Three SCI-Arc graduates became the recipients of the first Woods Bagot Prize, an award that recognizes the top design portfolios and academic achievements from students in the undergraduate and graduate programs on September 9. The prize-winners were awarded USD $20,000 along with an offer for a position at any of the international firm’s 15 studios. From a pool of over 50 applicants, the prize-winners Mikiko Takasago from Japan, M.Arch 1, José Carlos García from Mexico, M.Arch 2, and undergraduate Luciano Meghini from Italy, B.Arch, were selected.
The award was announced by Woods Bagot Director of North America, Patrick Daly, AIA, during SCI-Arc’s commencement weekend that showcased school-wide graduate thesis works. Daly, alongside featured architects and theorists such as Neil Denari, Sylvia Lavin, and Greg Lynn among others, participated in the critiques that took place over the three days prior to the event. In addition, the City of Los Angeles’ first Deputy Mayor of International Affairs, Nina Hachigian, was the keynote speaker at the ceremony.
Though all three theses greatly varied in their subject matter and graphic execution, they furthered the conversations in architectural discourse by exploring unconventional and thought-provoking themes. Takasago’s thesis, “No Thing,” proposed a design for the student’s own tomb in the form of an indefinite gray zone in the year 2088. In contrast to this futuristic proposition, García’s thesis, “Intense Relations,” explored the significance of orthographic projection as representation in commercial architecture.
Furthermore, Meghini’s undergraduate thesis reconfigured the classical enfilade organization of a museum by deconstructing the banal corridor typology as a proposal for the Museum of the Twentieth Century in the Berlin Kulturforum. Additionally, Meghini was awarded the Thesis Merit Award.
In order to “push the boundaries of architecture,” Woods Bagot initiated the creation of the Woods Bagot Prize at SCI-Arc, a leading institution in unorthodox architectural design and theory itself. Since hosting the LA 3.0: Development and Design for the New Los Angeles conference, the firm and SCI-Arc have strengthened their relationship in order to continue to propagate new ideologies pertinent in the field of architecture both professionally and academically.
To view additional images of SCI-Arc student, faculty, and alumni work, visit the SCI-Arc website or follow @sciarc on Instagram.
News via Woods Bagot
