Winner Announcement: Tamayouz Excellence Award 2015 | Excellence in Graduation Projects

The Iraqi Architecture Prize; Tamayouz Excellence Award is delighted to announce the winners of the 4th cycle of Tamayouz Excellence Award | Excellence in Graduation Projects category. 

This Student Award;  “Tamayouz Excellence Award / Excellence in Graduation Projects” aims to recognise and reward excellence in architectural design and education, showcase Iraqi talents,  support academics’ efforts of advancing architectural education in Iraq, promote a culture of excellence at an early stage amongst young Iraqis to advance the profession of architecture professionally and academically.

In 2015 the award witnessed the participation of 70% of final year students from all architecture departments in Iraqi universities, 105 projects were received this year and 20 projects were shortlisted by the shortlisting panel of the award.

The judging panel of the 2015 award for excellence in graduation projects:
- Steve Austin, Head of Energy Construction and Environment School at Coventry University.
- Marc Galudemans, Dean of Architecture and Urbanism at Fontys Academy, Eindhoven
- Ayad Al Tuhafi, Owner and director of Ayad Al Tuhafi Architect, London
- Fernando Olba Rallo, Principal Director of Fernando Olba Arquitectura + Urbanismo, Valencia
- Muthar Al-Salloum, Managing Director of MAS architecture, Leicester
- Katherine McNeil, Director of Architecture for Humanity – London Chapter, London
- Tom Billingham, Director of Billingham Flygare Design, Husqvarna
- Jerome Goyard, Head of Architecture competitions department at Fevre-Gaucher, Paris
- Sebastian Hicks, Lecturer at Coventry University, Coventry
- Ahmed Al-Azzawi, Director of Prestige Design MK, Milton Keynes
- Turath Jamil, Architect and Researcher at the Sorbonne University, Paris
- Paul Smith, Lecturer at Coventry University, Coventry
 
 The prizes of the 2014 Tamayouz Excellence Award are:
- First Prize: A scholarship to study a 2 year master’s degree at the Polytechnic University in Milan, this scholarship is funded by Iraqi Business Council in Jordan + Tamayouz Excellence Award medal and certificate.

- Second Prize: A two month paid internship (5000 AED/ Month) at Dewan Architects and Engineers in Dubai in addition to another 5000 AED to cover the accommodation in Dubai, this opportunity is funded by Dewan Architects and Engineers in Dubai + Tamayouz Excellence Award medal and certificate.

- Third Prize: A two month paid internship (5000 AED/ Month) at Dewan Architects and Engineers in Dubai in addition to another 5000 AED to cover the accommodation in Dubai, this opportunity is funded by Dewan Architects and Engineers in Dubai + Tamayouz Excellence Award medal and certificate.

- Honourable Mentions: Tamayouz Excellence Award Certificate of Excellence.

- Supervisor of the year 2015 prize: Tamayouz Excellence Award medal and certificate.

- Architecture School of the Year 2015:  Architecture School of the year Trophy.
 
The winners of Tamayouz Excellence Award 2015:
This year Tamayouz Excellence Award will announce the Top 10 winners in order; the top three winners and seven honourable mentions, the ranking is based on the judging panel’s unanimous decision on all entries.

To watch Barbara Howell the Associate Dean for International Development at Coventry University announces the winners of this year please view the link below: 

The winners:

The Winner of Tamayouz Excellence Award 2015 and the First Prize is Waad Durzi studying at London South Bank University for his project; Institute of Archaeology in Cologne, supervised by Mike Evans.

The Judging Panel’s Comment was:
"A sophisticated and fascinating architectural intervention in the heart of historical Cologne, the designer has clearly reflected on the delicacy of the intervention into such a sensitive site with a meaningful history for the city. The design is beautifully woven with the texture of the old city, adding layers of meaning and opens up understanding of the historical context.
The project is well thought through in terms of functionality, sustainable design and technical detailing. The sensitive nature of the proposal is reflected in the use of materials which are expressed through elegant visuals. This is one of the few entries that show the full palette of architectural mastery at the level of a graduate study."

