Proud Tec graduate wins national award for architectural composition

Alejandra Kaplun, a graduate of the Querétaro campus of Tecnológico de Monterrey, has won the 36th Alberto J. Pani Architectural Composition Award 2020.

This is the most important award in the country in the field of architecture. The ceremony was held virtually for the first time. 

“It gives me great pride. I feel very honored that my teachers selected me and that I have been able to represent the Tec,” said the Tec graduate.

Alejandra, who graduated with a degree in Architecture last June and an honorable mention of excellence, participated in the Sacbé project.

This work consists of transitional villas that provide refuge to women and their families who have experienced situations of violence. They are located in Mérida, Yucatán, and are inspired by Mayan platforms and roads.

In addition to having complementary spaces that invite coexistence and therefore achieve a healthy lifestyle while providing privacy to the inhabitants of the place, safety and tranquility were also key elements in Alejandra’s project,

“Sacbé is a space for women to heal and children to learn,” she said.

The complementary spaces in the houses encourage coexistence and a healthy lifestyle. The two housing spaces have a large back garden which offers a great deal of privacy.

The architectural composition award

The Alberto J. Pani Prize is organized by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and includes the best students suggested by affiliates of the Association of Architecture Teaching Institutions of the Mexican Republic (ASINEA) in collaboration with the National Academy of Architecture.

Architectural composition is a method of combining different elements of perception, order, and emotions to achieve overall harmony.

The contest was divided into two stages and the central theme was gender violence.

For the short stage, the contestants had to come up with a structure that would represent violence against women.

Once the short stage of the contest was over, the five finalists were selected and informed of what the long stage would be about. In this stage, the transition villas for women in situations of violence were developed.

“The first stage was a bit complicated because we had to compete with a lot of people; the competition in the second stage was reduced as there were only five of us competing with each other, but that’s when everything came together,” said the Tec graduate.

“This award is not only mine; my teachers are part of it; also behind this award are my family and my university teachers for the different subjects I studied. I’m grateful for everything they taught me and for the education I received at the Tec,” said Alejandra.

Applauding the achievement

Academic advisor for architecture Karina Rodríguez Herbert comments on the great work Alejandra achieved over her degree course which this award reflects. 

“Of the 7 women that have won this renowned award, three students have been from the Querétaro Tec campus,” she said excitedly.

She made the following comments about the project:

“It is a very empathetic proposal with great architectural sensitivity. Ale conveys the essence of Sacbé with great force, simplicity, and delicacy: being a respite and a healing space for women and their families. I very much admire how concise and powerful her architectural language is,” the academic concludes.

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