Saif

Announcing the 2025 winner of the Ilkeston Contemporary Arts Award for Sustainable Transport! This award recognises the project that best advances future mobility in the built environment, open to students of architecture at any level. The 2025 winner is: Saif Dino Sanoufe, @openstudio_wm @uow_studio4 Automonument 2040 critiques the cancellation of HS2’s northern leg through a speculative proposal at Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester-historic hub of the Industrial Revolution and now the UK’s AI capital. The project reclaims the abandoned site to question whether political promises of speed and progress might be realised through digital networks instead of physical connections. Borrowing from Rem Koolhaas’ “Automonument,” the tower integrates energy systems, data servers, turbines and cooling infrastructure to meet Manchester’s projected 2040 demands. Built from recycled HS2 components and electronic waste, it exposes environmental systems that return energy to the city while standing as both civic landmark and critique of short-lived mega-infrastructure. The recipient of this year’s award will receive £1,000 in recognition of this outstanding contribution. This Award is for any student of architecture in the UK exploring innovations in urban transport through either design or research. It is generously sponsored by ILKON - Ilkeston Contemporary Arts, a community arts centre in the East Midlands. Link in bio: @ilkestoncontemporaryarts @wwparchitects @chriswilliamsonarchitect Congratulations to Saif on this achievement! Stay tuned as we reveal the runner-up. . . . @ribaeducation @architecturesocial @ribalondon @architectscompany #wcca #sustainabletransport #architectureawards #studentarchitecture #futuremobility #cityshaping #transportdesign #architecturecompetition @london.locale #architecturestudents #part1architecture #part2architecture #designinspiration #archilovers #designawards #archdaily #londonarchitecture

Authors: Saif Dino Sanoufe @sfsarc Title: Delirious Manchester: Automonument 2040 Description: “Automonument 2040 is a speculative proposal responding to the cancellation of the northern leg of HS2. Set at Piccadilly Plaza in Manchester, historically tied to the Industrial Revolution and now reframed as the UK’s AI capital, the project reclaims the abandoned site to ask whether physical connections might be replaced by digital networks. Borrowing from Rem Koolhaas’ notion of the Automonument in Delirious New York, the tower is both monumental and hyper efficient, exposing infrastructures that usually remain hidden. Combining energy systems, data servers, wind turbines, and cooling infrastructure, it addresses Manchester’s projected 2040 demands for electricity, heat, and connectivity. Constructed from recycled HS2 components and e-waste, the tower critiques the short lifespan of mega-infrastructure while aligning with the government’s AI Growth Zones plan. Public spaces punctuate its dense grid of systems, reframing energy, data, and networks as visible architecture that questions how infrastructures shape collective urban futures.” Professor: Paolo Zaide @paolozaide Tom Budd @tombudd Studio: @uow_studio4 School: University of Westminster @uniwestminster @openstudio_wm

Delirious Manchester: Future Promises - “This monument of the 20th century is the Automonument, and its purest manifesta­tion is the skyscraper… constantly exposed to two conflicting demands: that of being a monument… and at the same time, that of accommodating, with maximum efficiency.” Rem Koolhaas, Delirious New York. Set in Manchester, looking north west from Piccadilly Station, one of HS2’s never fulfilled promises, the tower stands as both monumental and hyper efficient, filling the gap left by the project’s cancellation. The city’s demands for energy, heat, data, and communication remain unfulfilled. In November 2023, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced the UK’s AI Growth Zones, promising to “turbocharge our AI sector and make the UK the best place to build the future”, bringing new planning applications and investment in data infrastructure. Inspired by Delirious New York and @oma.eu Tres Grande Biblioteque proposal, where a strict grid of storage is punctuated by carefully placed public moments, I translated this idea into Automonument 2040. Within the tower, public spaces interrupt the dense infrastructure of servers and energy systems, creating moments of encounter within a framework built to serve the city’s demands. - AI has only been used as a tool to support the design process, not as a substitute or to directly generate the work. - @openstudio_wm @uow_studio4 - #architecture #archisource #ai #model #2040 #manchester #illustrarch

Jewish Museum Berlin by Daniel Libeskind, 2001, Berlin, Germany.

Automonument 2040: From HS2 to the Cloud - Short Film, Third Year Architecture BA RIBA Part 1: This short film explores a speculative architectural response to the cancellation of HS2 in Manchester. Set near Piccadilly Station, the Automonument reimagines the unfulfilled promise of faster connection through a vertical system shaped by AI, energy, and data flows. Inspired by Rem Koolhaas’ notion of the Automonument in Delirious New York, “constantly exposed to two conflicting demands: that of being a monument… and at the same time, that of accommodating, with maximum efficiency”, the tower responds to Manchester’s projected 2040 demands of tripled electricity use, a 15% rise in heat, and 30% annual data growth. Constructed from recycled HS2 waste and powered by circular systems, it stands as both civic landmark and machine, exposing the infrastructures that sustain contemporary urban life. The film begins with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s 2023 AI Growth Zones speech, positioning Manchester as a leader in digital infrastructure. My project does not take a side on whether these ambitions are right or wrong. Similar to Edward Burtynsky’s approach in Manufactured Landscapes, the aim is not judgement but materialisation, translating the city’s demands for heat, data, and energy into a speculative architectural form. - END CREDIT SCENE: Big thank you to my friends who acted and helped in the film (LiDAR scans) @afanushh , @bamfi_arch , @atsarchy , @m.erjema , @ren.t.707 , @selenarchportfolio , @atsarchy , @tom.gilsenanbest.arch , @sakaistoute Music by Cold Cinema University of Westminster Design Studio 3.4 // @uow_studio4 + @openstudio_wm Led by Paolo Zaide & Tom Budd - Film Has been produced using: Ttwinmotion, Blender, Rhino, Adobe After Effects & Premiere Pro - FILM & MORE AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE, SEARCH: @Futuro40 - #architecture #film #manchester

