We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our Honorable mention winners for our "Greening the Industrial City" competition – Joel-Laurent Mbala-Nkanga from United States!
Joel-Laurent Mbala-Nkanga from United States
I do not own a company however I am an associate designer for Populous. A global architecture firm that specializes in designing the places where people love to be together. I graduated from the University of Oregon with a masters in Architecture and received my undergraduate degree from Adrian College in south eastern Michigan in interior design.
The firm I work for is multidisciplinary however I focus primarily on sports architecture in the college market. During my time at Populous I’ve participated primarily on stadiums, arenas and campus master-planning in various colleges around the country. I’ve also had the chance to participate in sports competitions in Japan.
Architecture to me is a means to enrich and improve the quality of people’s lives. This ties directly what I do on a daily basis as I have the chance to work on projects that improve people’s lives.
I participate in architecture competitions because I’m a designer and these give me the opportunities to continue to improve on my creative skills. It gives me the opportunity to be as creative as I can be, get experimental, test the limits of what’s acceptable in architecture. It’s also an opportunity to continue to work on improving my skills in drafting, model making, etc.
Just go for it! It can be a little challenging but it’s always rewarding when you finish a competition and you’re proud of the final outcome.
Design a sustainable food court structure for the heart of a classical music festival
Design a yoga guest house located within rich bog wildlife
Design a home with no artificial lighting
Design a comfortable and accessible home for the elderly in Portugal
Design a guest house and olive oil tasting room located in Portugal
Design a safe and supportive space for children struggling with a terminal illness
Design a portable reading room that encourages reading in any location
Design a new concept of small-scale home
Use architecture to create different emotional states
Present your best work and submit your favorite architectural visualization
How would you represent the best that humanity has to offer through architecture?
Reimagine the workplace of the future, and design the new way of working
Design an iconic new skyscraper constructed from timber
Design a concept for affordable housing in Milan
Share your views on architecture competitions
Design THE architect's t-shirt!
Submit your online portfolio!
