An architecture student looks to be building a bright future after scooping an award for a university project.
Amy Aquilina won Robert Gordon University’s Rob Hunter Prize for her plans for the refurbishment and reorganisation of the Gray’s School of Art building.
As part of the project, stage three architecture students were set a brief to redesign the building to house exhibition spaces, offices, catering facilities, and provide the headquarters of the Centre for Northern Culture and Design, as well as accommodation for guests.
Miss Aquilina said: “I felt that keeping the aesthetic of the facade was an important factor in retaining the memory of Gray’s.
“The intention of the bar/restaurant was to draw people which aren’t part of RGU to the area so others may use the building and enjoy the views south over the river.
“As my proposal involved replacing the glazing, I decided to re-use the original frames throughout the interiors of the building to help retain the memory of Gray’s.”
She added: “I don’t think anyone really expected to win. When they called my name it took me a minute for that to register, I’ve never won an award before so it was definitely a memorable and exciting moment where I felt all the hard work last semester really paid off.”
Miss Aquilina won £300 of book vouchers as the prize for her winning design.
Neil Lamb, subject leader in architecture, added: “The judges were really impressed with the high quality of Amy’s proposal, which confidently addressed the issues of bringing the Gray’s School building up to current, and indeed future, regulatory standards without compromising the quality of Shewan’s original and well-loved design.
“Amy’s design also looked at how the interior spaces could be re-imagined to create more flexibility and liberate larger more flexible open spaces in plan which could be used for a broader multitude of activates.
“They praised Amy’s exciting, thorough and professional approach which provides a solution that clearly shows how the building could be adapted for its future use.”
