Part 2 architectural assistant beguiles with a playfully reimagined second-century monastic complex, winning second place in the Eye Line 2025 Student category
A quick search on ‘monastery of St Vitus’ in Naples yields nothing. But facts should never get in the way of a good story – and Dominik Los, a Part 2 assistant at rg+p, spins a fine one.
His project, on the remains of the city’s “second-century monastic complex” (Alexa: does he mean Santa Maria della Vita?) posits a radical reimagining of the site: “a tricephalous narrative… merging functions of a homeless shelter, builder’s yard and nightclub to meet modern necessities of the crumbling city.”
Views from the architect’s desk to the ‘Materdei Neighbourhood Rehabilitation & Repair Centre’ and of the church-cum-nightclub are exquisitely rendered at almost photographic levels of quality.
As if to scotch any argument that he might not have proper drawing skills, he counterpoints them with a lovely pencil-drawn axonometric section of the re-imagined site, showcasing a heavenly level of ability.
“They show a clear suite of architectural skills that beguile the viewer into believability,” said Jan-Carlos Kucharek, the judging panel chair.
Meanwhile Koldo Lus Arana saw the Architect’s Office image as “within the tradition of Joseph Gandy’s work with Soane”, and Bongani Muchemwa loved how it “distilled elevation, plan interior and model into one”.
Duggan loved Los’s “wit and play”, making him seem an architect “comfortably residing” in his project.
“He brings the processes and thinking of his vision to bear in a concentrated form,” added Hardingham. “These are totalising drawings.”