2023 Noel Hill Award Winner

AIA UK is delighted to announce the winner of this year’s £3000 Noel Hill Award is Melis Ellen Gurdal, from the University of Cambridge.

Melis’ research focuses on water justice and hydro-social theory, with a focus on liminal territories within the Middle East. Melis’ work uses water distribution as a navigational tool to reveal pressure points and to rethink the notions of “identity”, “territory”, and “belonging.” The research aims to learn from locals and nomads of arid and desert lands who have lived with drought for a long time.

Melis presented fieldwork carried on the border of Turkey and Syria, which includes empirical research focusing on the water culture of border zones, as well as fieldwork in Central Anatolia which documented Seljuk Caravanserais and collected quantitative data. Melis will use the Noel Hill Award to complete research on the Aegean coast where uncontrolled migration and water scarcity are causing severe problems. The research will document hydro-social spaces and migration conditions, aiming to explore how a shared and just water future could be created in this territory by creating convivial spaces and water rituals.

The judges commended the work and had the following comments.

‘'The Water Caravanserais of Anatolia project showed a sensitive, human-led response to a pertinent global issue. We believe the research developed by the student can help to inform and suggest approaches and methods to tackle design for climate adaptivity - a spatial issue that architects can make a significant and impactful contribution to. The work was presented beautifully, and conveyed in a way that was both thoughtful and compelling’

The Noel Hill Award was judged by David Ogunmuyiwa (Architecture Doing Place), Bongani Muchemwa (McloyMuchemwa) and Sanaa Shaikh (Native Studio). AIA UK would like to thank the judges for their participation and careful evaluation of all of this year’s entries.

Written by Nicholas Kehagias AIA, RIBA