Dubai (UAE): Thomson Perrett & Lobb, the international golf course architecture practice founded by five-time Open Champion Peter Thomson with partners Ross Perrett and Tim Lobb, has been appointed by HOK, global leaders in innovation for the built environment, to create a championship golf course at Al Ain Emarat in the UAE.
The 18-hole golf course will be part of a new community in the desert in Al Ain, the UAE's largest inland city and the second city of the emirates of Abu Dhabi, designed by the pioneering sustainable architectural practice HOK.
The settlement will be home to 120,000 people with facilities including a 40,000-seat sports stadium, leisure complex, business district and housing. It will be a major suburb for the oasis city of Al Ain, known as 'The Garden City of the Gulf, and will feature an innovative 7km canal system integrated into both the residential community and golf course.
Launching the golf project at the second GolfEx Dubai, golf course designer and TPL partner Tim Lobb said: "The golf course at Al Ain Emarat, like the new community itself, will be extraordinary. This is an outstanding desert site, overlooked by mountains, with rolling sand dunes that will be incorporated naturally into the golf course, also combining HOK's innovative canal system.
"TPL shares HOK's vision for sustainable design and so there has been a natural synergy in our discussions for this project. Both practices believe Al Ain Emarat will be a very special place."
Design work on the course is already underway with construction likely to start in later this year.
Barry Lowe of HOK said: "This course will bring this new community a traditional course of international standard - a course for the real golfer".
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NOTES FOR EDITORS
Thomson Perrett & Lobb's origins date back to 1965 when Peter Thomson, the five-times British Open Champion, formed the founding design practice based in Melbourne, Australia. Since then, the company has expanded and opened a further office in Beijing and, in 2004, Tim Lobb joined Peter Thomson and Ross Perrett to head up TPL in London, giving the business a truly global reach.
Together, Thomson Perrett & Lobb have more than 75 years' experience in creating internationally recognised, integrated golfing facilities in more than 30 countries worldwide. The principals are actively involved in the business and the team includes vibrant professionals with qualifications in golf architecture, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering and CAD.
Thomson Perrett & Lobb is currently designing and managing projects in Turkey, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. For more information visit: www.tpl.eu.com
MEDIA CONTACTSThomson Perrett & Lobb
Tim Lobb
tel +44 (0)1483 270 190
e-mail tlobb@tpl.eu.com or visit www.tpl.eu.com
Landmark Media
Gary Firkins
tel +44 (0)1780 752 790
e-mail gary@landmark-media.com
For further information:
Alan Ewens,
GolfEx Media Services.
Tel: +9714 3512887
+97150 4514188.
alan2804@emirates.net.ae
www.golf-ex.com
© Press Release 2007
