Mr. Adnan H. Aliani, Director, Strategy and Programme Management Division, UNESCAP visited the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) on 3 April 2015 to discuss possible collaboration and opportunities. He also took the opportunity to meet with Dr. Naveed Anwar, Executive Director, AIT Consulting who introduced AITC’s expertise and services through a detailed presentation of several global applications of AIT’s technical adroitness.

Dr. Naveed informed Mr. Aliani that in order to find ways to overcome some major challenges in achieving affordable housing, AIT through AIT Consulting and Habitech Center in collaboration with its key partners is organizing “Housing for All: Innovative Solutions”, an event where a panel of key experts would present integrated and comprehensive solutions including financial and business models, suitable technologies and innovative ideas to address some of these challenges.

The two-day event will cover many aspects related to overcoming the challenges for providing affordable housing in many countries in the region and will also showcase an exhibition of related products, services, and appropriate technologies for providing affordable housing solutions.

Mr. Aliani advised that AIT might consider organizing a competition in order to acquire relevant talents and resources, to which AIT agreed. Mr. Aliani also suggested that for Affordable Housing, AIT should look into solutions based on integrating the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development, which assemble all related aspects of a settlement such as technical, environment – energy, economics, and income generation from waste. He was pleased to know AIT’s efforts in sustainable development of the region.

UNESCAP has been showing increasing interest in carrying out projects with AIT. UNESCAP, in collaboration with AIT, conducted a study for incorporating energy and environmental design in to building codes in order to improve sustainability in the Asia-Pacific region. UNESCAP, supported by AIT, reviewed the structural building codes spanning Wind Design Criteria, Seismic Design Criteria, and other criteria relating to Concrete, Steel and Masonry in the project ‘Incorporating Environmental Sustainability and Disaster Resilience in Building Codes’.