Index, the 80-storey building developed by Union Properties, has been awarded the 2011 Best Tall Building Award for the Middle East and Africa region by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).

The award will be conferred at the CTBUH 10th Annual Awards Dinner which will take place on October 27 at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

Index now finds itself in the running for the 2011 Best Tall Building Worldwide Award, as the regional win places it among the four nominees for the overall prize, the winner of which will be announced during the awards event.

The 2010 prize for Best Tall Building Worldwide was awarded to the Burj Khalifa.

“This is a major recognition from industry peers from around the world, and a shining testament to the outstanding design and quality of this most unique project,” said Khalid Bin Kalban, chairman of Union Properties.

“Index was conceived as an ambitious, multi-functional project that will be the destination of choice for financial institutions and high-powered executives seeking to operate from Dubai, and we are delighted that the project’s innovative combination of luxury, comfort and functionality proved so highly appealing to a panel comprising some of the world’s leading architectural experts,” he added.

Khalid Al Jarwan, general manager, Union Properties, said: “Index is the first of a new era of ‘intelligent buildings’ that are destined to be the skyscrapers of the future.”

“The design of the building reinforces urban density by creating a multi-function tower combining living, working and entertainment spaces as opposed to the increasingly outmoded mono-functional projects,” he added.

“The last few years have been very tough for the property market, with the challenging external condition putting extreme pressure on project deadlines, but our strong fundamentals and organizational resilience, along with carefully considered asset restructuring, have allowed us to step into the future with renewed confidence,” Kalban continued.

“Our net profit jumped 64 per cent in the first quarter of 2011, and we are positive we can sustain the growth momentum through the rest of the year and beyond,” he concluded.

The CTBUH is the world’s leading body in the field of tall buildings and the recognized source of information on tall buildings internationally. – TradeArabia News Service