Inhabit Executive Director Xuekun Qian Presents at Two Façades Events
Xuekun Qian, Executive Director of Inhabit, was recently invited to attend the ZAK World of Façades Greater China Edition and the Shanghai ULI (Urban Land Institute) event on “Innovation and Future of Façades Design”, and delivered keynote speeches at both two conferences.
On July 27 2023 at ZAK World of Façades, Xuekun presented in a breakout session on “Embodied Carbon Emission in Façades Design”. He introduced what embodied carbon and operational carbon are, how to calculate the embodied carbon in façades, comparisons of embodied carbon in different façades systems, and finally proposed façades design starting from the reduction of embodied carbon.
ZAK World of Façades is an international series of summits on façade design and engineering. As of that date, over 110 summits have been completed, attracting more than 30,000 attendees. The conference lasts for one day and has been held in over 35 countries. The Shanghai event was the 129th global meeting and the second in mainland China, attracting nearly 600 guests from around the world. The conference showcased the most cutting-edge innovative products in the façade industry, providing the most advanced technical support for better architectural skin presentation.
On July 28, the ULI (Urban Land Institute) held an event themed “Innovation and Future of Façades Design”. Xuekun shared how to reduce embedded carbon during the design and implementation process, such as preserving the existing building’s façade, minimizing unnecessary shading and decorative strips, and irregular structures, comparing external wall materials, optimizing external wall structure, optimizing transportation schemes, etc. In the panel discussion, Xuekun and other experts shared their views on how to reduce carbon emissions while meeting aesthetic requirements and suggested that architectural aesthetics could return to simplicity, exploring more natural materials and greenification.
The ULI event attracted many senior industry experts to share their thoughts on façades design, innovative design, and future prospects. The symposium mainly focused on rethinking the full-cycle carbon emissions of façades design, façades design starting from the reduction of embodied carbon, intelligent construction driving façades innovation, and how green plant façades can create urban vertical vitality, and attracted more than 50 real estate industry professionals.
