Kingston University architecture student commended in prestigious RIBA awards

A Kingston University student's dissertation has received a commendation in the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Dissertation Medal category for a groundbreaking study inspired by Hebron’s Old City in the West Bank, Palestine.

Manar Abu Aisheh, who grew up in Brighton following her family's move from Jordan, was recognised for her   dissertation Inheriting Space: How Hebron's Old City Negotiates Memory, Identity, and Spatial Change Amid Political Constraints. The work explores how architecture can inherit memory rather than simply preserve it, revealing layers of history and resilience often overlooked by formal urban planning.

Innovative approach to architectural memory

Manar’s work, part of the final project in the Architecture (ARB/RIBA Part 2) MArch, combined oral histories, archival research, hand-drawn reconstructions and theoretical frameworks to understand how the Hebron's residents have adapted their living spaces across eight centuries of political transformation—from Mamluk and Ottoman rule through the British Mandate to the present day.

Manar's methodology broke new ground by merging memory, drawing, and storytelling to document architectural knowledge that exists beyond written sources. Working with her grandfather, who grew up in Hebron’s Old City, she reconstructed the family home through real-time sketching during interviews, capturing forgotten details such as embroidered  carpets, cross-vaulted floral ceilings  and one-metre-thick stone walls with niches used for showering.

Collaborating with Dr Ghassan Dweik, Head of Architecture at Palestinian Polytechnic University, further verified historical details and highlighted how residents negotiated space without formal property rights—exchanging, selling, or combining rooms as needed. 

Discoveries with contemporary relevance

Manar's dissertation uncovered striking historical details, including Ottoman traditions of government-provided meals that reduced the need for kitchens—a custom that continues today with one meal still supplied daily for those in need. 

The dissertation directly informed Manar's design project for London, a new modular housing system inspired by Hebron's adaptive spatial practices. "When the city couldn't expand any more, people couldn't build up any more, so they started negotiating, exchanging rooms or knocking down walls," she explained. "That concept inspired my design project where I created a modular grid housing system where you could actually swap rooms with your neighbours."

Recognition from RIBA and Kingston University

Senior Lecturer and MArch Unit Tutor in the Department of Architecture and Landscape at Kingston School of Art, Tom Coward, praised the dissertation’s sensitivity in addressing a historic, contested, urban space. "The RIBA award is highly prestigious – the highest level of recognition for academic writing that the professional institution offers across all universities studying architecture,” he said. 

“Manar's dissertation reveals an ethical position around which housing conventions could continue to evolve, developed in direct relation to her emerging design thesis considering new models of cohabitation."

RIBA President Chris Williamson said he was encouraged to see emerging architects embracing new, innovative ways of thinking and designing. "What sets this year's winning projects apart is not only their deep commitment to a sustainable future while evidencing a thoughtful engagement with history and heritage, but also, and in a quite humbling way, how they carve new facets for the architect's role in learning from and representing the communities they serve," he said. "This is a new generation of emerging professionals for whom architecture is a much wider discipline than the one we currently know."

A record year for RIBA President’s Medals

Presented annually for 189 years, the RIBA President’s Medals celebrate the world’s best student work in architecture. In 2025, the awards attracted a record 378 entries, with up to five commendations awarded in each category.

Manar’s commendation places her among the most promising voices in architectural research, demonstrating how memory and lived experience can reshape both historical understanding and future housing design.

• Find out more about studying at Kingston School of Art’s department of Architecture and Landscape.
• Read Manar Abu Aisheh’s commended dissertation.
• Top image photograph © Jackie King.