Smart Cities in the Mediterranean.
In 2018, Bureau 105’s co-founder, Perit Jeanette Abela, attended the 67th European Council of Civil Engineers (ECCE) General Meeting on behalf of the Kamra tal-Periti. The three-day event, which took place in Tallinn, Estonia, united some of Europe’s top civil engineers to discuss and address a number of topics and issues.
One such point was the ratification of the ECCE Manifesto on Digitalisation in the Construction Industry. This looked at transforming the industry by requiring it to include a larger portion of building information modelling, artificial intelligence, robots, 3D-printing and pre-fabrication in its work.
The 67th General Meeting also saw the ratification of the Madrid Declaration 2018, which addresses water sustainability in the future. The Declaration is based on the sixth goal laid down by the United Nations Sustainable Development – to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all – and looks at how this could be achieved through engineering, with particular reference to the Iberian Peninsula.
Discussions were also held about the need for structural/seismic rehabilitation of existing buildings, for which ECCE is in the process of drafting a position paper that focuses on the Mediterranean region and other European countries. The paper seeks to change wording in various EU directives that lay the law on how structural/seismic upgrades on buildings should be done in conjunction with an upgrade in energy performance.
“Attending such a General Meeting doesn’t just give Malta a better idea of where we stand in terms of civil engineering as a nation, but also gives it a voice in terms of where European regulations on the matter are headed,” Jeanette says.
“Personally, attending this ECCE meeting also helps me hone ideas and ensure that the work I do as a Perit is always based on the latest knowledge and directives.”
