Abu Dhabi Planners Scoop Double at Cityscape Awards.

Abu Dhabi Planners Scoop Double at Cityscape Awards Capital's Urban Planning Council honoured for work on 'City of the Future'

Abu Dhabi's Urban Planning Council was honoured with two awards at the Cityscape Middle East Real Estate Awards 2008, which celebrate excellence in real estate development and investment

At a packed awards ceremony and gala dinner held at The Emirates Palace Hotel on the first night of the real estate event, the awards were aimed at recognising and promoting industry excellence. The Urban Planning Council scooped two awards: In the Architecture section for Best Urban Design and Master Planning; and in the Future Retail category for its 2030 initiative.A panel of internationally acclaimed industry professionals was assembled to judge the entries which were sorted into eleven distinct categories. Overall the entries were judged on their contribution to world architecture culture, invention and imagination, respect for people and environmental awareness in the emerging and developed countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. In some categories entries were separated into those already built and future projects that are incomplete or still on the drawing board. The judging panel included: Dr Mohammed Dulaimi The British University in Dubai; Dr Sadek Owaitani, Chairman of the Council, Emirates Green Building Council; Khaleel Al Hosani, Vice Chairman, Society of Engineers; Abdulmajid Abdulrazzaq Al Khaja, CEO Rail Agency, Roads & Transport Authority; Sophie Llewellyn, Board Member, Royal Institute of Surveyors (RICS); Bryan Schaffer, Founder & Chairman, IRETO; Rohan Marwaha, Managing Director, Cityscape; Rushdi Siddiqui, Global Director for the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes; John Sandwick, Encore Management S.A. and Dr. Abdullah Ghareeb Al-Bloshi, Executive Director - Property Management, Department of Municipal Affairs, Emirate of Abu Dhabi.Mark Goodchild, Project Manager, Cityscape Abu Dhabi commented, "The Cityscape Middle East Real Estate Awards 2008, have been keenly contested and the quality of the winners' projects were reflected on the night. The rivalry, although professional, was intense and an astonishing array of talent was evident. However, the real aim of the awards is to celebrate excellence by rewarding truly exceptional achievements and thereby raising the bar for the industry as a whole."

The Awards scheme received solid support from the real estate and associated industries, with headline sponsors that include; Bose, Etisalat, Gaggenau, RAK Ceramics, Environmental Power Systems, Cool City, Al Wifaq, 2G, DC Pro and Shaker Consultancy. The Awards are also supported by RICS, IRETO and Abu Dhabi's Department of Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning Council.

[c] 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)