MICROHOME Kingspan competition Honorable mention winners - Debora Mendes Nunes Jank, Rafael Magno De Moraes and Arthur Santos De Andrade

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the Honorable mention winners of our "MICROHOME competition" – Debora Mendes Nunes Jank, Rafael Magno De Moraes and Arthur Santos De Andrade from Brasil!

Debora Mendes Nunes Jank, Rafael Magno De Moraes and Arthur Santos De Andrade

Please tell us about your company (when it was founded, where it is based, how many employees, etc) Alternatively, if you do not have a company, please give us some insights on your own professional/academia background.

The three of us are recently graduated in Architecture and Urbanism from Santa Catarina Federal University in Brazil, UFSC. We became friends during college. Since we graduated, and as we work in different companies or by ourselves, we took this competition as an oportunity to participate in a project together.

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?

Even though in our professional careers what comes up mostly are interior design projects, our main interest is in designing mixed-use buildings. Racionality, modularity and industrial scalable solutions is what drives us. As we studied how to use a BIM based philosophy, we find that buildings with higher complexity are very interesting.

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

For us, architecture is a complex and very beautiful art, which demands multidisciplinar knowlegde and a passion for working with other people, to discover the best solutions possible for a given demand or problem. The role of the architect relies on great decision making: taking all information possible, filtering them and coming up with a design that accounts for functionality, sustainability and aesthetics. It takes some good years to master!

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

Taking the time to work on a project within a competition is excellent for stimulating curiosity and continuously seeking solutions that deeply interest you and represent what you believe to be great architecture. This is a valuable exercise whether you are still in college or already working as an architect. It is always worth remembering why you wanted to pursue architecture in the first place, and competitions are great for that.

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

Use this work as a way to rediscover what you like and what you believe to be great architecture. It is always important to do this exercise, and competitions are the best way to do that!