Ocon champions Liverpool’s architectural talent

Ocon managing director Andrew Barker presented the ‘Campus Project Design Individual Prize M.Arch’ to Masters student, Matthew O’Brien at an awards ceremony at the Liverpool School of Architecture on Friday 24^th June.

The University’s School of Architecture is the oldest of its kind in the UK and holds an awards ceremony every year to recognise the talented students on its Masters course. The university is investing £600m in developing its campus, including the £34m Vine Court scheme being built by Ocon, so a special set of awards has been introduced to add to the existing honours, rewarding the achievements of students that have excelled in the campus design project.

Professor Andre Brown, head of the university's school of architecture, explained: “The Masters course is for students that have already completed an undergraduate course and perhaps spent a couple of years in architectural practice.  Every year, our Masters students are set a real world project, usually by a major organisation within Liverpool.  This year, because of the campus development that’s currently underway, the campus estates team have set the design project and the results have demonstrated both considerable flair and commercial awareness from our students.”

Matthew’s prize was one of five special awards presented at the ceremony which also included group and individual awards for the campus design project masterplan, a group ‘individual project’ prize and an individual prize for ‘project focused on sustainability/construction technology’.

Andrew Barker added: “Liverpool has a rich architectural heritage which is in evidence everywhere you go around the city and today’s major schemes, including the Vine Court project that Ocon is currently building, continue to uphold that legacy.  It is only fitting that a city with such an extraordinary built environment should continue to nurture architectural talent and we are delighted to have played a small role in championing that talent by sponsoring this award.”

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