James Martin MRIAI awarded the RIAI E1027 Fellowship at the Centre Culturel Irlandais

Under its research initiative, the RIAI is supporting a one-month residency for a Registered Architect to conduct research through practice at the Centre Culturel Irlandais (CCI). The research includes a funded visit to Eileen Gray’s iconic E1027 in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. This is the second iteration of the award.

Following an open call, we are delighted to announce that James Martin MRIAI is the 2025 recipient. 

Over the course of the residency James intends to explore and investigate the structures necessary to bring about change in the construction industry. He will carry out on-the-ground research through site visits and interviews with Parisian Architects building in rammed earth. The projects of interest range in scale and complexity and by examining them first-hand, he aims to map the origin of materials, the network of players involved, and the legislative processes necessary for their realisation. The output will take its form in drawings, material samples, photographic essays, soil recipes and transcribed interviews, and he intends to exhibit these upon return.

RIAI Jury Citations

James Martin MRIAI

A very clear and focused proposal to directly support architectural practices’ transition to zero carbon. James identifies built raw earth projects in Paris to be documented and which will form the basis of an exhibition. His position as a venturous practitioner and his track record of delivering built participatory installations augurs well for a successful and significant output.

Other shortlisted entires:

• Sarah Doheny MRIAI
• Eimear Arthur MRIAI

The Jury: Chair, Professor Michael McGarry FRIAI; Dr Miriam Delaney MRIAI, School of Architecture, TU Dublin; and Ben Mullen MRIAI, inaugural winner of the E1027 Fellowship.