Winners of the 2016 RIBA President's Awards for Research

The Royal Institute of British Architects announced today four winners of the 2016 President's Awards for Research, which recognizes top-quality architectural research from academics and practitioners, and encourages strategic and original thought in the field. This year's competition received 75 applications from 14 countries on five continents, making it the “most competitive to date and highlighting the strength of the winning work,” says Dr. Kat Martindale, RIBA Head of Research and Innovation.

One winner was selected for each of the four categories: Cities and Community; Design and Technical; History and Theory; and the annual Learning from Projects theme. Then out of those four winners, the 2016 RIBA President’s Medal for Research for best research project went to Dr. Edward Denison, Medhanie Teklemariam, and Dawit Abraha for their project, “Asmara – Africa’s Modernist City: UNESCO World Heritage Nomination”.

“The research from this year’s cohort spans cutting edge technologies, reflective historical work and addresses one of the most prominent contemporary issues both in the UK and around the world, that of ‘home’,” said Dr. Kat Martindale in a statement. “Particular congratulations go to the winners of the President’s Medal for Research [...] whose work has the potential to transform how Eritrea and African architecture are viewed.”

Scroll down for a glimpse of the winning projects.

History and Theory: Dr Edward Denison, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, UK; Medhanie Teklemariam and Dawit Abraha, Asmara Heritage Project, Eritrea
Project: “Asmara – Africa’s Modernist City: UNESCO World Heritage Nomination”

Cities and Community: Dr Irit Katz, University of Cambridge, UK
Project: “The Common Camp: Temporary Settlements as a Spatio-political Instrument in Israel-Palestine”

Design and Technical: Dr Michael Ramage and Dr Rob Foster, University of Cambridge, UK; Simon Smith, Smith and Wallwork, UK; Kevin Flanagan and Ron Bakker, PLP Architecture, UK 
Project: “Supertall Timber: Design Research for the Next Generation of Natural Structure”

Learning from Projects: David Roberts, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, UK
Project: “Make Public: Performing Public Housing in Ernö Goldfinger’s Balfron Tower”

All images courtesy of RIBA.