Qatar Foundation honoured at International Awards Ceremony

Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development’s (QF) commitment to excellence was officially recognised with four awards at the annual MEED Quality Awards for Projects 2015 ceremony, which took place in Dubai recently.   

This year, Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS), a college of Hamad bin Khalifa University and a member of Qatar Foundation, won the award for the ‘MEED Quality Project of the Year’, in addition to the ‘UrbaCon Trading & Contracting ‘GCC Social Infrastructure Project of the Year’ and ‘Local Social Infrastructure Project of the Year’. Additionally, the Energy Management System (Solar Micro Grid Project), developed by QF in cooperation with Green Gulf Inc., was recognised as a national winner under the category of ‘Ramboll Sustainable Project of the Year’.

Every year, MEED seeks to recognise the finest achievements in the GCC projects industry, and awards are given for quality in design, construction and engineering, as well as accomplishments in sustainability and contributions to the local economy. This year, QF was chosen from a number of participating projects, including owners, developers, designers, and contractors from around the region.

Expressing his gratitude, Engineer Jassim Telefat, Group Executive Director of Qatar Foundation Capital Projects and Facilities Management, said:  “This year, we are delighted to have been awardedfour accolades at the annual MEED Quality Awards for Projects 2015 ceremony. These titles demonstrate our on-going commitment to achieving excellence in innovation and sustainability, as well as our dedication to continuous growth and development in order to successfully serve the needs of Qatar.”

“Qatar Foundation is committed to ensuring the highest quality and sustainability standards in all of its construction projects. This originates from QF’s mission of unlocking human potential, which contributes to preserving the environment and promotes a culture of sustainability in the Qatari community,” he added.

The QFIS building, which was officially opened earlier this year, is designed to deliver world-class education while boasting architectural features in-line with QF’s mission to foster an engaged society appreciative of its Islamic and Arabic heritage.

QFIS is the only indigenous Qatari university on the Education City campus.  In the building, Qatar Foundation aims to revive the traditional model of the madrasa, where both worship and knowledge are united in one place. It combines Education City Mosque with the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, a college of Hamad bin Khalifa University.  The building is a futuristic piece of architecture that is inspired in its very essence by the long valued architecture of the Muslim world. The design architects, Ali Mangera and Ada Yvars Bravo studied the Muslim landmarks across history and distilled their research in values that they then depicted within the building’s spaces. They mainly focused on two notions: knowledge and light.  The entire building, combining both the faculty and the mosque, carry numerous symbols and poetic references to Islam and its civilization.

QF also received the ‘Ramboll Sustainable Project of the Year’ Award in recognition of the fact that the Foundation is currently producing up to 85 per cent of Qatar’s total solar energy. QF’s Energy Monitoring Centre (EMC) is part of the Solar Smart-Grid Project and it is managing and monitoring solar power generation across all sites within its campus. Installed throughout various locations in Qatar Foundation, it creates 5,180 MW of clean energy annually. The project reflects QF’s on-going dedication to sustainable development, and joins a slew of other green initiatives that will help transform its flagship development, Education City, into a ‘smart-city’.

Last year, Qatar Foundation was presented with the Editor’s Award at the MEED Quality Awards for Projects, which recognised QF’s commitment to green building design and educating the community about the importance of sustainability.