Oscar Morte and Nino Mgeladze, UIC Barcelona School of Architecture students, won first and second prize respectively at the first edition of the ROCKWOOL Sustainability Awards, set up jointly by UIC Barcelona and ROCKWOOL Peninsular. The awards were presented on 15 July in l’Harmonia in l’Hospitalet de Llobregat, coinciding with the opening of the exhibition “L’H: Hub of Hubs. Social Challenges and Urban Reprogramming”, consisting of final Degree Projects (TFG) created by students from the School. 

Óscar Morte won first prize for his project “InFill. Sustainable Housing Cooperative”, which sets out a plan for the re-densification and rehabilitation of housing from the mid-20th century in l’Hospitalet to generate a new cooperative housing model that meets the criteria of energy efficiency and sustainability. The jury highlighted the following aspects “in addition to the rigour of his approach in terms of environmental and sustainability elements, the student's commitment to the action defined more as tactical than strategic was valued: the time for the proposal is now, the short-term battle is urgent, his ‘hands-on’ approach after a brilliant analysis and a smart reconversion plan.”

Second prize went to student Nino Mgeladze for her project “SUPRA. Energy Self-Sufficient School of Arts”, involving the creation of a university of performing and artistic arts on the railway tracks. The jury highlighted “her ingenious system of overlapping structures, which enables a university space to exist on the tracks, acting as an urban bridge – and accessible connection – for the neighbourhood. The building, in the shape of a Y, collects the rainwater and channels it towards a new flooded garden acting as a seasonal pond, incorporating the architecture - infrastructure and friendliness of the landscape. The project has two renewable energy production systems: On the one hand, one generated by the vibration of the train itself, and on the other, a covered photovoltaic installation that is very well integrated.” 

The jury for this first edition consisted of Teresa Batlle, a lecturer from the Sustainability Area in the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture and founding partner of picharritects/Pich-Aguilera, Jordi Guivernau, an architect from the Technical and Development Department of ROCKWOOL Peninsular and Miguel Ángel Díaz Camacho, a director at MADC & Partners SLP and President of the Sustainability and Architecture Association (2013-2021).

The main aim of the ROCKWOOL Sustainability Awards is to ensure a high level of application of sustainability criteria in Final Degree Projects (TFGs) by students from the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture. The winning students will be awarded 600 and 300 euros respectively, which will allow them to take an intensification course on a specific topic of their choosing in the field of architecture and urban planning.

Photography by ©Joan Guillamat