MICROHOME #10 competition Honorable mention winners - Jorge Moreno Carrera and Sofiia Kravchenko

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce the Honorable Mention winners of the MICROHOME #10 competition - Jorge Moreno Carrera and Sofiia Kravchenko from Spain!

Sofiia Kravchenko and Jorge Moreno Carrera

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.

We are an independent team based in Barcelona, formed by a recently graduated Spanish architect and Ukrainian multidisciplinary creative with a strong interest in architecture and spatial design. While coming from different professional backgrounds, we share a common curiosity for how space can shape experiences, relationships, and ways of living. Since 2023, we’ve been working together through architecture competitions and collaborative projects, using them as a platform to explore shared ideas and develop our voice. Our approach blends technical thinking with creative experimentation, focusing on themes like adaptability, sustainability, and inclusive design. At this early stage, we see our practice as an open space for testing concepts, learning from each other, and laying the groundwork for future growth.

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?

As a small team, we’ve worked primarily on conceptual and early-stage projects, often through competitions or speculative design exercises. Our focus tends to be on small to medium-scale architecture with a strong interest in housing, collective living, and mixed-use typologies. We’ve explored modular and prefabricated systems, especially for projects addressing youth housing and transitional living, as well as proposals for urban regeneration that combine residential, commercial, and public uses. Our work often investigates how architecture can respond to changing social and environmental conditions, balancing practicality with openness to transformation. While we’re at the beginning of our professional journey, these projects reflect the themes we want to continue developing—architecture that is inclusive, sustainable, and flexible by design.

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

To us, architecture is a discipline where technical knowledge, creativity, and ethics intersect to give form to the way we live together. Architecture is not just about building, but about responding to people’s needs, enabling transformation, and imagining better futures. In this sense, we like to think about the architect as a mediator between complexity and clarity who translates layered social, economic, and environmental contexts into built realities. Our role is to think critically, design responsibly, and create the spatial frameworks that allow people to grow, connect, and belong.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

We participate in architecture competitions because they offer a space for exploration beyond the constraints of conventional practice. Especially as a recently graduated architect and someone from other disciplines who are interested in architecture, we find them valuable for testing ideas, shaping our voice, and showing the direction we want our career to take. They allow us to engage with topics we are passionate about—such as housing, adaptability, and sustainability—even if those themes aren't always accessible in the early stages of professional practice. Competitions also create a space for dialogue: with other designers, with urgent issues, and with possible futures. In addition, they provide an opportunity to push boundaries, challenge assumptions, and develop a more critical and personal approach to architecture.

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

Competitions can seem overwhelming at first, but they offer a unique opportunity to grow, experiment, and define your own architectural voice—something that’s not always easy to do in early professional contexts. Don’t think of them only in terms of winning. The real value lies in the process: choosing a theme you care about, working on your own terms, and pushing your ideas further. Whether it’s about refining your skills, building a portfolio, or exploring new directions, competitions are a space where you can take risks and learn a lot—even from the ones that don’t go as planned. Competitions allows you to start small if needed, choose topics that genuinely interest you, and use each experience to understand more about the kind of architect you want to become.