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Shortlist revealed for the 2017 Index Architecture & Design Awards

 
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11 May 2017

The esteemed INDEX Architecture & Design Awards judging panel have selected their shortlist of the UAE’s most breath-taking new builds and spaces ahead of the 2017 prize-giving.

With finalists including the world’s first 3D printed office, the Burj al Arab’s gold-cladded ‘Gold on 27’ bar, and the new NASA-esque RTA control-centre, the awards pay homage to the most pioneering, visually spell-binding and fundamentally creative interior and architectural projects of the past year.

Best Hospitality Design Project Shorlist, WA International - Westin, Blinq Cocktail Lounge
Best Hospitality Design Project Shorlist, WA International - Westin, Blinq Cocktail Lounge

Bishop Design, Broadway Interiors, Pallavi Dean Interiors, Perkins & Will, Wilson Associates and Gensler are just some of the big name firms in the running. Despite halving category numbers from 16 to eight, this year’s IADA were inundated with more than double the number of submissions compared to last year’s competition, then the Middle East Interior Design & Architecture Awards (MEIDA).

An industry-renowned pool of nine judges – George Kahler, Isabel Pintado, Laura Bielecki, Christopher Seymour, Sharon Jutla, Rob Canning, Annamaria Lambri, Massimo Imparato and Robert Chilton – whittled the more than 110 entries down to a final 32, which will compete across categories including Best Restaurant, Best Residential, and Best Hospitality design project. A further 17 designs will go head-to-head in the awards’ Best Product categories.

Samantha Kane-Macdonald, event director at INDEX – the Middle East’s biggest annual interior exhibition, which hosts the awards’ glitzy ceremony the second night of the show – oversees the judging process. She said: “There is just no slowing down the design ambitions of Dubai and the UAE; the quality of all of our entries once again underlined that fact. Despite what has been a challenging year, the many geniuses of design and architecture that we are truly blessed to have here have once again exceeded all expectations about what is possible and what can be done.

“Our panel has been left speechless by the works of our ever-expanding design community. The innovation, flair and drive-for-the-different has made us all take a step back to appreciate the inspiration these designers have shown.”

The INDEX Architecture & Design Awards, which are held in association with lifestyle magazine EDGAR, with HAWA Middle East and MAS Paints sponsoring individual categories, take place following the second day of exhibiting at INDEX. With more high-end exhibitors amongst the show floors’ 800 stands than ever before, the INDEX Design Series this year promises a style experience like no other.

The four-day show – running May 22-25 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, alongside Middle East Covering and workspace – will explore Design for the Senses; furniture, furnishings and décor that not only stimulate visually, but trigger a sensory feast, bringing design to life. The show, this year set in a lush forest environment, will welcome many of the world’s most exclusive home brands and is promising to be the design event of the season.

London style icon Henry Holland and former British Designer of the Year Bethan Gray will take part in four days of engaging Design Talks, sponsored by OFIS. Jo Hamilton, widely regarded as the UK’s leading high-end interior designer, will also feature, offering direct advice on how to create the perfect interior and on hand to meet and discuss design with interested parties. Harrods Interiors will welcome the show’s leading visitors into a stunning VIP Oasis in the heart of the exhibition.


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