Architecture Competition Melbourne Affordable Housing Challenge Honorable mention – United Make

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our Honorable mention winners for our “Melbourne Affordable Housing Challenge” competition – Mond Qu, Sonny Do and​ Yeqian Shi from Australia!

United Make from Australia

Designers. Storytellers. Makers.


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United Make is a multi-disciplinary studio founded in 2014 that explores design through the act of making. Located in Richmond, Victoria, Australia, UDMK fabricates and designs phygital (physical & digital) experiences. From small-scale furniture to large-scale speculations, United Make looks at translating the intangible to the material.

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?

UDMK pushes the limits in materials, environments, and experiences by delivering work that looks into the fantastical possibilities of tomorrow, 1:1 built pavilions/artwork, and visualizing wild imaginations in the digital world. We’ve done artwork for Google and Facebook, reimagined Piranesi in Virtual Reality, and built experiences for space events and Westfield.

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

Architecture is always a reflection of the culture and technology of our time. The role and challenge of the architect today is how to navigate and design within the physical and digital world simultaneously – new processes, sites, systems, and designs.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

We participate in architecture competitions to test our ideas and skillsets and challenge our preconceived concepts of what has been done and how we can do it differently – it gives us the perfect platform to test daring/radical ideas.

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

Make sure you are fully passionate about the topic that you are participating in. It must excite you, because if it doesn't excite you, how will you excite others?