Bilarab Bin Haitham Award for architectural design launched Jan 15, 2022 Muscat: His Highness Sayyid Bilarab bin Haitham bin Tarik al Said launched the Bilarab Bin Haitham Award for Architectural Design to foster Omani talents in architecture, design and urban planning. The award comes in line with Oman Vision 2040 for developing various governorates architecturally according to their environment and civilizational identity. The award would be based on a specific architectural topic and a specific region or governorate. HH Sayyid Bilarab has affirmed that the award is being launched with the blessing of His Majesty the Sultan. His Majesty hailed the idea of the competition and its directions and much-admired the goals it seeks, said HH Sayyid Bilarab. He assured that His Majesty’s blessing is a motive for the award to strive for its visions and aspirations. HH Sayyid Bilarab explained that the award stems from the idea of launching a local competition with a global vision to honour modern architectural and urban designs with artistic visions that combine tradition and contemporary. "The award targets Omani youth, so our mission and goals in this field lie in investing and empowering local architectural capabilities and skills, to develop different regions in the Sultanate of Oman which could contribute to achieve an added value. The competition perhaps is one of the appropriate ways to invest and empower these capabilities of young people in this aspect. It may also be a gateway for them to cross into the future with more creative ideas and aspirations, and this creativity we hope will be reflected on the ground,” he sad As for the objectives of the competition, HH Sayyid Bilarab affirmed that the ultimate goal is to listen to the voice of young people in a very special way, saying that "His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik underscored the necessity of paying attention and listening to the Omani youth. Through this award and competition we will make sure to listen to the creative ideas of young people in an artistic way that seeks towards urban development and creativity in the fields of architecture and related design.The general goal of this award is to create "Towards an innovative and contemporary Omani architectural style”, while not neglecting other goals related to the local community, or empowering and developing the capabilities of youth. The award will contribute to the realisation of the aspirations of Oman 2040 vision.” DIVERSE AND RICH HH Sayyid Bilarab confirmed that the Omani architectural style is rich and diverse. The nature and geography of the country have contributed to achieving this richness. The style of plains, as well as the style of the coasts differ from that of the interior regions, and perhaps designers have sought throughout the previous years to imitate those styles.
"Young Omani who are specialised in the fields of architecture, design and urban planning can participate in the competition. We are keen not to extend the age of participants to no more than 35 years of age. We included job seekers and students, with the aim of providing a greater opportunity for young people to avoiding them competing with elders who may have more experience in this field,” HH Sayyid Bilarab said. He said that this award competition is an opportunity for creative young people. Participants can enter this competition either as individual or in a team of not more than three people. CONDITIONS ‘’We see this award as different from its local counterparts. Therefore, the idea was to focus on what happens after the announcement of the winner of the award; and particularly on the outcome of the winning project. Thus, we were keen that the idea was to utilise the project, implement it and follow it up, whether through investment, or through the relevant government agencies. The matter is that, we will make sure the winning project sees the light of day in any location in the Sultanate of Oman.’’ As for the conditions of participation in the Award competition; he stated that "we have made sure that these conditions are simple to involve the largest possible number of young people in the competition. The main condition is participation is limited to Omani youth who are not over 35 years old. There are also some technical conditions that participatants can refer to on the award’s website or its social media accounts.” PRIZES Regarding the prizes HH Sayyid Bilarab said, "Ten competitors will qualify for the final stage. At this stage, the contestants will submit proposals to the jury or committee. After discussions, three winners will be declared." His Highness said the award will add value to society in general. It would provide the opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises to benefit from the projects that would be developed or established. The contestants will get opportunity to learn new skills and knowledge from the workshops associated with the award. At the community level, it is hoped that the award will contribute to adding aesthetic touches to leisure and tourism sites where the public can spend time with their families and friends." TIMING As for the competition cycle and the timing of its organization, HH Sayyid Bilarab explained, "This award will be held annually targeting each year a certain governorate, a specific geographic space, or a different architectural style. We are keen that the award will leave its positive impact on all parts of our country, and have a contribution to the development of a facility, the modernisation of a specific tourist attraction or creating a new facility with a creative vision that is environmentally friendly. HH Sayyid Bilarab said, "this award was created for you, and you are qualified to present your suggestions, visions and ideas through which you seek to make a qualitative leap in the architecture and design sector. Therefore, the field is open to you towards creativity, proficiency, and unprecedented perceptions. Moreover, we will not hesitate to study any proposal submitted to us that meets the technical conditions set by the jury.” His Highness stressed that "homelands are built only with the hands of their generations, and we can consider this award as an invitation to build our country, as the field is open to young people, who are worthy of their visions and aspirations in this regard.” GRAPH POINTS GOALS OF THE BHA award The award comes in line with Oman Vision 2040 for developing various governorates architecturally according to their environment and civilizational identity. Participants can enter this competition either as individual or in a team of not more than three people. Award First prize RO 20,000 Second prize RO 15,000 Third prize RO 10,000 Age limit 35 years Deadline for applications February 5 Final results March 15 
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