The project "Generation Z Furniture", by fifth year student Estelle Orient, has been awarded first prize in the '2024 Schindler Architecture Awards for Accessibility'. These awards by Schindler to the best Final Degree Projects (TFG) of UIC Barcelona School of Architecture students, recognise work that integrates accessibility in a global, coherent manner from its conception.

The award-winning proposal arises as a response to the alarming figure of 65 tonnes of waste generated annually in Barcelona, and aims to recycle waste from furniture and wooden planks. Faced with this problem, the young architect proposes an innovative strategy for reusing and reevaluating space, transforming an old industrial block located in the estate of La Verneda in Sant Adrià del Besòs into a sustainable and accessible production centre.

The second prize was awarded to Yassine Jeljeli for her project “ElBiscuter Foundation”. The third prize was shared equally between Pablo García for his project "Symploke Housing" and Alejandro Estévez for "Vital Point – La Pau CAP".
         
'Schindler Architecture Awards for Accessibility

The 'Schindler Architecture Awards for Accessibility' are held annually with the aim of promoting the importance of mobility and accessibility in urban development and boosting the careers of future Spanish architects. The awards are aimed at students of architecture from Spanish universities and reward those TFGs that best integrate accessibility into their proposals.

The awards were presented on 11 July at the headquarters of the College of Architects of Catalonia (COAC), in Barcelona. The jury was formed by Xavier Vallcorba, regional director for Schindler in Catalonia; the teachers responsible for TFGs of the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, Iñaki Baquero and Álvaro Cuéllar, and the head of the Accessibility Area of the TFGs, Enrique Rovira-Beleta.

The jury valued the quality, innovation, originality or creativity in projects that highlight universal mobility and accessibility solutions. Likewise, approaching accessibility from a global point of view was taken into account, with special emphasis on people with physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities, the elderly and those with mobility, communication or temporary reduced comprehension.

“I appreciate the students’ effort and dedication in addressing accessibility in a holistic way, not only as a technical requirement, but as an essential dimension of architectural design. Their work demonstrates a profound understanding that the architecture of the 21st century is undoubtedly the architecture of the elderly, and that accessibility is key to guaranteeing the well-being and full participation the whole of society”, said Enrique Rovira-Beleta, architect and head of Accessibility at UIC Barcelona School of Architecture.

Xavier Vallcorba, regional director of Schindler in Catalonia, highlighted: “These awards are a testament to Schindler’s firm commitment to one of the challenges of cities of the future: universal accessibility. For this reason, it is a great satisfaction for us that these awards promote the talent of the architects of the future and their innovative ideas about accessibility.”