Architecture competition Adelaide Creative Community Hub Honorable mention - Matthews Architects

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the winners of the Honorable mention of our “Adelaide Creative Community Hub” competition - Kash Moghaddam , Sofiya Yunovidova , Sam Boyce and Andrew Luong from Australia!

Kash Moghaddam , Sofiya Yunovidova , Sam Boyce and Andrew Luong from Australia

Matthews Architects - Founded in 1975, Matthews Architects is a medium-sized design studio specialising in architecture, interior design and urban design. The team at Matthews Architects consists of 18 professional staff, including 15 who hold architectural qualifications. They are capable, empowered and supported by a studio environment that encourages open communication, knowledge transfer and professional growth.

"Our team members are nimble and adaptive thinkers - who employ our company’s core values; continuity, agility and imagination. We encourage our architects to think of any challenge as an opportunity to improve the project outcome by drawing on their diverse experiences and skillsets to come up with innovative solutions. Matthews Architects places a strong emphasis on abstract thinking in the workplace, as it is the key to unlocking new ideas and overcoming obstacles to achieve success."

Matthews Architects offers a client-centric service and has extensive experience across diverse industries, including commercial, retail, industrial, aged care, healthcare, civic, education, hospitality and residential.

Significant and recent projects include CMI Toyota West Terrace, Mercedes-Benz Unley, St Peters College Middle School, Grant Thornton’s new Frome Street headquarters and the soon-to-be- opened redeveloped Chinatown Plaza.

What does architecture mean to you and what is the role of an architect in your society?

Architecture is the creation of environments where people are born, live and age in. The quality of the architecture that surrounds us is proven to have physical health benefits, as well as positive influences on behaviour, human interaction, and mental health. The role of the architect is to understand the motivation and behaviours of the user of the building, the function and purpose of the building as well as the buildings potential for positive influence on the user. The role of the architect is to understand the past and the present in order to imagine a better future.

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

Architecture competitions are the opportunity for our practice to completely unhitch our design thinking from standard worldly constraints. Competitions are the chance to take a pure functional or architectural thought and extrude, develop and test it in isolation from forces of the market place, community expectation and client requirements. Competitions are the playgrounds of an architect’s mind.

What advice would you give to individuals who struggle to decide whether it would be beneficial for them to participate in architecture vision competitions?

We would advise other architectural practises that architecture competitions are a great opportunity to indulge the creative mind.