Kinderspace #1 competition 1st Prize winners - Agustin Azar, Egor Gaydukov and Santiago Barral

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the 1st prize winners of our "Kinderspace #1" competition – Agustin Azar, Egor Gaydukov and Santiago Barral from Germany!

Agustin Azar, Egor Gaydukov and Santiago Barral

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.

Agustín Azar (Buenos Aires, 1991) and Santiago Barral (Buenos Aires, 1993) are architects who graduated from the University of Buenos Aires (FADU-UBA). In 2018, they co-founded BANDA, an architectural practice with a particular interest in developing projects on the margins of the discipline, where the architect's work intersects with new types of problems and, therefore, with new tools, methodologies, and actors. The name of the studio reflects the collaborative nature of our work process: each project undertaken represents an active search for collaboration with others.

For the Kinderspace competition, BANDA partnered with Egor Gaydukov (Moscow, 1999), an architect and researcher based in Germany. Egor holds a Bachelor's degree in Architecture from the Moscow Architectural Institute (MARCHI) and a Master of Science from Bauhaus-University Weimar (BUW), where he currently conducts research and educational efforts. His work explores the intersections of architecture, technology, and social environments, bringing an analytical and research-driven perspective to the project.

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?

At BANDA, we focus on projects at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, and social impact, exploring solutions on the margins of the discipline. We have worked on various scales, from small architectural interventions to larger urban revitalization efforts, always with a strong emphasis on collaboration and sustainability. Our collaborative spirit has led us to partner with different professionals and disciplines, enabling us to tackle diverse projects, such as the Kinderspace competition, where we worked alongside Egor Gaydukov to create innovative solutions for children's spaces.

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

To us, architecture is not just about designing buildings, but about understanding the dynamics that shape the spaces we inhabit. It’s an opportunity to explore innovative ways of thinking about the city, aiming to be active agents of transformation. We see the architect as a generalist thinker in a world of specialists. The architect’s role is to connect and articulate a diverse array of actors, knowledge, and situations with a strategic vision and an action-driven tactical capacity.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

We participate in architectural competitions because they offer a unique platform to push the boundaries of traditional architecture. They allow us to engage with new challenges, explore innovative design solutions, and collaborate with other professionals.

Sometimes, we don’t have an answer or a clear perspective on the topic at first, but that’s exactly why we do it. Competitions push us to explore, think critically, and find solutions we might not have considered otherwise. They challenge us to learn and grow, making the process just as valuable as the outcome.

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

It’s a sandbox for creativity. You get to choose the competition, you can design with little obstacles, then there are no excuses for showing the world how you see architecture.