Bartlett Students Recognised at the 2024 RIBA President’s Medals

The awards were established by RIBA in 1836 and are considered to be the most prestigious awards in architectural education. Over 500 schools from 100 countries across the world are invited to nominate entries for the awards.

Architecture MArch graduate Bianca Zucchelli was awarded the Dissertation Medal for her Master’s dissertation, ‘The Eel, the Dowry and the Seamstress’. Bianca's thesis drew a thread from her own family history through the textile industry in her family's hometown and the expectations, restrictions and socio-economic roles of young women there.

In the Bronze Medal category for Part 1, Yaowen Zhang was commended for his graduating Architecture BSc project, ‘Land, Building, Dwelling’. His project criticises architectural and construction methods that serve purely functional purposes, drawing attention to the relationship between the act of dwelling, the space and the occupants themselves.

Director of The Bartlett School of Architecture Prof Amy Kulper shared her thoughts:

“Heartfelt congratulations to two Bartlett School of Architecture students, Yaowen Zhang and Bianca Zucchelli, on the recognition of their superlative work by the RIBA, and to the tutors who supported them, Chee-Kit Lai, Douglas Miller, and Edwina Atlee. The excellence of these projects resides in their commitment to architecture’s social and political dimensions, addressing the housing crisis, and domestic labour as critical disciplinary concerns. We are all proud of their accomplishments."

Dissertation Medal

The Eel, the Dowry and the Seamstress
By Bianca Zucchelli
Architecture March (ARB/RIBA Part 2), PG15, 2024

Comacchio, my grandmother’s hometown, is a small Italian fishing village with a strong attachment to its neighbouring lagoon and beloved eel. Isolated by surrounding waters, the town relied on fishing for survival, letting the lagoon dominate its tales. This writing aims to narrate a story of the early 20th century that has been overshadowed until now; far from the lagoon, hidden within rapid hands working skeins of wool.

Research revealed the dominance of the textile industry, shaping a girl’s education and societal role. Analysing the chronological process of making a dowry, and considering how this made the girl, led to an argument about the spatial restrictions placed on working women and their socio-economic impact. Comacchio is analysed as a site of piece-making, not in factories but in different spatial typologies, ranging from the street, the home, the convent and the laboratory.

These practices are examined through a creative and critical piece of writing in which Anna-eel (part girl, part eel) retraces the steps of Comacchio’s seamstresses. Using interviews, archival research, and theoretical arguments, the writing situates itself within a socio-political context of waged labour and highlights the importance of filling the absence of women’s voices in archival and architectural records.

Bronze Medal - Commendation

‘Land, Building, Dwelling’
by Yaowen Zhang
Architecture BSc (ARB/RIBA Part 1), UG09, 2024

Rotterdam faces a severe housing crisis driven by the economic value placed on homes, overshadowing their primary function – “to dwell”. ‘Land, Building, Dwelling’ critiques this financial-centric approach and proposes a ‘slow mode’ for housing development, emphasising our collective design responsibility and the legacy on the resources we inherit as custodians of land.

The project aligns with Rotterdam’s 20-year urban regeneration plan, starting in 2024 with a local modular factory to serve the construction of clay-based residential terrace housing on site by 2035. As construction progresses, the factory is gradually dismantled, leaving a modern ruin as the foundation for a future community centre to serve residents. The factory processes two local materials; river clay to form reusable moulds due to its ability to attract and hold fluid molecules, and marine clay as cast for eco-concrete housing due to its high sediment content.

This modular construction workflow encourages a circular economy, sustainability and meaningful community growth. As Heidegger stated, the real housing crisis is not the lack of housing but the need for people to learn to dwell. Buildings should not be defined at completion; their life begins and evolves with their occupants.

Bianca’s thesis was also celebrated this week by the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain, who awarded her the SAHGB Dissertation Prize at their annual awards. As the winner of the prize, Bianca will receive a year’s free membership to the SAHGB, an invitation to their Annual Symposium, and the Society’s support towards publication in Architectural History, the SAHGB’s own refereed academic journal or other suitable journals.

The SAHGB jury commented,

“The jury found that this creative, well written and very enjoyable dissertation provided a unique perspective on gendered labour in historical contexts."

Bianca Zucchelli graduated Architecture MArch in 2024. Her design tutors in PG15 were Egmontas Geras and Enriqueta Llabres Valls, and her thesis tutor was Edwina Attlee. Zaowen Zhang graduated Architecture BSc in 2024, tutored in UG09 by Chee-Kit Lai and Doug John Miller.

More information

• See the full list of winners and commended entries at the President’s Medals site
• Read more about Bianca Zucchelli’s winning dissertation
• Read more about Yaowen Zhang’s commended project
• Visit Yaowen Zhang’s project at The Bartlett Summer Show archive 
• Find out more about the SAHGB Dissertation Prize
• Find out more about Architecture MArch (ARB/RIBA Part 2)
• Find out more about ArchitectureBSc (ARB/RIBA Part 1)

Images: 1.'The Eel, The Dowry and The Seamstress' by Bianca Zucchelli, Architecture MArch, PG15, 2024
2. ‘Land, Building, Dwelling’, by Yaowen Zhang, Architecture BSc (ARB/RIBA Part 1), UG09, 2024