AJ Student Prize 2022: University of Hertfordshire

About the School of Creative Arts

Location Hatfield • Courses BA (Hons) Architecture, MArch Architecture and Urbanism • Head of school Phil Healey • Full-time tutors 8 • Part-time tutors 16 • Students 240 • Staff to student ratio 1:15

Undergraduate

Sebastian Evans

Course BA (Hons) Architecture
Studio/unit brief How we will live, how we will work
Project title The Workstation

Project description The Workstation explores the theory behind the spatial composition of co-workspaces and how they can influence productivity and job satisfaction. The project aims to bridge the gap between the two sides of Welwyn, which both feed into a bridge over the railway track, with a programme representing a miniature version of the Garden City. The divided sections of both Welwyn and the project have been manipulated to interact with each other in keeping with the initial concept of bridged but separate buildings. Openings in the proposal create links from surrounding districts with the railway bridge now leading directly into The Workstation.

Tutor citation Analysis of the city, and speculation on behaviour after Covid, combined with a carefully considered programme, creativity, considerations in sustainable construction and improving the lives of the building users, makes this an exemplar project. Luigi Pintacuda and Thomas Trail

Postgraduate

Josip Pijevic

Course MArch Architecture and Urbanism
Studio/unit brief Architecture Thesis
Project title TII0: Adapting the Konavle Critical Zone

Project description Dubrovnik’s economy is tourist-dependent, which, according to some, is devastating the area. This project seeks to rethink Dubrovnik-Neretva County’s economic values by establishing a self-sustaining region of Konavle. The topography allows for a resilient bioregional zone driven by agriculture, forestry and fabric production, allowing for an improved relationship with nature through circular economy. Community involvement has steered the project towards reviving industrial hemp cultivation, creating a carbon-negative, hempcrete structural panelling system.

Tutor citation Josip’s building is not only an accomplished piece of architecture but also challenges and outperforms numerous pieces of sustainability, environmental and cultural guidance, including LETI’s Climate Emergency Design Guide. Ian Wyn Owen and Simon Knight