Architecture Competition Museum of Emotions Honorable mention – Margaux Loubser

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our Honorable mention winner for our "Museum of Emotions" competition – Margaux Loubser from South Africa!

Margaux Loubser from South Africa

I’m currently pursuing a PhD in Architecture at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa, specialising in the sacred relationship between architecture, landscape and the psyche. I finished my M.Arch at UFS in 2020. Between my studies I interned at SAOTA, a large high-end residential firm in Cape Town. I have recently started working part-time at a small, but excellent architecture firm called Beatty Vermeiren. We are only three in the office and prioritise good waves over long hours.

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 work primarily on small-scale residential projects in and around Cape Town. The practice has won several awards and been featured in countless magazines and online platforms, though all before I started working with them.

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

I am inextricably drawn to life, form, colour, texture, movement, meaning, symbolism, myth and the metaphysical. All of these find expression in my practice of architecture. At its core, architecture is the meeting place of our inner landscape and the outer landscape. It is the manifestation of what we think, feel and believe within the context of a place. Through it we communicate much more than meets the eye. We express our souls with architecture. In my work I’m explore by the place of the soul and the soul of the place. Architects, like artists, carry the responsibility of showing others what the world could be. We strive to improve everything around us so that life can be experienced with more awe. We take the first concrete steps in manifesting heaven on earth. No doubt an idealistic view, and at the same time true.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

I participate in architecture competitions because it stretches me past any perceived limitations. Through it I am able to explore the depth and breadth of my creativity and innovation. Using it as an expression of art, I am free to push all boundaries and really find that which lights me up. Through every competition I participate in, I come closer to truly expressing my soul through architecture.

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

If you don’t want to expand your architectural practice beyond all that you thought possible, if you want to play small and conform to the norm, if you want to live an comfortable life, with comfortable projects and comfortable clients, if you want to build things that have already been seen, if you don't have time for originality,  if you don’t believe in the power of architecture, if you want to live a life of no consequence, then don’t enter architecture competitions.