Westminster Architecture student James Langlois wins Young Talent Open EUmies Award, with fellow student Blessing Sulaiman making the shortlist. This award recognises exceptional student projects that respond to today’s social, urban and environmental challenges.
The EUmies Awards were formally known as the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture and were founded in 1988 in Barcelona by Fundació Mies van der Rohe and the European Union’s (EU) programme to support the cultural and creative sectors. The annual awards recognise excellence in built works of Architecture in Europe and final diploma work by recently graduated architects.
The awards were held at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, where winners, jurors and institutional representatives came together for a day of dialogue around four key themes: Artificial, Natural, Collective and Intelligens.
James received the Young Talent Open Award at the ceremony on 19 June in Venice, Italy, for his work titled Poolside Politics, which was supported by his tutors Anthony Boulanger, Senior Lecturer in Architecture + Cities and Stuart Piercy, Visiting Lecturer at Westminster’s College of Design, Creative and Digital Industries. Poolside Politics explores the decline of public swimming pools in southern France, using Marseille’s largely abandoned Olympic-size Piscine Luminy as a powerful symbol of social neglect and unequal access to public services. The project imagines a community-led revival of the site, inspired by radical municipalism, an approach that encourages locals to take collective responsibility for their neighbourhoods through shared decision-making. Using recycled materials, the proposal transforms neglected buildings into a vibrant community hub, reopening pools and baths, and adding a soap-making workshop, housing, cultivation areas and industrial studios, offering a vision for repurposing neglected infrastructure into useful, inclusive spaces.
Blessing was shortlisted in the same category for his project titled Tuareg Trails of Tomorrow, supported by Senior Lecturers in Architecture + Cities Dr Yara Sharif and Dr Nasser Golzari. This project celebrates Tuareg heritage while addressing the significant social and environmental effects faced by the Arlit community in Niger. It proposes the creation of a linear cityscape along ancient trade routes, reviving traditional crafts like fabric dyeing, the shaping and forging of metal, jewellery making and desert farming to stimulate local economies. The design also integrates sustainable technologies like electrostatic sand-catchers and regenerative farming to combat desertification and support community resilience.
About winning the award, James said: “It was a surreal culmination of my architectural education to receive this award in Venice. It was inspiring to meet Architecture students, professionals and academics from across Europe who share the belief in the potential of innovative Architecture as part of the solutions to drive positive social, cultural and sustainable change. Becoming part of the Fundació Mies Van Der Rohe network has made the award even more personally meaningful.”
Blessing Sulaiman added: “It was an honour to have my research on Afrofuturism recognised and to also represent the pioneering work emerging from the University of Westminster - an achievement made possible through the invaluable guidance of my outstanding DS22 studio tutors, Dr Yara Sharif and Dr Nasser Golzari.”
Richard Difford, Principal Lecturer in the School of Architecture + Cities, added: “For a recent graduate to win a prestigious and internationally recognised award such as this is an amazing opportunity. James is a committed and talented young designer and winning the EUmies Young Talent Open award can potentially open up many possibilities for employment and his future career. As Course Leader of the Master of Architecture (MArch) (RIBA pt II) course, this success is also testament to the dedication of James’ tutors, Anthony Boulanger and Stuart Piercy, and the wider achievements of all the colleagues and students of the course.”
Blessing and James’s projects directly contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 10: Reduced Inequalities, 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.
Learn more about the School of Architecture + Cities at the University of Westminster.
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