The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has awarded the 2018 RIBA President’s Medal for Research to Chris Hildrey of Hildrey Studio for 'ProxyAddress: Using Location Data to Reconnect Those Facing Homelessness with Support Services'.
Chris Hildrey’s project addresses one of the main causes of homelessness in the UK: the end of an ‘assured shorthold tenancy’, where a landlord is legally entitled to issue a possession order.
ProxyAddress tackles this issue through collaborative research and real-world application. It creates a database of long-term empty properties, which serve as ‘proxy’ addresses to be used throughout periods of instability. By giving homeless people a consistent address, they are able to retain access to vital support services, which may otherwise be lost.
ProxyAddress was selected as the Medal winner from other recipients of the 2018 RIBA President’s Awards for Research, which were also announced yesterday evening (Tuesday 4 December).
The RIBA President’s Awards for Research were given in four categories: Cities and Community; Design and Technical; History and Theory; and this year’s theme: Ethics and Sustainable Development.
Cities and Community:
- Chris Hildrey, Hildrey Studio
'ProxyAddress: Using Location Data to Reconnect Those Facing Homelessness with Support Services'
Design and Technical:
- Dr Kostas Grigoriadis, Architectural Association School of Architecture
'Computational Blends: The Epistemology of Designing with Functionally Graded Materials'
History and Theory:
- Prof Jane Rendell, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
'May Mo(u)rn: transitional spaces in architecture and psychoanalysis – a site-writing.'
Ethics and Sustainable Development:
- Roland Karthaus, Anthony Hu & Lucy Block, Matter Architecture
'Redesigning Prison - the Architecture and Ethics of Rehabilitation'
RIBA President Ben Derbyshire said:
“Congratulations to all our research winners – I am inspired to see the range of inquiry and interrogation, which is vital to the development of our profession. I think it is particularly important to highlight those practices winning our top awards. Hildrey Studio and Matter Architecture are both small, young practices, who despite their size are tackling serious social issues and working with government to influence policy. The RIBA Research Medal is the latest in a number of accolades that Chris Hildrey’s project to address the devastation of homelessness has deservedly received. This work is representative of a trend in research submissions that are people focused: generating knowledge and ideas that seek to improve our way of living in the built environment. I look forward to seeing Chris’s project progress.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. For further press information contact: Abigail.Chiswell-White@riba.org 020 7307 3811
2. Images of the 2018 RIBA President’s Medal for Research winning project can be downloaded here.
3. Images of the 2018 President’s Awards for Research (by category) can be downloaded here.
4. The 2018, RIBA President's Awards for Research Book of Abstracts is available here.
5. The jury for the RIBA President’s Awards for Research 2018 was chaired by Dr Elizabeth Darling (Reader in Architectural History, Oxford Brookes University) and was comprised of Chris Stewart (Director, Collective Architecture); Dr Cristina Cerulli (Senior Lecturer in Architecture, Sheffield Hallam University); Ian Wroot (Head of Architecture, Liverpool John Moores University); Mark Lumley (Associate Director, Architype); Prof Ruth Morrow (Professor of Architecture, Queen's University Belfast) and Xavier De Kestelier (Head of Design Technology and Innovation, Hassell Studio).
6. The theme and dates for 2019 President’s Awards for Research will be announced in February.
7. Commendations were also given to the following projects:
Ethics and Sustainable Development:
- Dr David Roberts, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
'Reflect Critically and Act Fearlessly: A Survey of Ethical Codes, Guidance and Access in Built Environment Practice'
Cities and Community:
- Dr Jingru Cheng, Royal College of Art
'Care and Rebellion: The Dissolved Household in Contemporary Rural China'
Cities and Community:
- Dr Huda Tayob, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
'Opaque Architectures: Urban Sites of Refuge in Cape Town (1990 - present)'
Design and Technical:
- Laura Dávila Ponce de León, Justin Bere, Alex Whitcroft, bere:architects
'Alexandre Pecourt, Clément Castel, Energelio, France'
- Graham Taylor, Darke & Taylor
'Viability of ‘house as power station’ concept in a North European climate'
History and Theory:
- Shahed Saleem, Architecture and Cities, University of Westminster
'An architectural and social history of the mosque in Britain 1889-2017'
8. For general enquiries about the President’s Awards for Research contact research@riba.org.
9. The RIBA President's Awards for Research were established in 2006 in order to reward and encourage outstanding research in architecture carried out by students, academics and practitioners.
10. The Royal Institute of British Architects (@RIBA) is a global professional membership body that serves its members and society in order to deliver better buildings and places, stronger communities and a sustainable environment.
