The 2018 RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship has been awarded to Steven Hutt from the University of Greenwich for his proposal ‘East of Eden’ which will explore nature in eastern mega-cities.
The RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship supports a student of architecture with a period of international research on a topic and at locations of his or her own choosing. The £7,000 scholarship provides the successful student with experience, confidence and a reputation as they move into the professional world of architecture.
Steven’s travels will begin in Taiwan, where he will investigate the ‘Sanzhi Pod City’, a dilapidated city that has become a breeding ground for five new species of orchid
mantis. From there he will travel to China to explore the wider Pearl River Delta, a rapidly growing concrete jungle with conditions that also allow other species to thrive and then onto Shanghai, Beijing and South Korea, looking at local infrastructures and cultural attitudes towards urban wildlife. In the final leg of the journey, Steven will cycle from Fukuoka to Tokyo in Japan documenting the rural and urban landscapes.
The 2018 scholarship jury was comprised of:
The jury also commended the entries ‘The Worlds Waste: What Happens Once Waste’s in the Bin’ by Jemma Chapman of Ravensbourne and ‘Sensecity’ by Kitty Byrne of the Mackintosh School of Architecture, Glasgow School of Art.
Lord Foster said:
“This year saw the highest number of entries to the Scholarship, and as ever the standard was extremely high, which gave the jury an extremely challenging task. In the end, we all felt the winning proposal dealt with a topic that was extremely relevant given the accelerating pace of urbanisation in Asia and the rest of the world. The relationship between nature and the city will be a key aspect, as we seek to develop the sustainable cities of the future, and I look forward to seeing the findings Steven Hutt’s research that he will carry out during his journey through China, South Korea and Japan.”
RIBA President Ben Derbyshire said:
“I am delighted that the 2018 RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship has been awarded to Steven Hutt from the University of Greenwich. I admire Steven’s proposal to visit some of the fastest growing cities in the world to explore how urban wildlife cohabits with humans. I wish him well on his travels and very much look forward to his research findings.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. For further press information contact Abigail Chiswell-White at Abigail.Chiswell-White@riba.org or +44 (0)20 7307 3811
2. First established in 2006, the scholarship is now in its eleventh year and is intended to fund international research on a topic related to the survival of our towns and cities, in a location of the student’s choice. Past RIBA Norman Foster Scholars have travelled through the Americas, Europe, Africa, South East Asia, the Middle and the Far East, and Russia.
3. Past recipients of the RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship:
2017: Chloe Loader - University of Lincoln, UK
‘Emerging Cities: Sustainable Master-Planning in the Global South’
2016: Abel Feleke - University of Western Australia, Australia
‘Weaving the Urban Fabric: Examining the Significance of Community’
2015: Charles Palmer - University of Sheffield, UK
‘Cycling Megacities’
2014: Joe Paxton - Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL), UK
‘Buffer Landscapes 2060
2013: Sigita Burbulyte - Bath University, UK
‘Charles Booth Going Abroad’
2012: Thomas Aquilina - University of Edinburgh, UK
‘Material Economies: Recycling Practices in Informal Settlements Along
African Longitude 30’
2011: Sahil Bipin Deshpande - Rizvi College of Architecture, Mumbai, India
‘Sanitation: A Case Study across Eight Metropolises’
2010: Andrew Mackintosh - Robert Gordon University, UK
‘In Search of Cold Spaces’
2009: Amanda Rivera – University of Bio Bio, Chile
‘Ancestral Cities, Ancestral Sustainability’
2008: Faizan Jawed Siddiqi - Rizvi College of Architecture, Mumbai, India
‘The Role of Public Transport in Shaping Sustainable Humane Habitats: Case
Studies Across Three Continents
2007: Ben Masterton-Smith - Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL), UK
‘Emerging East: Exploring and Experiencing the East Asian Communist City’
4. 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. Follow @RIBA on Twitter for regular updates www.twitter.com/RIBA
