PACT/URS overviews:

Following previous successes, the 2^nd Edition of the Parallelism in Architecture, Engineering and Computing Techniques conference and the 1^st Edition of the Urban Regeneration & Sustainability conference were both organized along side and held in one of IEREK's partner universities: The University of East London, the Docklands Campus. Once more, it was chaired by Professor Hassan Abdalla; the Dean of the School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering of UEL.

Opening Session

The conference started with a welcoming word by Professor Hassan Abdalla and a brief overview of the conference topics to be discussed, the expected outcome and current and future work. Following his speech, Dr. Fulvio Wirz, MA Programme leader at UEL and Associate at Zaha Hadid Architects, took over the podium to introduce the conference. The session was then wrapped up by a speech from IEREK's Chief Executive Officer and founder, Dr. Mourad Amer and a presentation on the company, its aims & goals and events overtime, which was delivered by its General Director, Dr. Abdelaziz Sakr.

Conference Sessions

Held in parallel to another conference on Urban Regeneration & Sustainability, the program was split into 4 sessions in total. Each session was held and moderated by reputable professors who were did an outstanding job organizing the conference and its sessions. Each Day was initiated with a keynote speech delivered by speakers on the topics of the conferences as per the scheduled sessions and their respective titles. The Keynotes and their speeches were delivered as follows:

Day 1:

A Full day visit to the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich to experience the area and get a glimpse of the different developments undertaken.

Day 2:

Dr. Fulvio Wirz -Lecture title: "Digital Fabrication and the City: the Shift Towards Modular Complexity in Urban and Architectural Design"

Day 3:

Professor Gabriele Sorrento -CEO and Founder of Mindesk: a VR-based design platform.
Lecture title: "Virtual Reality: Breaking the Fifth Wall"

Professor Hocine Bougdah -Reader in Architectural Technology in Canterbury School of Architecture.
Lecture title: "Heritage inspired Contemporary Urban Settlements: The case of the Ksour in the M'Zab Valley, Algeria"