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RMJM’s Global Conference is now a permanent fixture in the company’s calendar with the RMJM Design Awards of particular importance to the firm’s architects in attendance. This year’s award ceremony took place in Istanbul, with the awards themselves handed out on a cruise on the Golden Horn, an urban waterway connecting Europe and Asia. This year’s judging panel was made up of John Clemow (RMJM Lab), Yusuf Arslan (Vice President at Real Estate Developments at Mar Yapi) and Ayla Heyfegil (Managing Partner at Servotel Corporation) who had the difficult task of choosing winners from some outstanding entries.
The event was coordinated by John Clemow, RMJM Lab Principal, who commented: “The submissions this year from our Studios again demonstrated the high quality and creativity of RMJM’s design teams across a wide range of project sizes, types and context. Our independent judges were challenged to select the prize winners but (almost) unanimous in their decisions. This was helped by the increase in the number of categories which meant similar projects could be more easily compared. I look forward to seeing even more submissions next year from the new Studios that will join us as we expand our network.”
Best Collaboration Project, one of the most sought after awards in the RMJM Network, went to RMJM Dubai and RMJM Istanbul for their acclaimed work on the Jabal Omar Development. The award for Best Masterplan went to RMJM Shenzhen for their Soviet Town Project with RMJM Shanghai taking the runner up prize for the Shanghai International Energy Innovation Centre. RMJM Shenzhen had even more success with another award for the Baoneng International Finance and Trade Centre, just beating RMJM Red into second place for in the Large/Multiple Building category. RMJM Dubai (Media Zone Campus) and RMJM Serbia (Sheremetyevo Airport) were also highly commended in this category.
In the Best Small/Medium Building category there was a string of impressive entries and after projects from RMJM Istanbul (Mint E5) and RMJM Red (Agricultural Bank of China Ningbo) were both highly commended, first prize went to RMJM Arta Tehran for the Iran Historical Car Museum, a project that continues to draw international acclaim. The Shenzhen High-Tech District Pavilion earned the runner-up prize for RMJM Red.
The final award of the evening was for Interior Design and, once again, a strong case could be for all of the entries in this category. Ultimately, it was RMJM Dubai who dominated, taking first place for their work with Tecom and second place for the Mazdar Offices. RMJM Serbia were highly commended for their interior work on the Sheremetyevo Airport Terminal.
The 2017 RMJM Design Awards represent the best of RMJM and its architects and designers and, although there still several months of the year remaining, showcased the pinnacle of the company’s design offering in what’s been a very successful year to date. The ceremony came as news broke of the company winning a prestigious Cityscape Award for its work on the Gate Avenue at DIFC development. RMJM was also recently named in the AD50 Middle East and much of the Global Conference was spent on ensuring 2018 is another record breaking year.
The winners from the 2017 RMJM Design Awards