Meet the winning duo of the inaugural Daniel Forgues Bursary in Art, Engineering and Environment

Anita Lourié, a student in Concordia’s Studio Art program, and Juliana Delgado-Theophanides, BFA 20 (Studio Arts), from École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), are the winners of the first-ever Daniel Forgues Bursary in Art, Engineering and Environment. Their proposal stood out to the jury among a competitive pool of applicants.

Bridging art, engineering and eco-consciousness

The bursary program fosters interdisciplinary collaboration between students from ÉTS and Concordia, encouraging the creation of public art installations that raise environmental awareness and inspire sustainable action.

Lourié and Delgado-Theophanides’s winning proposal, Sculpture en pisé, envisions a striking public sculpture made of rammed earth, a sustainable building material crafted from compacted clay, soil, sand and sometimes cement. Their project aims to celebrate the potential of local, eco-friendly materials while promoting an interactive, educational approach to sustainable design.

“In using rammed earth, we can question the materials we use in the buildings we live in,” Lourié explains.

“By reusing locally sourced earth and clay, this project minimizes waste and promotes a circular economy,” Delgado-Theophanides adds. “We plan to source earth from as close to the site as possible — potentially even reusing construction debris. We’ve also proposed alternatives to using electrical tools, lowering the environmental footprint as much as possible.”

The team highlights that the project aligns with the Écoquartier Louvain’s dedication to sustainable practices, inviting community participation and a sense of collective ownership of the installation.

The pair say they hope the project will leave a lasting impact on the local community.

“I’m most excited about the workshop we’ll organize for primary students in the neighbourhood,” Delgado-Theophanides says. “We’ll teach them how to assemble rammed earth blocks. I’m looking forward to sharing how the sculptures are made.”