Submissions are now being accepted and those eligible for entry are any projects completed between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2007 within the Middle East Region, including the GCC, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran and Egypt. The deadline for entries is 31 January 2008.
The categories include: Public Buildings (historic buildings, museums, galleries, airports, places of worship and government buildings); Exterior (building facades, bridges, structures, public spaces, landscaped areas and street lighting); Hospitality & Leisure (hotels, entertainment centres, theatres, cinemas and sports venues); Retail (shopping malls, department stores, boutiques, and showrooms); Restaurants & Bars (restaurants, bars and coffee shops); Temporary Installations (temporary and one-off lighting installations, exhibitions, lighting for concerts and corporate events).
There will also be a number of Product Innovation Categories - recognising innovative products launched commercially between January '07 and January '08. These will include: Luminaires (internal and external); Supporting Lighting Technologies; Environmental (this product must demonstrate how environmental and economic issues are balanced in the design and development).
Finally, the blue riband award will be the prestigious Middle East Lighting Project of the Year. This will be a project that, in the judges' opinion, will have exhibited exceptional lighting design skills, innovation and vision. There will be no direct submission for this category; candidates will be short listed from projects submitted in the previous categories.
The adjudicating panel will be made up from a number of industry experts, including Ziad Fattouh - Senior Principal, Delta Lighting Solutions; George Katodrytis B.A.(Hons), A.A. Dip., R.I.B.A. - Associate Professor of Architecture at the American University of Sharjah, UAE; Markus Stebich - Director of Development, Spa & Interiors, Jumeirah; Riad Saraiji - Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, and Shaun Killa, Principal Architect & Head of Design, Atkins.
(Lee Baldock)
