Student Design Awards winners: Flourishing places

Brief 2: How might we collectively reimagine a regenerative future of the built environment to enable all life to flourish?

Winner: Chatham Mussel Project: From Dockyards to Dining Tables

A community-driven mussel farm in the ‘garden of England’, intertwining local farmers and promoting a sustainable food ethos.

Illustration of a dock area with people walking and cycling. Buildings with transparent roofs line the sides. Wooden pilings are visible in the foreground, and a large ship is seen in the background under a clear sky.

Image featuring a mussel farming process diagram showing growth stages, nutrient benefits, and a 12-month cycle. Photos below illustrate clean vs. dirty water with and without mussels, along with mussel harvest and sorting.

A futuristic harbor scene with people in orange work gear, carrying crates and interacting near a modern, open-air structure. A boat is docked nearby, and the harbor is supported by numerous wooden pilings in the water.

The Chatham Mussel Project encompasses a food market, culinary school/restaurant, and re-purposing mussel shells for community infrastructure, prioritising eco-conscious practices and food culture appreciation.

Dougal Cusack Brown

Kingston University, England

Winner of £2,000 Flourishing places Award

dougalcusackbrown.com | @dougal.cusack.brown | Dougal Cusack on LinkedIn

Highly Commended

A collage with children playing, a person watering plants, high-rise buildings, and foliage. A person looks through binoculars. The background includes a cityscape and distant hills under a pale sky.

Mia Woodfall, University of Tasmania, Australia

Miyawaki Method: Creating community engagement and value through a Miyawaki Forest. This innovative method creates pathways for disconnected groups to become custodians of the land and addresses disadvantages by delivering skill benefits and cardon credits.

Being a judge has been a privilege and an inspiration. The talent, diverse thinking and creativity was soul nourishing, these students showed a high level of passion and in making meaningful change for people, place and planet, a sincere congratulations to all who entered and I wish them every success.

Paulette McAllister

2024 Judge

Commended

Floating modular triangles on water, resembling wooden panels with black centers housing small plants. A bird swims nearby, adding a natural touch to the geometric scene.

Archie Wright, Eliot Wolfert, Isaac Lee, Jamie Hooper and Maddie Goodman, Loughborough University, England

Canal Revitalisation Network: An innovative community run canal regeneration project that revitalises the waterway and enhances green spaces to form a vibrant urban environment for locals to visit, forming bonds with community and the land. The modular network is built from accessible materials combined with hydroponic water filtration, solar distillation and plant cultivation.

Close-up of a liquid gold spiral pattern next to an architectural rendering of a modern building with arched wooden ceilings and sunlight streaming through large windows.

Jiaxin Wu, Goldsmiths University, England

Bio-Material 4D Printing:A biocomposite material formed from parametric design and 3D printing technology. The material is responsive to the surrounding environment and enhances built structures to be more energy-efficient.

A collage depicting a bustling small-town revitalization scene. It shows people knitting, a yarn shop, machinery with wool, and a bright community space. Elements suggest a focus on crafts and urban renewal.

Panisara Sapchartanan, Kingston University, England

Hairvolution: Regeneration of Chatham through Hair-Textile: A scheme that utilises hair waste as a biomaterial to activate sustainable circular process while creating employment and opportunities for local fashion and textile graduates and enhancing community life within the locality of Chatham. Australia

In partnership

The image shows the word "ARUP" in large, bold red letters on a transparent background.

It is inspiring to witness the dedication and talent of the next generation of designers as they tackle complex yet highly relevant challenges in the RSA Student Design Awards.

Ollie Cotsaftis

2024 Judge

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