The 2005 Salon BatiMat Expo took place in Paris November 7-12, while BuilConn 2005 Europe was held in Amsterdam November 8-10. The overlapping shows had a lot to offer builders interested in making their projects efficient and environmentally friendly. Sustainable green building and building automation have among their many goals a common objective: making facilities into responsible energy users.

Batimat International Building Exhibition 2005
Almost a half million people attended "Batimat Salon International de la Construction" at the Porte de Versailles in Paris, France. They came primarily to see over 2,600 exhibitors in 130,000 square meters of exhibits.

The theme of Batimat 2005 this year was sustainable development, an area that organizers believe offers the construction industry considerable opportunities for progress and added value.

Instead of discussing sustainable development from an ideological or political standpoint, Batimat approached it from a practical and operational angle.

"The industry has always been able to turn regulatory constraints and new policies to its advantage to innovate and move forward," wrote the organizers, Reed Expositions, in their press kit. "We are starting to see some significant initiatives and real achievements emerging in Europe, and more specifically in France."

The next Batimat is scheduled for November 5-10, 2007.

BuilConn Europe 2005
Builders and facilities managers converged at the Amsterdam RAI convention facility for "BuilConn Europe 2005," comprised of a conference and expo.

The Building Systems Conference offered presentations and workshops on topics ranging from Automation to ZigBee. There were dedicated open systems technology sessions on BACnet, LonMark, oBIX and Niagara.

The Building Systems Expo 2005 is a trade show for those involved in intelligent and integrated building systems where HVAC, security and other systems are combined with IT-based networks and technologies.

Robbert Kuppens, Cisco EMEA Managing Director of IBSG, presented Cisco's vision for "Connected Real Estate." His keynote and an educational track entitled "The Value of Buildings to the Enterprise" both explored the benefits and changes that result from enterprise-building connectivity enabled by IT convergence.

BuilConn Americas 2006 is scheduled for May 16-18 in Palm Springs, California.

Related article:
"Built Green Conference Combines Efficiency, Economics, Environmental Responsibility"