Designs for supportive housing for people living with young-onset Alzheimer's, a sustainable timber building to host United Nations discussions on a patch of concrete in Chingford, and a poetic dissertation reflecting on architecture for healthcare have all won 2023 RIBA President’s Medals.
Now in their 187th year, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) President’s Medals recognise the world’s best work of architecture students through design projects and dissertations.
The winning projects demonstrate a strong focus on how architecture can address the needs of people and their communities. Rooted in personal lived experience, examining health and social care and ecosystem restoration, RIBA President Muyiwa Oki has called this year’s projects “the useful architecture we need”.
The RIBA Silver Medal for the best design project produced at RIBA Part 2 or equivalent, is awarded to Ellie Harding at the London School of Architecture for Nobody Wants to Live in a Care Home. This is the first time a student from the school has won the award.
Alzheimer’s disease is not limited to the elderly and supportive housing options fail to reflect this, meaning people diagnosed with young-onset Alzheimer’s, often with young families, can face difficult choices. Nobody Wants to Live in a Care Home enables families to continue to live together and asks how an architectural understanding of the effects of Alzheimer’s on spatial perception can be used to create better spaces for those living with the disease.
On receiving the 2023 RIBA Silver Medal, Ellie Harding said:
“I am deeply honoured to receive the Silver Medal. I would like to thank RIBA and the judging panel for their recognition of this project, that seeks to improve the lives of people living with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. I was inspired by the lived experiences of a close friend, and I am proud to advocate for better spaces which support the whole family. It is an absolute privilege to be the first student from The London School of Architecture to receive this award, and I would like to celebrate my fantastic tutors, faculty and peers who make it a truly dynamic and forward-thinking place to study.”
Commendations in the RIBA Silver Medal category:
- Ammara Asdar at the Architectural Association London for The Inbetween
- Kyle Stone and Jacob Shaw at the University of Plymouth for Tracing Thresholds: Landscape Production
- Elliott Wang at the London School of Architecture for The Grand Domestic
The RIBA Bronze Medal for the best design project produced at RIBA Part 1 or equivalent and the RIBA Part 1 Award for Sustainable Design are awarded to Kacper Sehnke at the University of Westminster for The Council for Ecosystem Restoration.
The proposed building turns a concrete-covered site in Epping Forest into the host of the United Nations Decade for Ecosystems Restoration project, serving as a platform for political discussions, research, and lobbying to protect and restore global ecosystems. Made from recycled and upcycled local timber, the building embraces regenerative principles, combining technical and biological circularity strategies, and prioritising habitat restoration.
On receiving the 2023 RIBA Bronze Medal, Kacper Sehnke said:
“Receiving this award is such a great honour! I would like to express my gratitude to RIBA and the judges for selecting my project and for offering architecture students worldwide an opportunity to showcase their work. I’d like to also thank my tutors who helped me in pushing the project beyond its limits, and to the course leader and head of school for nominating my project among others. I want to extend this thank you to everyone who was involved in the project throughout the year, as it would not have been possible without their contributions and guidance.”
Commendations in the RIBA Bronze Medal category:
- RIBA Bronze Medal Commended and Part 1 Serjeant Award for Excellence in Drawing: Michael Becker at the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture for A Habit of Building: Considering Labour, the Architect and the Construction Site
- Stephanie Ng at Central Saint Martins, UAL for Life in Common: Re-enchanting the City through Urban Commoning
- Gus Eynon Richards at the University of Greenwich for Cofio Celyn: Remember Celyn
The RIBA Dissertation Medal is awarded to Chloe Shang at the Royal College of Art for Poems from the Patient Patient \ Finding Amor Fati. Chloe also received the 2022 RIBA Wren Insurance Scholarship to support her studies, and this is the first time a student from the Royal College of Art has won the Dissertation Medal.
Grounded in testimony and lived experience, this poetic dissertation explores the agency of writing as a method of healing, and the inequalities, contradictions and opportunities facing the contemporary health system, discussing how the design and construction of our healthcare spaces can be changed.
On receiving the 2023 RIBA Dissertation Medal, Chloe Shang said:
“It is an amazing honour to be awarded this year’s Dissertation Medal. I want to say the biggest thank you to RIBA, the judges, my tutors, the RCA, and my loved ones for their encouragement of this work, and with whom I share the joy of its recognition. Writing about healthcare is challenging because it is seldom explored or celebrated in architecture school - yet these spaces have such a powerful opportunity to inspire hope and healing when we need them most. I hope that my work may continue to challenge perceptions, and instil enthusiasm, in the future of healthcare architecture.”
Commendations in the RIBA Dissertation Medal category:
- Kieran Lindsay at the University of Dundee for A Project of Autonomy: Renegotiating the Border as a Condition of Collectivity
- Kai McLaughlin at the Bartlett School of Architecture for Insidious and Messy Hybridity: Reframing Japanese Identity
- Giulia Rosa at the Architectural Association for Going Beyond the Layers of the Facade. After Performance, Towards Care
The RIBA Awards for Sustainable Design, acknowledging the importance of climate action in the development of architectural design proposals, have been awarded for the fifth year. At Part 1, it is awarded to Kacper Sehnke at the University of Westminster (alongside the RIBA Bronze Medal) for The Council for Ecosystem Restoration. At Part 2, it is awarded to Chew Shan Wei at the University of Bath for The Udaipur Plastic School.
