The Architects’ Journal Architecture News & Buildings
The AJ Student Prize celebrates the brilliant emerging talent of students graduating from undergraduate and postgraduate architecture courses across the UK.
The prize is in its fifth year, and we are delighted to have had 146 entries in total, with almost every RIBA and ARB-accredited school entering students’ work in at least one category. Below, we showcase every entry in the undergraduate and postgraduate categories, which were sent in by 56 out of the 57 UK architecture schools. Submitted by tutors, the entries are listed alphabetically by university name alongside key data from each school and department.
It is fantastic to see an entry submitted on behalf of an architect apprentice, a scheme ever more schools are supporting, reflecting how alternative routes into the profession are growing.
It is interesting to note that more men than women were entered this year. Whether this says something more generally about architecture education at present is difficult to judge, but keep an eye out on the AJ’s website to see the results of our 2022 Student Survey.
Each entry includes 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, which highlights the students’ responses to social and environmental issues (to be published on 23 September). This year we had 45 entries in this category – a record. With the help of AJ Sustainability Editor Hattie Hartman, these have been whittled down to a shortlist of 10.
Last year, perhaps because of the pandemic and home-learning, many entries were based on real-life sites close to home. In contrast, many of this year’s sites are further afield, with significantly more in rural locations. Learning about a diverse selection of sites makes for an interesting read; all are very different contextually, but are experiencing similar environmental, social and political threats. The projects also demonstrate a certain level of escapism and alternative ways of living – and there’s more work exploring celestial and historical issues. Some projects go back in time, some into the future and some out of this earth.
Supported by Marley and Lancaster University, the AJ Student Prize celebration event will be held on 6 October 2022 at the London offices of Sheppard Robson, which is kindly hosting it and at which we will announce the winners in the three categories. Our judges will include head of sustainability at Haworth Tompkins Diana Dina, 2020 winner and co-founder of POoR Collective Shawn Adams, Feilden Fowles co-founder Edmund Fowles, and Des Fagan, head of architecture at Lancaster University. Check here for details of the event.
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 | James Taylor | – |
| Architectural Association | London | Sindi Dojaka | Thomas Faulkner |
| Arts University Bournemouth | South West | Mimi Deane | Christian Murphy |
| Birmingham City University | West Midlands | Hira Khan | Michelle Gartside |
| Cardiff University | Wales | Luke Hadley | Josh Towl |
| Centre for Alternative Technology | Wales | – | Freya Bruce, Simon Elliston, Polly Orton, Marvina Sinjari, Maria Tanasescu |
| Coventry University | West Midlands | Weronika Galecka | Jack Windridge |
| De Montfort University | East Midlands | Samuel Mcleod | Joseph White |
| Falmouth University | South West | Nathan Tipping-Stevenson | – |
| Glasgow School of Art | Scotland | Joseph Murray | Karlis Kukainis |
| Kingston University London | London | Keir Booton | Mungo Adam-Smith |
| Leeds Beckett University | Yorkshire | Jake Lord | Amy Ferguson |
| Liverpool John Moores University | North West | Ali Dahshan | Ed Taft |
| London Metropolitan University | London | Robin Simpson | Annette Desouza |
| The London School of Architecture | London | – | Sebastian Maher |
| London South Bank University | London | Timothy Percival | Ivan Ignatov |
| Loughborough University | East Midlands | Lewis Foster-Jeapes | Daniel Jordan |
| Newcastle University | North East | Joyce Lam | Jake Williams-Deoraj |
| Northumbria University | North East | Liam Philpot | Miranda Hornsby |
| Norwich University of the Arts | East | Luke Burrows | – |
| Nottingham Trent University | East Midlands | Louis Huband | Susannah Hudson |
| Oxford Brookes University | South and South East | Simon Bossen | Samuel Huntley |
| Queen’s University Belfast | Northern Ireland | Malgorzata Migut | Darcy Carroll |
| Ravensbourne University London | London | Dre Soliman | Jack Breakspear |
| Robert Gordon University | Scotland | – | Rafal Baczek |
| Royal College of Art | London | – | Anna Russell |
| Sheffield Hallam University | Yorkshire | Charles Mahony | Nathan Stocks |
| Ulster University | Northern Ireland | Conor Quinn | Zoë Gibson |
| University College London (The Bartlett) | London | Joe Russell | Annabelle Tan |
| University for the Creative Arts | South and South East | Elena Gruber | Keerthigan Thavaseelan |
| University of Bath | South West | Olivia Van Wersch | Benjamin Rowley, Georgina Rose, Lara Miller, Rachel Foreman, Ru Quan Phuah and Yanru He |
| University of Brighton | South and South East | Cicely Bryant | Zulf Rajwani |
| University of Cambridge | East | James Harrison | Yousuf Khalil |
| University of Central Lancashire | North West | Boniface Atu | Michal Ochnio |
| University of Dundee | Scotland | Maya Barnes | Mayya Potvar |
| University of East London | London | Hamda Jama | Dan Strassburg |
| University of Edinburgh | Scotland | Felix Wilson | Daniel Cutler and Charlie Donaldson |
| University of Greenwich | London | Devis Tako | William Munroe |
| University of Hertfordshire | South and South East | Sebastian Evans | Josip Pijevic |
| University of Huddersfield | Yorkshire | Ethan Barrett | Ana Stan |
| University of Kent | South and South East | Ian Angeles Canlas | Christopher Mahoney |
| University of Leeds | Yorkshire | Lauren George | – |
| University of Lincoln | East Midlands | Angus Lilburn | Thomas Bromley |
| University of Liverpool | North West | Zihan Zhang | Gemma Bartle, Bonnie Jackson and Victoria Robertson |
| University of Manchester/Manchester Metropolitan University | North West | Tom Scott | Millie Evans |
| University of Nottingham | East Midlands | Max Worrall | Christopher Bennett |
| University of Plymouth | South West | Dafyn Richards | Joshua Earl, Chris Trigg and Aaron Walkley |
| University of Portsmouth | South and South East | Benjamin Roe | Ben Robinson |
| University of Reading | South and South East | Daryl Cother | – |
| University of Sheffield | Yorkshire | Caitlin Pugh | Balraj Sehmi and Ben Warren |
| University of Strathclyde | Scotland | Catherine Campbell | Daniel Timofan |
| University of the Arts London | London | – | Alexandros Xenophontos |
| University of the West of England | South West | James Reed | Yonas Berhe |
| University of Wales Trinity Saint David | Wales | James Aneurin | – |
| University of Westminster | London | Reece Murray | Rebecca Kelly |
| University of Wolverhampton | West Midlands | Hardeep Ratna | – |
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