Five developments have been selected as winners of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) 2009 Awards for Excellence: Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) competition. The competition also included the announcement of two special award winners at an awards ceremony hosted in London.

The awards 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.

The 2009 ULI EMEA Awards for Excellence winning projects were selected from among 39 entries representing 17 countries.

The winners are:

Akaretler Row Houses/W Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey (Akaretler Turizm Yatirimlari A.Ş.)

Elm Park, Dublin, Ireland (Radora Developments Ltd.)

Hilton Tower, Manchester, U.K. (the Beetham Organization)

Leoben Judicial Complex, Leoben, Austria (BIG-Services, Immobilienmanagementgesellschaft des Bundes mbH)

Mountain Dwellings, Copenhagen, Denmark (Hoepfner and Danish Oil Company)

The Special Award winners are (owners and/or developers in parentheses):

American University in Cairo New Campus, Cairo, Egypt (AUC).

Liverpool One, Liverpool, U.K. (Grosvenor).

The 2009 ULI Awards for Excellence: EMEA winners were selected by a jury of land use development and design experts. Jury Chair, Ian D. Hawksworth, Managing Director of Capital & Counties in London said: “These are wonderful examples of success that showcase creativity, innovation, and long-term thinking.

“Perhaps now more than ever, the ULI Awards for Excellence program reminds us of the key difference that responsible design and development can make in terms of longevity and overall community sustainability.”