AUD Students Shine At General Electric’s Lighting Competition

Soheil Ansari And Sara Kamel Dubbed Winners Of Facade Lighting And Energy Saving Lighting Categories At Light Middle East 2011 Exhibition

The American University in Dubai’s (AUD) mission of persistently upholding academic excellence was yet quenched when students Sara Kamel and Soheil Ansari, from AUD’s Departments of Interior Design and Architecture, respectively, were announced as winners of General Electric’s (GE)Energy Saving Lighting Products and Façade Lighting competition’s categories, at the Light Middle East 2011 Exhibition, held recently at the Dubai World Trade Center.

The competition was organized by AUD, Mazarii Interiors, and Messe Frankfurt, and supported by the Professional Lighting Design Association (PLDA) with GE as the main sponsor.

Dr. Nabyl Chenaf, Chair of Architecture, and Associate Professor of Architecture and Interior Design, at AUD, asseverated “The General Electric lighting competition has been an enlightening experience for students at the American University in Dubai, as not only young talents were given a unique opportunity to shine but also offered a workshop run by professionals where they could acquire knowledge about the latest in the lighting industry. Both Soheil and Sara have managed to put to use courses such as Interior Lighting Design, BIM (Building Information Modeling), Design studios as well as advanced rendering software along with the valuable guidance of workshop leaders to win the prizes for Façade and interior lighting, respectively.”

In regards to the challenges pertaining to the Energy Saving Lighting Products category, students had to use energy saving light in an indoor environment, which was aesthetically pleasing as well. On her reflections about winning this category Sarah commented "I am so excited and honored to receive this award. Being able to share my work with professionals who appreciate it is what makes it all worth it. This competition also gave me a great opportunity to explore different aspects of lighting design.”

When asked to provide details on her winning project, she asserted: “My main aim to achieve in this competition was to create a light fixture that not only does it look aesthetically good but it also benefits its owner. I achieved that combining a modern designed fixture and the latest technology in LED that General Electric offered therefore, the best of both worlds."

As for the Façade Lighting category, students had to create a new way of illuminating external windows in order to create a new façade of buildings. His Excellency Saeed MohammedAl Tayer, Managing Director, and Chief Executive Officer, of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA),was impressed by Soheil’s project of lighting the Metro station and integrating animation effects.

Explaining the concept behind his winning project, Soheil said “The criterion was to design a new way of illuminating buildings. After thorough research and conceptualizing, I selected Dubai Metro as my subject building. My concept was to use lighting as an indicator for metro passengers in addition to aesthetic purposes.”

He concluded, “This competition provided an interesting learning experience into lighting design and therefore I would like to thank all organizers involved for this unique chance.”

Ansari and Kamel have won a trip to the Light+Building Show in Frankfurt, Germany, to be held from the 15th until the 20th of April, 2012.

In turn, Dr. Linda Nubani, Managing Director of Mazarii Interiors, stressed “We are proud to be nurturing such impressively innovative talents in the Arab and GCC countries which have, undoubtedly, earned recognition and exposure at the international level.”

Student participants attended a technical workshop by GE Lighting to explain what each of its products was best suited for. This, according toDr. Nubani, “created a marriage between the students’ creativity and technical products.”

Acknowledging the Sponsors’ efforts and Dr. Nubani’s relentless endeavors in organizing the competition, Dr. Chenaf stated “I would like to thank all sponsors of the “Bright with Light” competition as well as the organizers, Mazari Interiors, for all the efforts they are deploying to elevate the design standards in the UAE, in particular, and the region, in general, as it is clear now that, under the wise leadership of Dr. Nubani, they have become a key institution in the promotion of new talents in the region, as they are associated with most design competitions, workshops and seminars. They are meticulous as organizers and generous as sponsors and both qualities are highly appreciated.”

Emirate:  Abu Dhabi

Date: Sep 25, 2011

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