Tamayouz Excellence Award announced the winners of its International Graduation Projects Award. The first place winner is almuna Lesia Topolnyk! She won a 2 Years MSc Scholarship in Milan. Lesia graduated (cum laude) in 2018 from the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture. In 2019 she won the Archiprix International / Hunter Douglas Award 2019 in Chile and also the (shared) first prize at the Dutch Archiprix in 2019.
International Graduation Projects Award 2019
The purpose of this architectural design award is to recognize the excellence in architectural design and education worldwide and showcase excellent architectural examples to promote and provoke architectural debate to share architectural experience and knowledge among young architects and academics. This award is an Open International Student Award, all final year architecture and architecture design technology students studying anywhere in the world are eligible to participate
Un-United Nations Headquarters
In Lesia Topolnyks project, ‘Un-United Nations Headquarters’, the architect examined new opportunities emerging within the interlocking realms of politics and architecture. The author explores the role of architecture in absorbing conflict and fostering its fruitfulness within a divided society. The project transforms the Sevastopol naval base into a trade port, positioning Crimea as a gateway to Ukraine and Russia.
Jury Comments
“This project was brilliantly drawn and explained. It is provocative and was chosen as a seed for debate regarding the role architecture can play in drawing attention to conflicts.”
“The building creates a space for discussion within a radical form in contradiction to orthodox typologies. It resolves complex social interconnectivity with clarity and simplicity. The site was well-chosen for its connection to both local and global political situations.”
“The project was measured by the panel more as a manifesto for the power of architecture to transform societal conventions, rather than as a real architectonic proposal. However, with that said, the programme is completely uninterrupted by any other architectural, cultural, constructional, or economic forces. It simply creates a corridor. It is admirable for its simplicity and for creating an architecture that does exactly what it intends to – provide a vessel for political discussion.”