Thirty-seven leading real estate projects from 15 different countries have qualified for the final round of voting for the Cityscape Emerging Markets Awards, which will be held in Dubai next month, awards that attract widespread regional and global attention for highlighting elite real estate projects and honoring the sector’s leaders.
The winners in the 13 categories of the Cityscape Emerging Markets Awards—which, in this edition, focus on sustainable project trends— at a glamorous ceremony hosted by the Conrad Hotel in Dubai on the evening of the exhibition’s first day, September 8.
The prestigious awards ceremony will take place on the sidelines of Cityscape Global, the largest and most influential real estate exhibition in the Middle East, which runs from September 8–10 at the Dubai World Trade Center.
Regarding the awards’ decision to focus on sustainability, Holly Chant, CEO of KEO Global Consultancy, and a member of the awards‘ judging panel, that sustainability is essential to humanity’s future success and that the responsibility for implementing it lies with real estate development companies.
She said: ”The quality of entries in the sustainability category for this year’s Cityscape Emerging Markets Awards was outstanding. The projects seem to demonstrate a greater understanding of the importance of sustainable construction; they are not only green but are also considered outstanding projects from the perspective of real estate development fundamentals.“
She added: ”There are projects that have managed to achieve a social, economic, and cultural impact on their communities, in addition to being environmentally sustainable. As many companies move toward adopting sustainable designs in their future projects in the UAE, architects have also embraced this trend and have focused on creating innovative and inspiring sustainable designs to differentiate their work in the market and strengthen their presence.“
The 13 award categories include both completed projects and those still under construction across the following sectors: Best Commercial Project, Best Mixed-Use Project; Best Hospitality and Leisure Project; Best Cultural, Social, and Tourism Project; Best Residential Project; Best Retail Project; and Best Sustainable Project.
Among the most notable nominations for the awards is the entry submitted by Woods Bagot for its ’Airina Building‘ project(in collaboration with Brookfield Multi-Plex), which is competing in two different categories: Best Existing Commercial Project and Best Sustainable Project.
Richard Finn, a director at Woods Bagot, said: ”It would be wonderful for the project to win at the Cityscape Awards, as this would lend it greater significance and crown the joint efforts of Woods Bagot, Masdar, and Brookfield Multi-Plex in designing and constructing this one-of-a-kind building.’
He continued: ‘Sustainable projects play a vital role in the continued growth of the real estate market—locally, regionally, and globally. The UAE is at the forefront of sustainability trends in the region, leading the way with many pioneering projects such as Masdar City.“
In terms of international entries, the architectural design firm ”IDAS“ dominates the nominations with eight different projects in China and Hong Kong in the categories of Best Future Mixed-Use Project, Best Existing Commercial Project, Best Future Commercial Project, Best Future Hospitality and Leisure Project, and Best Future Retail Project.
Commenting on their award nominations, Keith Griffiths, Chairman of the Board of Directors at ’IDAS,‘ stated: ’We are extremely proud to be nominated in so many categories at such a prestigious global awards ceremony. At IDAS, we believe that great designs can be realized by people who fully understand the social and cultural requirements of the communities they are designing for, and these nominations confirm that we are on the right track. These nominations will raise the profile of our firm and our projects in the Middle East and North Africa, a region of particular importance to us.‘
The 14th edition of Cityscape Global is attracting more than 300 exhibitors across 40,000 square meters of exhibition space. This world-class real estate exhibition has seen continuous growth since 2009, with this year’s edition set to be the largest of its kind in six years.
Cityscape Global will host a number of side events on the sidelines of the exhibition, which will take place one day before the exhibition opens. The new format of these side events is expected to facilitate engagement among real estate experts and government officials—whose numbers are expected to exceed 800—as well as other participants, with the aim of exploring opportunities and finding solutions to the most pressing challenges facing the sector today.
The Facilities Management Conference, organized in partnership with Middle East Facilities Management, and the Real Estate Brokers Conference will be held alongside the ”Dubai Market Outlook Forum“ on September 7 at the Conrad Hotel in Dubai.
