building receives platinum leed certification

Emirates glass furnished building receives platinum leed certification
Award consolidates EGL’s strategy to promote eco-friendly construction materials and green buildings
Emirates Glass LLC (EGL), a leading processor of architectural flat glass in the Middle East and a subsidiary of Glass LLC, wholly owned by Dubai Investments (DI), has announced that its latest overseas project, a contract for the Kalpataru Square development, has been bestowed a Platinum certification, the highest and most-coveted existing certification in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.
The award conferred by the renowned US Green Building Council (USGBC) makes the Kalpataru Square in India the only building outside of the USA, and the sixth around the world, ever to be rated with a Platinum certification according to the guidelines set forth by LEED Core & Shell Version 2.0.
Emphasising EGL’s commitment to bringing truly green buildings to the UAE and beyond, Maya Zouein, Marketing Director and Head of Technical Support Team at EGL, said, “As one of the founding members of the Emirates Green Building Council, we have a vested interest in the development of a genuinely sustainable environment in which people can thrive without posing harm to their natural surroundings.”
“Our contribution, which is in line with the sustainable vision of Dubai as outlined by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler Dubai, is to provide high performance glass, a main component of any construction project, that satisfies rigorous requirements for aesthetics, ergonomics, and energy efficiency simultaneously,” she added.
In a matter of four weeks, Emirates Glass completely furnished the building’s facade with nearly 5,000 square metres of EMICOOL coated glass, a leading range of architectural glass products which block external heat from radiating into the building’s interior.  Applied with ultra-thin metallic coatings, composed of various elements including silver, zinc, chromium, and titanium, this type of glass reduces the amount of energy required to maintain ambient light and temperature, and thus improves the structure’s energy efficiency and ecological sustainability as a whole.
“An esteemed recognition by an independent industry committee such as LEED of a project in which Emirates Glass has a direct involvement is yet another milestone in our overall strategy of promoting not only awareness but also the adoption of the concept of sustainable development and environmental responsibility through the implementation of eco-friendly materials and processes in the construction of 21st-century monuments,” she further commented.
Earlier this year, Emirates Glass initiated a series of training workshops that engaged 60 practicing professional firms in the construction, design, and architectural sectors gathering more than 360 architects and designers with the primary objective of educating them on the different types of glass, its suitable applications, and the multitude of ways in which the material can be used to achieve tremendous energy savings that offer both financial and environmental benefits.  The initiative also featured a LEED seminar which provided a glimpse of the suite of standards instituted to create awareness for the construction of environmentally sustainable buildings.