Every year, the RSUA runs the Alan Barnes Scholarship for 3rd Year Undergraduates. The Scholarship offers the opportunity for Architecture students to travel to discover architecture in a destination of their choosing. Find out more about the Alan Barnes Scholarship here.
Winner of the Alan Barnes scholarship in 2025, Alex Peacock, has returned from a stay in eastern China, visiting the cities of Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Alex’s research had a particular focus on the architecture and urbanism of Chongqing.
Alex said, “The vastness and complexity of China is beyond description; and its architecture is just as alien and amazing. It is a society which is both more futuristic than Ireland in some respects, yet more traditional in others.”
“I found myself drawn, above all, to the unique aspects of their architecture, being their extremely futuristic, neon, greenery covered buildings, which are built simultaneously alongside revivals of traditional Chinese houses with their distinct roofs, or revivals of western classical beaux arts buildings. Thousands of rows of identical apartment blocks loom over lively traditional streets with interesting shopfronts and ground level facades.”
“The architectural climate of these cities is endlessly stimulating as a result of all the new and different styles, street signs, flowers and vegetation, not to mention the liveliness of the markets, and streets full of mopeds and vendors, and the public who were curious to see me, a rare visitor to their obscure streets.”
