Federal Demographic Structure Council meets in Abu Dhabi

The Federal Demographic Structure Council (FDSC) held its 11th periodic meeting recently in Abu Dhabi.

Lt. Gen. HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy prime minister and minister of interior, served as chairman, and others at the meeting included Saqr bin Ghobash, minister of labor; Sultan Al Mansouri, minister of economy; and Mariam Al Roumi, minister of social affairs.

Approved at the meeting were the outcomes of the Technical Committee for Efficient Building Design after the decision by the Council of Ministers to develop a general construction Index in the UAE using the parameters that the FDSC submitted to the Council of Ministers. The goal of this index is to establish uniform building design and encourage the use of modern methods of construction.

Meeting attendees also reviewed efforts by federal and local government entities, in partnership with the General Secretariat of the Federal Demographic Structure Council, to create the Building Design Efficiency Index. The index was developed by engineers from the Ministry of Public Works, the municipality of Abu Dhabi and the Municipality of Dubai, with assistance from the private sector, to analyze building designs and plans.

The Design Efficiency Index is not expected to stifle creativity in designs, as the uniform building-code guidelines only cover structural and wall systems.

The council also adopted a proposal to form an evaluation and follow-up committee from the Ministry of Public Works and Municipalities to provide for the implementation of the index across all municipalities and to follow up on compliance with its standards.