The Architects’ Journal Architecture News & Buildings
The AJ Student Prize, now in its sixth year, celebrates the talent of students completing undergraduate and postgraduate architecture courses. Submitted by tutors of ARB and RIBA-accredited programmes, the entries are listed alphabetically by university name (see table below) alongside key data from each school.
Community is the word mentioned time and time again among the entries. It’s now the norm that student projects are distinctly community-centred. But it also reflects a recognition in the industry that is filtering down to university level: that architecture is about so much more than the ‘architect’; rather it is a product of our communities, of collaboration and of listening.
The Waterside Workshop by Luke Collinson, MArch graduate at the University of Reading
Many of this year’s briefs were set in reaction to the crises of our era: housing, cost of living and, above all, climate. But the student projects remain optimistic, looking to the future rather than the past. And they aren’t utopian – and for sure aren’t dystopian. This cohort of students may well be anarchistic and wildly innovative yet they remain largely realistic in their approaches.
There seems to be a recognition that ‘luxury’ projects are no longer of importance, and neither is teaching students how to design them. The emphasis, rather, is on changing our world for the better and finding new ways of practising that address the looming shadows of climate crisis.
Play at the Playtower by Kristiāna Genca, BA (Hons) Interior Design Environment Architectures graduate at Ravensbourne University London
All entries are available to view online for free, with each including the student’s description of their project plus a short citation from their tutors. Prizes will be awarded in three categories: undergraduate, postgraduate and the Sustainability Award (to be published on 22 September), which highlights the students’ responses to social and environmental issues.
The 2023 judging panel includes returning judge Ed Fowles of Feilden Fowles, Betty Owoo of Be First and Rachel Hoolahan, sustainability co-ordinator at Orms. Sponsored by Marley, the AJ Student Prize celebration event will be held on 12 October 2023 at Perkins & Will’s offices at 150 Holborn, London – click here for free tickets.
The nominees and schools
Click on the school name to view student work and school information
View all the entries here
| School | Region | Undergraduate nominee | Postgraduate nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anglia Ruskin University | East | Nicole Cook | – |
| Architectural Association | London | Liča Anić | Seonwoo Kim |
| Arts University Bournemouth | South West | Joshua Crooks | Edan Turner |
| Birmingham City University | West Midlands | Simran Mahmood | Andreea-Claudia Buzuloi |
| Cardiff Metropolitan University | Wales | Elaeth James | – |
| Cardiff University | Wales | Piotr Hejdysz | Megan King |
| Centre for Alternative Technology | Wales | – | Nina Xenitidou, Chris Da’costa, Waldo Olwage, Becca Illingworth, Luke Parmenter |
| Coventry University | West Midlands | Mohammad Zahidi | Nadezhda Semashko |
| De Montfort University | East Midlands | Jake Southcombe | Mehul Ashok Jethwa |
| Falmouth University | South West | Eva Meredith | – |
| Glasgow School of Art | Scotland | Jack Kerr | Antonia Haedlam-Morley |
| Kingston University London | London | Charlie Fox | Farah Anwar |
| Leeds Beckett University | Yorkshire | John Samuel Rigby | Johan Visser |
| Liverpool John Moores University | North West | Claudia Luca | Jareth Sigat |
| London Metropolitan University | London | Amalia Ribac | Jonathan Mortlock |
| London South Bank University | London | Aimie Cheetham | Uran Jerlija |
| Loughborough University | East Midlands | Lily Taamallah | Daniel Jordan |
| Newcastle University | North East | Tsz Ying Ella Hui | Senjeeven Mungapen |
| Northumbria University | North East | Tim Caswell | Sara Hurley |
| Norwich University of the Arts | East | Finlay Irvine | – |
| Nottingham Trent University | East Midlands | Elliot Whatling | Zana Kentish Brade |
| Oxford Brookes University | South and South East | Richard Evans | Eloise Collier |
| Queen’s University Belfast | Northern Ireland | Charlotte Henrich | Adéla Vagová |
| Ravensbourne University London | London | Kristiāna Genca | Sumaia Abbas |
| Robert Gordon University | Scotland | Calum McLeod-Petrie | Maxwell Wilson |
| Royal College of Art | London | – | Samuel Kumar |
| Sheffield Hallam University | Yorkshire | Tom Beckett | Chris Jenkins |
| The London School of Architecture | London | – | Elliott Wang |
| Ulster University | Northern Ireland | – | Amar Chekchak |
| University College London (The Bartlett) | London | Cosmin Ticus | Giorgos Christofi |
| University for the Creative Arts | South and South East | Jordan Edwards | Maksymilian Molsa |
| University of Bath | South West | Jamie Ferguson | Abbey O’Rawe |
| University of Brighton | South and South East | William Marr | Charles Palmer |
| University of Cambridge | East | Valeriia Chemerisova | Samuel Walton |
| University of Central Lancashire | North West | Phoenix Beardall-Tang | Michelle Jesse |
| University of Dundee | Scotland | Finley McCallum | Yavor Nedelchev |
| University of East London | London | Agata Nyckowska | Stephano Binoi Varikkanikkal |
| University of Edinburgh | Scotland | Arada Chitmeesilp | Gus Nicholds |
| University of Greenwich | London | Philipp Osmakov | Charles Truman |
| University of Hertfordshire | South and South East | Henrique Lemos | Lukshay Beegun |
| University of Huddersfield | Yorkshire | Connor Peel-Kelly | – |
| University of Kent | South and South East | Hui Wen Tan | Mohammed Alsafi |
| University of Lancaster | North West | Charlotte Pugh | – |
| University of Leeds | Yorkshire | Rachel Derricut | – |
| University of Lincoln | East Midlands | Alex Bussingham | Lois Revill |
| University of Liverpool | North West | Louis Swift | Vova Duniak, Aidil Bin Supaat Faizi, Chin Fung So, Yue Zhu |
| University of Manchester/Manchester Metropolitan University | North West | Takumi Miller | Yunqi Zhang |
| University of Nottingham | East Midlands | Myriah Curi | Andrew Paterson |
| University of Plymouth | South West | Tyler Youngs | Thomas Grimer |
| University of Portsmouth | South and South East | Andrew Pizzey | Daniel Dehghani |
| University of Reading | South and South East | Cameron Wilkie-Allan | Luke Collinson |
| University of Salford | North West | – | Daniela Atzori |
| University of Sheffield | Yorkshire | Yiming Zhou | Max Bridge, Dimitar Zhelev |
| University of Strathclyde | Scotland | – | Catherine Campbell |
| University of the Arts London | London | Stephanie Ng | Dilushanan Selvarajah |
| University of the West of England Bristol | South West | Adam Grover | Dulmini Perera |
| University of Wales Trinity Saint David | Wales | Nicholas Smith | – |
| University of Westminster | London | Adelina Ivan | Estera Badelita |
| University of Wolverhampton | West Midlands | Abrar Addahi | – |
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