Roy Khatchadourian, an Armenian student from the University of Liverpool, won the Dissertation Medal at this year’s RIBA President’s Medals Student Awards for his thesis titled A Juxtaposition of Ideological Expressions: Evaluating the Urban Transformations of Yerevan (Armenia) During 1915-2015, De Zeen reports.

The RIBA President’s Medals are prestigious architecture awards granted to graduating students of architecture worldwide.

Tutored by Iain Jackson, Khatchadourian focuses on the role of architecture in creating a sense of identity following political oppression in the Armenian city of Yerevan.

“What determines our sense of belonging to a territory? How can an identity be maintained, or created? Yerevan – the crown jewel and capital city of Armenia – has been grappling with these issues in a quest of rediscovering its national pride, after years of political oppression, even genocide,” explained Khatchadourian.

“This dissertation explores the role of architecture in this endeavour through Alexander Tamanyan’s work, an overlooked master whose contribution forms today’s city branding…”

Besides Khatchadourian, six student winners were also announced at a ceremony at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London on December 6.

Thomas Chee from The Chinese University of Hong Kong received the biggest accolade – the Silver Medal – for his project Crafts Vault: The V&A Academy of Artisanal Crafts.

The Bronze Medal, on the other hand, went to Allan Chong from Newcastle University for Formless for his project An Alternative Typology for Preservation.