President Alvi praises devotion of those conserving city’s heritage

The first-ever Architecture Design Art Awards 2018-2019 were presented at a glittering function at the residence of Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Saturday evening

Speaking on the occasion, the chief guest, President Arif Alvi, a Karachiite, praised the efforts of all the recipients of the awards in working for the conservation of Karachi’s architectural, and hence historical heritage. He particularly praised the efforts at preserving the Edulji Dinshaw building in Clifton and the building of the Indus School of Art and Architecture there.

He said he was overjoyed to see all the hectic efforts of the concerned conservationists who were getting time off from their busy schedules. He predicted that the city had a great future given the enthusiasm of its concerned citizens.

Winners

Munawer Ali was declared the winner in the performance art category. Shabana Ibrahim and Iftikhar Azam presented him the award. The award for corporate design went to the D’Hamidi Partnership. Artist Nur Jehan Bilgrami and Omar Hamid presented this award.

Similarly, the award for moving image design went to Spectrum Communications. The presenters for this award were civil society personality Neelofer Farrukh and Salman Sarwar Butt. The award for Industrial/Product Design went to Raza Zahid. He received the award from television personality Sultana Siddiqui and Jamil Yusuf.

The presentation of this award was followed by a classical dance performance by noted young classical dancer Suhaee Abro, which was highly appreciated by the audience. As the ceremony continued, the award for public amenity commercial buildings went to Alcop Associates Private Limited, while the award for communications design went to BBDO Pakistan for their film on the havoc caused by US drone operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the breaking of families and the tragedy of losing kith and kin.

The award for public spaces went to Arshad Shahid Abdulla (Private) Limited and Danish Zuby–Daz Design for Pursukoon Chowk and Edulji Dinshaw Road. Zoral Khurram Naik won in the photography category for his project ‘Burnout’, while The Tree House Design Lab won in the information design category.

A lifetime achievement award was presented to architect Professor Gulzar Haider for his design of Islamic Architecture buildings in North America, especially a mosque in Chicago. Architect Nayyar Ali Dada received the award on behalf of Professor Gulzar Haider.

The other lifetime award went to Lahore-based Professor Salima Hashmi, a noted television personality, human rights activist and civil society leader. President Alvi, eminent architect and town planner Arif Hassan, and ADA Magazine Editor Maria Aslam presented this award.

A tribute was also paid to artists, architects and designers who are not with us anymore, including Basheer Mirza, Colin David, and Ali Imam. In her address, Maria Aslam, ADA Magazine editor, said the three key words of ADA were equality, equity and solidarity, and that ADA had been an agent of change. Meanwhile, the governor’s shields went to Javed Jabbar and the ADA team. The prize was received by Shahid Abdullah.