Winners of the prestigious RIBAJ Rising Stars awards in association with Origin have been revealed. The international awards, organised by RIBA Journal and sponsored by Origin, the leading British manufacturer of bi-fold and residential doors, windows and blinds, recognise the talents of architects and designers in the early stages of their careers.
Entrants were judged on their original thinking, leadership, collaborative approach and hard work by a panel of judges that were once Rising Stars themselves. This was chaired by the RSA’s Matthew Taylor; Lucy Tilley, Associate Director at Adjaye Associates; Maria Smith, Founder of Interrobang; Patrick Bellew, Principal at Atelier Ten; Gus Zogolovitch, Managing Director of Inhabit Homes; and Eleanor Young, Executive Editor of RIBAJ.
It was the judges’ task to pick a shortlist from a pool of talented UK designers which was then cut further to an elite cohort: The RIBAJ Rising Stars of 2016.
This year’s list included:
- Ed Dale-Harris stood out for his work on a primary school in an Ebola-affected region of Sierra Leone.
- Dan and Max Zielinski won first prize with their plans to reimage Paris as part of the Living Cities design competition by putting in new electric transport.
- Brendan Sexton is leading the way on BIM-related practice and research.
- Shireen Hamdan has been trailblazing in major sports venues in the Middle East.
- Philip Graham is an entrepreneur passionate about Libya, who has led pioneering research into alternative forms of housing delivery.
- Alex Scott-Whitby, Founder and Director of ScottWhitbyStudio, is responsible for a team that can lay claim to a diverse range of projects including a new palace in the Middle East and a homeless shelter in London.
- Bethan Knightson, one of Hampshire County Council Architects, is working on historic buildings such as Winchester Cathedral and Whitchurch Silk Mill.
- Rhys Jones is a successful project architect, tutor and mentor, whose talent shows the most in his extracurricular work, such as 2012 pavilion for music festival the Secret Garden Party. He also won with Jestico + Whiles and Canterbury School of Architecture.
- Tszwai So was commissioned to design the Belarusian Memorial Chapel in North London, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and spent a year researching the vernacular timber churches of Belarus.
- Steven Kennedy is recognised for his stellar architectural work while working on an extensive botanic garden masterplan in the Middle East.
- Charlotte Knight is a young architectural assistant at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios who took on two projects in her free time, The Observatory and Pea Soup House.
- Eliot Postma led the design team for the Bombay Sapphire Distillery and has been leading the Heatherwick Studio team for design at all scales at Google’s ‘Terra Firma’ campus at Mountain View, California.
The awards ceremony, which took place on the 4th December in Wapping, East London, brought together the Rising Stars with judges, supporters, friends, family and sponsors to celebrate the inspirational work of the talented design professionals. Ben Brocklesby, Sales and Marketing Director of Origin, was on hand to present each winner with a bottle of Champagne and congratulate them on their hard work and creativity.
Ben Brocklesby, said: “Origin is proud to be involved in an initiative that recognises the exceptional work of these industry professionals. Innovation and design is something that is very close to us at Origin, which is why the Rising Stars award really struck a chord with us. All entrants were judged by their talent and drive to make things happen and I have no doubt that there are exciting times ahead for each and every one of them. Congratulations to all those who took part and to this years’ thirteen RIBAJ Rising Stars.
Eleanor Young, Executive Director at RIBAJ, said: “The RIBAJ Rising Stars 2016 will be defining the architecture of the future – and in some cases already are. We are proud to be able to recognise and reward them in partnership with Origin.’
Photo; RIBAJ Rising Stars 2016 with the RIBA Journal’s Hugh Pearman and Eleanor Young sitting far left, plus Ben Brocklesby, Sales and Marketing Director of Origin far right
For further information on Origin, please visit www.origin-global.com.
For information on the Rising Stars, please visit www.ribaj.com/intelligence/rising-stars