Company Announcement - With just under a month left before the submission deadline for the ‘Commercial Interior Design Awards 2015’, the American Hardwood Export Council, the leading international trade association for the American hardwood industry, is inviting architects and designers to nominate their projects for the prestigious awards. AHEC is sponsoring the ‘Outstanding use of American hardwoods in the Middle East’ category at the ninth edition of the Awards, which will be held on September 16, 2015 at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel in Dubai. As in previous years, the award is open to any project with the only criteria being that U.S. hardwoods are an integral part of the project. However, this year, the organizers have decided to include international projects that have been realized by Middle East-based designers.
According to the organizers of the Awards, the evolution of the Middle East’s interior design industry continues unabated. Original and innovative interiors are becoming increasingly commonplace across the region, as a host of talented individuals continue to push boundaries and challenge the status quo. Long-held misconceptions about the maturity and sophistication of the region’s interior design industry are being irreversibly broken down, allowing the Middle East to stand alongside its international peers when it comes to world-class design. With versatility and variety on its side, the region’s design industry is at a unique phase in its development. As such, the CID Awards aim to celebrate the ambition, imagination and quality of interior design in the Middle East.
"Wood, a natural, renewable and versatile material, is indispensable in architecture and design. Through our sponsorship of the ‘Outstanding use of American hardwoods’ award, we hope to highlight the global renaissance that is being enjoyed by timber and draw attention to projects that have best utilized American hardwoods,” said Roderick Wiles, AHEC Regional Director. “The CID Awards is a well-established event for the design sector and our continued association with it will allow us to throw the spotlight on American hardwoods in the Middle East. The awards have always attracted an excellent spread of shortlisted projects, all showing a good variety of hardwoods application and demonstrating engaging thought processes about wood as a material. It is imperative that we support the region’s interior design community and the CID Awards, which provide a platform to champion all the good work that is being done.”
Previous winners of the ‘Outstanding use of American hardwoods’ award have included the Zayed University Library, Hakkasan Dubai, The Hub and last year’s winner - Emaar’s corporate offices. Design Worldwide Partnership (dwp) were awarded for Emaar’s new offices, which was praised for ‘its industrial feel which works seamlessly with the open office approach, using a mixture of materials to define key areas. In addition, the creative use of hardwoods throughout the design brings warmth into the space, thanks to their application not only as flooring but also in the walls, seating and rooms’. Overall, the awards have attracted a host of projects, all of which have displayed innovative and cutting edge design, and highlighted the increasing use of natural materials and textures, particularly American hardwoods.