Spanish social housing pioneer Cris Ballester Parets named 2024 Royal Academy Architecture Prize winner

The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) has announced Cris Ballester Parets, a widely recognized pioneer in the area of social housing, as the winner of the 2024 Royal Academy Architecture Prize.

Ballester Parets, who is the award’s sixth overall winner, was recognized for a trove of projects completed between 2019 and 2023 in Spain’s Balearic Islands that together demonstrate the best practices in sustainable development and housing production.

Speaking to her work with architect Carles Oliver Barceló and other local stakeholders, the official 2024 RA Jury citation reads: "They developed an extraordinary model for building equitably, reestablishing local material supply chains and manufacturing, with fairer procurement and world class climatically responsive architectural expression of social housing."

"The operational model was designed alongside the architecture," it continued. "They followed completed projects with post-occupancy data to support future models of housing in traditional materials. The jury expressed excitement that this focused regional approach is an exemplar that can be translated to different global contexts and highlighted the importance of this networked and integrated approach in the production of architecture to effect profound environmental and social change."

Ballester Parets' stated: "We have had to overcome many legal obstacles and deal with financial challenges to support each of their projects environmental and social innovation but for us it was absolutely worthwhile. This prize is a welcome recognition of the work of many passionate collaborators and is a prize for all of us that I personally am receiving on behalf of them. I honestly hope our work can continue to be an example for creating ambitious social housing, sustainable on multiple levels, in other locations all over the world."

The 2024 Royal Academy Architecture Prize was juried by of 6a architects founders Tom Emerson and Stephanie Macdonald, Stéphanie Bru, Goshka Macuga, Níall McLaughlin, Marina Otero, and the RA's former Head of Architecture Vicky Richardson.