Architecture competition "London Affordable Housing Challenge" honorable mention - William Maddinson

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the winner of one of our Honorable mentions for the “London Affordable Housing Challenge” competition - William Maddinson from United Kingdom!

William Maddinson from United Kingdom

Following graduating with a First Class Honours degree in Part I RIBA Architecture from the University of Leeds Beckett, I spent a stint in London working for Pilbrow and Partners on large projects before moving to Jonathan Hendry Architects in Lincolnshire designing on a much more intimate scale, in both practices working as a Part I architectural assistant. I am currently studying my first year of my Master’s of Architecture degree at the University of Edinburgh whilst in the process of establishing a new business, Future Estate, which through a new economic model is attempting to create truly affordable housing.

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 company/ individuals have been involved?

Having worked on a range of projects in my albeit brief career this far, ranging from large housing units to major competitions and Paragraph 55 dwellings, my focus ranges in scale, though my enjoyment comes mainly from working on larger-scale projects which attempt to consistently refer to a scale of intimacy and new ways of living for the user. 

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

I believe architecture to be one of the main binding principles for the establishment of new cultural and economic organizations in the city and the more rural establishment alike. Moreover, I believe it to be the most significant vault of a society’s principles and the physical embodiment of how we believe we should live.

For me, the architect is not just a drafter or the creator of images for planning documentation, but a thinker. I believe the architect’s role over the last decades has been eroded through the dilution of the profession to the point where theory and the architects attempt to realize theory in the physical environment is being close to being irradiated. Because of this, in my mind the architect should be given more opportunities for experimentation and the implementation of establishing, through the built environment, ideas about our current contextual and cultural findings.

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

I believe the architectural vision competition to be a valid and important process of furthering the architect’s roles in the progress of creating and implementing new methods of living, working and travelling and imagining the future scenarios of our cities.

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

I think the best advice for anyone thinking of entering a competition to create an architectural vision and unsure of doing so, should be to enter none-the-less. The experience is invaluable and it gives the author/s a chance to conceptualize and create something which may lead onto something much greater in the future.