UTP Bags Aga Khan Award

Malaysia's University of Technology Petronas in Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak, is among nine projects picked for the 2007 Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the world's most prestigious architectural prize.


The other winners were:
>> Samir Kassir Square, Beirut, Lebanon
>> Rehabilitation of the City of Shibam
>> Yemen Central Market, Koudougou, Burkina Faso
>> Restoration of the Amiriya Complex, Rada, Yemen
>> Moulmein Rise Residential Tower, Singapore
>> Royal Netherlands Embassy, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
>> Rehabilitation of the Walled City, Nicosia, Cyprus
>> School in Rudrapur, Dinajpur, Bangladesh

The announcement was made by Aga Khan in an award ceremony at the Philharmonic Hall of the Petronas Twin Towers on Tuesday night officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The award is managed by a steering committee headed by Aga Khan. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture has a triennial prize fund of US$500,000, making it the world's largest architectural award. It is presented every three years to projects selected by an independent Master Jury. It was founded in 1977 by His Highness the Aga Khan, the 49th hereditary Imam of the **Shia Ismaili Muslims.


For UTP, the announcement was indeed the icing on the cake as earlier on Tuesday, 4 September 2007 they received the world's well known architect, Lord Norman Foster, who was commissioned to design UTP’s Chancellor and the Academic Complexes visited the university. He was accompanied by his wife, Lady Foster; David Nelson of Foster & Partners and Kamil Merican, CEO of GDP Architects. The guests visited various facilities in the campus including the Chancellor Hall, the Information Research Center (IRC) and the laboratories. They were in Malaysia attending the Aga Khan Award Presentation Ceremony on Tuesday at 4th September 2007 at Dewan Philharmonic, PETRONAS, KLCC.


**The Shia Ismaili Muslims are a community of ethnically and culturally diverse peoples living in over 25 countries around the world, united in their allegiance to His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan (known to the Ismaili community as Mawlana Hazar Imam) as the 49th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader), and direct descendant of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family). Source: Aga Khan Development Network.


Source and related news reads: The NST, The Star, Malay Mail, Bernama, UTP


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