Independently minded

The Eurobuild Awards 2012 had the largest award jury to date - 187 experts on the property market in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. The jury assessed 25 categories while the entire voting process was supervised by the KPMG consultancy (except for the category it was nominated for). The list of jurors was open and the voting only took place over the internet. The system not only provides an opportunity to cast a vote but also to make comments on the nominees. A number of opinions were expressed about the Senator office building (developed by Ghelamco Poland), which won the ?New Office of the Year, Poland' category. The jurors were impressed by how the project combines modernity and tradition with quality. Meanwhile, the New Shopping Centre of the Year (Poland) was Outlet Park Szczecin, a project by Echo Investment, which was recognised as a format that brings freshness to the city as well as new retail experience. Colliers International, which picked up statuettes in three categories - Office Agency Team of the Year (Poland), Retail Agency Team (Poland) and Warehouse Agency Team (Poland) - earned top marks its high standard of services in Warsaw and in regional markets. The Poziom 511 Design Hotel & Spa in Ogrodzieniec near Katowice was the New Hotel of the Year (CEE), mainly due to its interesting architecture, which complements its natural surroundings perfectly. The jury awarded the Residential Developer of the Year (CEE) statuette to Dom Development, also for the impressive designs of its projects.

At the same time our editorial team would like to congratulate the experts who accurately picked the winners in the December issue of ?Eurobuild CEE'. Eric Dapoigny, the head of Yareal Polska, bet on Union Investment's purchase of Manufaktura from Apsys and Fonci?re Euris, which turned out to be the best transaction in 2012. Tatiana Spencer, a partner of Aspenn, also bet on the winner of the Retail Developer of the Year (CEE) - Echo Investment. Meanwhile, Tomasz Kasperowicz of Colliers International plumped for the right candidate in the Warehouse Developer of the Year (CEE) category, an award won by Panattoni Europe. Another person who correctly predicted the jurors' verdict was Krzysztof Kałuża, a partner of EC Harris, who picked out Skanska as Real Estate Construction Company of the Year (Poland). So much for the jury. Now it's time to let the winners take to the floor...