Industry leaders will converge at the Smart Building Summit at Light + Intelligent Building Middle East to discuss the critical standards and policies driving the region’s built environment
Over 130 international and regional experts will highlight the evolving global regulatory landscape and share best-practice insights
Light + Intelligent Building Middle East is set to welcome 16,000 industry professionals from 12-14 January at Dubai World Trade Centre
Dubai, UAE: Light + Intelligent Building Middle East 2026, MENA’s leading event for lighting and building technology, will examine the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape shaping the development of smart, sustainable buildings in the region.
As part of the event’s Smart Building Summit, industry leaders and policy experts will come together for a panel discussion on “Navigating the Global Regulatory Landscape: Standards, Policies & Incentives for Smart Buildings”. This session will explore how current regulations, certification schemes, and government incentives are driving smart building adoption in the region, while aligning with international best practices.
Speaking ahead of the event, Mohamed Ahmed Amer, Managing Director – MENA International Code Council (ICC) said: “Across the GCC, regulatory frameworks are evolving to keep pace with rapid digital transformation and the shift toward Construction 4.0. The region will continue to prioritise modern building codes that integrate safety, sustainability and smart building readiness.”
Amer added that the GCC’s alignment with internationally recognised models, including the International Building Code (IBC), International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and the International Green Construction Code (IgCC), positions the region among the most progressive global markets, integrating sustainability, digitalisation and innovative construction technologies.
Highlighting how smart performance is measured as well as the importance of international codes, Amer said: “A smart building demonstrates improved efficiency, better indoor quality, optimised energy use and stronger safety performance. An important layer of smartness is interoperability – the ability of these systems to communicate, integrate and function cohesively across platforms and disciplines. Buildings that successfully merge these technologies within a code-compliant framework show higher levels of operational intelligence, resilience and sustainability.”
Fellow panellist Irem Kurtuluş Korkmaz, Director, Urban Policy Center, Marmara Municipalities Union, Türkiye outlines how government-led initiatives and disaster-risk policies are accelerating smart building adoption in Türkiye, particularly following the 2023 earthquakes.
She said: “Both central and local governments are developing stronger policies supporting technologies such as seismic monitoring, structural health sensors, emergency communication systems and the digital tracking of building performance, accelerating the country’s long-running urban transformation initiatives.”
According to Kurtulus, the technologies that exert the strongest influence on regulations are those related to energy efficiency and safety, including smart metres, building automation systems, heat pumps and high-efficiency HVAC technologies.
A key knowledge platform at Light + Intelligent Building Middle East, the Smart Building Summit brings together policymakers, standards bodies, technology leaders and sustainability experts to examine how regulation and innovation are accelerating the adoption of intelligent, resilient and energy-efficient buildings across the region.
Commenting on the summit, Abdul Muhsin, Show Director for Light + Intelligent Building Middle East said: “The Smart Building Summit provides a platform for stakeholders to connect and discuss how policy and regulation can support sustainable growth across the built environment. In addition to codes and standards, the summit will explore a wide variety of topics, from sustainability and energy efficiency, to innovation and smart building design, reflecting the key priorities of the industry.”
Light + Intelligent Building Middle East will be held from 12-14 January 2026 at Dubai World Trade Centre. Co-located with Intersec, the event is expected to host leading international and regional exhibitors representing 600+ brands from 30+ countries and is set to welcome over 16,000 industry professionals.
Light + Intelligent Building Middle East will feature insights from 130 regional and international speakers across its flagship industry discussion platforms – the Smart Building Summit, THINKLIGHT and InSpotlight.
About Light + Intelligent Building Middle East:
Light + Intelligent Building Middle East brings together world-renowned brands, regional players, and promising innovators for an exciting three-day showcase from 12-14 January 2026 at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). Featuring products within lighting, electrical engineering, home, and building automation, the exhibition has played a vital role in the growth and development of the industry since its launch in 2006, with a solid representation of global products and brands, several educational conferences, certified workshops, and leading awards programme to recognize the very best the industry has to offer.
About Messe Frankfurt:
The Messe Frankfurt Group is the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds. With a workforce of some 2,500 people at its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main and in 29 subsidiaries, it organises events around the world. Group sales in financial year 2024 were € 775 million. We serve our customers’ business interests efficiently within the framework of our Fairs & Events, Locations and Services business fields. One of Messe Frankfurt’s key strengths is its powerful and closely knit global sales network, which covers around 180 countries in all regions of the world. Our comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. We are using our digital expertise to develop new business models. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services.
Sustainability is a central pillar of our corporate strategy. Here, we strike a healthy balance between ecological and economic interests, social responsibility and diversity.
With its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent).
About Messe Frankfurt Middle East:
Messe Frankfurt Middle East’s portfolio of exhibitions includes: Light + Intelligent Building Middle East, Intersec, Intersec Saudi Arabia, Automechanika Dubai, Automechanika Riyadh, Beautyworld Middle East, Beautyworld Saudi Arabia, Gifts & Lifestyle Middle East, Logimotion and Paperworld Middle East. In the 2023/24 event season, Messe Frankfurt Middle East exhibitions combined featured 6,324 exhibitors from over 60 countries and attracted 224,106 visitors from 156 countries.
