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The Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) announces a competition for the Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Award for the Preservation of Islamic Cultural Heritage. The purpose of the competition is to support the revival of Islamic heritage; preservation of monuments in order to give them vital functions, either historical or contemporary. The competition is open to completed projects of extraordinary contribution to the preservation of Islamic cultural heritage realized in the last five years. ---
Forwarded by: Attilio Petruccioli

Award for the Preservation of Islamic Cultural Heritage:
Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Award for the Preservation of Islamic Cultural Heritage

The Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) of the
Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) undertakes activities relating
to research, publication, documentation, restoration and conservation
concerning the arts and cultures of the Muslim world. One of its objectives
is to record, preserve and make known the assets of the Islamic cultural
heritage, including fixed assets related to archaeology, cities and
architectural monuments and movable tangible and intangible--assets such as
manuscript works, library and archive items, audio-visual objects and materials,
traditional arts and other products and forms of expression of
Islamic cultures. With this aim, the Centre publishes references, maintains
data banks and organizes competitions and exhibitions.

The present competition is planned as a major activity relating to the
Islamic architectural heritage. The competition is dedicated to the memory
of the late Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, who was the
Chairman of the International Commission for the Preservation of Islamic
Cultural Heritage (ICPICH), a subsidiary of the OIC which operated from 1983
until 2000, with IRCICA as its Executive Secretariat. The Commission was
merged with IRCICA in 2000 following the demise of its Chairman in 1999, and
its activities were integrated into the work plans of IRCICA. At the request
of the Islamic Summit and Foreign Ministers Conferences held since 2000 asking
that IRCICA dedicates a special activity to the memory of Prince Faisal bin Fahd
in recognition of his remarkable services to the preservation of cultural
heritage, the Centre planned to organize the present competition. The project
was approved by the Member States of the OIC during the 32nd Islamic Conference
of Foreign Ministers held in Sana'a, Yemen Republic, on 28-30 June 2005.

The purpose of the competition is to support the revival of Islamic heritage
--preservation of monuments in order to give them vital functions, either
historical or contemporary.

The competition is open to completed projects of extraordinary contribution to
the preservation of Islamic cultural heritage realized in the last five years.
The competition will be organized every three years, starting with the first
cycle in 2005.

The subsequent competitions will be devoted to other themes concerning the
preservation of Islamic cultural heritage. Governmental and non-governmental
organizations as well as individuals are invited to apply to the competition.
Every effort in this respect will be properly recognized and will be stated in
the conditions of the competitions. Three equal awards will be presented to the
best projects. The exhibition of the participating projects will be organized
and a catalogue of this exhibition could be published. All projects should be
presented in Arabic or English.

Calendar:
- Announcement: June 2005
- Identification and Nomination of Projects: 15 February 2006
- Submission of Documentation: October 2006
- Online Work of the Master Jury 1: February-September 2007
- Master Jury Final Meeting: October 2007
- Award Announcement Ceremony: April 2008


Award Procedures:

Project Eligibility

The Award seeks out the broadest possible range of preservation interventions:
restoration and social efforts are considered, as are contemporary design
projects in corporation with historic sites and those demonstrating the use of
appropriate technologies. Although there are no fixed criteria as to the type,
nature, location, or cost of projects to be considered for the Award, eligible
projects must be designed for or used by Muslim communities, in part or in
whole, wherever they are located.

Submission Procedures:

Application

Applications are the official means of enrollment of projects to be
considered for the Award. The identities of applicants will be strictly
confidential, as are the names of applied projects.

Identification

In addition to the application procedures, the Award has developed a project
identification program which is open to all Governmental, Non-governmental and
individuals who wish to bring projects to the attention of the Award. The
project identification program ensures a broad geographic and architectural
representation of projects, and updates the Award archives on building activity
in the Muslim world. To register a project, preliminary documentation forms may
be obtained by contacting the Award Office or by completing the on-line form.
Projects will be elaborated through the Award Coordinator office and then
presented to the Master Jury.

The Award Office can be contacted at:

Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA)
Yildiz Sarayi, Seyir Kosku
P.O. Box 24 Besiktas
34353 Istanbul
Turkey

Phone: 90 212 259 1742
Fax: 90 212 258 4365
E-mail: heritageaward@ircica.org
Web: http://ircica.org


Documentation

The architects of projects enrolled through the nomination program receive
an Award documentation package which describes the standardized presentation
requirements. In addition to submitting photographs, slides, and architectural
drawings, architects are asked to complete a detailed questionnaire pertaining
to use, cost, environmental and climatic factors, construction materials,
building schedule, and, more importantly, design concepts and each project's
significance within its own context.

Review and Selection Procedures:

Master Jury

The review of projects and the selection of Award recipients is the
responsibility of an independent Master Jury specially appointed for each
Award cycle. The seven-member international jury of the competition is
selected from among world renowned prominent scholars and professionals.

For the first competition members of the jury are as follows:

1. Professor Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, President
2. Professor Dr. Saad Al Rashid
3. Professor Dr. Zeynep Ahunbay
4. Professor Dr. Attilio Petruccioli
5. Professor Dr. Saleh Lamei Mostafa
6. Professor Dr. Gulzar Haider
7. Dr. Halit Eren, Director General of IRCICA

Through on-line meetings, the jury reviews all submissions prepared by the
Award coordination office. The jurors examine the documentation on each
project, and select a smaller group of projects (approximately 10-12) for
further study. These selected projects will be reviewed onsite by Technical
Review team members which will be define by the Jury according to selected
applications

Selection of the Award Recipient:

At the final meeting in Istanbul, the Master Jury studies the selected projects
organized into categories and after evaluating the projects in closed sessions,
the jurors select three Award recipients.

A total of $30.000 US will be awarded as three equal prizes to completed
projects for excellence in preservation of Islamic architectural heritage.
The Master Jury will decide about possible honorary mentions.

Since the success of a winning project may be the product of efforts by
diverse individuals, groups, and organizations, the Master Jury apportions
prizes among the contributors--architects, other design and construction
professionals, craftsmen, clients, and institutions--whom it considers most
responsible for the success of each project. The decisions of the Master Jury
are final.

The ceremony to honor the winning projects will be held in Istanbul on Friday 20
April 2008. A seminar to present the awarded projects to a wider public will be
organized following the ceremony and provides a forum for the participants to
debate architectural issues.

A major monograph bringing together descriptions of the winning projects, the
jury deliberations, and essays by the Master Jury will be published on the
occasion of the Award Ceremony

Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA)
Yildiz Sarayi, Seyir Kosku
P.O. Box 24 Besiktas
34353 Istanbul
Turkey

Phone: 90 212 259 1742
Fax: 90 212 258 4365
E-mail: heritageaward@ircica.org
Web: http://ircica.org