Speaker Spotlight: Professor Ir. Dr. Zuhari Abd. Hamid

In township planning and building construction, there is research. And in research, there is action and execution. Professor Ir. Dr. Zuhari Abd. Hamid, Executive Director of the Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM) will tell you that the symbiotic relationship between academia and industry is the driving force behind its institution.

Centered in a region which is tropical and where weathers and humidity are vastly different from temperate and colder territories, CREAM is serving a function in Malaysia’s construction industry in researching and developing innovative new construction methods which could serve the country’s and perhaps even the region’s construction industries. They have done extensive research and development work towards sustainable construction and green building technologies and have even worked on patented products such as precast concrete beam-to-column connections and semi-precast lightweight flooring slabs. In line with their research to action mission, CREAM also proactively works towards commercialisation of new construction technologies.

The use of prefabrication of components in building construction is also an area of interest for CREAM, specifically in the construction of public buildings. Named the Industrialised Building System (IBS), the construction technique involves the use of manufactured components in a controlled environment which is transported, positioned and assembled into a structure with minimal addition site work, and has the potential to be developed into the forward-thinking, efficient and sustainable construction method of the future.

At this April’s 2-day iCities conference, Dr. Zuhairi, who is also a board member on the UN support International Research Council and International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB), will speak about bringing improvement to prefab housing industries with respect to time, cost and quality, using design strategies that will enable retrofitting and reconfiguration to be made most efficiently. Join her at the iCities Conference in April 2016.

About Professor Ir. Dr. Zuhari Abd. Hamid