Architecture competition "Modern Collective Living Challenge" 1st prize and Green award winners - Misak Terzibasiyan, Athanasia Kalaitzidou and Luigi Simone

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the winners of the 1st prize and Green award of our “Modern Collective Living Challenge” competition - Misak Terzibasiyan, Athanasia Kalaitzidou and Luigi Simone from Netherlands!

Misak Terzibasiyan from Netherlands

The founder and owner of UArchitects, Misak Terzibasiyan, is personally and professionally focusing on an international context as well as on the influence of cultural themes. This is mainly based on this ethnical background, whereas Misak Terzibasiyan was born in Helsinki (Finland).

He studied at the University of Technology in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) and has been working at international architectural offices before founding in 2003 in the cultural architectural icon, the city of Eindhoven. UArchitects is an international office which welcomes different nationalities. 

Our investigative attitude is expressed in the intensive dialogue we undertake with our clients. And the scope for reflection is not confined to the projects themselves; we also look into the wider cultural context of architecture and urban development. We make a social contribution to investigate the position and responsibilities of the architect and town planner. We organize workshops and exhibitions to explore and research the meaning of architecture in a cultural context.

Reflection helps for interactions in another culture and it helps us to understand our position regarding general themes which are part of society. Understanding the identity of society is fundamental for us when we are designing projects in other cultures and places.

In 2015, UArchitects published a book titled “CONTEXT_TEXTURE”, which emphasizes the understanding of context-related architecture and the understanding of texture in the architecture.

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

Context

Context plays an important role in the work of UArchitects, alongside concepts such as culture & identity, organization, meaning and memory, and texture. It thus makes a very idiosyncratic contribution to the architectural debate. At UA, context refers to the relationship between the objects that people can see, feel, smell and judge. It is therefore directly connected to the way in which people experience a context. UA lets this experience play a direct role in the design. In this way, UA gives context overtones that differ strongly from the way in which the concept was interpreted in the 1960s and 70s.

Concept

Our architecture creates connections with the local culture. In our vision, global architecture only works if it has the ability to adapt, in regards to the typology, shape or the materials used in the local context. In the current global era we strongly believe that architecture should start with the research of the local identity in relation to the global society.

Identity and living

For us, identity and living relates to the balance between the inner structure of a building and the outer skin. Between being and looking. A building is like a person with a character and a face. Searching for the identity of people is helpful in the design process of buildings, as well as looking for the balance between inside and outside.

Organization

By observing people, asking fundamental questions and analyzing changes in society, we gain a better grip on the possible future use of proposed buildings. We are interested in the way that people make use of their buildings today, though we have a greater fascination for the flexible use of buildings in the future.

Transformation

Most buildings are difficult to adapt to new functions which can change over a period of time. It is often the case that buildings are unable to adapt easily to new situations.

An interesting design theme can be solved if we create a building which is designed for one function now and which could be used for a different function in the future. We undertake research which analyses how we can react to new changes to the use of buildings, which occur daily, monthly and yearly.

Texture

Texture creates the connection with the physical reality. This is our method in understanding and interpreting the site and context. We connect the projects within their culture and identity. Inspiration of the surrounding; landscape, light, sound, climate and cultural conditions, are the elements which we use to make texture in our projects.

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

Architecture vision competitions are important to challenge our architecture to be more than practical and they give us a better view on the builded society in the future.

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 vision competitions give us more understanding of the possibilities of architecture in general and they break down the practical and financial boundaries. It is a kind of freedom being able to think in terms of: “what if”….