This year’s Air conditioning, Refrigeration and Building Services exhibition (ARBS 2006 ) is set to become a hive of activity, as an unprecedented number of exhibitors, international delegates and VIPs are booked to attend the largest exhibition of its type in the Southern Hemisphere. In addition, over 750 poster presentations, seminars and workshops will run alongside the exhibition.
Exhibition manager Sue Falcke said ARBS has now become a super expo, providing visitors with the rare opportunity to see the leading-edge technologies, products and services – and undertake the latest in professional development – all under the one roof.
“ARBS 2006 will provide a focus on what is happening in our industry, from new products to research to education. It will help stimulate interaction and collaboration between all those working in the industry, including manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and HVAC and building services professionals,” she said.
A key attraction at the exhibition will be a 1966 perspex model of Sydney Opera House, which will be on display publicly for the first time in 32 years.
The model, which was built to help design and install the complex engineering facilities for Sydney Opera House, was based on 8,000 detailed drawings. It has around 2,500 individual components and measures 4.5 metres long, 3 metres wide and over 1.8 metres high. It includes a perfect miniature of the Opera House’s soaring roof shells.
“The geometry created by the Opera House’s unique shape made it extremely difficult to accurately plan the heating, cooling and ventilation ducting and systems. This model, which is based on a 13.5 square metre grid, allowed engineers of the day to project and give accurate measurements to two decimal points,” Falcke said.
The model includes miniature air-conditioning plant rooms, plumbing fixtures, and details the major ducting throughout the complex.
A number of high-profile speakers will be presenting at ARBS, including David Hughes, the London-based worldwide president of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), and Maria Atkinson, Global Head of Sustainability for Lend Lease Corporation and former CEO of the Green Building Council.
ARBS 2006 will run from 14-16 August, 2006 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour.
