DAMAC Properties Scoops Arabian Property Awards

Luxury developer DAMAC Properties has announced it’s won five Arabian Property Awards, in what is now the sixth year running that the company has been successful in the world’s most prestigious real estate competition.

DAMAC Properties’ luxury ‘Al Jawharah’ tower in Saudi Arabia was successful in the ‘Best High Rise Architecture’ category, while the developer’s ‘Park Towers’ project in the DIFC won three awards for; ‘Best High Rise Architecture,’ ‘Best Mixed-Use Development,’ and ‘Best Commercial High Rise Development.’ The company’s website www.damacproperties.com also received an award for the ‘Best Developer Website.’

“DAMAC Properties has swept the Arabian Property Awards across a range of categories for the sixth consecutive year now, which reaffirms our position as one of the leading regional developers, and one of the most highly regarded developers in the world” said Niall Mc Loughlin, Senior Vice President of DAMAC Properties.

The judging panel consisted of more than 80 industry professionals whose collective knowledge of the property industry is unsurpassed by any other property awards. This year’s judges include James Bacon, UK account manager of Google; Peter Bolton King, group chief executive of the National Federation of Property professionals; David Dalby of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS); and Mike McNamara of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

“These are the most distinguished awards in the real estate industry globally, and our continued success is a reflection of our commitment to providing superior quality developments across the Middle East and beyond” Mc Loughlin added.

DAMAC Properties’ Al Jawharah project is situated on the Jeddah Corniche, facing the Red Sea. At 47 storeys high, it will be an iconic landmark, and one of the tallest developments in Saudi Arabia’s cosmopolitan ocean-front city.

The architectural design was influenced by detailed guidelines for the development of high-rise towers in the religiously conservative country of Saudi Arabia. All apartments have large ocean-facing balconies, however, due to privacy constraints, the balconies had to be segregated so that bedrooms and living areas won’t open out onto shared balcony space. Aluminum composite panels were used as divisions, which have contributed to the spectacular aesthetic appearance of the exterior, by creating shining, silver ‘fins.’

The highest ten floors of the building will be branded ‘The DAMAC Residences with Versace Home Interiors.' The limited release designer apartments will be resplendent with custom designed Versace Home interiors.

“Al Jawharah is one of DAMAC Properties premium developments, and we were quietly confident that it would perform strongly in the awards this year. We were also very pleased with receiving three awards for ‘Park Towers’ in the DIFC. We entered Park Towers in three categories, and won in every section” Mc Loughlin commented.

The unique architectural design is the stand-out feature of the development. The twin elliptical shaped towers change shape as they rise, with no two floor plates the same. The towers’ form expands from the base, with the maximum floor plates achieved at the mid-point, before receding until they reach the crest.

Triangular, energy-reducing, solar glass panels comprise the external facade. Every panel is a different size, which essentially created a giant 3D puzzle, which needed to be solved with highly complex computer modelling and controlled fabrication.

The success in this year’s awards reinforces DAMAC Properties’ pedigree as a luxury developer. In 2010, DAMAC Properties won the International Property Award for ‘Best High Rise Architecture’ for its first Versace-branded residential tower in the region, ‘DAMAC Tower.’

The gala awards presentation and Property Awards Business Summit will take place on November 16th and 17th at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai. The event is part of the International Property Awards, which is now in its 17th year and has become recognised as the highest standard of excellence throughout the global industry.

Later this year, the highest scoring winners from the Arabian Property Awards will compete against other winning companies from Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas and Europe to determine the ultimate ‘World’s Best’ in each category.

The result represents an expansion of DAMAC Properties’ award-winning property development portfolio. It is further recognition of the company’s core competency in delivering some of the most luxurious residential, commercial and retail properties across the region.