First Prize Winner - Waad Durzi (London South Bank University)

The Second Prize goes to Rebwar Abubakir from Koya University for his work on the Scared Science House; Rebwar’s work was supervised by Mr Mohammed Sabeeh.  Rebwar’s submission tops the list of the graduation projects submitted from inside Iraq.
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The Judging Panel’s Comment was:
This project demonstrates simplicity, elegance and delicacy of form that creates a light and inviting architecture.  There is a logical concept development that has been translated sensitively into physical form. There is an interesting reinterpretation of traditional Islamic decoration to inform the design of the external plaza, which in turn creates an exciting juxtaposition to the building above. Issues regarding rainwater harvesting have been well considered and integrated into the architecture in an original way. The project is well presented graphically with a range of images including sections, diagrams, elevations and perspectives with both internal and external spaces allowing a good understanding of the design intentions.

Second Prize Winner - Rebwar Abubakir (Koya University)

The Third Prize goes to Ali Hussien from the University of Sulaimani for his project; the Revival of Prophet Younis Mosque.  Ali’s graduation project was supervised by Dr Abdullah Yousef.
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The Judging Panel’s Comment was:
As you may expect there was a lot of heated discussions about this project.  The jury laud the confidence to take on a controversial site and open the door to debates that go beyond the built fabric.  The beauty of the drawings and handcrafted nature is a fitting vessel for the human impact of destruction and creation.  The document becomes a beautifully executed narrative in defining a moment in history.

Third Prize Winner - Ali Hussien (University of Sulaimani)

Honourable Mentions:

The Fourth Place goes to Hussein Radhwan from the University of Basrah for his Environment and Clean Energy Research Centre.  This project was supervised by Dr Amjad Al-Musaed. 

Fourth Place Winner - Radhwan Hussien (University of Basrah)

The Fifth place goes to Zrean Abdulqadir from the University of Sulaimani for her work on a 3 Star Hotel made of shipping containers, Zrean’s work was supervised by Mr Omid Jumaa.  

Fifth Place Winner - Zrean Abdulqadir (University of Sulaimani)

The Sixth place goes to Shwana Burhan from the University of Sulaimani for his project “Fine Arts School”, which was supervised by Dr Abdullah Yousef. 

Sixth Place Winner - Shwana Burhan (University of Sulaimani)

The Seventh place goes to Ali Al-Maliky from the University of Basrah for his “Basrah Civilization Wall”, Ali’s work was supervised by Dr Tahseen Al-Azzawi.

Seventh Place Winner - Ali Al-Maliky (University of Basrah)

The Eighth place goes to Haider Mohammed from the University of Technology for his Business Centre project in Basrah, Haider’s supervisor for the graduation project was Dr Abbas Al-Greiza.

Eighth Place Winner - Haider Mohammed (University of Technology)

The Ninth place goes to Aws Maan Salman from the University of Technology for his River Environment Research Centre; this project was supervised by Dr Abbas Al-Greiza.

Ninth Place Winner - Aws Maan (University of Technology)

The Tenth place goes to Sarbast Faiaq from Cihan University for his work on the Virtual Iraqi Museum in Baghdad, Sarbast’s project was supervised by Mr Aziz Mustafa Mohammed.

Tenth Place Winner - Sarbast Faiaq (Cihan University)

The Supervisor of the Year 2015 Award

The Supervisor of the Year 2015 Award goes to Dr Abdullah Yousef Tayib from the University of Sulaimani for his supervision, support and encouragement to two of the top 10 projects including the Third Place winner.

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The Architecture School of the Year 2015 Award

The Architecture School of the Year 2014 award goes the Department of Architecture at the University of Sulaimani, the Runner up of this award is Koya University.

- University of Sulaimani (Winner) : 3rd Prize winner, 5th and 6th Place winners + 3 Shortlisted.
- Koya University (Runner Up): 2nd Prize Winner + 1 Shortlisted.

​Tamayouz Excellence Award Founder, Ahmed Al-Mallak said:
"Our warmest congratulations to the winners, supervisors, honourable mentions, architecture departments and all the achievers of Tamayouz Excellence Award, the support for the 2015 cycle of the award has been remarkable despite the current situation in Iraq.  
Some of the projects in the top 10 list represent a new generation of young Iraqi architects; thinking about heritage and its preservation and finding solution to current urban and architectural problems and not just thinking about building the next Landmark in their city and we hope we see more projects tackling these issues in the coming years. 
Today we empower another 10 remarkable young architects hoping that one day they will change the future of Iraqi architecture for the better”.


Tamayouz Excellence Award sponsored by:
The United Nations Global Compact, Dewan Architects and Engineers, The Iraqi Business Council in Jordan and Ayad Al-Tuhafi Architects and Coventry University.