BDP architect Sim wins design award

An architect assistant at BDP's Manchester studio has won the 2009 Corus Student Design Award for architecture.

Romulus Sim entered through the Manchester School of Architecture with 'Community One: a vision of sustainable living systems within a post-industrial city.'

The main purpose of the competition was to give architectural students a creative vehicle for learning about the use of steel in buildings.

The design brief for the award was to produce a design for a 'vertical community', where people would live, work, and use leisure facilities under one roof instead of increasing pollution through travelling.

Entries were to explore combining a number of functions in one building which would provide benefits in terms of economic, social and cultural cohesion, but also in terms of energy efficiency, waste and water recycling and security. The building should be in use 24 hours a day.

Sim's design focuses on the abandoned waterways and viaducts in Manchester and is nestled between the two derelict viaducts of Manchester's first passenger railway station, Liverpool Street.

His design aims to regenerate the site as a 21st century sustainable and vibrant urban village, and also re-animate the abandoned arterial waterways in the city as part of a city-wide regeneration inquiry.

Speaking about the win, Sim said: "It's a great honour to have received this award with the MSA. It was a challenging brief and it was great to be able to use Manchester's abandoned waterways as a location for the creation of a hybrid community."

The entry was described by the judges panel as "terrific and very elegant, and was an idea that had not been seen before."

In addition to the architecture category, awards were also given for structures and bridges.

Sim has been working at BDP during the summer and will return to university in September to complete his final year. He's previously worked at the firm during a gap year between 2007 and 2008.