Estimated reading time: 3 min
To celebrate the end of the year and the festive season we decided to rewrite our own version of the English Christmas carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas, to look back over 2020 and revisit some of the most exciting things that have happened to the RMJM family this year.
On the twelve days of Christmas, RMJM revealed to me:
12 Ningbo Towers
RMJM RED won an international competition to design a huge large-scale Ningbo Innovation Centre. Responding to the unique environment of the proposed development, the team designed twelve towers of varying heights to appear as archipelagos rising out of the Houtang River. Construction is expected to be completed in early 2024.
11 Months Since Opening
It has been eleven months since the highly-anticipated Terminal C opened at Sheremetyevo Airport. The terminal is one of several that RMJM Serbia have been involved in as part of the airport’s North Terminal Complex. The opening event was attended by over 700 people and Goran Nikolic and Jelena Krstovic Nikolic, RMJM Serbia’s Director and Lead Architect respectively were presented with an Award of Appreciation for their work on the airport’s terminals.
10 Conferences Attended
In the last year, RMJM has attended and participated in ten conferences and festivals, including BICSI EMEA 2020 Digital Conference, d3 Architecture Festival 2020, The 2020 Stakeholder Conference, Arde-x Online Summit and the 2020 UK-Africa Investment Summit.
9 LEED Requirements
Gate Avenue was awarded a LEED Gold certification after the project was assessed as successfully fulfilling the requirements across nine measurements for green building excellence, from integrative design and human health to material use. Gate Avenue met LEED’s high standards across every category, indicative of the care and consideration that were given to the project’s design.
8 Architects Featured
This year eight architects from within the RMJM family have been interviewed and featured on the RMJM Blog! A big thank you to George Arvanitis, Arta Rostami, Marija Krsmanovic Stringheta, Nina Mendes, Ivana Pohulek, Jelena Kristovic Nikolic and Goran Nikolic for taking the time to speak with us and share their thoughts, ideas and experiences with all the readers of our blog!
7 Global Values
We launched the RMJM Manifesto this year, which includes three global values that RMJM regards as it’s most important beliefs. These values include sustainability, craftsmanship, innovation, collaboration and connection!
6 Years of Blogging
For the sixth year in a row, the RMJM ‘Insights’ blog was recognised as one of the top 100 architecture blogs in the world. This year we placed 39th, with recognition for the breadth of topics that we discuss and the interesting perspectives we include.
5 Skytrax Stars!
We celebrated the 1 year anniversary of RMJM Serbia’s Sheremetyevo Airport Terminal B securing a 5-Star rating from Skytrax, the esteemed aviation review and ratings body. The terminal’s design was a collaborative effort between RMJM Serbia and the interior designers at RMJM Italia.
3 Award Nominations
This year RMJM was nominated for four different awards. Two RMJM Dubai projects, Gate Avenue and Innovation Hub, were nominated for Identity Design Awards’ Public Building and Commercial Building categories respectively. Finally, the iconic Lakhta Centre was nominated for and won the prestigious Emporis Skyscraper of the Year Award.
3 Young Designers
A team of three young designers from our Dubai studio were shortlisted this year for the Downtown Design annual exhibition. The theme of this year’s submissions was ‘The Shape of Things to Come’ which invited architects and designers to imagine how we will live, work and play in a post-pandemic world. The RMJM team, comprised of Varsha Vasant, Doruk Alpsar and Noor Majid, joined 27 other architecture firms for the event which took place from the 9th to the 14th of November. Inspired by the exhibition brief, the team created their versatile “Revival Garden” design. The design proposed a series of smart spaces that use green technology. These adaptable pods would use digital screens while operating over a universal grid that could be retrofitted into urban landscapes.
2 Studios Added
In 2020, two new Pro studios were added to the RMJM family. RMJM Facade and RMJM Airports joined the team at the beginning of the year, bringing the number of Pro studios at RMJM to 6!
And The Grand Mosque in DIFC
Finally, following its soft opening in the autumn of last year, the DIFC Grand Mosque officially opened to the public in September This striking and elegant project is a visual highlight among the work that RMJM Dubai have collaborated on with DIFC as part of the exciting Gate Avenue development in Dubai’s financial district. The mosque completes the Gate Avenue promenade and with its simple, yet fresh design, it acts as a landmark for the surrounding community.
