Architecture competition "Construction Container Facelift" 3rd prize winner - Ludovic Marx

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the winner of the 3rd prize of our “Construction Container Facelift” competition - Ludovic Marx from Austria!

Ludovic Marx from Austria

I’m a French architect and I have studied architecture in my hometown Strasbourg, where I graduated in 2006. I have been living and working in Vienna, Austria for almost 10 years now. For the greatest part of my professional life I have been mainly working as a project manager, specialized in residential buildings. I have also been concentrating on temporary and pop-up architecture, especially shipping container architecture and design.

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 company/ individuals have been involved?

Focusing on temporary architecture, I have taken part in several architecture and design competitions within the last few years. So far, my most successful project was a temporary cinema for Dakar, Senegal that I designed for an ideas competition where I was warded the first prize. During this creative period, I discovered the great potential of shipping container architecture and design as well as my passion for temporary architecture which I have been further developing since. In this regard, I have also designed a temporary street food pavilion for Berlin, Germany and the “Charlie Hebdo Pavilion” for Paris, France. At this stage I continue developing new concepts which follow the significant features of my previous work, temporary architecture that is social and interactive, sustainable, flexible and creative. The next step would be to finish a prototype and realize one of my projects, combining architecture and design with music, gastronomy and pop-culture.

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

For me, architecture means passion. Being an architect is not only my profession but my hobby as well. I enjoy the creative process about architecture and the several steps it takes from having the first idea until finally finding oneself in front of the realized object. An architect is not only the creator of a building but of social interactions as well. An interaction between a space / building and people and therefore between individuals. I like to think that a strong architectural concept can bring people together in different ways and encourage social interactions. To me, architecture is something from the people for the people.

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

It is important to me to maintain the creative process where I can fulfill ideas and express myself. I like to stay sharp and push myself to further develop and elaborate my ideas. I think a good project isn’t necessarily the most magnificent one, but the one with a special and sometimes simple concept which the art of architecture has transformed into something unique. Also, taking part in competitions helps me to further pursue temporary and shipping container architecture which is my main interest at this stage.

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

Competitions are very helpful to stay creative and test out your ideas and concepts. Also, taking part in competitions gives you a certain routine and help you become a better architect. There are many kinds of competitions with different core areas, so you can always choose a competition with a topic you are most interested in.