Architecture Competition Berlin Techno Booth Honorable mention – CENTRO DE INFORMATICA CIPSA

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our Honorable mention winners for our “Berlin Techno Booth” competition – Jessica Castellanos Espinosa and Andrés Forero Pinzón from Colombia!

Andrés Forero Pinzón and Jessica Castellanos Espinosa from Colombia

We are Colombian architecture students who have resided in Barcelona for three years. During this time, we have been exploring new ways to tackle all kinds of projects, considering a joint vision between engineering, design, and sustainability. We have participated in various architectural competitions and, parallel to this, we consider a balance with the academic field essential, therefore, we are currently studying for our master's degrees at the Universitat Politécnica de Cataluña.

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?

As a team, we understand architectural research as a project, it allows us to interpolate multiscale concepts from other disciplines as an applicable resource in the various projects we carry out. We consider the ways in which we interconnect those reflections that remain after completing each of the projects to be important, whether in an academic or professional field.

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

We believe that the role of the contemporary architect must be that of a skilled observer, capable of identifying those features that may reflect the essence of his cultural context; he must also be a good speculator and connoisseur of the correct ways of intervening in different environments. We consider that one of the features of our current society is diversity and constant change, therefore, we believe that the architect has to design less rigid places and, on the contrary, leave freedoms that awaken the imagination of the users themselves.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

The competition allows us to weave new collaborative networks, in which outside the more conventional margins of the architectural profession a place of freedom is created to analyse and create various solutions in certain contexts. We believe that each competition can nurture our own concerns and expand knowledge in those research fields in which we want to deepen it.

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

Each contest is a new challenge that invites us to imagine and reflect on the ways in which we intervene and program our context. Participating in architectural competitions is an enriching opportunity from any point of view since it allows you to explore emerging ways when solving a project.