The bi-annual RIBA International Prize by the Royal Institute of British Architects recognises an architecture outside of the United Kingdom that is original and visionary in concept and execution, making a significant contribution to its users, surroundings and communities. The award underscores projects that set a benchmark for design excellence and novelty. For 2024, the recipient is Modulus Matrix, a social housing development in Cornellà, of the Barcelona province in Spain designed by Spanish architecture practice Peris + Toral Arquitectes, co-founded by Marta Peris and Jose Toral. Completed in 2021, the six-storey building was, at the time, Spain’s largest timber-framed project. It features an inclusive and sustainable architecture, comprising 85 housing units built around a square communal courtyard design.

The Grand Jury for the RIBA International Prize 2024 was chaired by Chinese architect and co-founder of Amateur Architecture Studio, Lu Wenyu; Nigerian architect, founder of Oshinowo Studio and curator of the 2023 Sharjah Architecture Triennial, Tosin Oshinowo; and Italian architect, curator and the Museum of Modern Art’s R&D director Paola Antonelli. German project Jacoby Studios by Berlin-based David Chipperfield Architects and Chinese project Lianzhou Museum of Photography by O-office Architects were shortlisted alongside Modulus Matrix.

Based on a model brief released by the public organisation Metropolitan Institute of Land Development and Property Management (IMPSOL) that has provided over 5,000 homes to people, the project sits on a mix of public and private land sanctioned by local authorities in the interests of facilitating innovative, financially self-sufficient housing projects.

Research by Spanish architect Marta Peris on the films of Japanese filmmaker Yasujirō Ozu一whose films explore the dynamics of human relationships in the context of Japanese homes一inspires the residential design of the complex. A square tatami mat module of 3.6metre informs the interior design layout of the homes, where every space is of the same size, arranged in an enfilade. Even though the apartment designs have no defined spatial hierarchy and are adaptable to the ever-changing needs of the residents, the kitchen is placed at the centre of units to underline domestic labour that often goes unnoticed. The insightful experiences of those living in the building could potentially bring about a change in the social housing designs in the world.

“The ‘looseness-of-fit’ sets this building apart from more conventional housing. The grid-like layout promotes easy movement and interaction, creating what the architect calls ‘a democratic house’ with no hierarchy between living, eating and sleeping spaces.

The building allows for both adaptation to new and culturally-specific living arrangements一beyond the traditional nuclear family一and provides flexibility and adaptability over time as the use in each room can be easily changed,” the press release details.

The modern homes are divided into groups of four, with 18 apartment units on every floor, positioned in close proximity to the circulation cores for ease of access. Based on either a two-bedroom or a three-bedroom layout, the apartments are available in five or six modules. The units feature galleries that face the courtyard architecture and act as ‘spill-over’ multi-purpose spaces, as well as private balconies on the exterior of the building, overlooking the urban landscape. Additionally, mesh screens and Barcelona shutters along the galleries facilitate privacy, acoustic insulation and shade from natural light.

“This visionary scheme allows for new and future ideas of what constitutes a family by embracing flexibility and longevity, loose fit architecture, it is a radical approach to social housing that creates a place designed for people to adapt and inhabit in the long term,” says RIBA president Muyiwa Oki. According to Oki, the housing exhibits ‘genuine change’ and ‘transformational spirit’, delivering quality housing through sustainability and social innovation. The wood architecture of the building reduces carbon dioxide emissions and the modular design system makes the timber construction process easier and faster, ultimately embodying an environmentally conscious and sustainable design approach. The residential architecture’s consistent internal layout creates a ‘matrix of communicating rooms’ and contributes to spatial relationships among multiple units in addition to the internal spaces within a unit.

“Not defined by stereotypes or fixed assumptions of what constitutes ‘family’, the intelligent organisation of space encourages lively interaction and connection within the community, ensuring that the architecture functions on different scales, from the discrete dwelling to the collective space,” informs Wenyu on Modulus Matrix on behalf of the Grand Jury.

Architects Peris and Toral share, "Winning the RIBA International Prize is a recognition of many years focused on housing that provides new ways of living. We are very proud of the positive feedback from residents of Modulus Matrix. Some were unsure about features like entering through a terrace, having an open kitchen at the centre of the home and equal-sized rooms without corridors, but their perspectives changed after living in the space. Now they feel this way of living better adapts to their needs. Their first-hand experiences provide valuable insights into how housing around the world can evolve.” Five years after the project’s completion, the complex’s residents feel a sense of community and belonging in the present.

Winner of RIBA International Emerging Architect Award 2024

Additionally, RIBA announced Chinese architecture practice ARCity Office as the winner of the 2024 International Emerging Architect Award, for their project Six Bricolage Houses in Nantou Ancient City in Shenzhen, China. The project comprised an array of six self-built homes designed as part of a community housing model for the historical city’s urban renewal. “It serves as an excellent sample, cleverly integrating formal spaces corresponding to the modernist city model with informal spaces corresponding to a wild, spontaneously growing state. This fusion gives rise to a ‘contradictory unity’ composed of various elements,” said Zhang Yuxing and Han Jing, the founders of ARCity Office. The architects assert that the thoughtful, sensitive integration of new construction with the existing structure created a co-existing duality, which could potentially serve as a model for the ‘sustainable growth’ of future cities and architecture.