Tamayouz Excellence Award recognizes Dana AlAmri, Dr. Zeynep Celik, and Shahira Fahmy as winners of the 2019 Women in Architecture and Construction Award

Recognizing the amazing talent and contributions of nine distinguished women from the fields of architecture and construction in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond the Tamayouz Excellence Award announces its three distinguished winners. Split into two categories, Rising Star and Woman of Outstanding Achievement, the awards focuses on the individual's contributions to the field in research, academia, and practice. 

Rising Star Award - Dana AIAmri

Thanks to an exemplary jury of architects, writers, and academics the "Rising Star" Award was given to Dana AIAmri. The Saudi architect and co-founder of Watad Studio focuses her efforts towards architectural solutions which address the needs of local people. According to the Tamayouz Jury they describe Dana's talents as a "promising and creative architect that addresses and challenges the profession of architecture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and her work increases awareness of context. She has submitted many model projects that integrate beautifully within their contexts and that cleverly orchestrate many architectural elements, functionalizing them creatively – this can be said of her interior design projects as well.” 

The jury adds, "She produces designs that are out of the box, challenging the conventional projects that might be populating her immediate environment.” She has also worked on socially responsible projects, such as the Solar Ovens Project, which aimed to educate those devastated by the Jeddah floods on the use of solar power; research on the regeneration of Jeddah’s slums and neglected historical neighborhoods; and Malik Road Redevelopment, which sought alternative solutions to the layout of the area’s streets in the hopes of reducing traffic and vehicle accidents.

Outstanding Achievement Award - Dr. Zeynep Celik

The winner of the "Outstanding Achievement" Award has been awarded to Dr. Zeynep Celik. A distinguished author, professor, and lecturer from the New Jersey Institute of Technology - Rutgers University, her specialty in architecture and history has regarded her as an expert in Ottoman-era and French colonial architecture. According to the jury they regard Dr. Celik as, "one of the most prominent historians in the field of architecture and urbanism,” said the jury. “Having published numerous books, she has amassed incredible influence and greatly contributed to the study of architecture history, late Ottoman architecture, as well as the analysis of architecture archaeology and the built expressions of colonial powers. There are many academics and researchers in the field of architecture, but few of them become mentors for a whole generation of architects and historians of architecture.”

In addition to her research and written work the jury discusses Dr. Celik's influence as a Turkish professor, representing various perspectives within the field of architecture in its practice as well as its "history and analysis of architecture and its relationship with the community." The Jury adds, "Often architects or architectural practices concentrate only on practitioners and forget academics, writers or historians, but these are the individuals that make understanding the field of architecture possible.”

Woman of Outstanding Achievement - Shahira Fahmy

In addition to the award's "Outstanding Achievement" and "Rising Star" categories, a third award was given to Egyptian architect, urbanist, and researcher Shahira Fahmy. Recognized as the "Woman of Outstanding Achievement, Highly Commended" Fahmy is the founder and principal of Shahira Fahmy Architects. Based in Cairo, her built projects can be found in the Middle East and Europe. She's been recognized by Phaidon as one of the architects "building the Arab future." In addition to her built works Fahmy's extensive research in rapid urbanization and mapping has awarded her as the two-time recipient of the Harvard University post-doc fellowship. In addition to her involvement in academia as an instructor she is currently working on an affordable housing project in the UK.

The jury describes Fahmy as a "talented architect whose work is diverse, authentic and clear. Her designs originate from the characteristics of the materials used and they are responsive to their surrounding social and natural contexts. Her work shows great attention to detail." They continue by adding, "In addition to architectural design, she specialises in urban and furniture design – her crossover of passions, as well as her methodology, informs her work and creates brilliant and inspiring end results. As a role model, she spreads positive influence to younger generations through her work and in the classroom, where she teaches.”

To learn more about the awards and the award recipients click here.