Urban Land Institute Announces New Awards for Excellence Competition

WASHINGTON (December 2, 2004) — In its quest for recognizing the best land use projects worldwide, the Urban Land Institute announced its first annual Awards for Excellence—Asia Pacific.

ULI president Richard Rosan announced the “call for entries” at the 7th annual global conference on property development, investment and finance in Tokyo. “The Awards for Excellence program highlights great architecture and design as well as a commitment to the community and environment in which we live, work and play. I look forward to including the Asia Pacific into our global competition.”

ULI Asia chairman, C.Y. Leung, said, “I have no doubt that the experience of ULI is directly applicable to Asia and that developing an inclusive and open debate within the region will help Asia rise to meet the opportunities ahead. Initiation of the Asia awards will be a major step forward in the recognition of Asian real estate markets and the growing contribution they make to the world.”

The ULI Awards for Excellence—Asia Pacific will be limited to no more than five award winners annually. The deadline for entries is 1 March 2005. Asia Pacific winners will be announced in May in Asia and will be honored at the ULI annual fall meeting in Los Angeles in November 2005.

The competition, established in 1979, is based on ULI’s guiding principle that the achievement of excellence in land use practice should be recognized and rewarded. ULI’s Awards for Excellence recognize the full development process of a project, not just its architecture or design. The criteria for the awards include leadership, contribution to the community, innovations, public-private partnership, environmental protection and enhancement, response to societal needs and financial success.

Over the years, the Awards for Excellence program has evolved from a recognition of one development in North America to an international competition with multiple winners. This year, the program added the ULI Awards for Excellence—Europe with five winners selected in June.

Throughout the program’s history, all types of projects have been recognized for their excellence, including office, residential, recreational, urban/mixed use, industrial/office park, commercial/retail, new community, rehabilitation and public projects.

Underscoring the significance of Asia in the global economy, ULI president Rosan showcased the inaugural issue of Urban Land Asia at the Tokyo conference.