Budding architects get foot-up into industry through architectural excellence award

Khaled Salah Al-Sayer, Corporate Communications Manager, Abyaar, says the Annual Abyaar Architecture Excellence Award (AAEA) will target Kuwaiti students to begin with, before being spread across the region, and is aimed at strengthening skills as well as encouraging interaction between architects with different levels of experience.

"We hope to enhance the perception of the Middle Eastern industry both locally and abroad and promote and sustain high standards across the region".

Soud Riyad Al-Khaled, President of the Kuwait Architectural Student Association says, "Abyaar's Kuwaiti roots, and their reputation for high-end developments perfectly positions them to offer this award to a local and regional industry that is burgeoning.

"We are pleased to be apart of this initiative, which will positively impact the region's capabilities, stimulating healthy competition amongst those who will ultimately be the forerunners of the future".

The Abyaar Architecture Excellence Award (AAEA) is being established in cooperation with the Kuwait Architecture Student Association (KASA) and will provide architectural students an opportunity to have their design constructed on selected Abyaar future sites.

Although the award will only be open to students from Kuwait University's Department of Architecture for now, there are plans to open the award up to the entire Middle East as early as next year.

Abyaar will offer a site and design criteria which student's will design, starting from the academic year 2008/2009.

An independent judging panel will comprise of international and local architects as well as academic.