Three students from the College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) at American University of Sharjah (AUS) were recognized recently for their outstanding work at the Omrania/Center for the Study of the Built Environment (CSBE) Student Award for Architectural Design.

The award aims to honor recent graduates, their instructors and universities and provide an opportunity to recognize and encourage excellence in teaching architectural design.

Khalid al-Tamimi and Nasser Ghannam were awarded first place for a project entitled "Almost Natural - Architecture of Preservation," executed under the supervision of AUS CAAD faculty member Faysal Tabbarah, Assistant Professor of Architecture. The project explored the role of the Anthropocene, the current geological age, in contemporary design. Both students proposed a private residence and museum dedicated to the fossils found in the Muweileh area in Sharjah.

Supervised by George Katodrytis, Associate Professor of Architecture, Tamir Ehab Khalil's project received an honorable mention. It explored new ways of inhabiting and colonizing the desert using digital and physical modeling as well as interactive, adaptive and robotic techniques and how these could be applied to architecture.

The supervising AUS faculty members provided the students with guidance, intellectual background and critical engagement to help the projects achieve their maximum potential. The awards highlighted the strength and level of excellence achieved by AUS students and reflected CAAD's role as a leading voice in design education in the region.

AUS students have been recognized at the Omrania/Center for the Study of the Built Environment awards since 2009.