April 2023 CPD: The Dubai Building Code

Webinar by Simone Materazzo, Chartered Engineer, Arup on the topic “The Dubai Building Code”.

The Dubai Building Code (DBC) was a collaboration between Dubai Code Committee, Gensler, and BSI with Arup as lead consultant. Arup were appointed by the Dubai Code Committee to develop a single new unified Building Code that will allow the Emirate of Dubai to continue to grow, attract international investment and succeed as a leader in the built environment of the future.

Arup brought local knowledge and code development knowhow as well as international subject matter expertise in all aspects of engineering within buildings and the built environment. Our subconsultant, Gensler delivered the architectural content and BSI was the technical author and editor of the final agreed content.

Sustainability was a key component of the new Code. The minimum sustainability requirements are embedded in each Part of the DBC rather than listed separately to encourage holistic sustainable design.

The talk will mainly focus on Part F which sets out the revised requirements for structural design. Specific research into appropriate wind and seismic loading for Dubai allowed the team to optimize the wind and seismic loading requirements resulting in significant reduction in construction materials and therefore embodied carbon. We will also discuss the geotechnical requirements including the provisions of permanent retaining structures.