By Stabroek News
The University of Guyana鈥檚 (UG) Architecture Department in the Faculty of Engineering and Technology (FET) has once again copped the first prize at the 5th International Lekol Architectural Competition held in French Guiana from June 24 to 27.
According to a press release from UG, the Trades and Qualifications Campus of Excellence in the field of Wood, Eco-construction and Ecotechnology of French Guiana organised the international architecture competition for university students with the support of the Territorial Authority of French Guiana (CTG) and the state through the Regional Cooperation Fund (FCR). This year鈥檚 participants included the UG, Anton de Kom State University of Suriname, and the Federal University of the State of Amap谩 in Brazil.
According to the press release, the goal of the annual competition is to enable students in the architecture sector to design an ecological and solidarity-based project that meets the environmental concerns of the decade. The aim of the competition is to encourage students鈥 ability to innovate in the field of architecture by offering local populations an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable alternative. 鈥淭his year鈥檚 architectural project was a proposal for a convention centre to be placed on the campus of the university in French Guiana. The design needed to satisfy the best ratio between production cost and architectural efficiency, decarbonised construction, consider[ing] urban planning elements, volume and adaptability, functionality, site suitability, and cultural fitness,鈥 the release said.