The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has awarded the 2012 Boyd Auger Scholarship to architecture graduate Jo Ashbridge, enabling her to start a 12 month research project on housing and disaster relief in flood-prone Bangladesh. The RIBA scholarship, worth £5,000, supports architecture students and graduates in imaginative, original research and travel.
Jo who studied at the Universities of Bath and Cambridge has been awarded this year's scholarship for her project "The Role of Earth Architecture and Construction within a Disaster Risk Reduction Framework for Areas at Risk of Flooding Across Bangladesh." The project will involve travel to areas at high risk of flooding, including Rangpur, Khulna and Barisal. It will include the identification of current earth architecture techniques used for low-income housing in these areas, on-site development of improved earth construction techniques and the building of a series of demonstration houses.
"I am delighted to have been awarded the 2012 RIBA Boyd Auger Scholarship, and am extremely excited to get started on my 12 month research project in Bangladesh," said Jo Ashbridge. "My passion and future career direction is to focus on development and disaster relief architecture. My drive is to create innovative architectural and associated infrastructure solutions that are sensitive to the environment, culture and traditions whilst responding to the needs of affected populations following natural disasters and conflicts."
"Jo's experience and passion in Bangladesh to date and her in-field connections will inform the research project supported by the RIBA Boyd Auger Scholarship 2012," commented John-Paul Nunes, RIBA Head of Education Projects. "We are delighted to award her the scholarship and look forward to see how this unique project progresses. We are also very grateful to Mrs Margot Auger for donating the funds towards setting up the RIBA Boyd Auger Scholarship which has enabled us to support talented students over the past four years."
Photos: Courtesy of RIBA