If you didn’t know, we previously held various challenges as another form of engagement with our audience! These challenges call for talented architects and students to re-imagine the role of architecture by prompting designs to address pressing global issues. This micro-competition challenges designers to reduce submission to a single social media post, a perfect format to rapidly disseminate ground-breaking ideas.
As we grow and navigate our platform, we are changing how we are providing challenges. Instead of monthly challenges, we will be moving forward with quarterly challenges. This provides time for the entrants and our team to digest the challenge, receive entries, and review.
Today, we wanted to share our Q1 ArchiModel Winners! I’ll share some of our thought processes behind the decision and share the briefs that went along with the submission. Without further ado, let’s get into these! You can find each entry’s original submission on Instagram by clicking on the titles!
National Museum Annex in Helsinki, Finland. (Fall 2019)
The project is an Extension to the National Museum Annex. This extension occupies a small footprint of the overall site, preserving the parkās existing landscape and trees while creating an experience of floating. The reflectivity of the buildingās mirrored-translucent exterior creates a feeling of time continuation where an observer would see a reflection of the historic museum in a minimal modern addition. This almost invisible extension consists of three volumes which are connected by bridges where the visitors can experience spaces walking through the continuous ramp. Also, in winter months, the lake, that lies underneath the extension, becomes a ski rank.
Review: We enjoyed the clarity and boldness of the concept. Not only is the design striking, but the main concept of the stark contrast between the old and new was also beautifully delineated through the use of material and design.
A physical model allows what no amount of imagination or computing can conjure. It brings mass, weight, a physical manifestation of an idea. The process of creating the model itself is more valuable to the architect than the final product as it allows us to see how our ideas begin to shape space and light.
Review: The jury looked favorably upon the experimental nature of this project. The scaled model can be a great vehicle to study and simulate a structural design. The use of inverted tensile forces in both design and model-making processes was highly commendable.
Models remain being the closest approach to Architecture, especially in a digital world where we can develop photorealistic renderings, Architecture belongs to the tridimensional world, when we build a model we are discovering it with every piece we craft conceiving the idea in actual space; the construction process becomes part of the result. It’s scaled Architecture.
Review: We chose this project for its creative application of the material. Making thick plexiglass flexible through strategic laser incision is executed brilliantly and beautifully.
Since the pandemic, Iāve gotten into cooking and I noticed the amount of food waste produced. Not having proper modeling tools, I decided to create models using only food products and try creating a narrative. The foods used: grapes stems, matcha powder, garlic stems, avocado skin, blended soya beans, walnut shells, beansprout ends, and sugar apple seeds.
Review: This entry put a new spin on this quarterly challenge we didn’t expect. The project cleverly links two major forms of consumption – sustenance, and construction – and illuminates critical questions around sustainability. The result is provocative, playful, and potentially delicious.
Here are some of the honorable mentions for this challenge, so show them some love too! Laura SofĆa, EA Arquitectos, and KG_MATRIX. Curious to see all the entries? You can search up #archimodel2021 on Instagram or click here. We hope these challenges engage you more as we have switched to quarters, and we are excited about all the entries.
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