Architecture Competition Home for the Blind 1st and ARCHHIVE Student prize winners – YALE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the 1st and ARCHHIVE Student prize winners of our "Home for the Blind" competition – Claire Hicks, Joshua Tan and Christina Zhang from United States!

1st and Student prize winners from United States

We are master students and classmates at Yale School of Architecture. Claire is equally as interested in the visual arts as she is in architecture and is curious about drawing’s role in the intersection of perception, space and memory. Christina grew up in China. She has been traveling to research on post-genocide memory-making in Bosnia and Rwanda. She believes in human-centered designs and wants to become an architect who can engage with social issues and special needs directly and bravely. Josh has conducted extensive research on housing and urbanism in Singapore. He is interested in the intersection of politics, architecture, and urbanism in Southeast Asia. He is currently finalizing his research on tropical urbanism and architecture for publication with the Yale School of Architecture and Dom Publishers. 

Brief information about the projects that you/your company have been involved with. For instance, what scale have you focused on/preferred, any significant projects where the company/ individuals have been Involved?

An avid reader and perpetual student, Claire is always interested in learning something new. She has worked on exhibition design, art installations, publication editing, and New Haven-based community projects. Currently she is interested in materiality and memory and is drawn to sensitive projects that are both tactile and place-specific.

Christina is interested in public architecture and is always looking to design schools, hospitals, libraries, etc. Outside of design, she has been working on installation art projects, Virtual Reality installations and exhibitions as ways to communicate her research on post-genocide societies.

Josh is primarily interested in the design of housing. His housing design work and research have been published in Yale Retrospecta, Nonarchitecure, The Big Thing, and Singapore Policy Journal.

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

For Claire, architecture is a way for her to ask questions, to listen and absorb, and get her hands dirty. For Christina, architecture is a way to care, love and protest. For Josh, architecture is being curious.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

To work with friends and learn from each other.

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

It could be a luxury if you’re busy, but you can always share the workload with people you trust and have fun together.