The winner of the inaugural Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship was announced today, with £6,000 awarded to Ben Masterton-Smith for his proposal titled, Emerging East: Exploring and Experiencing the Asian Communist City. The grant, administered by the RIBA, will fund Bens international research on this topic, and will be presented in a report at the 2007 RIBA Presidents Medals Student Awards exhibition.
Currently a fourth year student at the UCL Bartlett, Ben aims to start his exploration in North Korea, examining the effects of communist ideologies on post- Korean War architecture. He then plans to conduct research in China, building on previous studies carried out in this country. Ben's journey will conclude in Vietnam where he will look at the contrasting cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as a counter point to Chinas rapid growth.
Isaac Maina Njeru of the University of Nairobi and Dean Munford of the University of Westminster also received £1000 each and commendations from the judges for their excellent submissions.
The judging panel comprised Lord Foster, Jack Pringle, President of the RIBA, Fiona McLachlan, Edinburgh University School of Architecture and Spencer de Grey and Stefan Behling of Foster + Partners.
