The Water Research Prize of the World Architecture Festival 2020 was awarded to a three-member research team from the University of Patras and the University of West Attica in an online ceremony on 2nd December, following a competitive selection procedure among a large number of entries from around the world.
The team member from the University of West Attica was Professor Ioannis Sibetheros of the Department of Civil Engineering.
The other two members of the team are from the University of Patras: Professor Katherine Liapi, (lead researcher), Department of Architecture and PhD candidate Kyra Papanikolaou.
The prize is accompanied by a cash award of 10,000 pounds, sponsored by GROHE, to support the implementation of the winning research proposal. The objective of the proposal was the development of a suspended, modular and lightweight building facade system for evaporative cooling, using harvested rainwater.
The judges cited a variety of reasons for their selection of the winning entry: “…it uses a clever blend of environmental and product design, and at its heart it promotes sustainability in dense urban environments”; “…we decided as a jury that this project was a worthy winner because it exploits the scarce resource of water in a creative way and promotes sustainability via a visually impressive facade”.
It should be noted that the winning research team of the Universities of Patras and West Attica is currently investigating several issues in urban hydrology, such as the sustainable rainwater management in urban building blocks as a means of improving the urban water cycle and microclimate, thus promoting the concept of water sensitive design for water sensitive cities, with funding from the from the Hellenic Foundation for Research & Innovation and the Onassis Foundation. More information about the award at the following address:
https://researchprogramme.worldarchitecturefestival.com/2020-winner
