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Pioneering plans to turn an abandoned colliery into a sustainable community has earned international recognition for a Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ Leicester (Âéw¶¹´«Ã½) Architecture MArch graduate.

has been awarded a Commendation in the Silver Medal category of the 2021 President’s Medals, hosted annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to recognise the best Part 2 student projects around the world.

“It feels absolutely incredible to be recognised outside of a university setting, adding another achievement to my portfolio. I feel really driven to enter the RIBA Gold Medal awards next,” said 25-year-old Janusz from Oxfordshire.

Marking 185 years of RIBA awards, 2021 saw a record number of entries, with 338 nominations by 102 schools of architecture from across 31 counties.

With Chatterley Whitfield Colliery in Stoke-on-Trent as its anchor site, Janusz’s project, , explores a new industrial identity for the UK’s ‘rust belt’, while celebrating its golden era of production.

He said: “I looked at what infrastructure you would need to turn a toxic wasteland into a habitable space over the course of 50 years, from phytoremediation planting to remove toxins from the ground to a biofuel factory to turn the toxins into fuel.

“I also explored planting trees which can be harvested at a manufacturing warehouse on site and turned into residential spaces. Then you start to see a habitable space for a community on site.”

Janusz has been working on a 3D model of his project for the past two months, which will be shipped to Dubai in January to be featured in Âéw¶¹´«Ã½’s showcase at Expo 2020, a six-month event in which countries from around the world are sharing their best innovations.

“It’s been really nice going back at Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ to revisit this project on a large scale and to take it a step further,” he said.

“The university sponsored my project for Expo 2020, which means I get to use its cutting-edge facilities without having to worry about costs. It’s been a great opportunity,” he said.

Since graduating this year, Janusz has been working as a Part 2 Architectural Assistant at the Leicester branch of the award-winning Maber Associates.
He said: “It’s a fantastic company to work and they’ve even given me half a day off every week to work on my 3D model.

“The skills I developed at Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ definitely helped me to make an impression at the interview stage. Since securing the role, I’ve been thrown in the deep end with a big modelling project, but luckily it’s nothing that’s not already within my arsenal.”

With an Architecture BA (Hons) under his belt too, Janusz has studied at Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ for five years and is considering taking his Architectural Practice Postgraduate Diploma (Part 3) at the university too, once he completes his year in industry.

“I always knew I wanted to study something creative yet practical, so architecture was a great choice for me,” he said.

“Returning to Âéw¶¹´«Ã½ after my undergraduate degree was a big decision, but I chose to do so because the facilities in the Vijay Patel Building are outstanding and the teaching staff are really supportive.”

or email him about it at januszmoore@hotmail.com.