Taking first spot in the category of Principal of the Year is Richard Fenne of Woods Bagot.
The panel praised his “mixture of business acumen with design excellence while leading and inspiring a top class team”.
Fenne said: “I’m genuinely shocked to have won the award. It’s an absolute privilege to be named Principal of the Year. I didn’t come prepared to win so it’s a real honour to have been selected by a prestigious group of judges. I appreciate their kind words. It’s all very poignant for us. It’s our 15th year in Dubai so it’s a dual celebration both for me and for Woods Bagot.
“As a business we are very much about our people. Whilst I’m one of the principals I couldn’t have achieved this award without the high calibre team behind me.
“We are very much about developing the career of others. I’m very passionate about developing those future leaders and building a team of absolute top quality designers and young passionate people who enjoy what we are doing – delivering the best outcomes for us clients.”
Woods Bagot has a team of more than 1,000 design experts working across
17 studios in the Middle East Australia, Asia, Europe and North America.
Its global studio model allows the business to work collaboratively across time zones and borders, using the latest technology to share design intelligence and strengthen its knowledge base around the world.
Working across architecture, consulting, interior design, master planning and urban design, the firm’s major focus is to understand clients’ functional, operational and cultural needs, drawing on research and experience to create projects that work for both owners and end-users.
Highly commended for the category was Nasser Abulhasan of AGI Architects, who picked up the Public Sector Project of the Year award.
Shortlist:
Bob Mitchell – Ted Jacob Engineering
Brian Mee – NORR Group
Ivar Krasinski & Martin Baerschmidt – EDGE
Ralf Anias Steinhauer – RSP Dubai