Iceland Ski Snow Cabin competition participants - Gary Steven Robson, JoaquÍn Cabanillas, Christian Naula and Milca Amado

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the participants of our "Iceland Ski Snow Cabin" competition – Gary Steven Robson, JoaquÍn Cabanillas, Christian Naula, Milca Amado from United Kingdom!

Gary Steven Robson, JoaquÍn Cabanillas, Christian Naula, Milca Amado from United Kingdom

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 Porter Robson, the business was formed in 2022. We have been working together as a team on various projects from small residential to large mixed use schemes for the last few years. We are a collection of architects and designers, Gary is a partner in the practice, Christian and Joaquin are architects, and Milca is an architect and certified Passivhaus designer. We are an international collaboration.

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?

As a team we work together on the larger residential schemes, apartments and student accommodation. Individually within the practice each of use work on smaller private client projects. We like to rotate the team and responsibilities depending on the workload, we find a bit of variety keeps life interesting for everyone.

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

We all have a different definition for meaning, it is precisely what something is to us that gives it meaning. Architecture offers the opportunity to bring shelter and beauty into the world, it is one of the best gifts we can offer humanity. If a building functions and inspires people in a way that those who use it don't realise then the design is successful.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

We seek to bring creativity to all our projects. Competitions offer that special situation where we can share our ideas and combine all the skills of the office in one melting pot. We like to use the competitions to test ideas and explore all of those water cooler conversations that sometimes don't quite make it onto the drawing board.

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

Just give it a go! There are no downsides to the competitions, you share time with people you like, doing what it is that you like.