Omar K. Alesayi Group (OKAG) affordable housing competition judges named

The competition closed on 20 January, 2007, with six designs submitted by leading local and international architectural firms for the USD 1.3 billion project in Jeddah. Located in Sharm Obhur on the Red Sea coast north of Jeddah, the plot of land will be transferred into a neighbourhood of apartments, condominiums, small villas, recreational areas, medical centres and commercial zones.

"We are extremely pleased at the calibre and professional quality of the panel of judges. Each of the judges has distinguished himself through awards for design or other major contributions," said Aidaroos Abdullah Albar, Executive Manager of Assaudia Real Estate Development. "In addition, Dr. Abdul Qader Othman Amir, Deputy Mayor of Jeddah for Urban Planning, will serve as a judge."

"The panel will face 4 days of arduous study and decision-making," Albar added, "but we know they have the skills necessary to judge a competition of this magnitude."

In addition to Dr. Ameer, the judges are Dr. Hisham Abdulsalam Jumaa, Head of Local Planning at Jeddah Municipality; Eng. Ali Ibrahim Babeir, Head of Architectural Planning at Jeddah Municipality and Member of the Jeddah Municipal Council; Eng. Bassem Mahdy Al Sharif, Member of the Jeddah Municipal Council; Hassan Asaad Jamjoom, member of the Council of Makkah Region and GM of Hassan Jamjoom Engineering Office; Eng. Saud bin Mohammad Al Qafeedi, General Manager at Dallah Real Estate and Tourism Development; in addition to Eng. Aidaroos Abdullah Albar, Executive Manager of Assaudia Real Estate Development as the representative of OKAG.

The entries received include two designs from the Faculty of Environmental Design at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, the Environmental Consulting Bureau (ECB) in Riyadh, Erga Group - Architects and Consulting Engineers from Lebanon, Amara and Umran Group in Egypt, Professor Mahmoud Yussri Hassan and Co. Consulting Firm from Egypt, and Lohan Anderson Architecture Planning and Interior Design from the United States.

Results will be announced at a reception on January 30. Entries will be on public display during the reception.

The Affordable Housing project will have a range of home options, 50 per cent of which will be earmarked as "affordable." Some of the homes will also be owned by families with gross income between 25 to 50 per cent of the area's average income of SAR 8,000 to SAR 20,000 per month for a family of four.