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Sustainable plans to regenerate Leicester’s Frog Island have earned Christina Agathangelou a respected architecture award.

The and graduate from Â鶹´«Ã½ Leicester (Â鶹´«Ã½) came third in the annual student competition run by 3DReid, an award-winning architecture practice with five studios across the UK.

Christina was recognised for her final-year Â鶹´«Ã½ project, based around Frog Island, which proposes reviving the ‘forgotten’ tradition of natural textile dyeing using plants and flowers.

Her inspiration came from her desire to restore the existing buildings on-site, formally housing a dyeing and bleaching company, in a more sustainable way.

To make the location an attractive destination for local people, Christina’s plans feature a museum, gardens, a market, coffee shops and restaurants, as well as a dyeing and planting school to highlight the importance of natural textile dyeing.

The 24-year old from Nicosia, Cyprus, said: “It feels great to have my work recognised on this level. Being part of such a big competition was an amazing experience, as I had the opportunity to compete with students from all over the UK and meet industry experts.”

Before embarking on her Master’s, Christina worked at Eraclis Papachristou Architects in Cyprus as a Part I Architectural Assistant.

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“I worked on various residential and commercial projects, assisting by designing and rendering, both in 2D and 3D. Due to the knowledge I had acquired at Â鶹´«Ã½, I was able to handle every challenge and project in the best possible way,” she said.

Returning to Cyprus after five years of studying at Â鶹´«Ã½, the 2017 graduate now feels well-equipped to pursue her future career.

She said: “Â鶹´«Ã½ has prepared me for my career in many ways. My tutors have inspired me to work harder, giving me the proper foundation for my future in practicing architecture.

“One of the highlights of my time at Â鶹´«Ã½ is that each year, thanks to for making it possible, we were able to visit a different country and study the architecture.

“During the first year of my Master’s I had the opportunity to visit Venice, Verona and Vicenza in Italy, where I got to personally experience the architecture that I have been reading about in books. Visiting all these cities was informative and a great inspiration for our projects.”

Christina also benefitted from the many guest lectures organised by Â鶹´«Ã½, which gave her a valuable insight into the industry.

“I really enjoyed hearing from industry experts who came in and presented some of their firm's work. Their talks were very interesting and helpful,” she said.

On her experience of studying in , Christina said: “It’s a great addition to the campus with cutting-edge facilities that benefit many students. For me, the best part were the workshops, where we had the chance to experiment with different kinds of materials.” 

She added: “What I miss most about Leicester and Â鶹´«Ã½ is the whole student experience. After five years, Leicester feels like home.”