The South Australian chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects has named the recipient of the 2023 Jack Hobbs McConnell Travelling Fellowship, awarded to a promising designer (usually South Australia-based) to undertake an independent research program or course to further study in architecture or a related field.
Recent graduate of the University of South Australia Reem Daou has received the 2023 fellowship and is the youngest recipient in the fellowship’s history.
Daou will use the $15,000 fellowship to study social sustainability and resilient communities, examining international initiatives that aim to improve the resilience of communities and seek ways that these approaches can be applied locally.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that social connections are paramount to individual and community wellbeing. “I’m interested in the important shared dynamic between hard and soft infrastructure in delivering socially inclusive places and the architect’s role in this,” said Daou.
The fellowship research will build on Daou’s master’s research thesis, “How can good design facilitate resilient systems?” As part of her travels, Daou will present her paper at the Repurposing Places for Social and Environmental Resilience conference in London.
Daou will also visit her home country of Lebanon to explore the social infrastructure designed by Lebanese architects in response to the 2020 Beirut explosion.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
