Architecture Competition Iceland Lake Myvatn Community House Clients Favorite prize winners – FAKULTA ARCHITEKTÚRY A DIZAJNU STU V BRATISLAVE

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the Clients Favorite award winner of our "Iceland Lake Myvatn Community House" competition – Dajana Maršovská from Slovakia!

Dajana Maršovská from Slovakia

I am a last year student at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Faculty of Architecture and Design, where I’m taking part in a Design Studio focused on environmental and experimental architecture; here, for example, we often like to experiment with timber constructions.

Alongside my university studies, I work for a local architecture company based in Bratislava.

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?

The company I’m working for has experience with both smaller and larger scale projects, including small residential projects alongside with public buildings and even some urban design projects/competitions it’s been involved in.

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

Architecture is perceiving the world we live in carefully and a constant search for answers to all the questions arising. It is our possibility to make improvements for the future, considering what we’ve learned from the past and what we’ve observed from current situation. Thus, to work well, architecture requires sensibility and respect for the context, while understanding its weak points and being patient and persistent observing and finally responding to its real needs. The beauty, I believe, comes out not from the outstanding design of the project itself, but from the level of deeper understanding of places, of people, and from coming out with balanced solutions. Good architecture brings harmony.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

I took part in this competition because it meant an opportunity to work on a project situated abroad, in a context that was mostly new to me – in other words, there was a lot to learn about, and it was a good change to the projects we had worked on previously.

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

Even generally, every new experience in life is beneficial, because from it we’re building up our knowledge and gaining new skills. Let’s be optimistic, even the participation itself counts.