The Serjeant Awards for Excellence in Drawing, presented in memory of Denis Serjeant, a founding member of the 1981 RIBA Student Prizes Group, have been awarded to Michael Becker at the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (alongside a RIBA Bronze Medal Commendation) for A Habit of Building: Considering Labour, the Architect and the Construction Site at Part 1, and to Chloe Dalby at Newcastle University for Earth’s Breath: Wind and Wild at Part 2. A Commendation of the Serjeant Award at Part 2 went to Zibo Zhang at the Royal College of Art for Folgelandschaft.
RIBA President Muyiwa Oki said:
“This year’s RIBA President’s Medals showcase the exemplary work of architecture students from across the globe. The talent, creativity and sensitivity demonstrated in the winning and commended projects reassure me that the future of architecture is in safe hands.
This year, perhaps more than in any previous years, we have seen entries that speak to what it means to be human on a planet in crisis. In this challenging context, students have dared to dream by elevating technical scale and ambition, by supporting physical and mental well-being, and by tackling the climate emergency head-on.
I was humbled by the way that students so confidently addressed issues that stem from their own personal experiences and developed them into grounded and solid architectural proposals that are truly remarkable in their creative ambition, accomplished resolution, and above all, in their considerate ethical and social stance.
The winning proposals are anchored by a sense of creating and shaping a better today and tomorrow – it is the useful architecture we need. For the next generation of architects, designing for the climate emergency is intrinsically linked to health and wellbeing – increasing our standard of living. Theirs is a future where everyone, individually and collectively, plays a part in shaping better spaces for all.
Congratulations to the winners and thank you to the tutors and schools who have nurtured and supported them. I cannot wait to have them as new colleagues.”
Notes to editors:
- Media contact: Ruby.OShea@riba.org
- Download high-quality images here.
- The RIBA President’s Medals were established in 1836 and are RIBA’s oldest awards. www.presidentsmedals.com features all nominations made since 1998. The site includes a comprehensive visual archive of tens of thousands of images and statements produced by students, as well as photographs and films of the judging of entries, the awards ceremonies, and interviews with the winners.
- In 2023 the RIBA President’s Medals had the highest ever number of entries in their 187-year-old history: 348 entries nominated by 100 schools of architecture located in 35 countries.
- 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.
- RIBA Future Architects is our community for future and emerging architects, designed to support, inspire and provide a voice during the transition from study to practice. Follow us on Instagram @RIBAEducation for advice and information about studying architecture, exclusive events and opportunities.
- This year’s judging panels included:
Silver Medal:
- Chair - Mina Hasman: Sustainability Director at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Visiting Professor of Climate Change at Manchester School of Architecture, RIBA Council Member. She is also Deputy Chair of the Construction Industry Council’s Climate Change Committee, and a Board Member at the UK Green Building Council.
- Helen Iball: Reader in Architecture and Department Education Lead at Manchester School of Architecture. She is also a member of the RIBA Education and Learning Committee.
- David Hills: Founding Director at DSDHA. David has lectured widely in the UK and abroad and has led units at London Metropolitan University, Cambridge University and the Architectural Association. He is a member of the RIBA Research Development Group.
- Albert Williamson-Taylor: Co-Founder and Director at AKT II, tutor at the Architectural Association, and RIBA Honorary Fellow.
- Nana Biamah-Ofosu: Director of YAA Projects, tutor at the Architectural Association.
- Shawn Adams: Tutor at Central St Martins, UAL and the Architectural Association, Outreach Lead at Housing Specialist company HTA Design LLP, and co-founder of POoR Collective. He is a member of the RIBA Education Development Group.
Bronze Medal:
- Chair - Elena Marco: Pro-Vice Chancellor and Head of College for Arts, Technology and Environment at University of the West of England, and Non-Executive Board Member at the Architects Registration Board.
- Jonathan Hagos: Director of Freehaus Director, Architects’ Journal 40 under 40, Mayor of London Design Advocate, LLDC Quality Design Review Panel Member, Hackney RDAG Panel member & Design Museum Ardagh Young Creatives Mentor.
- Oya Atalay Franck: President, European Association for Architectural Education and Dean, ZHAW Architecture Design and Civil Engineering.
- Hamza Shaikh: Digital Artist and Architect at Gensler.
- Grace Choi: Director at Grace Choi Architects and Co-Chair of RIBA North East.
- Oli Cunningham: Deputy Head of Architecture and Architecture Course Leader at Sheffield Hallam University.
Dissertation Medal:
- Chair - Samir Pandya: Architect and Assistant Head of the School of Architecture and Cities, University of Westminster, where he is also Director of International and Strategic Lead for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion.
- Patti Anahory: Architect and Designer, Co-Founder of Storia na Lugar, a storytelling and counter-narrative platform.
- Belgin Turan Ozkaya: Professor of Architectural History at Middle East Technical University.
- Luca Molinari: Architect, critic, curator, full professor of Theory and Architectural Design at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli.
- Richard Anderson: Professor of Architectural History and Theory and Head of Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.
- Katy Beinart: Artist and Senior Lecturer in Architecture at the University of Brighton.
