Denver Affordable Housing Challenge competition Honorable mention winners - David Andrew Gallo, Epp Jerlel and Maria Łomiak

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce the Honorable Mention winners of Denver Affordable Housing Challenge competition – David Andrew Gallo, Epp Jerlel and Maria Łomiak from Finland!

Honorable mention winners

Please tell us about your company (when it was founded, where it is based, how many employees, etc) Alternatively, if you do not have a company, please give us some insights on your own professional/academia background.

David Gallo is an architectural designer at ALA Architects in Helsinki, Finland. He has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the North Carolina State University and, prior to joining ALA Architects, he has worked at offices in Beijing and New York City. He is grateful to have practiced architecture within different contexts around the world and is looking forward to continue enriching his international experience.



Maria Lomiak is a recently graduated architect with a Master’s Degree of Architecture from Tampere University. She gained work experience in Warsaw, London and Helsinki. Her favourite interests in architecture range from visualization to adaptive reuse.



Epp Jerlei is an architect from Estonia, currently working at ALA Architects in Helsinki, Finland. Before studying architecture she learned drawing and painting in Italy, after which she finished her Bachelor degree in architecture at the Sheffield University in the UK and a Masters degree in the north of Sweden at the Umeå School of Architecture. Prior in her career she has also worked in Beijing, China and has been fortunate enough to work on a variety of projects that provide different challenges and explorations in scale, context and social impact.

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?

Collectively, we have been involved with realizing large-scale public projects such as the new terminal entrance for Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, and a new cultural center in Tromsø, Norway.  We believe design attitude transcends scale and are interested in any type of project.

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

Architecture for us is about the narrative we can share with others through the act of building. It can come through form, material, tectonics, or any other aspect that we can affect through our design. The role of the architect is to find the proper manifestation of that story in relationship with the client, the environment, and the other countless professions involved throughout and after construction.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

We participate in architecture competitions for the thrill of it. Even if the odds of winning are slim, it’s a great experience to give something your whole attention and engage the whole process of envisioning a piece of architecture. This is something that can become quite rare or difficult to achieve in professional practice. The arena of the competition lets you tune out the noise of the world.


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

Architecture competitions are where the greatest projects and careers are made. If you love the profession and really want to dive into it, there’s no other way.