Architecture competition "European Velo Stops" honorable mention - Thanat Prathnadi and Joana Vilaça

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the winners of one of our Honorable mentions for the “European Velo Stops” competition -  Thanat Prathnadi and Joana Vilaça from Portugal!

Thanat Prathnadi and Joana Vilaça from Portugal

We are Bachelor’s graduates from Manchester School of Architecture  currently on our placement year in Zagreb, Croatia.

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?

During our time in university we had been involved in a variety of projects including residential, gallery, temporary theatre and cultural projects. For our final third year assignment we had a chance to work on two separate projects, with one designing an exhibition centre and a transportation hub and the other a music school in the historic centre of Manchester.

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

For us, architecture transcends beyond just a passion or a profession, but also a responsibility. It is extremely important for future architects to be able to work more collectively, rather than competitively, for the benefit of the communities they work with.

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

We believe that there is no better way to improve our skills and awareness of architecture outside of our job than to enter great competitions like this. It not only allows us to see other approaches to one single topic but also gives us a chance to work purely on our terms without any limit to creativity, which we find extremely stimulating as thriving architecture students.

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

It’s okay to say it didn’t work, but it’s not okay to say it won’t work! (but in this case there’s no such thing as ‘it didn’t work’ because you will always learn something from a project)