Two South American architects Sandra Barclay and Gloria Cabral have been announced as the winners of this year's Women in Architecture Awards, jointly organised by The Architectural Review and The Architects' Journal.  

Peruvian architect Sandra Barclay has been announced as Architect of the Year - which is the top prize of the program, while Paraguayan architect Gloria Cabral has been named as the winner of the Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture in the 2018 Women in Architecture awards.

The Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture recognises excellence in design and a bright future for women designers under the age of 45, with an emphasis on achievements and completed projects, while the Architect of the Year award rewards a single recently completed project.

Sandra Barclay, founding partner of Barclay & Crousse. Image courtesy of Expodeco

Architect of the Year

Sandra Barclay, founding partner of Barclay & Crousse, has won the Architect of the Year award for her work on Peru’s Museo de Sitio de Paracas, designed by Barclay & Crousse, which has been designed to blend into its harsh desert surroundings as well as withstand them. The original museum was almost totally destroyed in the 2007 earthquake, and the design of its replacement had to preserve a memory of the former structure.

"Aware of the lack of control onsite and limited resources, the architects responded to the lack of context with a design that is both robust and simple, yet powerful, and even its man-made imperfection adds value to the building," judges commented on Barclay's architecture.

Sandra Barclay's Paracas Museum. Image © Cristobal Palma

The 2018 shortlist for the Architect of the Year Award included:  Biba Dow, Dow Jones Architects (United Kingdom) for the Garden Museum extension in London, Ángela García de Paredes, Paredes Pedrosa (Spain) for the transformation of two ancient houses in Oropesa, Spain and Stephanie Macdonald, 6a Architects (United Kingdom) for Cowan Court in Cambridge.

Sandra Barclay's Paracas Museum. Image © Cristobal Palma

Sandra Barclay's Paracas Museum. Image © Cristobal Palma

Sandra Barclay's Paracas Museum. Image © Jean Pierre Crousse

Gloria Cabral, partner at Gabinete de Arquitectura. Image courtesy of Rolex/Marc Latzel

Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture

Gloria Cabral, partner at Gabinete de Arquitectura, combines rational yet innovative construction techniques with humble materials, such as Paraguayan brick, inviting a challenge to conventions. Her projects aim to find more efficient ways to transform the environment with the tools available.

Cabral will receive a £10,000 prize fund created in memory of the late Moira Gemmill, director of design at the V&A and latterly director of capital programmes at the Royal Collection Trust. The prize fund will support Cabral in her continuing professional development.

"Beyond her deep understanding of materials and construction, Cabral showed a sensitive appreciation of the life and use of the buildings she designs. Her commitment is extraordinary and her passion is infectious, judges commented on Cabral's architecture.

The 2018 shortlist for the Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture included: Ilze Wolff, Wolff Architects (South Africa), Anna Puigjaner and Maria Charneco, MAIO (Spain) and Sook Hee Chun, WISE Architecture (South Korea).

Gloria Cabral's FADA. Image © Federico Cairoli

Gloria Cabral's FADA. Image © Federico Cairoli

Gloria Cabral's Banco BASA. Image © Federico Cairoli

Gloria Cabral's Banco BASA. Image © Federico Cairoli

Gloria Cabral's Fundación TEXO. Image © Federico Cairoli

The Women in Architecture awards, in association with The Architectural Review and The Architects’ Journal, were started in 2012 with the continuing aim of inspiring change in the architectural profession by celebrating great design by women architects from around the world and promoting role models for young women in practice. 

The program also awarded British architect Amanda Levete with the 2018 Jane Drew Prize and Dutch artist Madelon Vriesendorp with the 2018 Ada Louise Huxtable Prize for Women In Architecture Awards earlier this year.

Chaired by AR deputy editor Manon Mollard and AJ acting editor Emily Booth, the judges of the 2018 Architect of the Year Award and the Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture included: Albert Williamson-Taylor, Design Director of AKT II, Edwin Heathcote, Architecture and Design Critic of Financial times, Eva Jiřičná, Principal of Architects, Victoria Thornton, Founder of Open House and Open-City, Karen Livingstone, Director of Masterplan and Estate - Director of Masterplan and Estate, Cindy Walters, co-founder of Walters & Cohen, Michal Cohen, co-founder of Walters & Cohen and Tracy Meller, Partner at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.

Last year, Gabriela Carrillo was recognised with the accolade for the Criminal Courts for Oral Trials in Pátzcuaro, Mexico. Rozana Montiel received the Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture for a series of projects such as Veracruz Cancha, Común-Unidad and Tepoztlán House.

> via The Architectural Review and The Architects' Journal