缅北禁地

The Architects Journal reveals all entries to this year's AJ Student Prize, showcasing the work of architecture students and universities

The AJ Student Prize celebrates the talent of students completing undergraduate and postgraduate architecture courses. 

Undergraduate Nominee - Aurelia Paa-Kerner

Studio/unit brief Dear/DeRe Sunniside
Project title The Loom

Project description This proposal reimagines the former Peter Smith Antiques warehouse in Sunderland as a creative centre for weaving and textile recycling, supporting the area’s community of artists. The building provides access to shared facilities that support equitable opportunities for production and collaboration. Principles of weaving, layering and assembly shape spatial organisation and natural surveillance. New openings and active frontages increase connectivity, movement and activity throughout the building while retaining its industrial character and heritage value. Materials salvaged from both the existing building and the National Glass Centre are repurposed into the design.

Tutor citation This project has been nominated for its rigorous approach to deconstruction and reuse. It carefully constructs a brief that ensures activities within and the building fabric itself lessen operational and embodied carbon. Dan Sprawson, Luke Rigg

Postgraduate Nominee - Olivia Roberts

Studio/unit brief Material Change (Studio FaulknerBrowns)
Project title The Homing Instinct: A community-focused design guide for the future adaptation of the Sunderland cottage typology

Project description This thesis explores the future of the Sunderland Cottage, a 19th-century housing typology developed to provide affordable home ownership for Sunderland’s industrial workforce. The few that remain today face pressures from ageing fabric, changing living standards and fragmented alterations. The project advocates for an incremental and community-led approach to regeneration, combining street-scale interventions, adaptable infill housing and a homeowners’ retrofit guide. The urban strategies focus on reactivating underused back lanes, introducing pedestrian-prioritised streets and creating opportunities for shared community spaces.

Tutor citation Olivia’s project has developed an ambitious masterplan, built up from many small-scale interventions. The work was developed fastidiously, showing design skill across a variety of scales and applying a range of graphic techniques. Daniel Burn