Architecture MA alumna Alexandra-Clara Popescu from the University of Westminster has been awarded a Silver commendation as part of the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) President’s Medals ceremony. She was recognised for her project Emptiness in the Forbidden City, which explores memory, loss and resilience on the site of Bucharest’s former Uranus neighbourhood.
Founded in 1836, the RIBA President's Medals invite over 500 schools from 100 countries across the world to nominate entries for the awards and are among the highest honours in architectural education.
Alexandra-Clara's project, supported by her studio tutors Dr Yara Sharif and Dr Nasser Golzari as well as the Course Leader of the Architecture MA course Richard Difford, explores the vast empty site surrounding Bucharest’s Palace of Parliament and reflects on the destruction of the former Uranus neighbourhood under Nicolae Ceaușescu’s communist regime.
Rather than filling the site with new buildings, the project gives meaning to the emptiness. Using archives, interviews and historical material, she uncovers lost connections between people, place and time. The design reveals what remains, allowing the land and its history to shape the spatial experience.
Based on the area’s former street patterns, the proposal introduces small, flexible structures that support gardens, farming, trade and shared learning. Inspired by the resilience and self-built practices of nearby Roma communities, the project imagines a more inclusive future for the site.
By learning from both the past and the present, the project resists erasure and forgetting, proposing a new way of caring for Bucharest’s layered urban history.
About this commendation, Alexandra-Clara said: “I feel very grateful to have received this award and for my work to be recognised by RIBA. I am honoured that my project might contribute to wider conversations about how architecture can be used as a tool for honouring forgotten voices.”
Dr Yara Sharif and Dr Nasser Golzari added: “Clara’s work is highly original, combining rigorous research with creative design that engages with unique landscapes in innovative ways. As Clara’s studio tutors, we are immensely proud of her achievements and firmly believe that this award is a well-deserved testament to the richness and originality of her work. It has been an absolute pleasure having Clara in the DS22 studio and we look forward to seeing her continue to make remarkable contributions to the field.”
The project directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 10: Reduced Inequalities and 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
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