Concerns about dangerous man-made climate change are driving governments worldwide to embrace a vision of sustainable development. In this context, Gemina helps policy makers developing new regulations and plans for smart and environmentally responsible urban development, fostering a paradigm shift in building construction and design encouraged by government-sponsored programs.
What can governments, public administrations and private sector decision makers do to improve the well-being of citizens in today’s urban establishments? Encouraged by government-sponsored programs, private investors, developers, corporate facility and public sector project owners share a common aspiration that has become a fast-paced market trend, fostering a paradigm shift in building construction and design.
In all developmental areas of urban living, from architecture to infrastructure, the elements of beauty and sustainability are now perceived as intertwined, like the ideas of καλός (‘beautiful’) and ἀγαθός (‘good’ or ‘virtuous’) in ancient Greek ideal harmony. This remains true in the context of today’s rapidly evolving modern digital world. If smart cities are to become home to a new generation of citizens experiencing ideal harmony in all walks of life, they must be secure, functional and environment-friendly. A wealth of know-how, collaboration and experience has been consolidated over the years by the Sustainability Summit Working Groups and by Hadrian Media as official supporters of ‘Future Cities’ events in Europe, Latin America and the Middle-East, with Sustainable Development magazine as the official media partner.
An increasing market drive and the aspiration to become more deeply involved with next generation government-led urban development initiatives and associated pioneering technology adoption projects has created momentum for Hadrian’s division dedicated to steering the eco-smart revolution in the construction business: Gemina International. Gemina’s mission is ‘to support public and private sector initiatives aimed at designing, modernizing and transforming today’s cityscapes in light of environmentally and socially responsible protocols, for sustainable urban living and reduced impact.’ The objective is not only to catalyze the debate on policies, methodologies and technologies at the core of forward-thinking and environment-responsible urban planning, but to turn vision into action. This is being achieved via field initiatives that support existing projects and allow for first-hand insight into best practices and challenges faced by those designing and building smart and eco-friendly solutions. These range from housing and intelligent industrial complexes to transportation infrastructures with the smallest environmental footprint and future urban aggregates that can best respond to the requirements of city-dwellers.
Towards intelligent building
Smart cities are transforming our societies using advanced information and communication technology in all aspects of urban life. This said, decades-long research on the topic of smart buildings has yet to generate a consensus on what the intelligence of a building is, and what enhances that intelligence. In the era of Big Data and AI it is pivotal to achieve a common vision about how intelligent buildings can best contribute to reaching smart city goals. Gemina fosters public-private collaboration and industry-wide exchange in this field of investigation, participating in multi-disciplinary debates with public sector, construction business and high-tech industry representatives. In 2021, its focus is on eco-smart buildings, to identify and correlate the main drivers and systems of sustainable urban development. Turning vision into action There are multiple stakeholders of eco-smart living initiatives. Today’s governments, citizens, organizations and businesses, as well as the environment itself, are all impacted by choices regarding building concepts, construction supplies, and smart technologies implemented in their context.
Gemina catalyzes exchange between construction industry players, public and private sector clients and technology companies, engaging with decision makers leading smart city development projects, professional advisors anticipating regulatory trends, construction industry players, and experts in artificial intelligence (AI) pioneering its implementation. Throughout 2021, Gemina will bring together select industry players through: Future Cities think-tank: public sector representatives striving to promote smart city development protocols; Gemina partner program: a network promoting energy saving regulations, green construction and smart living concepts; Trail Blazer pioneers: industry players developing eco-smart home automation solutions leveraging artificial intelligence.
Future Cities
Ten years of major international debate at world-class summits Future cities have been the subject of a decade-long debate of a dedicated working group of the Sustainability Summit endorsed by the European Commission and various governments worldwide. With conferences held in Frankfurt, Milan, Abu Dhabi and Rio de Janeiro, the focus has been progressivly on urban innovation, fostering ICT-based modernization programs in metropolises worldwide. Activating its special interest working group at major world-class summits, the initiative has continued to shed light on trends in urban innovation, encouraging the drive for security and efficiency in modern cities on all continents. Over the years the debate has connected continents with Future Cities Europe, Future Cities MEA and Future Cities Americas all contributing to reach a common goal. These efforts are now brought to the forefront at one of the most relevant and critical points in our planet’s history, as a collaborative drive to accelerate the time-to-market of eco-smart living solutions.
Catalyzing open initiatives
Think tanks working for a common agenda Stakeholders sit together at the table of innovation promoting public-private partnerships for sustainable development. Meet Gemina at the Smart Round Tables of the Sustainability Summit.
- Are you a policy maker or government sector advisor?
- Are you a public administration stakeholder?
- Are you a provider of new building automation technologies?
A channel partner program accelerating transformation Gemina partners pioneer new industry-wide programs that turn sustainable development for eco-smart living into reality. Join forces with those driving change in construction.
- Are you a construction industry player?
- Are you a real-estate investor?
- Are you a property manager leading its transformation?
Advisory Board
Taking part in the Sustainable Development Advisory Board’s multi-disciplinary talks, Gemina engages authoritative voices from different fields of expertise, spanning across the fine arts, legal, regulatory, industrial, technology and scientific communities to look holistically and in detail at today’s innovative concepts, materials and technologies for state-of-the-art real estate. Gemina catalyzes initiatives for funding, replicating and divulging best practices in development and modernization, in light of the UN’s SDG’s.
by Andy Bock