RIBA North East Student Awards 2026

The RIBA North East Student Awards aim to celebrate the talent of students from the Schools of Architecture at Newcastle University and Northumbria University. The awards reward students in the pursuit of excellence in the study of architecture.

This year’s judging panel featured

Alanis Burgess P+HS Architects
Rachael Maclean FaulknerBrowns Architects
Judy Jarvie Taller Smaller

Congratulations to Niamh Ashley on winning the Part 2 award, Zara Pickering on receiving Part 1 Highly Commended, and to Samer Alayan, Vishal Mistry and Navanita Silambanan on receiving Part 2 Highly Commended.

RIBA North East said, "The standard of submissions was exceptionally high, showcasing the creativity, technical ability and thoughtful design emerging from the region's schools of architecture. We're always inspired by the passion and dedication shown by the next generation of architects, and we're excited to see where their careers take them. Well done to everyone involved!"

Part II Winner - Niamh Ashley

Can a seaweed growing hub transform coastal sites into nodes for benefiting local communities and carbon sequestration?

The project presents a seaweed growing hub on Holy Island, transforming coastal infrastructure into a community-led centre for cultivation, research, food production, bathing and education. Combining biomaterial experimentation with carbon sequestration, it reimagines architecture as an ecological infrastructure, supporting local economies, climate resilience and collaborative stewardship between people, industry and a historic landscape.

Studio tutors: Anna Czigler and Ben Bridgens

Part II Commendation - Samer Alayan, Vishal Mistry, Navanita Silambanan

From Live Build to Live Project

The studio set out to design and construct a 30m² off-grid bothy, beginning with tree felling and timber seasoning through to design, fabrication and construction. Working closely with a client and the local sawmill, the project explored local materials, indigenous thinking, and the idea of working with the ‘whole tree’. However, as the relationship with the client deteriorated, the bothy was never realised. In response, the studio pivoted to produce ‘The Heart’ – a portable exhibition cabinet constructed from reclaimed tin and waste materials that reframes the unrealised bothy as a single object. Through 1:1 making and iterative fabrication, it organises and presents two years of live build work, exploring ritual, assembly, and transformation as a reflection of process rather than fixed outcome.

Tutor: John Kinsley

Part I Highly Commended - Zara Pickering

Zara's project is based within the Ruin Lust studio which grounds its work in research, rather than invention. The studio focused on how to to create architecture that is rooted in place, exploring the experiential potential of materials, carefully pieced together in a celebration of craft. The studio has been inspired by artists such as Eduardo Paolozzi, Rachel Whiteread, J.M.W Turner and Doris Salcedo, whose work has inspired ways of seeing - ways of making sense of our surroundings.

This year, the studio located their ‘ruins’ at the fringe of the city, in the Ouseburn Valley. They engaged with a series of semi-redundant light industrial type buildings and explored how a sustainable strategy of re-use and adaptation can lead to the creation of rich architecture, layered with history and imbued with a sense of place.

Studio tutors: Jack Mutton, Juliet Odgers, James Mason

Additional project images

Zara Pickering (Part I)

Niamh Ashley (Part II)

Samer Alayan, Vishal Mistry and Navanita Silambanan (Part II)