MICROHOME #10 competition participant - Chrysoula Kechagia Fragkala from Greece!

I participate in architecture competitions because they offer a space of creative freedom rarely available in everyday practice. Much of professional work is shaped by paperwork, regulations, budget limitations, and the unpredictable realities of construction. Competitions allow me to step outside those constraints and explore ideas with clarity — to test new typologies, new technologies, and new ways of living that would be difficult to pursue within the restrictions of typical client work. Competitions also provide visibility and discourse. They create platforms where emerging architects can share concepts, gain feedback, and engage with a global community of designers. For an independent practitioner, this exposure is invaluable. It expands both professional reach and intellectual growth. And, of course, the financial reward matters. Prize funds support research, experimentation, and the ability to dedicate time to projects that advance the discipline rather than simply respond to immediate commercial demands. Ultimately, I participate because competitions reconnect me with the core of why I became an architect: to imagine, to question, and to propose new forms of life that respond to the emotional and ecological needs of our time.