International Architecture Competition

Children's
Hospice

Home for the Terminally ill / Edition #2

Results

Foreword

Competition organisers

Buildner is pleased to announce the results of its Children's Hospice - Home for the Terminally Ill competition!

The competition sought conceptual ideas exploring health design innovation. It offered a chance for participants to explore how architecture can be used as a tool to help people, and demonstrate how architecture can offer psychological relief to those who are suffering.

While this was an architecture ideas competition, the brief requested a few key functions for the conceptual hospice, including a common area with a gathering room, a games or play room, a small library, a Chapel, a kitchen and dining room, as well as a private area which could function as a nurse’s room and therapy room for psychological support. There was no defined location chosen for this competition and participants were requested to select a theoretical site from their home country.

Buildner collaborated with an excellent international jury whose project experiences included similar briefs: Alan Dunlop of Alan Dunlop Architects is an architect with a portfolio of award winning buildings including the internationally renowned Hazelwood School for children and young people who are dual sensory impaired: blind and deaf; Rubén García Rubio is an architect and co-founder of studioVRA based in Zaragoza, Spain; Arturo Mc Clean is Communications Manager and Architect at Barcelona-based Miralles Tagliabue EMBT which has completed such projects as Kálida Sant Pau Centre in Barcelona - a space of emotional, social and practical support for cancer patients, and part of the Maggie’s Centre Network; Dr Nirit Pilosof is an architect and researcher exploring the intersection of Healthcare, Technology, and Architecture, and the Head of Research in Innovation and Transformation at Sheba Medical Centre in Israel, and a Faculty Member at the Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University; Rion Philbin is the founder and Creative Director of Berlin-based No So Studio and his projects include the Casa-mac project, a home in Italy for a blind woman; Susanne Siepl-Coates was a member of the architecture faculty at Kansas State University for over thirty years, where her teaching focused on the exploration of the relationships between the built environment and human health/well-being; Sonsoles Vela Navarro is an architect and co-founder of studioVRA based in Zaragoza, Spain, with 15 years of experience working alongside private clients and builders to develop architectural designs on residential, commercial and healthcare projects; Steven Wright is a Principal at Perkins Eastman and a specialist in its healthcare practice; and Dr Johan van der Zwart is a researcher at the department of Science, Technology and Policy Studies of the University of Twente and an assistant professor of architecture and health at the NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology whose research focuses on the interaction between technology, people, process and place.

Buildner and its jury panel congratulate the winners of the competition and thank each of the participants for their design submissions!

1st Prize Winner +
Buildner Student Award

Project name

Symbiosis

Authors

Miku Yashiki

Yuta Sugasawa

University

Waseda university

+172 points Buildner University Rankings!

Japan

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

We strongly believe that contests are the most effective means of acquiring knowledge. While working in a design firm is valuable for honing professional skills, it often restricts creative freedom. Design competitions, on the other hand, foster idea generation and provide creative suggestions. Moreover, we firmly hold the belief that architecture is not merely the product of an individual, but rather a creation that considers the needs of others. The current competition entails designing a hospice for terminally ill children. In our view, architecture should facilitate a harmonious connection between humans and the natural environment that surrounds them. By prioritizing physical sensations such as wind, sound, scent, and tactile experiences, we strive to design architecture that embraces the influence of "others" — including materials, traditions, users, and unexpected encounters. Our aim is to imbue our designs with a sense of attachment and love.

Read full interview

Jury feedback summary

Symbiosis is a proposal for a hospice sited on Lake Sayama, a landmark accessible by car from central Tokyo. Surrounded by forests in a natural park, the building is meant for users to enjoy beautiful scenery that changes with each of the four seasons, and which offers views of Mount Fuji. According to the authors, the project aims to create a space without boundaries among humans, animals and plant life – all coexist as equal living beings with connections to the forest. The spaces are designed to be fluid and continuous, featuring volumes which differ in scale according to use. The architecture is defined as a roof floating on a forest of pillars that mimic the surrounding trees.

Dr Nirit Pilosof / Buildner guest jury Head of Research in Innovation and Transformation at Sheba Medical Centre Israel

The proposal blurs the boundaries between the built environment and nature. The design illustrates the unique concept of the proposal aiming to create a space beyond species boundaries where humans, animals, and plants coexist to experience the cycle of life.

Susanne Siepl-Coates / Buildner guest jury member of the architecture faculty at Kansas State University USA

This submission convinces due to its conceptual strength. Drawings suggest a variety of interior and exterior spaces, although it remains unclear what exactly is inside and outside.

Steven Wright / Buildner guest jury Principal at Perkins Eastman USA

A beautiful simple parti with illustrations that strongly support the concept. Wild animal integration is perhaps unrealistic, but a poetic idea.

Buildner's architectural communication techniques review

Have a presentation for us to review? Order your review here!

8/10
Linework
10/10
Quality of drawings
9/10
Balance of color
8/10
Layout
9/10
Hierarchy
7/10
Annotation
8/10
Text
8/10
Clarity of story
9/10
Clarity of diagrams
9/10
Quality of overall presentation

Buildner's commentary and recommendations

The project makes use of two primary renderings which communicate the project’s overall form at an aerial level, as well as from a user perspective. The text would benefit from being broken into shorter paragraphs highlighting the three main points: site information, the importance of nature, and the architectural solution for connections with nature. The line drawings, while complex and elegant, are quite monotone and it is thus difficult for a reader to differentiate the various information contained within them. It is recommended that the author use more varied line weights and colors. The presentation would also greatly benefit from additional annotation on the renderings and site section.