SLIIT’s Tharusha Randula adjudged winner at prestigious INSPIRELI Awards

INSPIRELI Award winning moment

Sinharaja Exploratorium, by Tharusha Randula, SLIIT School of Architecture

• World’s largest student architecture contest 

SLIIT undergraduate Tharusha Randula has brought glory to Sri Lanka being named as the Winner of the Grand Prize for Architecture at the INSPIRELI Awards, the world’s largest student architecture contest.

Organised by the international social network Inspireli, the INSPIRELI Awards is a global student contest in architecture, urban design, landscape and interior design. The objective of the Awards is to enable new talent to tell their stories and raise awareness about their own world view before they receive a chance to build it. 

According to the organisers this is the first time since the INSPIRELI Awards was founded four years ago, that a student from Asia has been awarded this prestigious prize. 

Tharusha was among 29 finalists in the architecture category where his design, a Sinharaja Exploratorium – Wildlife Research Centre, Kudawa impressed the jury to clinch global recognition. Contestants submit not only visualisations of their work, but provided full technical details and specifications enabling complete feedback from the INSPIRELI Awards Jury. He received the award at the INSPIRELI Awards Annual Gala Ceremony held in Prague recently amidst an impressive gathering of respected and renowned personalities in the world of architecture, politics and the media. 

“It is indeed an honour that our student Tharusha Randula has emerged as the winner and first Asian student in clinching the INSPIRELI Award at the world’s largest student architecture contest. his ground-breaking design showcases the depth of talent and is also a credit to his teachers in harnessing his abilities,” said SLIIT School of Architecture Head Aishani Jayasinghe.

Tharusha Randula is a third year architecture student following the B.Sc. (Hons) Architecture Degree Programme offered through Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), UK and a past student of Nalanda College, Colombo. Showcasing a talent for art at an early age, he was the winner of numerous inter- school art competitions. He said, “I had a dream to become a zoologist. But with my talent for the art, I decided to apply for the architecture. I think this was the changing point of my life.”

The INSPIRELI Awards jury comprised renowned architects and academics from all over the world. Winners will receive comments about their work directly from the judging table to learn what industry experts love about their work and where they could improve.

Participating in the INSPIRELI Awards connects each participant to a vast and global network of personalities in the field of architecture and design. Additionally, as recipient of the Grand Prize for the Architecture award, Tharusha received the ‘Wings to the Future’ Trophy with his name engraved permanently marking his achievement. In addition he receives an ARCHICAD 22 professional licence, recognition in trade magazines, mentorship and guidance from the jury and a host of other benefits. His winning design has also been made into a Lego structure, where it is part of a Lego Architecture series. 

“As a co-founder and the president of the INSPIRELI Awards, we are extremely pleased that Tharusha Randula won the world biggest student award in the category of Architecture and also being the first Asian student to do so. Today, INSPIRELI Awards have become one of the world’s most successful contests supporting talented young architects and designers and winning this prestigious title will provide Tharush the ideal platform to grow and achieve great strides in his profession,” said INSPIRELI Awards Director and Co-Founder Karel Smejkal.