Tomás Masó, lecturer and PhD candidate at UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, wins the 2025 Richard H. Driehaus Architecture Competition
Tomás Masó, lecturer in Critical Thinking and Projects and PhD candidate in Architecture, has been awarded first prize in the prestigious 2025 Richard H. Driehaus Architecture Competition with the proposal Ni Arrai! at the Irurita site (Navarre). The project team also includes Javier Manén and Enric Mas.
In this edition, the Ni Arrai! proposal, submitted by the team of Javier Manén, Enric Mas and Tomás Masó, was selected as the winning entry for the Irurita site (Baztán Valley, Navarre). This year’s competition also included the municipalities of Baltanás (Palencia) and La Fresneda (Teruel). The contest aims to promote the continuation of traditional building methods, encouraging urban environments that respect the character of each place while adapting to new sustainability challenges.
The awards ceremony took place at the Segovia campus of IE University, attended by prominent institutional and academic representatives. Among them were Susana Alcalde Amieva, deputy director-general of the Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute; Miguel Larrañaga Zulueta, vice-rector for Student Affairs at IE University; David Goodman, dean of IE School of Architecture and Design; José Franqueira Baganha, vice-president of the Foundation for Traditional Building Cultures; Susana Moreno Falero, dean of COACYLE; and Alejandro García Hermida, executive director of the Foundation for Traditional Building Cultures and Chair of the competition jury.
This award recognises the research and professional work of Tomás Masó in architecture related to heritage, a strategic area within the teaching and research agenda of UIC Barcelona School of Architecture. The University remains firmly committed to promoting architectural models that integrate respect for historical and cultural contexts with the needs of contemporary society.