Index Qatar 2018’s ‘Design Talks’ series provided thought leadership to the industry on the second day of the event, which will run until today at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre.
The second day of ‘Design Talks’, featuring keynote speakers and panels made up of leading interior and architectural specialists from around the world, was well-received by conference attendees. 
Yesterday’s highlights included case studies on recent Qatar interiors projects delivered by Jon Sealy, head of Interior Design at the Arab Engineering Bureau, and an in-depth property market analysis and forecast from Adrian Camps, country director at Colliers International.  
The conference’s panel discussion featured Dr Esam Elsarrag, CEO and founder of UK-based beGREEN Global; Hani Hawamdeh, chief technical officer at the Arab Engineering Bureau; and Dr Alex Amato, head of Sustainability at the Qatar Green Building Council. 
Discussions touched on promoting sustainability, with a focus on innovation, regulation, challenges, and opportunities in the sustainable design and construction of major projects.
Fatima Fawzy, design manager at Msheireb Properties, delivered a keynote on ‘City Regeneration’ using Msheireb Downtown Doha as a case study. She discussed the challenges Msheireb Properties faced in understanding the essence of the old city - of delivering sensitive renewal across the site rather than driving sweeping revolution. 
She explained that this was achieved through four major delivery pillars: urban planning, sustainability and maintaining tradition, building design considerations, and understanding social requirements - the varying perceptions of a city centre, and its uses.
‘Design Talks’ was concluded by Donald Slade, operations director Qatar at consulting engineering firm, Cundall, who engaged the audience with a talk on ‘Wellness and Productivity through Design’.  
Supported by the National Tourism Council (formerly the Qatar Tourism Authority), and against a backdrop of sustained growth for the fit-out market across the country, Index Qatar gathers hundreds of international product manufacturers, interior design firms, and other visitors to Doha.
“It is a great pleasure to welcome so many international companies, speakers, and visitors to Qatar for the second Index event. We are proud to have organised a dynamic event, which directly contributes to the growth of the interiors and fit-out market in Qatar, and we look forward to welcoming the Index exhibitor and visitor community back to Doha in the near future,” said Jaafar Shubber, Index’s event director.


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