Automonument 2040 - Automonument 2040 is a speculative proposal that critiques the cancellation of the northern leg of HS2. Set at Piccadilly Plaza in Manchester, a site historically tied to the Industrial Revolution and now reframed as the UK’s AI capital, the project reclaims the abandoned HS2 site to question whether physical connections can be replaced by digital networks. “This monument of the 20th century is the Automonument, and its purest manifesta­tion is the skyscraper… constantly exposed to two conflicting demands: that of being a monument… and at the same time, that of accommodating, with maximum efficiency.” Rem Koolhaas, Delirious New York. Borrowing from Koolhaas’ notion of the Automonument, the tower is both monumental and hyper efficient, combining energy systems, data servers, wind turbines, and cooling infrastructure to meet Manchester’s projected 2040 demands for electricity, heat, and connectivity. Built from recycled HS2 components and electronic waste, it critiques the short lifespan of mega-infrastructure while aligning itself with the UK’s AI Growth Zones initiative, launched in 2023 by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to position the UK as a leader in AI and digital infrastructure. Inside, moments of public space punctuate the dense grid of infrastructure, from projection rooms to an observatory where data becomes landscape. The tower reframes invisible systems of energy, data, and networks as visible architecture, asking how these infrastructures might be repurposed to shape collective urban futures. - AI has only been used as a tool to support and inform the design process, not as a substitute or to directly generate the work. - @uow_studio4 - #architecture #riba #archisource #illustrarch #toffuco #ai #future

Unveiling the Systems: Automonument 2040 - In a city shaped by invisible systems, the tower reveals what is usually hidden. Visitors enter a spatially disorienting environment where scale and technology are distorted, drawing from the idea of the Uncanny Valley to provoke awareness of the systems that sustain modern urban life. The tower is self-sufficient, built from recycled HS2 materials and e-waste. It meets Manchester’s 2040 demands, supporting tripled electricity use, a 15% rise in heat, and 30% annual data growth. A solar exoskeleton, wind catchers, and rainwater cooling sustain internal systems while redistributing energy to local homes, schools, and businesses. At its core, Automonument 2040 frames the city’s data network, energy circulation, and monumental form as a single interconnected system. - @openstudio_wm @uow_studio4 - AI has only been used as a tool to support and inform the design process, not as a substitute or to directly generate the work. - #architechture #archisource #illustrarch #toffuco #render

4850 mm x 3350 mm Interactive Crit Wall, Automonument 2040 - On the 22nd of May 2025 I presented my final project, Automonument 2040. Being the final crit I decided to do something different, using a projection wall as my canvas, creating a digital projection that perfectly aligned with the pinned up work. At the centre I played the final short film of Automonument 2040, highlighting plans, sections and guiding through the project. Mixing digital and printed media to exhibit my final work. The first slide is a render, the rest are photos and videos from the day. Big thanks to @afanushh , @tom.gilsenanbest.arch , @bamfi_arch & @sakaistoute for helping with the pin up, take down and recording, and @uow_studio4 for the fantastic year. - #architecture ? #projection #coolphoto ? #render

Photography of Horizon 22 by PLP Architecture, 2023, London, UK. - #photography #london #architecture

Photography of Torre Blancas by Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza, 1969, Madrid, Spain. - #photography #architecture #madrid

Tower-2077 // A warning - Taking inspiration from the historical goods transportation of Regent’s Canal, I envisioned how air deliveries could be the future-aligned with today’s technological promises. This model and animation show a visitor exploring the structure in search of a lost parcel. As they delve deeper, they uncover the flaws and dysfunctions of this supposedly futuristic delivery system. This serves as a reflection of how landscapes evolve and a warning against over-relying on “progress” through technology. #architecture #ai #animation

The Final Piece of HS2 - Animation of Change // Metamorphosis to 2077 Created with the help of AI, this structure draws inspiration from Edward Burtynsky’s work, which exposes industrialisation for what it truly is, leaving viewers to question the processes of extraction and exploitation. Standing as a landmark, the tower appears captivating and alluring from afar, mirroring the enticing vision of a promising future. However, as with these grand promises, a closer look reveals the underlying costs and flaws hidden beneath the surface. - #architecture #ai #future #2077