Architecture competition "London Affordable Housing Challenge" honorable mention - Melissa Shin and Amanda Shin

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the winners of one of our Honorable mentions for the “London Affordable Housing Challenge” competition - Melissa Shin and Amanda Shin from United States!

Team Shin Shin from United States

Shin Shin is an award-winning architecture and design firm based in Los Angeles, founded by sisters Melissa and Amanda Shin.

Melissa is a licensed architect in the states of California and Michigan. She worked in the offices of Greg Lynn FORM, Herzog de Meuron, and Gehry Partners. She holds a Master’s of Architecture (Yale University), a Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and has taught at Yale University and Sci-Arc.

Amanda has worked in the offices of Leong Leong, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and Montalba Architects. She holds a Master’s of Architecture (University of California Los Angeles) and a Bachelor’s of Science in Architecture (University of Michigan).

Shin Shin is currently working on projects in Los Angeles, Massachusetts and Detroit. At the moment, the scale of our work ranges from competitions to small residential and commercial projects to large gallery installations.

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

We believe that architecture is an opportunity to rethink and/or re-examine existing models, and develop innovative spatial and aesthetic solutions to global challenges. The role of the architect is to broaden the dialogue by engaging and collaborating with other fields to design built environments that best respond to, and improve the way we live. This cross collaboration of shared ideas, will in turn allow other professions to understand the role of the architect and its value to society.

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

Architecture vision competitions allow us to consider the built environment abstractly in order to address global issues concerning the design of cities and the state of the built environment separately from our practice as a professional service. We also use the competition format to test ideas, techniques, and various modes of representation - formal explorations, new software, image making and graphic representation.

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

Architecture competitions are a great way for practices and individuals to explore ideas and engage in a dialogue that they may otherwise not be a part of. Not all projects come from clients and great ideas can come from anywhere! As the profession grows, competitions help to keep architects curious, challenged, and creative, and keep the profession fresh and innovative.