Tessa Koenig Gimeno wins shared first prize at Archiprix 2022

The winners of the Dutch Archiprix 2022, consisting of three prize winners and one honourable mention, were announced by the jury on 18 June. The jury said about the project 'Decolonising the City': 'This activist project to transform Plaza Italia in Santiago de Chile into a stage for demonstrations and rallies shows how the public realm can accommodate cultural protest. The socially relevant brief is convincingly translated into a vibrant layered design with the character of a manifesto, an architectural provocation.' 

Tessa says about her winning project: "It is a great honour to share the first prize for this year’s Archiprix Netherlands Awards! The entire process of developing this project has been an extremely rewarding and insightful learning experience. The project would not have been possible without the expertise and knowledge that my tutors, both in Delft and Chile, have so generously offered. It was a fantastic experience from which I have learned a great deal, positioning my thoughts about the role of architecture in profound ways, which I will take forward with me into my career. The political and symbolic nature of the project has, in particular, instilled a deeper sense of obligation and understanding for an architecture that consciously contributes to the built environment in a way that is sensitive to its context and the people who use it." See here for more information on Tessa's project, including her podcast with a spoken explanation of her work. 

The graduate tutors of Tessa are Professor Daniel Rosbottom, Sam De Vocht, Mark Pimlott and Mauro Parravicini. Daniel says about Tessa’s work: "The project understands that architecture is intimately engaged with the city, not only materially and spatially but also in social, political and environmental terms. It does this at every scale, from strategy to detail, and represents it in terms of time and space, experience and use. While the outcome is an environment which can be appropriated for protest, it is also a place for everyday life and pleasure, which helps to restore the balance between nature and the city."    

The shared first prize was also awarded to Academy of Architecture Amsterdam alumna Lieke Jildou de Jong for her project 'Freshwater farms on saline soils / Freshwater erven'. The exhibition of all 30 projects can be seen from 13 June to 15 July at the Keilepand location, Rotterdam Makers District MerweVierhavens, Keilestraat 9F, Rotterdam.

Meer informatie

• See all nine projects from our faculty nominated for Archiprix 2022
• View all winners of the Dutch Archiprix 2022