Aspiring RGU architect wins prestigious industry fellowship

An aspiring young architect from Robert Gordon University’s (RGU) Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment has been awarded a prestigious fellowship which will see her travel to Italy to be part of the Biennale Architettura 2018 in Venice.

Lucia Uriarte (20), who is from originally from Bilbao in Spain, moved to Aberdeen to study architecture in 2015 and is now in her 3rdyear.

She is the only student from RGU, and one of only five in Scotland, to have been selected for the Scotland + Venice Fellowship Programme, organised by Architecture and Design Scotland (A&DS).

While in Venice, Lucia will be working together with a number of Scottish designers, artists and architects as part of the project ‘The Happenstance’, which is being led by curator WAVEparticle and aims to explore what can be built through mapping connections, connecting needs and resources, and in connecting ideas of Freespace in both Scotland and Venice.

Lucia will receive a £1,600 bursary as part of the fellowship to cover her six weeks in Venice, where she will have the opportunity to develop her research interests in the company of some of the world’s leading names in architecture and design.

Lucia, who heads off to Venice at the beginning of May, commented:

“I feel I’ve been incredibly lucky to happen to land here, all of the fellows seem like incredibly committed, very interesting individuals, and so does the rest of the team.”

“The experience of working so closely with a team of highly respected, talented artists and designers will stand me in good stead and I hope to use my time in Venice to learn as much as I can from these professionals while developing my own research themes.”

Neil Lamb, Architecture subject leader at RGU, added:

“We are truly delighted for Lucia to be chosen for this prestigious scholarship.”

“She is an excellent student who will benefit greatly from this opportunity studying the impact tourism can have on a specific place. We wish her the very best and look forward to seeing the outcome of her studies.”