Sunday, Nov 24, 2013
Dubai: Landscapes across the country will be pushed up a notch as creative minds will compete for first place in Dubai’s International Garden Competition, set to take place in April next year.
The garden competition, which was launched yesterday, will witness 30 locally based and international teams who have to set up a garden - equipped with technical and scientific ingenuity - at the Downtown area, near Burj Khalifa.
“We are looking for specialists with creative ideas who can transform Dubai’s landscape, and the winner of the competition will have the opportunity to implement and adapt their ideas in the city,” said Nasser Khan, chief executive officer of Pure Life Group, who is organising the event.
At yesterday’s launch, Khan pointed out that the competition aims to be a prestigious horticulture event that will have the same high standard as the 100-year-old Chelsea Flower Show in the UK, the International French Garden Festival and the Canadian Garden Festival.
“The gardens will be judged by delegates of the UK Royal Horticulture Society, which will be based on the designer’s originality, quality and how well they executed their design proposals,” he said.
The competition is open to landscape architects, multidisciplinary teams comprising architects, engineers and designers, in addition to university students with experience in landscaping or architecture.
Teams will have 72 hours to set up their gardens near Burj Khalifa, from plots ranging between 50 and 200 square metres.
“Although the city of Al Ain has a reputation of being green and places importance on landscapes, we are interested in not only participating in the event but also want to award a contract to the winning team. The budget has not yet been allocated by the municipality but we are keen on pursuing this project,” said Suhail Al Darmaki, Head of Design Section, Al Ain City Municipality.
Participants can register until January 30 at www.digc.ae.
By Mariam M. Al Serkal Senior Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
