i8 editors’ note Holiday times are busy times. At DarMagazine we’ve been busy too, collecting articles from previously uncovered Dar Group members, welcoming readers from major Middle Eastern universities that recently added us to their library collections, and becoming more sustainable by switching to recycled paper and reducing our print circulation by offering an online version. We’re excited about this special January issue, which brings together a wide variety of articles. Big visions take center stage in the Makkah Haram and Kuwait GreenTech Corridor articles. Our interview with the Minister of Transport & Communications in Oman also gives us a national perspective on the transport sector. As usual, we present some unique technical challenges encountered (and eventually solved) by our engineers, from deriving rainfall Intensity-DurationFrequency relationships in Angola, to designing state-of-the-art pavements in Oman and reducing vibrations in a laboratory facility. Updates from our network are here too. Be sure to read about the awards for Elementa and Perkins+Will, the update on Dar Amman premises, and Penspen’s preview of how it is gearing up for the future. Finally, we proudly include three stories on how our work has promoted civic engagement. These articles are: the East Ham Civic Campus project by Currie & Brown, The Center for Victims of Torture by Perkins+Will and the public consultation for the Bisri Dam, which saw Dar pioneer civilian participation in Lebanon. Enjoy this issue, whether you’re reading it on 90% post-recycled paper or your screen. And a happy 2015.