James O’Callaghan wins 2019 Jorma Vitkala Award of Merit

TAMPERE, Finland – 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.

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’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 
Tim Macfarlane 
Gérard Savineau
Valerie L. Block 
Graham Dodd 
Francis Serruys
Julia Schimmelpennigh
Norbert Wruk
Larry Carbary

Carpenter Design Associates
Glass ltd
Consultant (Former Solutia)
Kuraray
ARUP
Saint-Gobain
Eastman
NSG
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
Horst Mertes
Katy Devlin
Maja Weller
Katarina Rehar
Robert Miklus
Klaus Muehlhans
Bettina Heuter
Patrick Flannery
Reinhold Kober
Matthias Rehberger
Nick Beaumont
Luc Moyersons
Christoph Troska
Wim Stevels
Marco Groothoff
Werner Wagner
Debra Levy
Jean-Paul Hautekeer

Glaston
Fene Tech
Glass Magazine
Evguard
Glassonweb.com
Formator Ltd
A+W Software
Glassglobal Group
Annex Business Media
GFF Magazine
Glasswelt
IGS Magazine
Everlam
Kuraray
Eastman
Glas in Beeld
Sika
Glass.com
Dow


About Dow High Performance Building

Dow High Performance Building, part of Dow Consumer Solutions, unites with industry professionals around the world to develop solutions to enhance design and aesthetics, increase durability, advance the energy efficiency of buildings, and improve the health and safety of building occupants. Taking a holistic approach, Dow brings together expertise from across the company to help customers find solutions to a wide range of high-performance building challenges. Featuring DOWSIL™ brand products Dow’s high-performance building solutions include proven materials for structural and protective glazing, weatherproofing, insulating glass, window and door fabrication, and building materials protection, as well as innovations for high-efficiency insulation, LED lighting, thermal management systems, and the incorporation of photovoltaic cells and solar panels into building design. Visit www.dow.com/construction to learn more.

About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines one of the broadest technology sets in the industry with asset integration, focused innovation and global scale to achieve profitable growth and become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company. Dow’s portfolio of performance materials, industrial intermediates and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated science-based products and solutions for our customers in high-growth segments, such as packaging, infrastructure and consumer care. Dow operates 113 manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 37,000 people. Dow delivered pro forma sales of approximately $50 billion in 2018. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter.


For further information please contact:

Valeria Perazzini
+41-44.728.30.53
vperazzini@dow.com