Architecture Competition MICROHOME / Edition #5 Honorable mention winners – Merve Uçan and Berat Can Öztan

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our Honorable mention winners for our "MICROHOME / Edition #5" competition – Merve Uçan and Berat Can Öztan from Germany!

Honorable mention from Germany

At the base of the team, there are two designers who have developed themselves in different fields.

Merve Uçan, who received an international interior architecture master's education in Turkey and Germany and ranked in many different competitions, and Berat Can Öztan, who completed him architectural license in Turkey and has a background of experience and technical skills in professional offices. This team came together to unite completely opposite ideas and different perspectives on a common point.

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?

We are interested in every step of design, starting from the scale of furniture design, to tiny house, landscape designs, residential projects.

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

Architecture primarily serves the need for shelter, which is one of the most basic needs of people, and then continues to develop day by day in order to increase the quality of life, provide good experiences, and accumulate good memories.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

Architectural competitions are a great way to advance the understanding of architectural design with bold and free steps, and to discover new perspectives. It is a platform where anyone with a good idea, who wants to make a proposal for important issues about the world, contribute to the design literature, has equal rights and can share their ideas so that they can reach a large audience. It is an opportunity for individuals from different educations and cultures to focus on the same issue, problem and inspire everyone with their designs.

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

Every competition project is an experience. There is no such thing as losing in competitions, there is always learning, researching and discovering new things in the process. Therefore, at the end of the day, everyone who participates in the competition gets a win for theirself.