The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the shortlists for the 2017 President's Awards for Research. The annual awards celebrate the best research in the fields of architecture and the built environment.
The awards are given in four categories: History and Theory, Cities and Community, Design and Technical, and an annual theme, which this year was Housing. This year, there are notable collaborations between academics, architecture practices both in the UK and overseas, and industry partners located in India, Wales, Australia and Belgium.
The Shortlists for the 2017 RIBA President's Awards for Research
History and Theory
Ultra-Modernism in Manchuria
Dr Edward Denison, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL & Guang Yu Ren, independent researcher
This research looks in detail at the modernist development of a north-eastern region of China formerly known as Manchuria and provides important context to the rising tensions in the region, the seeds of which were sown here.
Architectural Models and the Professional Practice of the Architect, 1834-1916
Matthew Wells, Victoria & Albert Museum / Royal College of Art
This study explores the role and use of the model in nineteenth-century society and its relationship to architectural culture.
Reinventing the Prison: the Redevelopment of HMP Holloway, 1968-1978
Miranda Critchley, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
This research aims to contextualise the redevelopment of Holloway Prison (1968 - 78), understand the ideas that were influential in the project and place them in relation to earlier and later thinking about prison architecture.
Cities and Community
London's Local Character and Density
Daniel Elsea, Jane Manning, George Garofalakis, Antony Rifkin & Geoff Noble, Allies and Morrison LLP
This study has established a broad characterisation of Greater London as a proactive contribution to the debate around the residential density matrix.
Architecture for Politics: Designing Collectivity in Medellín's Library-Parks
Dr Caue Capille, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
This research looks at the Library-Parks of Medellín in Colombia, looking at the propaganda of social change brought by the buildings' mediatic monumentality, and at how public libraries frame social relationships through their architecture.
Sovereignty on Stilts, Drawing a Genealogy of Extra-Territorial Urbanization along the Mudflats of the Tropical Belt
Gabriel Muñoz Moreno & Santiago Serna González, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
This research shows how the displacement of native communities in Latin- American Pacific coasts has occurred - from the Atlantic Slave Trade to the current commercial pressures - and the impact on the community and the space around them.
Design and Technical
The Development of the Building Envelope Using Welsh-Grown Timber: A study Through Prototyping
Dr Steven Coombs, Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University
This research explores the use of Welsh-grown timber in construction, the technical and skill limitations and opportunities of the industry, and highlights the impact of the use of timber on the tectonic form of the building envelope.
Emergency Talks: Designing for Team Communication in Hospital Emergency Departments
Dr Lucio Naccarella, University of Melbourne, Associate Prof Bernice Redley, Deakin University Monash Health Partnership, Michaela Sheahan & Kieren Morgan, HASSELL
This research identifies the impact of the physical environment on team communication in hospital emergency departments.
Losing Myself: Spatial Perception and Architectural Design
Eimear Arthur & Niall McLaughlin, Niall McLaughlin Architects & Yeoryia Manolopoulou, AY Architects
This research investigates the changes to spatial perception caused by dementia, and the implications for architectural design.
Housing
Toward Healthy Housing for the Displaced
Dr Dima Albadra, Prof David Coley & Dr Jason Hart, University of Bath
The paper discusses adaptation strategies used by refugees to cope with the heat and cold, reporting their views on shelter design considerations and satisfaction.
Housing as Housing: The SAAL Process and São Victor Brigade
Michael Cohen, Architecture Brigade
The research reviews the São Victor housing project in Porto developed by a 'brigade' of architects and engineers led by Álvaro Siza Vieira.
Learning from Increments: Towards a Sustainable Design Strategy for Housing
Dr Aliki-Myrto Perysinaki & Dr Joanne Hudson, Liverpool John Moores University
This paper aims to open up debate concerning the potential of incremental housing - flexible housing prototypes or 'core' housing - as a sustainable strategy, in western contexts, for dealing with the housing crisis.
"The assembled judges this year felt it was a privilege to be part of the process and part of the discussion," commented Peter Clegg, Chair of the judging panel. "Yet again we received a very wide variety of subjects to review. The process is a continual reminder of the breadth and depth of the subject, and that yet again that the RIBA President's Medal for Research has both global reach and international significance."
The winners of each category will be awarded at the RIBA President's Medals ceremony on December 5, when the winner of the 2017 President's Medal for Research will also be announced.