MICROHOME competition Kingspan Compliment winners - Fallow Studio

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the Kingspan Compliment winners of our "MICROHOME competition" – Matt Fallowfield and Airydas Mikalajunas from United Kingdom!

Matt Fallowfield and Airydas Mikalajunas

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 both met whilst studying 12 years ago. Our experience includes mixed-use buildings, but our work now predominantly involves housing, whether that is working directly with developers and gaining first-hand insight into the economics of housing in London, or helping local authorities and affordable housing providers deliver solutions to the growing crisis of homelessness.

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?

Our day jobs usually involve housing schemes ranging from a few homes to hundreds. The work we explore outside of this is on a much smaller scale, from furniture to individual homes. We believe there is a sweet spot somewhere in the middle where occupants can experience a tailored solution and human-scale design, whilst being able to deliver a greater impact to more people. Our passion for sustainability and timber construction is reflected in our work, with explorations into natural materials and innovative construction techniques that we believe can change the construction industry into something that improves life on this planet rather than endangers it.

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

Architecture is ultimately an optimistic profession as we are always working a number of years into the future, imagining a response to a brief and committing to it for the long term to see that vision through. Our work impacts and is experienced by everyone, so we should always be designing with wider society in mind. Architecture is not merely about making things more beautiful, but about bringing solutions to problems that people sometimes didn’t even realise they had.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

Competitions provide an opportunity for us to explore ideas that are not restricted by the constraints we deal with in our day-to-day work. They give us a chance to see what outcomes we can achieve when we are in control of the whole process. It's also a great test of our ability to work together!

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

Don’t rush into the process. Make sure you have refined all of your skills before putting them to the test. Ensure that you can afford to commit the necessary time to the competition without expecting to win anything, but ultimately see it as an opportunity for learning and growth.