11/20/2008 9:22:00 PM Two Prescott businesses pursue real estate projects in Persian Gulf
Yves Rathle, an Associate and member of the I-Design Team of CATALYST ARCHITECTURE in Prescott, designed this high-rise tower for Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
PRESCOTT - Two small businesses here are seriously pursuing real estate development projects in the Persian Gulf states.
Matt Ackerman, founding partner of Catalyst Architecture, said Gulf Syndicate PLC in Dubai and Osama Bukhamseen Design of Kuwait approached his company about doing master planning for high-rise buildings in the Gulf. Catalyst specializes in sustainable design, which emphasizes reducing the effects of buildings on the environment and energy efficiency.
The royal family in Dubai invited James Beavers, president of Global Building Systems Inc., and Bruce Solper, vice president for product development, to visit in January, said Melanie Jacobson, Global's director of corporate administration. Global patented an energy-efficient building material consisting of foam blocks embedded with steel.
They will visit Dubai to discuss building a plant for manufacturing panels for walls and roofs for homes in that country, Jacobson said.
"We can put up a 2,000-square-foot roof and walls in one day," Jacobson said.
"Right now, the technology that is used in the Middle East is cement," Jacobson said. "Cement is very expensive. It takes a lot of energy and a lot of water to make it."
She said Global incorporated in 2002, and has taken part in research and development for six years.
Meanwhile, Catalyst is waiting to hear back from the Gulf companies, Ackerman said.
"We did talk to Gulf Syndicate PLC and asked how they found us," he said. He added he learned the company found out about Catalyst by conducting a search on the Internet for firms that do sustainable design.
He said both companies asked Catalyst to submit documentation for qualifications for projects in the Gulf.
"Both of them contacted us and wanted to know more that we can do," he said.
A press release from Catalyst states Osama Bukhamseen Design, an engineering consulting firm, has participated in projects such as the Crystal Tower in Al Sharq, Kuwait, and the Laila Tower in Al Salmiya, also in Kuwait.
The press release states Gulf Syndicate is involved in numerous projects in the United Arab Emirates.
Catalyst also has assembled a design team to pursue the international projects, according to the press release. Ackerman is partners in the firm with Jeffrey Zucker.
