(UAE) – The 2018 INDEX Architecture & Design Awards takes place on March 27th.

Spread over 14 categories, the annual awards will honour the vision, hard-work, and innovation of the region’s leading design and architectural firms, with projects across the residential, hospitality and commercial sectors all earning nominations.

Now in their fifth year, the awards take place on the second evening of the INDEX exhibition, March 27th – and recognise the creative minds driving design forward, with awards for Rising Star, Design Leader and Design Firm of the Year.

Leading the charge are Dubai-based firms DWP and Bishop Design, with five nominations each. Wilson Associates, whose new self-styled office in Dubai Design District is in the running for Best Commercial Project, have four, as well as Swiss Bureau Interior Design.

Notable projects in the running include the new Renaissance Hotel Downtown Dubai, the Fairmont Quasar Istanbul, the Mirror Pavilion in Isfahan, Iran, and the self-styled family home of Gensler designer and last year’s INDEX Rising Star winner, Yasmin Farahmandy.

Samantha Kane-Macdonald, event director at INDEX, said: “It is always nigh on impossible to whittle down our award entries to a final shortlist and this year proved no exemption; not only did we have a record number of entries – with 147 individual submissions from more than 70 different firms – but were faced with a truly awe-inspiring catalogue of exceptional builds and spaces.

“These projects and the genius minds driving them are the key to this region’s future, not only as a forward-looking part of the world for people to live, work and thrive in, but also in further cementing its status as a hotbed of sublime architecture and design that many other continents look to for inspiration.

“To be able to celebrate the people that give this industry its dazzling reputation is always a massive honour for us. Our two most popular categories this year were Design Leader of the Year and INDEX Rising Star, which itself pays testament to the degree of expertise and ability in architecture and design across the board.”

The final shortlist is now in the hands of eight judges. Benjamin Piper, Partner & Design Principal, Killa Architectural Design; Carol Finnie, Head of Design, dwp; Indu Varanasi, Design Director, IR Design; Justin Wells, Head of Lifestyle Interiors, Woods Bagot; and Maliha Nishat, Head of Interior Design, Marriott, make up half of the judging panel.

They are joined by Marcos Cain, Principal & Founder, Stickman Tribe; Mike Lewis, Director Design Studio, Meraas Development; Chris Johnson, Managing Principal and Creative Director, Gensler; Matteo Bianchi, Matteo Bianchi Studio; and Jo Hamilton, founder of Jo Hamilton Interiors.

All the winners will be announced at the INDEX Architecture & Design Awards ceremony – where Boss Design; Hawa Sliding Solutions; Windows, Doors & Facades; the IE School of Architecture and Design and OFIS all sponsor categories – on the second evening of this month’s INDEX exhibition.

www.indexexhibition.com