Samsung C&T executive gets prestigious award

By Lee Hyo-sik

Samsung Construction & Trade (C&T) said Thursday that its senior structural engineer will receive a prestigious international award in October for his contribution to advancing high-rise building technologies.

Senior Executive Vice President Ahmad Abdelrazaq, who heads the builder’s building sales division, was selected as the recipient of the Ernest E. Howard Award by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Samsung said.

The U.S.-born structural engineer was largely credited for developing high-rise construction technology. Among other works, he authored a study titled “Validation of the Dynamic of Burj Khalifa,” sharing his knowhow on the construction of the world’s tallest building.

Abdelrazaq has been involved in the design, engineering and construction of high-rise projects around the world, including the 828-meter-high Burj Khalifa.

He currently serves as a project director of Samsung C&T’s several high-rise building construction projects abroad, such as Tanjong Pagar Mixed Development, the highest structure in Singapore, and Star Residences, the tallest residential building in Malaysia.

“I am very much humbled for receiving this award and to be among some of the best in the field in structural engineering,” Abdelrazaq said. “There is so much left to be done in the civil and structural engineering fields, that is yet to be captured.”

The executive said that the future challenge is in integration and use of the latest technological advances in materials, and construction methods that lead to safer working environment and minimizes the use of materials. “Equally important is the development of design concepts that require minimum input of unskilled labor on site, where hardship exists.”

The latest award shows that Samsung C&T’s expertise and experience in high-rise building construction is highly recognized internationally, a company spokesman said. “Based on our distinguished high-rise technology, we will continue to successfully deliver building projects.”

The Ernest E. Howard Award is given annually to honor those members of ASCE, who have contributed to an advancement of structural engineering.

The award ceremony will be held at the annual conference of ACSE in October, and it consists of a medal, a certificate and a cash honorarium.