We are pleased to announce that Master Interior Architecture (INSIDE) alum Magdalena Salinas is nominated for the Archiprix award for her graduation project With Salt it Hurts, With Salt it Heals.
Introducing Magdalena Salinas
“Did you know that for every 1 ton of lithium extracted in Argentina, 115 tons of salt are accumulated in the landscape?
My name is Magdalena, I am from Argentina and recently finished my master’s studies at INSIDE, and got the amazing opportunity to be part of this year’s edition of Archiprix.
My work, With Salt It Hurts, With Salt it Heals aims to question how we want to relate to extractivistic industries in the era of energy transition. I use salt, the most abundant byproduct of lithium extraction, as material and metaphor. The thesis proposes a landscape design that intertwines industry, local artisans and ecology to make visible the hidden wound of the lithium industry while it hurts. “
What is the Archiprix Award?
Archiprix is an annual award, which platforms the best graduation projects from Dutch master's programs in architecture, urban design, interior and/or landscape architecture. Through highlighting innovative, socially relevant designs and addressing issues like climate change, migration, and urban density, it serves as a vital link between emerging talent and the professional field.
This year 26 graduation projects from across the Netherlands have been nominated, each addressing pressing social and environmental themes. As in 2025, Archiprix will be teaming up with the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) who will be acting as producer for the upcoming exhibition.
Returning to the Thesis
The thesis is an essential component of a graduating student's research practice. It centres and contexualises the work presented, often acting as an accompaniment, harmonising with and enhancing the project as a whole. Here Magdalena shares how as an alum she has returned to her thesis, With Salt It Hurts, in preparation for the Archiprix 2026 exhibition.
"Today I am revisiting my thesis book, reading, refining, editing"
"It is a thesis that investigates the complexities of the lithium industry, yet for me, the importance of this book lies elsewhere: it unfolds as a bitacora. It traces my journey to the Puna: to the adobe mining town of San Antonio de los Cobres, to the turquoise evaporation ponds of the Salar del Rincón, to the infinite white flat of Salinas Grandes.
With this book I aim to not only compile facts from experts and bibliographies, I seek to convey the spatial experience in which those facts exist: what it feels like to stand before hectares of brine, to breathe salt at high altitude, to sense thirst in the desert, to witness time etched into adobe façades, to be encountered by animals while making your way through the landscape.
I want the reader to understand that it is not a research about dry numbers, but about a land, an ecosystem, and a culture. A territory of living systems that breathe, transform, adapt and endure."
Collaborating with native artisans
In her final update, Magdalena shares the exciting and meaningful collaboration she has begun with artisans from the Argentine Puna, and how this collaboration will grow into part of her presentation at the Archiprix 2026.
"I’m finalizing preparations for @archiprixnl and feel incredibly grateful to present a new piece created with an original textile from the Argentine Puna, in collaboration with the artisans of @illaripuna ."
"Illari Puna, founded by anthropologist Magdalena Sanches de Bustamante, is a collective that preserves and promotes the cultural heritage of Punean weaving. Working with natural fibers from high altitude communities, their textiles are entirely handmade, sustaining ancestral techniques without industrial intervention.
My work intentionally intertwines the hardness of the lithium industry with the warmth of local textile craft, creating friction and visibility to question how to address industry today, in the era of renewable energy. It has been an honor to learn and collaborate with people from both sides (industry and craft) to arrive at this project."
"I am very grateful to share this year’s work with you, and excited to continue meeting wonderful people to share and collaborate along the way."
Keen to learn more about Magdalena's work?
On the 10th of March Magdalena will be giving a small talk as part of BK Talks: Archiprix 2026 — Open Vision at TU Delft. She hopes you can make it!