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James O’Callaghan wins 2019 Jorma Vitkala Award of Merit

The award was presented by Jorma Vitkala, who was chairing the organizing committee of the GPD for the last time, together with Arto Metsänen, President and CEO of Glaston, and Jean-Paul Hautekeer, global marketing director at Dow and chairman of the nomination committee

James O’Callaghan, co-Founder and senior director at Eckersley O’Callaghan, received the 2019 JORMA VITKALA AWARD OF MERIT during the Glass Performance Days (GPD) on Wednesday June 26, 2019 in Tampere, Finland.

“James’s impressive leadership and influence in Architectural Glass is undeniable since he and Brian Eckersley founded Eckersley O’Callaghan in 2004, with a shared vision of a structural design practice that truly integrates engineering and architecture,” said Jorma Vitkala. “While James is now a serial collector of awards in the engineering and architectural space, this recognition of the entire Global Glass Industry has a special meaning for him”.

“Continued innovative progress and bold new solutions will keep the applications of glass at the forefront for designers, industries and research institutions and provide us with effective competitiveness in the choices of materials and solutions for building, automotive and interior decorating,” said Arto Metsänen. “This award is our special tribute to leading contributors in the development of the glass industry and James is a real personification of the GPD spirit.”

The other nominees of the 2019 Award are:
• James Carpenter, Carpenter Design Associates
• Tim Macfarlane, Glass ltd
• Gérard Savineau, Consultant (Former Solutia)
• Valerie L. Block, Kuraray
• Graham Dodd, ARUP
• Francis Serruys, Saint-Gobain
• Julia Schimmelpennigh, Eastman
• Norbert Wruk, NSG
• Larry Carbary, Dow

“The winner and nominees who made it to the top 10 of this year’s Jorma Vitkala Award are seen as some of the key influencers of our glass industry by the media and the public in 2019,” said Jean-Paul Hautekeer. “Congratulations to all of them for making it through the nomination process, they should all be proud of their achievements.”

The Award of Merit was first introduced at the GPD’s 25th Anniversary event in 2017 to recognize outstanding individual contributions to the glass industry. This award was presented to Jorma Vitkala, then-chairman of the GPD organizing committee as the first-ever recipient. The award is presented every two years during the conference’s opening ceremony, to a recipient selected through an international nomination procedure.

International media representatives and sponsors support the Award and contribute to the nomination process, including:

  • Jorma Vitkala, Glaston
  • Horst Mertes, Fene Tech
  • Katy Devlin, Glass Magazine
  • Maja Weller, Evguard
  • Katarina Rehar, Glassonweb.com
  • Robert Miklus, Formator Ltd
  • Klaus Muehlhans, A+W Software
  • Bettina Heuter, Glassglobal Group
  • Patrick Flannery, Annex Business Media
  • Reinhold Kober, GFF Magazine
  • Matthias Rehberger, Glasswelt
  • Nick Beaumont, IGS Magazine
  • Luc Moyersons, Everlam
  • Christoph Troska, Kuraray
  • Wim Stevels, Eastman
  • Marco Groothoff, Glas in Beeld
  • Werner Wagner, Sika
  • Debra Levy, Glass.com
  • Jean-Paul Hautekeer, Dow

 

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