Hospice - Home for the Terminally ill #5 competition Honorable mention winners - Toronto Metropolitan University

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the Honorable mention winners of our Hospice - Home for the Terminally ill #5 competition – Agamjot Singh and Zain Zahid Malik from Canada!

Agamjot Singh and Zain Zahid Malik

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.

We are architecture students currently completing our Bachelor of Architectural Science at Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto, Canada. Our academic work primarily focuses on investigating how buildings respond to environmental changes and urban context, while also supporting meaningful human experiences. Our work combines conceptual ideologies with technical investigations such as exploring material systems, environmental performance and overall spatial experiences. We have gained professional experiences through the industry and have strengthened our understanding of how design ideas translate into real-world building conditions.

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 work primarily focuses on medium-scale civic and cultural architecture that engages both environmental and social systems. In academic studios and competitions, we have explored projects such as mobility hubs, community recreation centers, and landscape-integrated buildings. These projects often investigate how architecture can mediate between infrastructure, community space, and ecological systems. Our approach tends to emphasize material expression, spatial clarity, and environmental responsiveness. Emberfield continues this line of exploration by addressing the relationship between landscape, memory, and healing through the design of a hospice environment situated within a wildfire-affected landscape.

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

For us, architecture is both a cultural and environmental act. Buildings shape how people experience the world, but they also influence ecosystems, communities, and long-term environmental conditions. The role of the architect is therefore not only to design buildings, but to mediate relationships between people and place, infrastructure and community, and built form and the natural environment. Architecture has the potential to respond to complex challenges such as climate change, urbanization, and social wellbeing. In this sense, architects act as translators between technical systems, human needs, and environmental realities.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

We participate in architecture competitions because they give us the freedom to explore ideas more creatively and experiment with design in ways we normally wouldn’t. Unlike studio projects, competitions allow us to take more risks, test unconventional concepts, and push our thinking further. They also give us the opportunity to work on projects outside of school and develop ideas with greater creative freedom

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

Competitions can be an extremely valuable learning experience, particularly for students and emerging designers. They encourage participants to develop a clear architectural concept, communicate ideas effectively, and work through complex problems within a limited timeframe. Even when projects are speculative, the process strengthens design thinking and presentation skills. Our advice would be to treat competitions as an opportunity to explore ideas you are genuinely interested in, rather than focusing only on the outcome.