Visit the winning projects
Study on the Correlation between the Green Form and Microclimate
1st Place – Winner
DaWei Chen, an undergraduate student in the Department of Urban and Rural Planning at Beijing University of Technology, won the ENVI-met UNI LAB AWARD 2023, exploring the impact of green infrastructure on the microclimate of historical and cultural blocks in old Beijing, demonstrating that greening strategies, including spacing adjustments and plant types, can significantly enhance environmental quality and human comfort by regulating temperature, humidity, and wind speed.
Plant’s health and microclimate in a warming world
2nd Place
Luiza Sobhie Muñoz, PhD Candidate at FAUUSP/ Brazil, and Daniel Felipe Outa Yoshida, Graduate from the School of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of São Paulo and master’s in architecture and Urbanism from the same institution in 2022, evaluated the impact of urban morphology patterns on plant health in Sao Paulo, Brazil, under current and future climate conditions, finding that certain urban zones exhibited heat stress in extreme conditions, highlighting the role of urban morphology and shading effects in influencing plant health and temperature regulation.
Assessment of greenery in urban canyons to enhance thermal comfort and air quality
3rd Place
Mohammadreza Baradaran Motie, recently graduated from Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran, Iran, with a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture. His study emphasized the significance of wind speed and relative humidity in pedestrian-level air pollution, highlighting that patterns with lower wind speeds had higher air pollution deposition, corroborating previous research; it also revealed that specific greening patterns, particularly “Tree center” patterns with deciduous trees in median strips, effectively improved thermal comfort conditions and reduced air pollution in urban canyons.
View last years winners
The jury of four international experts in the field of sustainable architecture chose the winners of out of 70 submissions. Due to the excellent quality of the first winning entries, we decided to award four winners in 2022.
UNI LAB AWARD 2023
The selection of winners was carried out by an independent panel consisting of five prominent international experts specializing in sustainable architecture, who diligently reviewed and evaluated 120 submissions. We are delighted to introduce the recipients of the prestigious UNI LAB Award 2023, comprising four remarkable projects that have showcased groundbreaking solutions for enhancing urban resilience in various countries. Given the exceptional quality of the top submissions, this year, we have chosen to recognize four winners.
Our commitment to fostering awareness about the far-reaching effects of climate change among students on a global scale has underscored the remarkable impact of youth-led initiatives in combatting environmental challenges. However, we also recognize that numerous innovative ideas and initiatives have remained hidden and unheard. It was with this motivation that we launched the UNI LAB Award in the spring of 2022.
By recognizing and celebrating the ingenuity and dedication of these student innovators, the UNI LAB Award aims to amplify their voices and inspire others to take proactive steps toward a more sustainable and resilient future. Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, and we firmly believe that the fresh perspectives and innovative solutions brought forth by young minds are essential in driving meaningful change.
As we showcase these outstanding projects, we hope to encourage further collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and collective action in the global community, ultimately contributing to a world where urban environments are not only resilient to climate change but also harmonious and sustainable for all.
Jury
Meet our Judges
Richard De Dear
Emeritus Professor in the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Sydney, Co-Chair of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA-EBC) Annex 69 on Adaptive Thermal Comfort in Low Energy Buildings and also Technical Advisor to the World Health Organization/ World Meteorological Organization Joint Climate and Health Office on Indoor Heat Risks to Human Health.
Carmen Galán-Marín
Architect and Professor/ Chair of Construction Technology and Sustainable Architecture at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Seville and Head of the SATH research group (Sustainability in Architecture, Technology and Heritage).
Emanuele Naboni
Associate Professor of Climate Change Design at the University of Parma (Italy), Lecturer at the Master of Architecture of Extreme Environments at The Royal Design Academy (Copenhagen, Denmark), Module Leader at the School of Sustainability of Mario Cucinella Architects (Milano, Italy).
Jonathan Natanian
Architect and Assistant professor at the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Head of the Environmental Performance and Design Laboratory (EPDL). Since 2014 he is also leading StudioADAPT.
Edward Ng
Architect and Yao Ling Sun Professor of Architecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK. At CUHK, he is an Associate Director of the Institute of Future Cities (IOFC) and the Team Leader of Urban Sustainability and Public Health in the Institute of Energy, Environment and Sustainability (IEES).
About ENVI-met
Who we are and why we do what we do
With ENVI-met, we help create more liveable cities for people, in balance with the natural environment. While sustainability is often perceived as protecting the environment at the cost of meeting people’s needs, this does not have to be the case – and we can prove it with scientifically verifiable figures. Since its founding in 2014, ENVI-met GmbH has been committed to understanding the dynamics of local environments to enable sustainable urban design. We use ENVI-met simulations to research and quantify the effects of architecture and urban planning on the microclimate of outdoor spaces.