The 3rd annual cost effective sustainable construction conference is scheduled to be held between 15 -18 Mar 09 in the Beach Rotana Hotel & Towers, Abu Dhabi, UAE. A Case study of - “Xeritown - a climatic responsive habitat”, will be presented by Ahmed as part of the sustainable Master Planning executive focus day of the conference.

Ahmed Al Ali was awarded during the 8^th Annual Ceremony to Honor Training Organization 2007-2008. The award was presented in a gala dinner event organised by the university on 12th feb 09.

Farid Esmaeil, the founding partner of X-Architects would be one of the speakers in the educational symposium- Mousharaka, as part of the Icograda design week in Qatar. The conference will bring together practitioners, scholars, and students across design disciplines, cultures and regions to build bridges, raise awareness of the importance and promise of collaboration, and create bonds necessary to achieve the full potential of design in the Gulf region. Farid will also be offering a student workshop called ‘Co.LAB ‘ on the same evening

 http://www.mousharaka.com/en/home

 Farid Esmaeil presented and discussed X Architects practice with a group of 50 CEO’s of various Dutch architecture firms and developers as part of a workshop organised by Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAi). The event was hosted in the House boat- one of the landmark project by XArchitects- on 26 Oct 08. Each year NAi invites collaborators to a destination of relevance to today’s world of architecture, development and business opportunities. For 2008, UAE was selected as the workshop destination, to expose a group of Dutch professionals to Dubai and Abu Dhabi as cities undergoing extensive development.

The Second Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction were announced on 12 Nov 08 at a Gala ceremony in Marrakesh, Morocco. More than 5000 projects from 90 countries were entered in the competition for the Africa Middle East region, which was judged by an independent panel of jury members headed byJoe Addo. X Architects project “Xeritown” - a climate responsive mixed use development in Dubai was awarded with an acknowledgment prize. More information about the award can be found at the Holcim Foundation website.

Ahmed Al Ali will present and discuss the latest works of X-Architects including the “Xeritown” project at the SA+D auditorium in the American University of Sharjah.

 Ahmed Al Ali, Principal of X-Architects presented the “Xeritown” project in the Abu Dhabi Green building conference, held on 03 Nov 2008. The Abu Dhabi Green Conference is the first of its kind in Abu Dhabi whose objective was to take an in-depth approach to sustainability by highlighting the major sectors of the new rating system ESTIDAMA.The Abu Dhabi Green was accompanied by an exhibition “Green Innovations” where selected companies presented their solution for the latest sustainable building technologies.

http://www.sesam-uae.com/green/abudhabi/index.asp

X Architects principal Ahmed Al Ali and Leen Vandaele presented a commemorative ring representing the house boat ‘O’ de Squisito to H.H. Shk. Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi

X-architects project “Xeritown” was published in the National newspaper with an interview of principal Ahmed Al Ali regarding the salient features of the project

http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080702/NATIONAL/374577936/1022/NEWS

X-Architects principal Ahmed Al Ali participated in the conference on  ”Building sustainability into the Middle-east”, that was held in Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai on 29 May 08 where he was one of the speakers. The conference included several prominent delegates from the construction industry who are currently implementing new practices of sustainability.

www.itp.net/events/sustainability08

X-Architects will present in the seminar “Contemporary Urban theory and Practice”, their Urban master plan for a new sustainable development in Dubai. The seminar is hosted by the American University of Sharjah (AUS) and IAARA (International Art & Architectural Research Association) .

Venue: SA+D Lecture Hall, Wednesday 28 May, 9am-5pm

Discussions Moderator: Dr. Fatih Rifki
Coordinator of Event: George Katodrytis

X-Architects are developing a concept for a shading pavilion at the financial heart of Dubai. Here is an initial glimpse into the early stages of this project.

Principals Ahmed al Ali and Farid Esmaeil shall participate in the SA+D open day discussion panel at the AUS sharjah as panel members. The topic for the discussion will be ‘Process versus/and Product: The road towards practice’. The event is scheduled for the 6th of march 2008 at 4 pm in the School of architecture + Design, American University of Sharjah.

X-Architects have been given the opportunity to present their work in the Lecture series at Architectural Association of UAE. The lecture series invites prominent figures in the field of construction from different part of the world to present and discuss their works in an open forum. The date and time of the lecture will be updated soon.

http://www.aauae.org/index.php?page=news

X-Architects principal Ahmed Al Ali will present strategies on sustainable master planning entitled “Green cities of the future” in the 2008 Cityscape Abudhabi conference. He will also serve as a panel member in the discussion “Master plans of the Future: - Creating, building and sustaining green cities”. The event is scheduled for between the 13th and 15th of May 2008.

http://www.cityscapeabudhabi.com/Event_Overview_Sustainability.html

X-Architects have been invited to present their urban master plan project T.P.W.t.S.N as part of AA UAE in the upcoming IFIAD 2008 Exhibition. Dates and timing of the presentation will be updated soon.

https://www.sharjah.ac.ae/English/Conferences/IFIAD2008/Pages/IFIAD2008%20Exhibition.aspx

X-Architects principals Ahmed Al Ali and Farid Esmaeil are participating in the AA winter school 2008 being held in Dubai. The 10 day intensive workshop-based programme will run a design-led curriculum that combines conceptual and material research in the process of radical criticism and the rigorous production of ideas. It will investigate different aspects of the emerging spatial realities of the Gulf region, with a local focus on Dubai.

http://www.aaschool.ac.uk/Default.aspx?section=school&page=Dubai%20Winter%20School