TalentAwards

Global Best Project Winner, Cultural: SIPOPO Congress Center

Photo by Emre Drter Photography

This Turkish-led turnkey design-build project was finished in 2011 in just five months for the Assembly of the African Union, leaders from 60 member nations. The 148,000-sq-ft structure's highlight is the "shimmering metal screen that veils its glazed facade in a curtain of geometric filigree," said Architectural Record.

Virtually all materials were imported, and labor was 95% Turkish; tropical illness and locals' lack of safety knowledge were problems faced. To speed work, design and structural steel manufacture were concurrent, and most of the interior package was prefabricated. "Building fast-paced complex projects in developed regions is a challenge," said one judge. "To do so in Equatorial Guinea is a major accomplishment."

Location Malabo, Equatorial Guinea

Project Team

Owner GE Proyectos, Malabo

Architect Tabanlioglu Architects, Istanbul

General Contractor/CM SUMMA-Onur Construction JV, Istanbul

Engineers Emir Engineering, Istanbul (structural); D&T Engineering Contracting, Istanbul (MEP)

Structural Steel Subcontractor Modul, Celik, Yapi Ve Petrol, Istanbul

As ENR Editor-at-Large for Energy, Business and Workforce, Debra K. Rubin has a broad vantage for news, issues and trends in global engineering and construction related to key areas of global energy development and transition, corporate business and management, regulation and risk and next-generation workforce development.

Debra also launched and manages ENR's Top 200 Environmental Firms annual ranking, which defines key players in the dynamic global market for environmental services; and is editor of ENR WorkforceToday e-newsletter on industry talent management news and trends. Click here to receive this free monthly newsletter.

She also is a key organizer of ENR's annual Groundbreaking Women in Construction conference, a major AEC industry forum for talent management and women's career advancement. Click here for more detail on plans in formation for the next live event.

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