A team from the University of Guyana’s Architecture Department in the Faculty of Engineering and Technology (FET) copped the first prize at the highly prestigious 3rd International Lekol Architectural Competition held in French Guiana in 2023 and was recognised for their creativity and forward-thinking approach to construction when the UG’s Faculty of Engineering and Technology hosted its annual prize giving and award ceremony recently.
The UoG contingent comprised Head of the Department of Architecture, Dr. Anna Perreira, lecturer Mr. Godfrey Proctor, and BSc. architecture students; Ms Semira Greene, Ms Nia Bishop, and Ms. Toquana McPherson. The team came up against the University of French Guiana, State University of Haiti, Anton de Kom State University of Suriname and Federal University of the State of AMAPA – Brazil.
According to the team members, the aim of the competition was to encourage students to be innovative in the field of architecture, by offering to local populations an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable alternative.
The team explained that the architectural project was a proposal for a boarding school of excellence in French Guiana, an equatorial climate zone, providing answers to the need for accommodation of young people from isolated cities aspiring to continue their studies on the coast as well as to the aspirations emerging in the conclusions of the Citizens’ convention for climate change and the dissemination of ecological concerns.
The members of the team said that they were indeed proud to show that UG students are quite capable of competing at the international level and win.
“We had to push ourselves a lot, we had many sleepless nights and late hours with the designs but the encouragement from lecturers helped us a lot. And we had to adapt quickly, adaptability is very important, so we have those tools now from being at university and participating in that project,” one member of the team said.
At the prize giving and award ceremony held at the university’s George Walcott Lecture Theatre (GWLT), Vice-Chancellor Prof. Paloma Mohamed Martin congratulated all the students and encouraged them to continue working hard to expand their knowledge and skills so that they would be able to develop themselves both personally and professionally and hence be successful in a world that requires a high level of creativity, innovativeness and hard work.
For a full list of the FET 2023 awards and prizes, please see here: https://fot.uog.edu.gy/deans-honour-roll-list-20222023
For a list of programmes offered by the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, visit here: https://fot.uog.edu.gy/about-us
For more information on the University of Guyana, its programme offerings and how to apply, please visit: https://uog.edu.gy/
