RIBA President’s Medals 2025

History, ecology and cultural memory converge in the RIBA President’s Medals 2025, which recognise outstanding student work from around the world.

Designs for a reimagined slave trade memorial in Malawi, a vision of an Interspecies shared ecosystem folowing the demolition of a dam in Helsinki, and a dissertation on Shetland’s evolving traditions of ‘island-making’ have been announced as the winning projects of the RIBA President’s Medals 2025.

Presented by the RIBA, the President’s Medals recognise the world’s best work by architecture students. This year’s awards received a record number of entries (378), with up to five commendations awarded in each category.

Glory Kamthumzi was the recipient of the RIBA Silver Medal for Dialogues in Sticks & Stones: Spatial testimonies of the East African slave trade in Nkhotakota, Malawi.

The RIBA Silver Medal went to Glory Kamthumzi, for Dialogues in Sticks & Stones: Spatial testimonies of the East African slave trade in Nkhotakota, Malawi, which was nominated by the University of the Free State, South Africa. The project reimagines a rural memorial on the Nkhotakota lakeshore, where the histories of the Swahili Arab slave trade, David Livingstone’s missions, and local African chiefdoms converge. Combining a slave route memorial centre with a beachside fishing village, the design transforms into a powerful commemorative landscape that provides a sensitive space for remembrance, heritage, and healing.

Dialogues in Sticks & Stones plan.

Commendations in the RIBA Silver Medal category were awarded to:

Commendation + RIBA Award for Sustainable Design at Part 2: Anastasiia Kalinina, Architectural Association, UK, Dancing on Falling Land: Cryo-cultural infrastructures on thawing (perma)frost
Commendation: Alejandro Del Castillo, Architectural Association, UK, Surrogate
Commendation: Inka Eismar, Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, UK, Room to Grow
Commendation: Jacob Shipp, University of Greenwich, Re:Construct
Commendation: Alexandra-Clara Popescu, University of Westminster, Emptiness in the Forbidden City

William Li won the RIBA Bronze Medal for Contemplating the ‘Dam’olition: A study in multi-species inhabitation.

The RIBA Bronze Medal for the best design project produced at RIBA Part 1 or equivalent was awarded to William Li for Contemplating the “Dam”olition: A study in multi-species inhabitation. Nominated by the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, Li’s project imagines the demolition of the Vanhankaupunginoski Dam in Helsinki – unlocking a bold new future where the nature flourishes and biodiversity thrives. Building on this vision, the scheme advocates for a shared ecosystem and argues that we must rethink our priorities to build a sustainable future.

‘Dam’olition user experience.

Commendations in the RIBA Bronze Medal category:

High Commendation: Tiffani Sole-Scarpellini, Architectural Association, UK, Sense6
Commendation: Tehreem Zubair, De Montfort University, UK, The Game of Agency
Commendation: Antar Ghazoul, University of Bath, UK, The Hotwells Dock Project
Commendation: Beth Gavine, Central Saint Martins, UAL, The Palatial Commons
Commendation: Chooi En Yu, National University of Singapore, Singapore, The Inflata

Finlay Aitken was awarded the RIBA Dissertation Medal for Remaking the Extractive Island: Landscape, custom and misrule in Shetland.

The RIBA Dissertation Medal was won by Finlay Aitken at the Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL), UK, for Remaking the Extractive Island: Landscape, custom and misrule in Shetland. His thesis reimagines the shifting landscapes of the Shetland Islands using the idea of ‘island-making’, a form of self-mapping that shapes how people relate to their surroundings. Tracing different periods throughout the history of the Shetland Islands and analysing the nuances of walking the line between spatial strategies of environmental management and symbolic expressions of identity, the work argues for a renewed approach to extractive spaces and infrastructures.

Commendations in the RIBA Dissertation Medal category:

Dissertation Medal Commendation – Alvin Lam, University of Cambridge, UK, Bricks, Railings, Umbrellas: A study of barricade lineage and practice in 2019 Hong Kong
Dissertation Medal Commendation – Angela Lai Ying Li, Manchester School of Architecture, UK, Architecture of the Stateless: Libertarianism and nomadic architecture in the twenty-first century
Dissertation Medal Commendation – Ellie O’Connell, University College Cork, Ireland, Confining The Other: Gender and Architecture at the Limerick Magdalene Laundry
Dissertation Medal Commendation – Manar Abu-Aisheh, Kingston University, UK, Inheriting Space: How Hebron’s Old City negotiates memory, identity, and spatial change amid political constraints
Dissertation Medal Commendation – Sacha Trouiller, Architectural Association, UK, Marseille: From transit city to urban isolation

Toby Ritson was the recipient of the Part 1 RIBA Award for Sustainable Design with Renovation Wharf.

The RIBA Awards for Sustainable Design, acknowledging the importance of environmental and social sustainability in architecture education, were awarded to:

Part 1 RIBA Award for Sustainable Design: Toby Ritson, University of Bath, UK, Renovation Wharf
RIBA Silver Medal Commendation and Part 2 RIBA Award for Sustainable Design: Anastasiia Kalinina, Architectural Association, Dancing on Falling Land: Cryo-cultural infrastructures on thawing (perma)frost

The Part 2 Serjeant Award for Excellence in Drawing went to Joel Boyd, Siena Cornish, Jamie Ferguson, Benjamin Hanger, Beth Kippin, and Marco Lin for Mohalla Van: A post-masterplan urban vision for Bhopal.

The Serjeant Awards for Excellence in Drawing, in memory of Denis Serjeant, a founding member of the 1981 RIBA Student Prizes Group, went to:

Part 1 Serjeant Award for Excellence in Drawing: Pung Pung Phonoi, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, UK, In Search of Memory’s Vessel
Part 2 Serjeant Award for Excellence in Drawing: Joel Boyd, Siena Cornish, Jamie Ferguson, Benjamin Hanger, Beth Kippin, Marco Lin, University of Bath, UK, Mohalla Van: A post-masterplan urban vision for Bhopal

RIBA President Chris Williamson said, “It’s fantastic to see the highest-ever number of entries for the President’s Medals, and a first win for a South African university. The work was of such exceptional calibre and diversity that the judges once again awarded additional commendations in every category.

I’m hugely encouraged to see emerging architects embracing new, innovative ways of thinking and designing to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving world. What sets this year’s winning projects apart is not only their deep commitment to a sustainable future while evidencing a thoughtful engagement with history and heritage, but also, and in a quite humbling way, how they carve new facets for the architect’s role in learning from and representing the communities they serve. This is a new generation of emerging professionals for whom architecture is a much wider discipline than the one we currently know. I can only see good things happening as these new colleagues strengthen and celebrate the highest standards of innovation, ethics, and social responsibility in our profession.”