Architecture competition Modern Collective Living Challenge Honorable mention - coletivo-rt

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the winners of the Honorable mention of our “Modern Collective Living Challenge” competition -  Ana Rolim, Larissa Falavigna, Maria Júlia Jaborandy and Hugo Santiago from Brazil!

coletivo-rt from Brazil

I run a collective that provides services and ideas on interior design and architecture, called coletivo-rt architecture + interiors. Since its foundation, in 2011, in the city of Recife, Brazil, we have worked on a series of projects, including architecture competitions.

Being a collective, we do not have a steady employee base. Instead, pending on the nature of the project, I approach colleagues and students who I believe somehow identify with the task in hand and invite them to join us. As we have established solid relationships, many of our contributors have come back for different projects. I am also an Assistant Professor at the Architecture and Urbanism school at Universidade Católica de Pernambuco (UNICAP), in Brazil. After working as a designer in New York City for many years, I have a strong connection with the city and currently contribute with the Manhattan-based studio, Eisner Design. The team we put together for the MCLC competition has three other members, Larissa Falavigna, Maria Júlia J. and Hugo Santiago. They are all brilliant students. While Larissa brings precision and passion for biomimetics to the group, Julia shares a systemic view of things and great ability to translate this into graphics, and Hugo has a special and methodical talent for visual representation of all kinds.

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?

At coletivo-rt we have been involved mostly with interior design projects and building renovations of medium to small scale, including residential, hospitality, retail, installations and architecture competitions. We particularly liked working on both designs for Anjo Solto restaurant, two very different renovation projects, one a 80m2, installation-like insertion in a mixed-use building and the other a 400m2 + gut renovation of a modernist building. We received local awards for both projects, and were published in one of the most important architecture magazines in South America, AU. Currently we are super excited to have been working on a 6,000m2 design of a public space for a city in the NE of Brazil, as part of a collective design team joined by two other firms.

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

Both professionally and academically I am interested in exploring experiential architecture that involves stimulating sensory responses in the hope that we can generate more positive engagement between space and users. Aligned with this approach, I am attracted to shapes and spaces that are atemporal and state their presence through simplicity, carrying a strong materiality. The role of the architect is to be able to convert people’s needs and aspirations into space and form with a humanistic approach.

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

Besides having a deep respect for the tradition of competitions in the architecture field, I think this kind of experience provides a perfect venue for showcasing ideas that can get heard by a large audience, having the potential to impact the architectural culture as a whole. I also firmly believe that each competition I have submitted to date somehow represents at least a step towards a learning curve, affecting my practice and teaching deeply.

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

Do not hesitate, go ahead, work on your entry and submit it. You will only win by doing this, no matter what the official results might tell you later. Most great architects have gone through this experience at some point, so join them and leave you mark somewhere.