Former Corelli College student receives prize from the Royal Institute of British Architects

Tumem, 21, was one of the winners of the Leslie Jones Memorial Prize at Oxford Brookes. He received his prize from Mark Shipton, who is Chair of both RIBA South Region and RIBA Oxfordshire Branch. The Prize is awarded to BA students for the most progress in built construction, by the Branch that represents more than 600 architects across Oxfordshire.

The Prize was awarded at Oxford Brookes School of Architecture’s End of Year Show for students’ work. The judges were impressed with Tumem’s project Traditional Pottery of Nicosia.

Tumem’s idea was new pottery workshops for Cyprus’ capital, which would be inclusive and remind the community of its shared past. He says: ‘people become skilled at a craft through participating in it, getting involved in the production process and through associating with experts. Cypriots have memories of many aspects of conflict, and memories about place are especially potent.

‘The new pottery workshops represent what has been lost: a former homeland, a peaceful past, a way of life that is gone forever.’ Tumem previously attended Corelli College. He has just obtained first class honours for his three-year Part 1 course towards qualifying as an architect, which in the United Kingdom takes at least seven years. The next stage is a year out, working in an architectural practice. Tumem has just started work for Grimshaw Architects. Based in offices at London Bridge, Tumem is working on the development of London Bridge station, the cornerstone of the Thameslink rail project./ends Note for editors: The judges of the Leslie Jones Memorial Prize at Oxford Brookes School of Architecture were Mark Shipton of Oxford Architects, Chair of RIBA South and of RIBA Oxfordshire Branch; and Dan Wadsworth of Jessop and Cook Architects.

Based on information supplied by Ryan O'Neill.