Architecture Competition The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial / Edition #2 Honorable mention – Paul Mccoy and Madison Green

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our Honorable mention winners for our "The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial" #2 competition – Paul Mccoy and Madison Green from United States!

Honorable mention from United States

Paul and Madison are two aspiring architects working between Texas and New York. Since 2018, they have collaborated on branding projects, competitions, seminars, and symposiums at their former schools, Texas A&M University and the University of Pennsylvania. During their studies, Madison received the first prize for the E. Lewis Dales Travel Fellowship and graduated with the Paul Phillipe Cret Medal.

Paul received the second prize for the E. Lewis Dales Travel Fellowship, the Mario J. Romanach Fellowship, the Kanter Tritsch Prize, and graduated with the Arthur Spayd Brooke Memorial Prize: Gold Medal. Both designers share a love for small, material oriented architecture that brings something extraordinary to the ordinary.

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 believe that architecture comes to life in the details, in the corners and thresholds where a structure becomes something intimate and impactful to one’s experience of a place. Our projects often speak to a cultural, social, or ecological context while finding moments for close interaction. This competition provided an opportunity to consider where moments for reflection and imagination at a human scale might exist within the vastness of nuclear warfare.

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

At its core, architecture needs to perform aesthetically and functionally to meet the current demands of the built environment. Though more critically, it should offer a reflection of our time and place in the world, and emulate the values we possess and aspire to uphold. It’s an architect’s job to marry these ambitions with the unique demands of every project through careful combinations of solid and space.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

Competitions are a little like fireworks. Shots in the dark that can result in something spectacular and unexpected. We see them as an opportunity to explore a topic, and quickly bring abstract thoughts and interests to fruition without some of the constraints other kinds of projects often have. They also give us room to create from our own raw sense of design.

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

For us, if there are ideas you want to explore in a way that is quick, loose, and minimally restricted, competitions are a place to mold those ideas into something a little more tangible without losing the pure essence of the idea.