03/02/2021

Former student Nerea Amorós Elorduy a finalist for the International Moira Gemmill Award for young designers

The organisers valued her ten years of work in East Africa, undertaking projects focusing on child development and assistance for refugees

Nerea Amorós Elorduy, a graduate of the 2010-2011 Master's Degree in International Cooperation in Sustainable Emergency Architecture and currently an associate lecturer on the same programme, has been selected as a finalist for the international Moira Gemmill award, which is awarded by The Architectural Review and The Architect’s Journal. This award is given as part of the W Awards, which recognises women's overall contribution to the profession, promotes role models for young women and respect, diversity and equality in architecture. Specifically, the Moira Gemmill Award recognises designers under the age of 45, with a focus on a portfolio of achievements and completed projects. 

The former UIC Barcelona School of Architecture student is currently in charge of Creative Assemblages, a research and architecture studio based in Kampala, Uganda. Over the past ten years, she has worked extensively in East Africa on architectural projects that focus on child development and assistance for refugees. “It is an honour to have been nominated and to be a finalist for this award, as there are not many international awards for women in the field of architecture. Moreover, it is very encouraging to see that work carried out over a decade focusing on issues such as child development and assistance for refugees has been recognised, as these are issues that are not normally very attractive in the field of architecture,” she pointed out.

The finalists of the new edition of the award include other emerging international talents, such as Cristina Monteiro, co-founder of London studio DK-CM, Verónica Villate, co-founder of the Paraguayan Studio Minimo Comun and Ana Clemente, Laura Lluch, Núria Vila, Eulàlia Daví, Ariadna Artigas and Cristina Gamboa, all co-founders of the architects cooperative Lacol, based in Barcelona. The prize is £10.000 and the winner will be announced on 10 March.