Hotel developments to lead the way for growth in African tourism

A number of the world’s largest hotel chains are betting on Africa being their next big investment opportunity. Africa’s tourism sector is already on a momentous upwards slope and this is the obvious trend that has caught the attention of some of the world’s most renowned hotel names, such as, The Hilton, Fairmont and the Jumeirah group. Starwood, Marriot and the Four Seasons have also publically stated they intend on investing heavily across North, South and Central Africa in the five-years between now and 2021 that experts predict will be one of the largest periods of hotel growth in the continent’s history.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa is currently rising at an astronomical rate; last year, the global growth rate of FDI was 1%, whereas in Africa they experienced a 7% growth. Paul Frimpong, Investor Analyst at international business facilitation experts Naseba, said: “The enormous potential of the African continent cannot be emphasized enough. Africa is the fastest growing region for FDIs in the world. Aggregate household consumption will reach $1.4 trillion with collective GDP hitting $2.6 trillion in 2020 alone. These facts show that with the understanding of the growth momentum, combined with the right strategies, presents handsome rewards for current and prospective investors in the region.”

Not only does the hotel boom in Africa provide more opportunity for the tourism industry but it also presents an abundance of opportunity for the continents architects, interior designers, real estate developers, buyers and engineers working on not only hospitality, but retail, commercial and residential developments.

 

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Reducing Energy Consumption of Buildings

The “Trias Energetica Concept” suggest that we should first find a way to reduce energy consumption before developing alternative energy source, such as renewable energy. It is possible by avoiding waste and implementing energy-saving measures.

Energy efficient buildings are buildings that have the capacity to reduce significantly the energy used for cooling and heating the building (without considering the energy and the equipments that are used to heat or cool the building). Below we are going to show you the important points that help your building to be energy efficient.

1. Bioclimatic Architecture

This approach takes into account the local climate and environmental conditions in order to develop the best possible way to use environmental sources of energy. In order get the most benefit from natural sources, it is necessary to :

• Have an efficient building shape : reduce the surface in contact with the exterior and the building, interior spaces are arrange according to their heating requirements
• Have an appropriate techniques of enveloping the external of the building (use the correct colors and surface) from solar heat in winter as well as in summer and also to collect solar radiation (which acts as a “free” heating and lighting systems).

The graphic below shows  the impact of building shape on annual heating energy for a small building in a cold climate.

Graphic from www.buildingscience.com

2. Thermal Insulation

This technology has proven to be very efficient as it saves energy and also money. It is suited for cold places, as it keeps the building warm and reduce the energy needed for heating. It is also greatly efficient for hot regions, as it keeps the heat out from the building and reduce the need for air conditioning.

Check this website to see what sort of insulation to use.

Photo from www.homebuilding.co.uk

3. Air Tightness

Air leakages should be reduced at maximum in order to have a comfortable and energy efficiency buildings. During the design and construction stage, great attention must be invest to seal gaps.

Most existing and recently built buildings are far from being airtight and create financial and environmental costs. A “leaky” building needs more energy for heating or cooling and allow humid air to penetrate, degrading the structure of the building and the effectiveness of the insulation.

Image from www.corbwell.ie

4. Ventilation

This is a system controls the penetration of air through the building and allows to deliver fresh air and take out stale air in combination with the designed heating system and humidity control, and the fabric of the building itself.

To learn more of the importance of ventilation, visit this website.

Image from www.completecoolroofsystems.com

Shanghai Metal Corporation is an expert manufacturer and supplier in the production of building material. To help you build energy efficient building, we can provide you with our top quality materials, such as mineral wool for thermal insulation. We also accept any challenging construction projects and will be glad to help you. Visit our website to see more and contact us if you need further information. Also follow us on social media to discover and be updated of our new products.

Source and original article : isover
Featured image from : greenwizard

    

 

Ayu P.//SMC editor

The End of Metal Keys?

We don’t really pay attention to small things around us that are naturally just here, existing with us quietly and serving us. One of these are KEYS. Nowadays, they are most commonly manufactured metal objects in the whole world that enable us to open our physical properties – cars, buildings, safes and many others.

As a lot of things, origin of keys also dates back to ancient Babylon and Egypt, when first locks appeared. Egyptians used a wooden toothbrush-shaped key for lifting small pins in wooden locks and unlock the blot. The big disadvantage was that keys and locks were made out of wood and they were quite heavy and bulky.

In ancient Rome, engineers and inventors managed to improve a wooden Egyptian design of locks and keys. By using iron and bronze were able to produce much stronger and smaller locks and keys that could be carried on person.

Modern “flat keys” were firstly introduced to the public by Linus Yale in mid 1800’s. By using tumbler lock and more sophisticated way of regulating the pins, these flat keys become instant success across entire world. However nowadays electronic locking become more and more popular.

Hotel industry was one of the first that introduced key cards (Atlanta, US, 1979). It was basically a simple card with few holes in it that helped to reduce the electricity waste, hotel staff knew when the guest was still in a hotel room and what is the most important, they didn’t have to change the lock when the key was lost.

Electronic keys are becoming trendy, many brands of cars have key-less ignitions, Hilton hotel chain in US is planning to enable their guests to open their rooms with their smartphones. Electronic keys might control your front door via Bluetooth, open the door automatically when you are nearby, send virtual keys to your relatives and friends or control what time certain people have the access.

Many people may argue that their homes are too precious to entrust technology, key-less systems and smartphones. It could stop working when there is a fire or power cut. What to do then? Although this idea is brilliant and with current innovations might work properly and give us new options, metal keys are still cheaper and safer way of protecting and locking our homes.

Shanghai Metal Corporation manufactures and provides various types of metals, galvanized steel or copper that can be used in many applications. For more information visit our website or send us inquiry. English speaking staff will guide you further. Download a new application by scanning QR code below and also don’t forget to follow us on Social Media platforms.

    

Silvia M.//SMC Editor

Read more articles written by this author here.

Credits : historyofkeys.com, bbc.com, googleimages