Architecture Competition Hospice - Home For Terminally Ill Honorable mention – Adrian Wetherell

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our Honorable mention winner for our "Hospice - Home For Terminally Ill" competition – Adrian Wetherell from Switzerland!

Adrian Wetherell from Switzerland

I started working in architecture as a technical draughtsman in the area of Lausanne, Switzerland. Since then, I have studied in the field of architecture and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Applied Science in Fribourg, Switzerland. Then I worked for 2 years for a company called EM2N in Zürich, starting as an intern and then upgrading to a bachelor architect position on multiple projects, from small to large scale throughout Switzerland and Germany.

After having lived in the French and German parts of Switzerland, I moved to the Italian part to start a master curriculum in the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio in Ticino, a school founded by Mario Botta.

Besides my studies and work, I have always participated in some international competitions, as well as have founded a collective of architecture imagery called NRW, images, a sub-branch of our main architecture atelier NRW, architectes.

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?

Our main activity is participating in open competitions in Switzerland. We also have some small-scale projects in Lausanne and Fribourg. On the side, we do architectural imagery for clients through Switzerland.

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

Architecture for me is a way to intervene in an existing built fabric, and it should be done with a lot of respect and responsibility. Designing a building with the consciousness of each epoch's needs. Starting from understanding what failed/worked in the past and what the technical/political issues were at the time, to be able to apply the same rules to our system today, with our modern issues. The task of the architect is to answer these questions through the constraints of the clients/authority/budget. Finding new solutions to make the architecture branch go forward and innovate, question everything.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

I participate in architecture competitions to be able to train my critical thinking and creativity. Facing different programs and topics is a way to explore the great field of architecture and creativity. It is also a way of doing architecture without the constraints of real-life buildings. Being able to create one’s own utopia through competition proposals is where creativity is challenged at its most.

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

Having the chance to do competitions through Buildner or other mediums is a way of challenging your skills against the rest of the participants. It is a way to explore new knowledge through different programs and competitions than can be applied in a direct way to real world buildings.