2019 Student Design Awards: Winners announced
Finalists and winners from the 2019 Student Design Awards. Top row, from left: Abdallah Alayan, Jeremy Priest, Nicole Teh, Wesley Twiss, Joseph Wellwood, Eva Jenkin, Jacob Bowden, Patrick Kelly. Botton row, from left: Maito Akiyama, Ekta Nathu, Ryan Western, Kun Tao.
Abdallah Alayan’s winning project proposed four non-denominational pilgrimage structures on a trail from Te Anau to Milford Sound.
Jeremy Priest’s winning project put forth an example for a modern learning environment for architecture students and protested the closing of his university’s Architecture Library.
The Student Design Awards, run by Te Kahui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA), honoured two projects this year from University of Auckland students: Abdallah Alayan’s architectural pilgrimage through Fiordland and Jeremy Priest’s project in protest of the closure of the university’s Architecture Library.
This is the first time the Student Design Awards has crowned two winners. “The two winning projects are very different but equally meritorious,” Institute president and convenor of the jury Tim Melville said. “They are highly accomplished pieces of work that illustrate architecture’s ability to respond to social and political conditions, identify issues and offer solutions.” Melville was joined on the jury by Auckland architect Courtney Kitchen and Melbourne architect Amelia Borg.
Alayan, who was also a finalist in this year’s Interior Awards, entered a project that proposes four non-denominational pilgrimage structures on a trail from Te Anau to Milford Sound. “By focusing on what people can all share – a sense of awe in the face of natural wonder – instead of what can drive them apart – the exclusivity of particular belief systems – Abdallah has provided a compelling vision for peaceful co-existence in Aotearoa,” Melville commented.
The other winning project by Priest puts forth an example for a modern learning environment for architecture students. Melville noted, “Jeremy’s design mixes dissent and satire with a positive prescription for teaching spaces that reflect the realities of contemporary architectural education and practice.”
Both winners received a $5,000 cash prize and a $1,500 travel grant. Additionally, Patrick Kelly from Victoria University of Wellington and Kun Tao of Unitec took home travel grants for their highly commended projects. Kelly’s entry was an architectural translation of Ulysses and Tao’s project proposed a building in Auckland’s Aotea Square that exposes to the public the realities of dairy production and its waste by-products.
Melville concluded, “It was great to see imaginative work addressing important issues such as health, education and community welfare, climate change, building in sensitive ecosystems, and dealing with waste and polluting industries.”
The NZIA Student Design Awards are supported by Resene. Read more about the finalists and winning projects here.
