Bahrain World Trade Center (BWTC), the Kingdom’s iconic landmark and the world’s first commercial development to have integrated ‘Wind Turbines’ in its design has been shortlisted for the Nova Award 2009.

The Nova is an annual award instituted by the Construction Innovation Forum (CIF) since 1989, to recognise innovations proven to be significant advances that have had positive, important effects on construction to improve quality and reduce cost.

A Nova Award Engineering Investigator is expected to visit BWTC to conduct a thorough investigation and submit a confidential report to the Jury for its review.

The Award winning innovations will be announced at the Nova Award Banquet on November 17 at Buena Vista Palace resort in Orlando, Florida, US.

The criteria for the awards focus on innovative techniques and methods which improve quality and reduce cost of construction, in all of which the BWTC scores highly, said a senior official of DTZ, BWTC’s leasing and managing agents.

Designed by Atkins, the world’s eighth largest design firm, the iconic building is the first in the world to suspend electricity-generating wind turbines between two commercial tower structures, surpassing existing construction boundaries.

The three 29-metre diameter turbines produce between 11 to 15 per cent of the total electrical consumption of the building. The office towers also incorporate a number of other environmentally-sound energy efficient measures.

Bob Addison, country manager and director of DTZ, BWTC’s leasing and managing agents, said: “We are honoured to be one of the eight high-calibre projects shortlisted for the Nova Award 2009. The award recognises innovative techniques and methods which improve the quality and reduce the cost of construction and BWTC is a true testament to the viability of the project’s design.”

BWTC has already received international acclaim for its groundbreaking design and multiple awards; the most recent being the ‘Best Tall Building’ in the Middle East and Africa region for 2008. Previous accolades include honours from Building Design, Construction Week and Building Exchange.-TradeArabia News Service