Students from Westminster’s School of Architecture + Cities have received a range of prizes from industry partners and sponsors as part of the annual OPEN 2025 Student Architecture Awards ceremony. These awards celebrate the talent and hard work of students throughout the academic year.
The OPEN exhibition takes place each summer to highlight the ways in which students and colleagues across the School of Architecture + Cities have worked together over the year to tackle pressing societal issues. This year’s exhibition opened on 20 June and showcased experimental ways to champion climate action through creativity.
A highlight of OPEN each year is the Student Architecture Awards ceremony, where student work is recognised by prizes from sponsors and industry partners including Foster + Partners, JCDeaux, the Rawat Family, Portman Estate and VOLA. This year over 30 prizes were up for grabs, covering the full range of courses offered by the school and reflecting a variety of design approaches.
JCDecaux, who are the biggest outdoor advertising corporation in the world, supported three awards for Urban Planning and Design BA Honours students. Harry Marshall-Griffiths won the First Prize for Studio Work as well as the Best Presentation for Contemporary Issues in City Planning, while Orla Mannion won the prize for Best Report.
The Shoaib Rawat Memorial Prize, which was set up in memory of Shoaib with generous support from the Rawat family, celebrates the achievements of final year Master of Architecture (MArch) students. Recipients included Anastasia Koliolou and Luke Hickling, who received joint first prize, Hannah Ismail who received second prize and Lottie Greenwood who received third prize.
The Shoaib Rawat Memorial Prize first-place winners
VOLA UK, a luxury bathroom design company and University partner for eleven years, also sponsored eight prizes for students on the Interior Architecture BA Honours programme. This included awards for best Design Diary, Design Idea, Design Portfolio, Design Proposal and Model Investigation.
Lily Thompson, final year student and joint winner of the VOLA Prize for Best Design Portfolio, said: “The event was a great end of year celebration. It was inspiring to see the range of talent across the department and what fellow students have been able to achieve. I’m incredibly grateful for the recognition and for the opportunity to share my work with leading figures in the industry. I’m now excited to explore my next step on my future career path.”
Foster + Partners, a British international architecture firm, sponsored five prizes for Technical Innovation in Design for nine students ranging from first year undergraduates to second year postgraduates. One recipient, first year MArch student Nedal Harris Ghosheh, said: “The OPEN awards evening was a fantastic celebration of everyone’s hard work, and it was inspiring to see the breadth of creativity across the university. I am grateful for the recognition and the encouragement it brings as I continue developing my architectural approach. Being awarded the West London Architects Award for Best MArch Year One student and the Foster + Partners Prize for Technical Innovation in Design felt like a great conclusion to the year.”
About the OPEN Awards, Insub Lee, partner at Foster + Partners, said: “We are grateful to the University of Westminster for inviting Foster + Partners to the OPEN Awards Ceremony. It was a privilege to celebrate the remarkable achievements of their talented students and to witness the creativity and dedication that shape the next generation of architects and designers. We look forward to continuing our support for initiatives that nurture innovation and excellence.”
RIBA medal nominees
Several other prizes were awarded, including prizes from organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT), the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE) and the RIBA West London Architects network. Outstanding student work was also recognised through a number of individually sponsored and memorial awards, including the Hubert Sants Memorial Prize for Best Detailed Design Resolution and the Katherine Shonfield Prize for Best Undergraduate Dissertation.
Suha Valiyaveettil, Architecture BA student and recipient of the Vandersanden Award for Diversity and Inclusivity, said: “I am truly grateful and honoured to have received the Vandersanden Award for Diversity and Inclusivity under the RIBA Student Awards. It is incredibly rewarding to see my project recognized for its commitment to showcasing diversity and inclusivity in both its vision and execution.”
Kate Cheyne, Head of School of Architecture + Cities, said: “The awards evening follows our industry networking day. Both events are wonderful opportunities for our students to show their work to future employers and show employers the quality of the very best in the School. We are always looking for new industry partners to increase the numbers of prizes as it means so much to our students. It is a very special event in which to end the year and celebrate the outstanding projects and students.”
Simay Sali Sevik, Development Manager at the University of Westminster, added: “We’re grateful to our corporate sponsors whose support goes far beyond funding — their involvement creates invaluable real-world connections, mentorship opportunities and a genuine belief in the potential of our students. We’re proud to support and showcase the next generation of architects who are ready to make a meaningful impact on the world.”
OPEN 2025 directly contributed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, 12: Responsible Consumption and Production and 13: Climate Action. 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.
To find out more about how to support students at the University of Westminster, contact the Development Team.
Find out more about studying Architecture, Interiors and Urban Design courses at the University of Westminster.
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