Key details
Date
- 7 December 2022
Author
- RCA
Read time
- 1 minute
The design project Spolia Tectonic by MA Architecture student Dario Biscaro, has received one of only three Commendations made by the judging panel of the 2022 RIBA President’s Silver Medal.
Key details
Date
- 7 December 2022
Author
- RCA
Read time
- 1 minute
This award makes Spolia Tectonic, nominated by the Royal College of Art, one of the best of all submissions received from across the globe in a record year of entries for the President’s Medals.
MA Architecture student Dario Biscaro will join the esteemed list of emerging architects whose talent and contribution to the future of Architecture the RIBA has been proudly rewarding since 1836.
Spolia Tectonic addresses the growing urgency for architects to redefine their approach to processes and materials, as the built environment is the world’s single largest polluting sector. To counteract extractive practices in construction, and reduce waste production and carbon emissions, Spolia Tectonic investigates how reuse can prevent the exploitation of our declining resources.
Through the adoption of “Spolia”, the ancient practice of material reuse, the project opens up new possible implications for a cultural and architectonic expression based on the reuse of historical material. Looking at cities as material banks of the future, the project envisions a closed-loop construction industry that counters current material extraction and manufacturing standards. Spolia Tectonic demonstrates two conditions for the reuse of construction materials to take place, in a practical and real-world context, today. The first consists of a series of clear actions to conduct the end-of-life and Whole Life Cycle assessments of buildings. The second is the design of a first headquarters and physical infrastructure that, operating in London, enables the reuse of construction materials and building components.
Read more about the project here.
Dan Innes (MA Architecture Alumni and campaigner) has also been shortlisted for the RIBA Rising Star award. Dan’s practice opens the doors of architectural institutions to foster social and professional dialogue for LGBTQ+ members of the industry, who are structurally under-represented and unsupported.
Read more about Dan’s RIBA Rising Star shortlisting here.
