Neapolis University’s Team Honoured at Architects Awards Ceremony in South Africa

The awards ceremony for the competition of the International Union of Architects (UIA), entitled ‘Utopia and/or Happiness’ was recently held in Durban, South Africa where the Master Programme in Landscape Architecture of the Neapolis University of Paphos (NUP) received an honorary award.

The event took place during the World Congress of UIA 2014 and the award was received on behalf of the NUP by Dr. Julia Georgi, Associated Professor of Landscape Architecture.

All Jury Members of the International Architecture Competition of Ideas 2014 (UIA) as well as Vassilis Sgoutas, former President of UIA, were present at the award ceremony.

During her speech at the ceremony, Dr. Georgi explained: “The award provides us with strength and optimism, which is needed to create current ‘utopian’ landscapes, not only for forthcoming, but for today’s generations as well.”

She elaborated: “The proposed green island and peripatetic gardens in the winning landscape structure create the perfect means to investigate the notion of modern utopia, providing an image of the world, which simulates ideal conditions encountered in paradise. Such a landscape may fulfill human dreams coming true in an expression of a better world, a space for contemplation, a borderland between reality and fantasy to escape the trappings of the modern world and reconnect humanity with nature.”

Neapolis University Pafos was established in 2007 and accepted students for the first time in September 2010. It is the only University in Paphos, and falls under the umbrella of the Leptos Group.