University Centre of Ahmedabad University Wins Prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects International Award for Excellence 2024

University Centre of Ahmedabad University Wins Prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects International Award for Excellence 2024

26th June 2024  Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India It is a tremendous honour for Ahmedabad University that the University Centre, designed by Stephane Paumier Architects, has won the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) International Award for Excellence 2024. The RIBA awards are recognised globally as celebrating outstanding work in architecture demonstrating design excellence, visionary thinking, and social impact.

According to the RIBA jury, the University Centre of Ahmedabad University, one of the eminent groups of winners across 14 countries, symbolises a bold gateway between the University and the heritage city of Ahmedabad in India’s State of Gujarat. Housing an energising place for the exchange of ideas, informal meetings, and social events, the University Centre is one of three ‘iconic’ buildings, along with two of the University schools, the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, surrounding a central landscaped park. Within the Centre are housed incubation spaces, student services, a food court, multipurpose spaces for sport, performance and cinema, with a running track and futsal court located on the roof.

Articulating the spirit behind the building, Ahmedabad University Vice Chancellor Professor Pankaj Chandra says, “Academic buildings provide a perspective on how educational institutions define their engagement with the purpose and soul of the institution – the building of a student’s mind, its values and their inter-relationship, as well as the space for imagination by its faculty…The amazing University Centre sends a message that vibrant and meaningful learning outside the classroom must complement that inside. This is what transformative education is about! This is the value of academic buildings and their architecture.”

The RIBA awards are decided through a rigorous process by a jury chaired by Simon Henley of the award-winning London-based architecture practice, Henley Halebrown. Each selected project is visited in person by an expert designated as a RIBA Local Ambassador. All the RIBA winners go on to be considered for the RIBA International Prize for the world’s most transformative new building.