New sustainable design exhibition introduced

KUALA LUMPUR (July 6): The Kuala Lumpur Architectural Festival 2012 (KLAF) this year has introduced a new exhibition that focuses on sustainable design and products called the Malaysia Eco Building & Design Exhibition or Eco-B.

Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) president Saifuddin Ahmad said it is an opportune time for Eco-B as awareness of the importance of green and sustainable design and products is growing in accordance with the government’s goal to reduce the nation’s carbon emission.

He said this at the launch of the KLAF on Wednesday officiated by Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail. The exhibition was launched as a key event at the 13th International Architecture, Interior Design and Building Exhibition Malaysia (Archidex 2012) from Wednesday to Saturday at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Archidex and Eco-B are spread across a total of eight halls and take up around 18,000 sq m of floor space with 1,100 booths representing over 450 companies. Some 32,000 visitors from over 50 countries are expected over the four days.

“Due to the larger venue compared to last year, we are expecting 1,000 more people to come,” Saifuddin said. According to Saifuddin, Archidex this year has surpassed that in 2011 by 15% in terms of space.

The exhibitors have increased by 10% with participants from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, China, Thailand and Singapore.

He said the organisers are considering the next Eco-B as a stand-alone exhibition in March next year. Archidex and Eco-B are among a number of design and architectural exhibitions and conferences going on concurrently in conjunction with the KLAF, including the International Architecture Design Conference (Datum KL).

Datum KL brings together four international forums featuring over 20 speakers from 11 countries with a targeted participation of over 5,000 delegates. The KLAF is organised by PAM and CIS Network Sdn Bhd.

This article is appeared in The Edge Financial Daily July 6, 2012.