The right materials can transform a room, making it feel more spacious, luxurious, and inviting. Coverlam, by Spanish manufacturer Grespania, allows you to achieve this without compromising performance or aesthetics. Their revolutionary range of large-format, ultra-thin technical stone slabs delivers both exceptional durability and beauty, offering endless possibilities for your home. For nearly 50 years, […]
Harvard Design School Awards 2024 Wheelwright Prize to Postcolonial Designer
The Wheelwright Prize announced its 2024 recipient on Thursday, June 27. The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) award was given to researcher Thandi Loewenson. Her submitted paper sought to look at “social and spatial relations in contemporary Africa.”
The prize, named after Arthur W. Wheelwright, aims to award architects with grants to support “an expansive, intensive design research project.” Currently, the prize awards a $100,000 grant to support the proposed project, as well as invitations to lecture at Harvard GSD and to “publish research in a Harvard GSD publication.”
Loewenson’s research, Black Papers: Beyond the Politics of Land, Towards African Policies of Earth & Air, centers around the idea of expanding our definition of land “in the context of African liberation movements.” The research paper combines different overlapping terrains to show the effect of colonial capitalist systems in Africa.
“Instead of solely engaging land as a site of struggle, this work situates land within a network of interconnected spaces, from layers deep within the Earth to its outermost atmospheric reaches,” Loewenson said.
Meriem Chabani, Nathan Friedman, and Ryan Roark were the other three finalists for the Wheelwright Prize.
Who is Thandi Loewenson?
Loewenson, an architectural designer and researcher, graduated from The Bartlett at University College London with a PhD in Architectural Design. Her work centers on questioning the status quo, working with different stakeholders on her “provocative” work.
She uses “fiction as a design tool and tactic,” with her works focusing on decolonization. Her most recent project at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) questions the imperial history of the institution. BLACKLIGHT depicts a colonial-era African mine called Broken Hill. The work was laid over the Jarvis Mural, which shows the RIBA council surrounded by indigenous peoples of the empire.
“It’s one of the most racist things I’ve ever seen in my life,” she said about the original mural.
‘Black Papers’ and Post-Colonial Works
The Black Papers research mines similar territory as her recent mural and works. She’ll be using aerial techniques to survey the land. The research will highlight the continent’s mining of “technology metals” , representing the “digital dispossession” between the West and its former colonies. Her research will last two years, focusing on seven countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The Wheelwright Prize jury that chose Thandi Loewenson praised her research and work as visionary and “expanding what constitutes [as] architectural research.” Harvard GSD Dean Sarah M. Whiting called her work “nothing short of a full reconceptualization of land and sky as material realities, sources of value, and sites of political struggle.” Colleagues offered similar praises to her work.
“Loewenson promises to think with the materiality of place, collapsing the spaces of poetics and the landscapes of policy with the literal terrain of the context these projections shape,” jury member Jennifer Newsom said.
“Building from a necessary set of scholarly research about the entanglements of earth, air, bodies, and dispossession (on multiple timescales), her work extends these arguments into a material practice rich with layers—the matter that matters to our time.”
Related reading: Francis Kéré: The First African To Win The Pritzker Prize
For over three decades, Kuysen has been the exclusive gateway for discerning Filipinos to experience the world-renowned innovation of AXOR. This enduring partnership brings the pinnacle of bathroom and kitchen design to the Philippines, and the latest marvel in this legacy is the AXOR ShowerSelect ID – a system that redefines the shower experience through […]
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Optimism fosters positivity and inspires innovative ideas. Living Innovations Design Unlimited (LiDU) Inc., believing that design can help make society better, brings this ideal to life through Corner House, a residential project in Iloilo. It demonstrates how a user-focused approach and a celebration of local artistry can translate into a home that nurtures positive living […]
This beachside retreat in Punta Fuego, Nasugbu, Batangas is more than just a vacation home—it showcases the beauty of Filipino architecture tailored for contemporary coastal living. Designed by A. Mañosa + Architects, this abode was envisioned to be a party house for the client’s son, blending architectural fundamentals from the bahay kubo—the signature of the […]
The Grand Palais in Paris sets the stage for “Le Banquet des Philippines,” a remarkable exhibition of Filipino artistry, from May 21-25, 2025. This showcase takes place during the prestigious Révélations – Biennale Internationale Métiers d’Art et Création. Curated by Milo Naval and presented by the Design Center of the Philippines, the event promises a […]
Download this month's BLUPRINT magazine digital copy from:
Subscribe via [email protected]