This edition, the Promising Young Architect award goes to Laura Muyldermans. She convinced the jury through her versatile and socially engaged oeuvre – from artistic installation to conversion architecture – and her fresh perspective on the urgencies of contemporary architecture.

Laura Muyldermans. A name that to many is no longer unknown. That holds for me too, although for a long time it was different. My writing is inextricably linked to the privilege of following her work closely at the moment. We met in 2018 at Level Five, an artist cooperative in Brussels. Even then, somewhat intimidated, I let her know that I felt inspired by her idiosyncratic way of working within the architectural field. In 2021 we sat down for a conversation together for the podcast ‘Radio Level Five’. Her dedication and confidence in the power of dialogue was immediately palpable. Although Laura is one person, she takes the guise of multiple personae. Although Laura is one person, she prefers never to work alone. For me, the essence of her practice lies in consciously seeking what in French is called ‘l’altérité’¹. From person to person, from person to building, from person to … being, and back again. 1 ‘Otherness is a concept of philosophical origin meaning “the character of what is other’ and ‘the recognition of the other in his or her difference”.’ Marie Liendle, 2012.