ʻPath to Paradisoʼ, by Liverpool School of Architecture alumnus Louis Shepley, recently ranked within the top 20 architecture graduation projects for the 2025 Tamayouz Excellence Award and the only one from the UK, competing against 949 submissions representing 185 universities across 47 countries. Prior to this recognition, the project earned a 2025 RIBA Bronze Medal nomination.
Louis, who graduated in summer 2025 from LSA with first class honours, having previously spent a year abroad at City University of Hong Kong, developed his project within BA3 studio RE-heritage, led by Dr Giamila Quattrone, which focuses on the adaptive reuse of built heritage as a strategy to safeguard cultural heritage and manage change in historic settings while reducing environmental impact. The project, situated in Mulazzo, Italy, explored themes rooted in the land and language of the people to propose an evocative design response, using architecture as an allegory through Dante Alighieri’s notable work, ‘The Divine Comedy’. Louis’s approach to design encouraged dialogue about what came before, treating the built environment as an experiential tool for understanding place and memory.
Since graduating, Louis has been working as a Part 1 Architectural Assistant at Ayre Chamberlain Gaunt, with plans to pursue his MArch in 2026.
Read more about ʻPath to Paradisoʼ here
Read more about the 2025 Tamayouz Excellence Award here
Read more about the project's 2025 RIBA Bronze Medal nomination here