We are delighted to announce that Architecture student Victor Williams Salmeron was awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) 2024 Bronze Medal for the design of an almshouse that celebrates its residents’ personalities. He received his award – the University’s first ever RIBA Medal – at a special ceremony in London on 4 December.
Presented by the RIBA for 188 years, the President’s Medals recognise the world’s best work by architecture students.
Victor’s Medal was for the best design project produced at RIBA Part 1 or equivalent. His project, titled Forget Me Not, is an almshouse for former carers on the remains of a Victorian chapel, which questions the idea of the hospital or care building as a sterile, transient non-place through an ontological approach, drawing on ancient almshouse traditions. It proposes an anthropological and sacred space permeated by culture, narratives and memory, defined by the personality of its inhabitants in how it remembers and reinterprets their familiar spaces. This highly personal brief developed out of a four-year ‘Live Project’ in Architecture, based on a High Street Action Zone urban regeneration project at ‘Intra High Street’ in Chatham, Medway, in collaboration with Medway Council and HTA Design and supported financially by Historic England.
On receiving his Medal, Victor Williams Salmeron said: ‘It is a great honour to have won the Bronze Medal and I am indebted to the judges and the RIBA for it. To receive this level of recognition for something so dear to me is incredible and so motivating. I hope that my work can keep questioning and promoting the betterment of current standards of architecture and care. I owe the biggest thank you to my family, my tutor, my School and my peers, all of whom created a tremendous place and time to work in, and without whom I would not have gotten this far.’
Among the first to offer congratulations were Chloe Street-Tarbatt, Head of the School of Arts and Architecture, who said: ‘We’re absolutely delighted for Victor, who is indeed a very special and extraordinarily talented student we have been lucky to have with us. I’m also heartened by the judging panel’s validation of the relatively low-key, tactile, ‘vernacular’ architecture that Victor developed through this final project and its strong social remit – I feel this marks a shift in direction towards a celebration of both materiality and social value, which I personally very much welcome.’
Victor’s tutor, Victoria Lourenço, added: ‘This is an incredible achievement by Victor. His project represents a profound sensitivity and a multi-disciplinary approach to architecture and community that has been duly recognised and championed with this prestigious award. It was a joy and a proud moment for University of Kent Architecture staff to see him receive his medal.’
The RIBA President Muyiwa Oki commented: ‘I am delighted to see the highest ever number of entries for the President’s Medals, which were of such quality and diversity that the judges awarded additional commendations in each category.
‘What unites the winning projects is a true marriage of creativity and community spirit, explored with great sensitivity and personal insight. For me, these projects show a real awareness of the importance of reuse, elevating people and places that have been overlooked, and the social responsibility of the architect. While these are weighty themes, the winners give me confidence in the next generation of architects and designers.
‘Congratulations to all the winners and to the educators who have helped these talented individuals flourish.’
Victor receiving his award from the RIBA