2008 Gulf States Building Awards : Information + Images

Releases from Atkins & Foster + Partners (further down the page): Atkins scoops top Middle East honour 17 Nov 2008 Atkins in the Middle East has capped an extraordinary fortnight of achievement after winning several major industry awards last week. The company was named Engineering Consultant of the Year in the Middle East at the inaugural Gulf States Building Awards in Dubai, while picking up the ‘Bronze’ award for the DIFC Lighthouse from the Holcim Foundation - one of the premier foundations for sustainable building design and construction. Tim Askew receives Gulf States Building Award These successes come hot on the heels of the Atkins designed Bahrain World Trade Center taking CTBUH’s ‘Best Tall Building’ award for Middle East and Africa plus ‘Tower project of the year' at the Middle East Construction Week awards. Outside the Middle East, Atkins has also had great success on the awards front, with the company picking up the Best Consultancy 2008 and Best Consultancy for Water and Wastewater 2008 at the prestigious edie Awards for Environmental Excellence in London. In addition, Atkins’ had three award wins in early November at the Highways Magazine Excellence Awards and triumph at the Woman of the Future Awards, in which an Atkins employee from UK was named Entrepreneurial Woman of the Future. Atkins’ success at the Gulf States Building Awards was recognition of its outstanding work on a number of high profile projects in the region, including the Bahrain World Trade Center, Burj Al Arab and Dubai Metro. The competition was open to entries from companies working in the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates). Organised by Building (magazine), BD (Building Design) and PWGlobal (Property Week, Global Edition) publications, the awards were set up to celebrate the work of top contractors, engineers, consultants, architects and the most outstanding projects in the region. The judges praised Atkins’ work in the region, saying: “Atkins is fast installing itself as the pre-eminent engineering consultancy in the Middle East. It has its fingers in almost every major piece of construction you can think of in the UAE - from the landmark Burj Al Arab tower to the rapidly-emerging Dubai Metro. Current projects such as the recently-completed Bahrain World Trade Centre and the low-carbon Dubai International Financial Centre Lighthouse show that Atkins is ahead of the game when it comes to its sustainability ambitions and iconic concepts.” Burj al Arab Al Sharq Tower Atkins Stirling Prize Gulf States Building Awards in Dubai : Winner Nov 2008 Foster + Partners selected for excellence in construction in the Gulf region Foster + Partners has been honoured with the title, “Architect of the Year”, in the inaugural Gulf State Building Awards, announced at a ceremony in Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. Celebrating the highest standards in the region’s construction industry, entries were invited from companies working in the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The judges noted that Foster + Partners’ new office in Abu Dhabi “has a variety of exciting projects already coming out of the ground - the Index Tower in Dubai will be completed next year…and the Al Raha Beach and the Central Markets projects are already bringing architecture of star quality to Abu Dhabi… Perhaps the practice's greatest achievement has been the concept for Masdar, which has been designed as the most environmentally-friendly development in the UAE.” Gerard Evenden, Senior Partner, commented: “We opened our Gulf office in Abu Dhabi in April of this year on the strength of our projects in the region. To receive this award less than a year later is a real endorsement of our work and we look forward to realising some of our most exciting and challenging projects there over the next few years.” Bahrain World Trade Center Middle East Architect Awards : Atkins wins Architect of the Year Atkins www.atkinsglobal.com is a multinational engineering and design consultancy, providing expertise to help resolve complex challenges presented by the built and natural environment. Atkins is the largest multidisciplinary consultancy in Europe; the largest engineering consultancy in the UK; and the world’s fifth largest design firm. Atkins’ current projects include: • Major infrastructure works, such as design and programme management of the civil works for the Dubai Metro red and green lines; • In the defence sector, the MoD’s Future Rapid Effects System (FRES) programme – overseeing the development of the next generation of medium weight armoured vehicles for the military; • Significant road contracts, such as a £150 million, five-year integrated contract for Gloucestershire County Council, delivering highway maintenance, design, emergency response, winter maintenance, re-surfacing and recycling; • Key rail projects, including a £65 million, three-year resignalling contract in Basingstoke; and • High profile designs, such as Durrat Al Bahrain, a spectacular 20 sq km resort for 45,000 people on the south coast of Bahrain, comprising 13 man-made islands. Atkins won Engineering Consultant of the Year 2008 at the prestigious Building Awards. The company was also named among the “20 Best Big Companies to Work For 2008’ by The Sunday Times; The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers 2007; and The Times Top 50 Companies Where Women Want to Work 2007. The company was also sector winner in the Target National Graduate Recruitment Awards for the second successive year in 2007.