Mariam Pinto-Rodriguez, from our Masters Architecture course, was recently commended in the Dissertation category at the 2024 RIBA President’s Medals 2024. She received this commendation for her impactful work on her dissertation project ‘Irish Town, Gibraltar: Street Expressions of Migrant Identities’. Through postcolonial theories and visual ethnography, the dissertation examined the intersections of British, Spanish, Moroccan, Mediterranean, and South Asian identities in Irish Town. The research highlighted how these dynamics contribute to placemaking and coexistence in a shared space.
Mariam Pinto-Rodriguez said: “My Dissertation revealed the way historical and contemporary migrant flows are expressed through the spatial qualities of a street in Gibraltar called Irish Town, which is also my hometown. It uncovered processes of displacement, identity, and belonging, and discussed how they are reflected in the way people alter and adapt their surroundings to feel at home. As someone whose idea of ‘home’ is split across different places, these themes of identity and displacement resonate with me. By studying these spatial adaptations, I’ve gained a greater understanding of how profoundly our sense of belonging is tied to the environments we inhabit.
The recognition from the RIBA validates the importance of the stories and themes I set out to give voice to. With this recognition has come the opportunity to draw attention to the cultural and identity narratives of Gibraltar’s residents, which are often overshadowed by discussions about the region’s military significance in the UK. This opportunity for my work to contribute to a broader understanding of Gibraltar’s rich and diverse identity beyond its geopolitical context is one I am truly grateful for”.
“MSA has provided me with the academic tools and guidance, allowing me to delve deeper into ideas I was passionate about but lacked the framework to fully explore. The course has been effective in encouraging critical engagement with key theoretical concepts and literature, enabling me to articulate and advance my ideas through speculative research through design in my current thesis. In particular, the atelier teaching encourages me to connect architecture to broader cultural and social issues, shaping the way I now approach design”.
The annual President’s Awards from The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) are aimed at showcasing student work and are considered the most prestigious and long-lasting awards in architectural education in the world.
This year’s President’s Medals was judged by a selection of leading Architecture academics from across the UK and internationally including the director of global engagement at the School of Architecture & Cities of the University of Westminster, Samir Pandya, who chaired the judging panel.
Academics from the Manchester School of Architecture also took part in the awards. Visiting Professor, Mina Hasman, was chair of the Silver Medal Category while Professor Kevin Singh, who is the head of the Manchester School of Architecture, chaired the judging panel for the prestigious Annie Spink Award for tutors. The RIBA Annie Spink Award for Excellence in Architectural Education has a prize money of £10,000 has been presented since 2000 to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to architectural education in a higher education institution offering courses validated by the RIBA anywhere in the world. The award is made possible by the Annie Spink Memorial Trust, bequeathed to RIBA for the “advancement of architectural education” by the estate of architect Herbert Spink FRIBA as a lasting memorial to his wife Annie.
Talking on the President’s Medals 2024, Kevin Singh said: “It was an absolute honour to have been asked by the RIBA to Chair the judging panel for the coveted Annie Spink Award as a fellow educator, and I was delighted that the work of Professor Jane Anderson, which has inspired so many architecture schools, was recognised. The President’s Medals hosted by the RIBA Education is one of the highlights of the year and we were all very proud at the MSA that Mariam Pinto-Rodriguez’s dissertation, supervised by Dr Huda Tayob, was Commended.”