After the closing date for submissions all nominations will be collected and reviewed by the judging panel. Each award winner will be decided by consensus among the judges and no correspondence will be entered into by outside parties. Judging will be based on the strength of the submissions together with a review of the nominee’s activities in the area of nomination.
*Members of the Middle East Architect jury have been asked to cast votes based on their personal preferences of the architectural merit of nominations. Jurists do not represent any third-party organisations or individuals.
| Dr. Samia Rab |
| Chair, ME Architect Awards Committee |
| Architect, Pakistan |
| Associate Professor of Architecture and Heritage Management leading the Department of Architecture at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) |
| |
 Dr. Samia Rab is a registered architect in Pakistan and Associate Professor of Architecture and Heritage Management leading the Department of Architecture at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) since 2005. She has previously taught at the University of Hawaii (1997-2000) and Georgia Institute of Technology (1993-1997). She has chaired the 1998 and 2000 Kenneth F. Brown Asia-Pacific Culture and Architecture Design Award Programs, and pursued professional development projects as consultant to East West Center-Honolulu (1997-2000), Getty Conservation Center-Los Angeles (1997-2001), UNESCO-Paris (2002), ICCROM-Rome (2004).
In addition to her teaching and administrative responsibilities at AUS, she is currently consultant to the architecture design firm Aedas-Dubai, project nominator for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture-Geneva, an Editorial Advisor for the International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments, executive committee member of the UAE Architectural Heritage Society (Dubai and Sharjah Chapters).
She is member of the International Advisory Committee of the Post Graduate Center for Conservation and Management of Cultural Heritage in Pakistan, of Tenure Review Committee of UETP (University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore, Pakistan). Her research activities include several publications focusing on contemporary architectural and urban conservation issues and pursuit of regional identity in architecture and urban design. She is a recipient of the AUS Faculty Research Grant (2002-2003), the Graham Foundation Publication Grant (1999), the Aga Khan Scholarship and the Crompton Award at MIT (1988-1990). |
|
| Hisham Youssef |
| Senior Design Manager |
| International Projects, Gensler |
| President of the Architectural Association of the UAE (aaUAE) |
| |
 Hisham Youssef was born in Cairo, and moved to the US where he completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard, and received his Master in Architecture from Columbia University. Hisham is a dual Egyptian and US national. He currently resides in Dubai and maintains residences in New York and Cairo – he travels frequently between Dubai, New York and Cairo.
He is a frequent guest critic at the School of Design and Architecture at the American University in Sharjah. He is a registered architect in New York State and a member of the American Institute of Architects. |
|
|
| |
| |
| Dr. M Alaa Mandour |
| Associate Professor of Architecture |
| Helwan University (Egypt) & Sultan Qaboos University (Oman) |
| |
 Dr. M Alaa Mandour studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with Prof. Reinhard Goethert in the department of Planning and Urban Design. He is currently working with Sultan Qaboos University in Oman.
His field of research is in virtual urban environments and physical interactions. His most recent work focuses on the notion of deconstructing history and reshaping time to introduce a new theory for analyzing history and
extracting precedents for a new futuristic language.
Dr. Mandour has acquired vast global professional experience while serving as the MENA technical manager of Ellerbe Becket and the MENA managing director for Sheladia Associates, Inc.
|
|
| Dr. Gisela Loehlein |
| Consultant to the Director General |
| Directorate of Public Works in Sharjah, UAE |
| |
 Dr. Gisela Loehlein is an Architectural Engineer by training (B.Eng. Hons) and holds a PhD from the Welsh School of Architecture, she is currently pursuing a second PhD in Urban Design from the City and Regional Planning Department, Cardiff University. She successfully set up the first sole postgraduate university NAKA (Nord Europaeische Kunstakademie) completely privately funded in Schwerin (between Hamburg and Berlin), Germany.
She has held research/ teaching positions at:
• Fraunhofer Research Institute in Germany, Institute that specializes in research into new trends and analysis and advices the German government on research focuses in the future.
