Winner of the first Els Bet Award: Yeva Nikolenko

Friday June 27th the first edition of the Els Bet Award took place. Students from the Bachelor and Master submitted their best urban design drawings. The jury, consisting of Els Bet, Teake Bouma, Leo van den Burg and Birgit Hausleitner, chose a winner: Yeva Nikolenko, with her drawing ‘Townscape 0.2, Writing cities, reading cities’.

Jury Report

Using Gordon Cullen’s ‘Serial Vision’ method, Yeva created an impressive series of narrative illustrations depicting the old city centre of Lyon for the Grondslagen 4 project. She further developed Cullen’s approach by placing the human experience at the centre. The series reads like a graphic novel, complete with text balloons, while simultaneously offering a sharp, analytical view of the city. Morphology, typology, and the Town scape are carefully revealed in a series of drawings that arouse the viewer’s curiosity and encourage them to explore further.

The hand-sketched drawings in distinctive blue lines appear simple at first, but on closer inspection, each one reveals itself to be a carefully crafted work of art. Together, they form a convincing whole in which visual devices such as composition, contrast, rhythm and variety are used effectively. The combination of different types of drawing, including perspectives, cross-sections, floor plans and aerial views, creates a rich, layered image of the city.

The series demonstrates a professional attitude towards drawing as a design and research tool, as well as providing professional insights. The drawings clearly and convincingly communicate with both the professional audience and the interested layman. Yeva’s work is expressive and thoughtful, bearing a clear personal signature.

Jury:

Els Bet, Teake Bouma, Leo van den Burg, Birgit Hausleitner