Architecture Competition Legendary Bird Home / Edition 2 3rd prize winner – Xavier Bucchianeri

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the 3rd prize winner of our "Legendary Bird Home / Edition 2" competition – Xavier Bucchianeri from France!

Xavier Bucchianeri from France

I graduated both as an engineer at the National School of State Public Works (ENTPE) and then as an architect at the National Architecture School of Lyon (ENSAL). My professional time is divided between architectural design, as a freelance architect, and teaching sustainable urban design and environmental innovation at National Architecture and Landscape School of Lille (ENSAVPL). 

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? 

My previous works in architecture agencies were specialized in sustainable design, either for national competition or private market. As a freelance architect, my design approach tends to focus on processes over forms : architecture emerges from the symbiotic relations between humans, animals, and technology. Whether it deals with a territory (Europan 2021), a building (Reuse the Ruins 2020), or an object (such as this very proposition), the design approach aims to revive damaged ecosystems, to reduce the environmental footprint of construction, and to remain open to further transformation or adaptation.

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

Architecture stands at the junction between human culture, environment, and technologies. It is a fundamentally technical discipline, but it has always kept central of its social dimension...As a result, it has a huge role to play in the ecological transition in order to accompany the cultural reconfiguration of our relation to both technic and environment : we have to invent other approaches of design that are less anthropocentric and more environmentally friendly, new ethics for technologies, adapt our existing inefficient infrastructure. Those are many fields where architectural competencies are essential.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

They are a good springboard and offer interesting opportunities to develop radical ideas and prospective thinking.

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

The entrance fees are the only thing you can lose : the reflection you deploy will infuse and will resurface in your later works in unsuspected ways !