{"id":146,"date":"2026-10-30T13:46:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T13:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/saa-student-news\/?p=146"},"modified":"2026-10-30T13:46:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T13:46:16","slug":"architecture-graduate-highly-commended-in-aj-student-prize-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/saa-student-news\/2026\/10\/30\/architecture-graduate-highly-commended-in-aj-student-prize-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Architecture graduate highly commended in AJ Student Prize 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

School of Arts and Architecture graduate Elija Halil has been awarded Highly Commended in the AJ Student Prize 2026\u2019s postgraduate category, for his project exploring over 2,000 years of Dover\u2019s buried history.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Elija, who recently graduated with a Master’s degree in Architecture<\/a> at Kent, was formally recognised at the AJ Student Prize 2026 ceremony (organised by The Architects\u2019 Journal) earlier this month.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The project, titled \u2018The Ground Remembers\u2019, examined how architecture can reveal and reconnect Dover with its archaeological past. Beneath the coastal town lies an extraordinary record of human occupation, from the ancient Saxon shoreline to the remains of a Roman bathhouse and a Norman church. Rather than approaching archaeology as a collection of isolated artefacts to be preserved beneath the ground, the project considered how the process of excavation itself can become an architectural experience \u2013 inviting visitors to descend through the historical layers of the town.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The judging panel described Elija\u2019s work as \u2018powerful, impressive, confident and thought-provoking\u2019 and as \u2018an amazing magnum opus of a project\u2019. The panel praised Elija\u2019s research, concept and presentation.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On being highly commended, Elija said: \u2018To have <\/span>The Ground Remembers<\/span><\/i> recognised by The Architects\u2019 Journal is an incredible honour. This project became much more than an academic exercise. It challenged how I understood architecture, how I approached research and how I began to develop my own identity as a young designer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018What fascinated me about Dover was the extraordinary amount of history beneath a town that people move through every day, often without realising what exists below them. I wanted to explore whether architecture could do more than protect these histories.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Receiving this recognition, particularly among such talented graduates from across the country, means a great deal. It is a reminder of the importance of pursuing ideas that challenge you, even when the process is difficult.\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr Ambrose Gillick<\/a>, the MArch Course Lead at the School of Arts and Architecture, added: \u2018Elija\u2019s award of Highly Commended at the AJ Student Prize 2026 is a reflection of his dedication to the task of becoming an intuitive, thoughtful, rigorous and inspired designer. He has achieved this to such a high degree, all whilst being a great member of the student body and holding down a job<\/span>. He never failed to attend class with new thinking, abundant work and real engagement.<\/span>\u2018<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Elija\u2019s recognition at the AJ Student Prize 2026 follows his nomination for a RIBA President\u2019s Medals Silver Medal. As he continues his professional career as an <\/span>a<\/span>rchitectural de<\/span>signer, Elija hopes to develop his architectural interests through practice, independent projects and creative collaborations, building upon the research and design principles established during his postgraduate studies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Congratulations to Elija!<\/strong><\/p>\n

See the News Centre story.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

School of Arts and Architecture graduate Elija Halil has been awarded Highly Commended in the AJ Student Prize 2026\u2019s postgraduate category, for his project exploring … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40853,"featured_media":147,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,202868],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-successes"],"sub_title":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/saa-student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/saa-student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/saa-student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/saa-student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40853"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/saa-student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/saa-student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/saa-student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions\/148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/saa-student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/saa-student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/saa-student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/saa-student-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}