For the first time ever, Greek students have won first prize in a competition organized by Buildner, a leading international architectural platform.
Lampis Farantos and Konstantinos Vlachavas, students at the University of West Attica‘s Department of Interior Architecture, took the top spot in the Sustainable Design category of the “Hospice – Home for the Terminally Ill” competition.
The students’ architectural proposal was selected from a field of submissions from top universities and professional architects worldwide. According to the university, this achievement is a testament to the department’s ability to equip its students with the skills needed to compete on a global stage.
“The award was never our goal,” the students said in a joint statement. “What mattered was to express our thoughts and respectfully present our proposal. The international recognition, however, came as a moving confirmation that two students from Greece, without professional experience, can stand with claims next to architects from all over the world. This gives us strength and faith to continue.” They also credited their lecturer, Manolis Anastasakis, for encouraging their participation.
Greek architecture students show the ability to connect theory and practice
The university’s rector, Professor Panagiotis E. Kaldis, expressed immense pride, stating, “It is an honor and fills the entire academic community with pride… This distinction certifies the high level of our academic and research work, as it is awarded alongside leading academic institutions with great tradition.”
Professor Eleni Tatla, President of the Interior Architecture Department, praised the students for their ability to connect theory and practice, while lecturer Manolis Anastasakis highlighted the award as a reflection of the students’ design abilities and the department’s focus on modern, outward-looking education.
The University of West Attica, launched in 2018, was born from the merger of three historic universities that had been operating in the Greek capital for decades: the multidisciplinary Technological Educational Institute of Athens and Piraeus University of Applied Sciences, both founded in 1973, and the prestigious National School of Public Health, founded in 1929 by then-Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos.
Headquartered near the iconic archaeological site of Plato’s Academy in Athens, it places emphasis on extroversy, research and innovation as it plans to attract more students from abroad through specially-designed courses for foreigners.
