UG Architecture students win top prize at prestigious international design competition

– second 1st place win for the department

The Architecture Department of the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Engineering and Technology has claimed top honours once again, securing first place at the 5th International Lekol Architectural Competition, held in French Guiana from June 24 to 27, 2025.

The winning design was inspired by the Cayenne Nightjar — a bird spotted only once in French Guiana in 1970. The building bio mimicked the bird’s features in terms of colour, wings, flight dynamics, and anatomy. The total square footage exceeded 19,000, with 30% of the space allocated for green areas.
This marks Guyana’s second first-place win since it began competing in 2023. Last year, the country took home the top prize for sustainability in construction for its design of an engineering and architecture faculty for the University of Guyana campus.
The winning students will present their project during this year’s departmental final-year dissertation presentations, to be held in the Engineering and Technology boardroom.
Second place in the competition went to Brazil, while Suriname claimed third place.

Head of the University of Guyana’s Architecture Department, Dr Anna Perreira, shared her enthusiasm and pride following the department’s victory. She noted that the achievement reflects not only the strength of the academic programme but also the high calibre of students it continues to produce.
“I feel proud of the success the department has accomplished in this architectural competition, as it signals the expertise the department possesses and the calibre of students in the programme. The opportunity to compete with other universities and win not only brings credibility to the department but also to the University of Guyana,” Dr Perreira stated.
She further explained that UG’s internal selection process is a key factor behind the department’s continued success. Unlike other participating universities, which typically submit work prepared by preselected teams or individuals, the University of Guyana requires all final-year architecture students to compete internally. This rigorous process ensures that the most innovative and well-developed proposal represents the university on the international stage.
“What is unique about how we prepare ourselves for this competition is that the entire cohort first competes internally amongst themselves to then identify the best proposal, which will represent the university’s submission. The competing universities do not adopt this approach. However, it allows us equal opportunity for the students to prove and apply their knowledge and skills,” she explained.
The International Architecture Competition was organised by eco-construction and ecotechnology of French Guiana, with support from the Territorial Authority of French Guiana (CTG) and the French State through the Regional Cooperation Fund (FCR).
This year’s participants included the University of Guyana, Anton de Kom State University of Suriname, and the Federal University of the State of Amapá, Brazil.
The aim of the annual competition is to enable architecture students to design ecological and solidarity-based projects that address the pressing environmental concerns of the decade. The competition encourages innovation in architecture by challenging students to propose environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable solutions for local communities.
This year’s architectural challenge was to design a convention centre for the University of French Guiana’s campus.
The design was required to balance production cost and architectural efficiency, incorporate decarbonised construction, consider urban planning elements, volume and adaptability, functionality, site suitability, and cultural relevance.
The UG contingent included Head of the Architecture Department, Dr Anna Perreira; lecturer, Kurt Gonsalves; and final-year BSc Architecture students Kiana Persaud, Aditya Mohanlal, and Denish Ramnarin.
The department conducted an internal competition among final-year students, which saw an unprecedented 10 groups — each comprising three students from both the third and fourth years — developing their own designs.
From January to mid-May 2025, part-time lecturers Godfrey Proctor and Kurt Gonsalves, along with Dr Perreira, guided the students during their design studio classes to develop their concepts. The winning team was selected by a jury composed of faculty members from the Architecture Department.
The final international jury comprised Jenny Sanchez (Vice Dean of Research & Outreach, Faculty of Arts, National University of Colombia, Bogotá Campus); architect Caroline Marie-Calixte, who developed the competition’s design brief; two local architects; one civil engineer; the Chief of the University of French Guiana; and the Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM), France.
The Department of Architecture expressed appreciation to the lecturers and students who supported Team UG’s successful representation of the University of Guyana, the organisers of the Lekol Architectural Competition, and the French Ambassador to Guyana and Suriname, Nicolas de Lacoste.