The Architects’ Journal Architecture News & Buildings
About the Welsh School of Architecture
Location Cardiff CF10 | Courses BSc Architectural Studies, MArch | Head of school Juliet Davis | Full-time tutors 30 | Part-time tutors 2 | Students 700 | Staff to student ratio 1:10
Undergraduate
Piotr Hejdysz
Course BSc Architectural Studies
Studio/unit brief Roma – Embassy (Unit 13)
Project title Casa Sol de Mayo – a new diplomatic and cultural centre for Uruguay in Rome
Project description Casa Sol de Mayo proposes a new diplomatic and cultural centre for Uruguay in Rome. Its goal is to create a prominent and representative space that reflects Uruguay’s cultural heritage and successful green transformation. By opening to the public via a café and art centre in the refurbished Cinema Farnese, the new embassy invites people to engage with Uruguay. These public spaces create an opportunity for diplomatic conversations between politicians and members of the public. The embassy’s private programme includes a salon for events, conference rooms, offices for diplomats, ancillary spaces and loggias on the upper floors opening to the courtyard and skyline of Rome.
Tutor citation The project evokes an optimistic future redolent of the past, integrating into and enhancing the city yet without self-aggrandisement. It’s an architectural expression of how diplomatic relations might ideally be pursued in this century. Tim Burton
Postgraduate
Megan King
Course MArch
Studio/unit brief Local Adaptation (Unit XV)
Project title The Shadow Earth Maze Trail
Project description The Shadow Earth Maze Trail is a walking route through the Atlas Mountains, Morocco, in response to the region’s extreme heat. The project follows a process of local adaptation, studying the region’s vernacular earth architecture and proposing a shaded circulation route constructed entirely from earth. The route is designed to enhance public gathering and trade while creating a temperature-controlled microclimate, freeing local livelihoods from heat and confined dwellings. The route aligns with the site’s distinctive attributes while responding to the region’s need for cooling during the summer months, with the creation of an architectural spectacle intended to attract tourism and boost the local economy.
Tutor citation Megan’s individual analysis, through learning of new digital tools and synthesis of that information, demonstrates a clear understanding of Morocco’s extreme climate and its implications. The process work was experimental and beautifully explored following a highly considered thesis that has resulted in a design that emerged from that process. Kate Darby, Gianni Botsford