• School of Architecture and Design at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand
• School of Architecture and Design at the American University in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
• Institute of the Built Environment at the British University in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which is linked to Cardiff University and ATKINS. She further has held the position as the Principal Sustainability Research Fellow of ATKINS and Research fellow of the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, UK, Research fellow School of Architecture and Design, Victoria University Wellington, New Zealand. |
|
|
| |
| Mr. Ibrahim Jaidah |
| Principal architect and managing director of Arab Engineering Bureau (Qatar) |
| |
 Ibrahim Jaidah graduated from the University of Oklahoma (USA) in 1988 and worked for Qatar’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Agriculture as head of the Architectural Section before acquiring Arab Engineering Bureau (AEB) in 1991.
He is the driving force behind the rise of AEB from seven staff to the current figure of over 300 with projects completed in several countries. Under his leadership, AEB has evolved into the leading architectural design consultancy in Qatar and currently operates in Abu Dhabi and Manila. Moreover, AEB is looking to open offices in Dubai, Muscat, Kuala Lumpur and Sudan very soon.
AEB has been instrumental in developing Qatar and in presenting its image globally through major projects across all sectors leading to several awards, including two Arab Cities Awards and one Islamic Cities Award.
In each project, Ibrahim Jaidah attempts to retain the identity of his culture, embrace the modern, and present the true potential and ambition of Qatar and AEB—perhaps best seen in his design for The Barzan towers.
He is dedicated to enhancing the architectural style of modern Qatar and is soon to publish a book which will chart the history of Qatari Architecture, with a second book charting the evolution of the AEB architectural style to follow.
Mr. Jaidah is committed to sharing his knowledge and experience with new generations of architects through grants at Virginia Commonwealth University. He frequently serves as guest speaker at universities and conferences throughout the region.
In 2005, he received the Award for State Encouragement, which is given for career achievement and servers as a testament to his central role in shaping Qatar’s future and that of architecture in the region.
Mr. Jaidah is seen as a pioneer of a new movement in architecture, which combines the far reaching influences of Islamic art with a modern style.
He was a founding member of the Professional Engineering Committee, which played a leading role in the development of the Laws for Consultancies. Furthermore, he represents the Engineering Consultants as a member of the Qatar Building Code Committee (QBC), a committee that was established to implement the new building codes for the country.
In 2005, he became a member of the Qatar Businessmen Association. This association is tasked with providing a link between the government and private businesses, initiating change at a local and international level and aiming to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit of the country.
|
|
| Dr. Sadek Owainati |
Engineering Consultant
Co-founder, chairman, Emirates Green Building Council |
| |
 Dr. Sadek Owainati is an engineering consultant with 42 years experience in various fields of the construction industry worldwide, and has been responsible for negotiating, managing and constructing multi-disciplinary projects worth more than US $1.5 billion.
Until very recently, Sadek served as the Deputy General Manager of Al Naboodah Contracting, a leading contracting company in the UAE, with a portfolio of many successful major projects in Dubai. Until 2003, Dr. Owainati was project director with Arkiteknik International Consulting Engineers (Dubai) with the Grand Hyatt Hotel & Residence (Dubai) being one of several major building projects completed under his directorship.
Dr. Owainati is one of the founders of Emirates Green Building Council (EGBC); a not-for-profit organization established in the UAE in July 2006. The EGBC promotes the creation of a sustainable built environment throughout the UAE. Sadek was elected chairman of the EGBC board in April 2007.
Dr. Owainati’s concern for the environment and safety developed during the 1980s as he worked for 11 years in the oil industry for ADNOC Group in Abu Dhabi; his last post was head of projects (onshore & offshore) at ADMA-OPCO, an offshore oil operating company. The scope of his responsibility included civil, electrical, mechanical, control works and building projects.
From 1991-1993, Sadek studied and worked in the field of environmental engineering in Irvine, California (USA). From 1996-1999, he was involved with engineering and trading activities while residing in Toronto, Canada.
Dr. Owainati worked as an engineering consultant in Iraq from 1973-1978 and in Jordan from 1996-1999. Among the projects he developed is the Holiday Inn Hotel in Amman, Jordan. He also worked as an environmental management consultant and served as a World Bank expert on environmental projects in Jordan from 1995-1996.
Dr. Owainati graduated with distinction as a civil engineer in 1966. He obtained his Masters degree from the University of Manchester (UK) and in 1973 received his PhD from the Imperial College of Science & Technology, University of London, UK.
Dr. Owainati has taught at the College of Engineering, University of Baghdad, and has delivered several papers on subjects related to the construction industry, the environment and green buildings.
|
|
|
|
