The International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association reveals the list of judges for the upcoming edition of the ITA Awards

Lausanne, May, 2017.- The International Tunnelling and Underground Space association organizes the third edition of the ITA Awards November the 15^th in Paris, at Palais des Congrès with a one-day conference and banquet. This year, the ITA Awards will take place during the Congress of the French Association of Tunnels and Underground Space (AFTES) from 13^th to 16^th November. The candidacies will be examined by a new panel of 17 judges whose 9 are new. Presided by the president of ITA, Prof. Tarcisio Celestino, the panel has been carefully chosen to represent the diversity of profiles gathered by the tunnelling and underground space industry. Judges will have to establish a first selection of finalists (displayed in summer 2017) and then to reward the most outstanding projects.  

Ø Panel of Judges:

The panel is composed of 9 new judges :

Ø Roland Leucker, ITACOSUF Chair, Germany

Ø Bai Yun, Professor, China

Ø Arnold Dix, ITA WG 3 Animateur, consultant, Qatar

Ø Sindre Log, Chair ITA YMG, PS & Supplier, Norway

Ø Pekka Nieminen, ITA Expert, PS & Supplier, Finland

Ø Arsenio Negro, consultant, Brazil

Ø Magali Schivre, ITA WG 3 Vice Animateur, consultant, France

Ø Alex Conacher, Tunnels &Tunnelling, journalist, UK

Ø Mike Rispin, PS &Supplier, Canada

And 7 judges who have already participated to the selection last year and decided to renew the experience:

Ø Han Admiraal, ITACUS Chair, Netherlands

Ø Soren Degn Eskesen, ITA Past President, Denmark

Ø Michael Belenkiy, ITA Expert, Russian Federation

Ø Alex Gomes, ITA Vice President, Chile

Ø Leslie Pakianathan, TUCSS Board Member, Singapore

Ø ChungSik Yoo, ITA Executive Council Member, South Korea

Ø Heinz Ehrbar, consultant, Switzerland

Ø What are the judges’ expectations for 2017 ?

Member of panel of judges in 2016, Leslie Pakianathan choose to participate once again to the selection process and has specific expectations: "In selecting winning entries highest priority will be given to safety performance followed by how the tunnelling and underground construction community as a whole can benefit from the unique features, challenges and solutions demonstrated in the project."

Arnold Dix is a new judge this year and sets selection criteria: “The key criteria for me is the marriage between the functional performance and the challenge to be overcome.  For underground assets that last 'forever" intergenerational function plays a big role in my assessment of a project.”

Ø Testimonials of former 2016 winners :  

Kurt Zeidler, PhD, CEng, Zeidler Consultants :

 “The majority of the civil works for the Vauxhall Station Upgrade Project was completed by the time the application process commenced. Having to go back to the beginning of the project to describe all of the works for the Awards Submission was a pleasant reminder of the value we brought to London Underground from the elimination of costly & time-consuming utility relocation by avoid top-down construction from the surface to limited demolition of existing station structures. We were pleasantly surprised to learn the Vauxhall Station Upgrade project was selected for the Renovation/Upgrading Project of the Year as there were many qualified submission this year. Getting selected as the most outstanding project provided our team (Bechtel, Gall Zeidler Consultants, Joseph Gallagher Ltd.) with validation of the good work that was done to provide the Step Free Access at Vauxhall Station.”

Esen Sze, Deputy Project Manager, LTA Singapore

 “The application process was systematic and user friendly as a series of questions were filled in during my submission. I was glad that the questions could guide me through thoroughly to provide the geese of the project highlights. My team is thrilled over the ITA victory as this is a prestigious platform where dedicated engineering with regards to tunnel construction is highly valued.

We are very honoured to win this award at this special year when it was held in Singapore. This award has indeed showcase to the world one of Singapore’s more iconic projects since the establishment of Singapore.”

Ø Candidacies can be submitted through 9 categories :

·         Major Project of the Year - over 500€ million

·         Project of the Year  - between €50 million and €500 million

·         Project of the Year - (up to €50 million)

·         Technical Project Innovation of the Year

·         Technical Product or Equipment innovation of the Year

·         Sustainability initiative of the Year

·         Safety Initiative of the Year

·         Innovative Underground Space Concept of the Year

·         Young Tunneller of the Year

A trophee will also be discerned for a life Time Achievement Award (application not required).

Ø Details about AFTES Congress

Organized by the French Association of Tunnels and Underground Space This international event will be the occasion to gather for 3 days high-skilled profiles from the underground space industry: experts, architects, civil engineers and urbanists will promote the underground as a wealth and think of how it can build and shape our future.

Key Dates of AFTES Congress:

13^th – 15^th November: an international fair (130 exhibitors) will take place at Palais des Congrès (Porte Maillot), technical conferences and jobsite visits will be organized around one strong theme “Underground Space: our wealth”

16^th November: a one-day conference will be dedicated to “Building our future” at La CIté de l’Architecture (Trocadéro)

Entries can still be submitted through the 9 categories. The submission requirements and selection process are stated in the ITA Tunnelling Awards website (https://awards.ita-aites.org/). The finalists will be announced by summer 2017. For further details regarding the ITA Awards, please click on the following link: https://awards.ita-aites.org/ and follow us on twitter @ItaAward

About the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association:

The International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) is a non -profit and non-governmental international organization, which aims at promoting the use of underground space as a solution to sustainable development. Founded in 1974 and operating out of Lausanne, Switzerland, ITA currently has 73 Member Nations, 300 affiliated members, 17 Prime Sponsors and 60 supporters.