Winner of the Matt Carapiet Humanitarian Award announced

The 2023 winner was Lauren Pohl for their project to provide an education facility based in Leeds, UK to facilitate the education of construction techniques aimed at volunteers to go and build in Cusco, Peru.

Lauren’s project holistically and thoroughly analysed the historic construction techniques of buildings in Peru alongside looking forward to what might be required in a future of changing climatic conditions. As a result the project provides a space for testing, learning international collaboration and experimentation in preparation for volunteers to go and build in Peru. It was an interesting concept that thought about the continuation of skills and how they might be passed on. Particular focus on sustainability, a circular economy and minimal waste architecture was thought through and lends itself to the overall ethos of the project.

The architecture knitted itself into a busy area of the city and provided a publicly accessible stage for interaction, knowledge share and revenue. The scheme was presented through drawings, renders and diagrams that convey the sense of education and community central to the project.