The Activism Award 2022 has been scooped by Oxford-based collective Transition by Design. Each year – and now for their sixth edition – the Archiboo Awards honour design and storytelling, architecture through the lens of user experience, and expert social media action. The winners of this year’s awards, including the unique gong that highlights the architecture and design activism category, have been announced in a dedicated ceremony in London this evening (9 November 2022).
Transition by Design’s Activism Award 2022
Supported by SOM, Buro Happold and Wallpaper*, the Activism Award was conceived to celebrate organisations, practice and individuals taking action on some of the most important issues of our times – such as racial inequality, gender disparity, homelessness, and LGBTQ+ rights. Transition by Design chose to tackle housing and homelessness, a critical element in our society, which the practice addresses with ‘energy, power and ingenuity of the quintessential grassroots activism group’, said the awards team.
In the way last year’s winner, Amy Francis-Smith, is a pivotal force in raising awareness around disability access in the urban environment, and housing in particular, Transition by Design takes action with a hyper-local approach, and utilises empty or underused spaces in Oxford to help support the homeless community. There's dynamism, a proactive approach, and innovation in this group's offerings, and its achievements so far, as well as its future potential, captured the judging panel's attention.
Archiboo Awards 2022
More winners were announced beyond the Activism Award 2022 category. BVN scooped Best Visual Design for its website by Base Design; Best Use of Social Media went to Open City; Best Overall to architecture studio Sheppard Robson and its website by BOB Design; the Alan Davidson Award for Storytelling was given to Phoenix Road Performing Gardens, with narrative and design conceived by NOOMA Studio; Best Podcast winner is American Hardwood Export Council + Disegno; Best Short Clip was offered to Tétris Design and Build; Best Digital Community Engagement went to Participatr; Best Use of Video to architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios; Best Written Content to architecture practice Haptic; Best Consultants to Office D Sharp; and Best User Experience to Ayers Saint Gross and its website by For Office Use Only.
‘This year’s winners have built a compelling brand identity that allows them to cut through the noise and to connect with audiences, whether that’s by producing an interesting podcast or even a short video that can be shared across social platforms. These creative initiatives are also really important for business growth and that is becoming more and more important with the economic clouds darkening. It would be a retrograde step for architectural communication if these investments were to be stopped as part of money-saving efforts in the future,’ says awards founder Amanda Baillieu.
Each winning studio and individual will receive a specially designed trophy, created by Letter27 and manufactured by Standard8 using 100 per cent recycled material made from plastic found in the sea.
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