Norman Foster Foundation Kharkiv Housing Challenge competition Honorable mention winners - Stantec

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the Honorable mention winner of our "Norman Foster Foundation Kharkiv Housing Challenge" competition – Aida Luisa Sanchez-Gomez, Raul Pinol, Jiayun Hodges and Agustin Wladimir Salas from United States!

 
Aida Luisa Sanchez-Gomez, Raul Pinol, Jiayun Hodges and Agustin Wladimir Salas

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.

Stantec was founded in 1954 in Edmonton, starting as a one-person firm. Today, the Stantec community unites approximately 31,000 employees working in over 450+ locations across six continents.

Stantec’s Kharkiv competition team was drawn from our design studios in Austin, TX; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Houston, TX; Miami, FL; and Toronto, ON

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?

Stantec Buildings is a global practice designing projects for a diverse array of markets—including Airports, Civic, Commercial, Education, Health, Industrial, Mission Critical Facilities, Science & Technology, and Workplace. Some of our notable projects include:

BMO Centre Expansion Design - A reflection of the surrounding Calgary community, the Centre addition designed by Stantec, Populous, and S2 Architecture evokes the sculpted riverbanks of the Bow and Elbow Rivers, the rolling foothills leading into the Rocky Mountains, and the pioneering spirit of the Stampede.

Hamdan Bin Rashid Cancer Hospital - Our design for Dubai’s first integrated comprehensive cancer hospital draws inspiration from the Ghaf tree, the United Arab Emirates’ national tree and a symbol of life, peace, and tolerance.

FortWhyte Alive Buffalo Crossing Visitor Centre - Designed to facilitate year-round programming, environmental education, and outdoor living opportunities, Buffalo Crossing will advance FortWhyte Alive’s mission via a new low carbon, mass timber visitor center, outdoor learning spaces with access to water activities, and a floating walkway. It will be Manitoba’s first commercial building to achieve Passive House Certification.

Pullman Artspace Lofts - This historic renovation of 140-year-old workers housing and addition offers affordable live-work homes for artists in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood

Stanley Pauley Engineering Building - A new academic, technical, and research space serves as a home for engineering on the University of Manitoba campus.

University of Lethbridge - Isttaniokaksini / Science Commons - Drawing inspiration from the striking coulee landscape, the Science Commons (designed by KPMB/Stantec) establishes itself as a leader in the emerging field of transdisciplinary research, while creating a new exemplar for climate-responsive research buildings.

Virgin Hotels NYC - This landmark building for the emerging lifestyle hotel brand in New York offers open retail space at its base with the hotel itself tapering into an elegant tower. Working as the full-service architect for the building and the architect of record for the interior design, in collaboration with MARKZEFF as the interior designer of the public areas and hotel rooms, Stantec has set a bold new standard for design in the hospitality industry in New York City.

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

We believe that design matters. The buildings that make up the landscape of our daily lives—where we live, learn, play, and conduct business—can carry us forward.

Our integrated design practice—encompassing architecture, buildings engineering, interior design, and more—keeps people at its heart, recognizing that our shared journey forward is shaped by the meaningful and responsive places we design.

Interior or exterior, we create spaces true to each site’s unique context and adaptable to changing needs. Spaces that engage and uplift us. Spaces that contribute to our sense of health and well-being. And spaces that fulfill our clients’ missions while enriching the communities that surround them.

Whether we’re partnering with clients to design a hospital or mixed-use development, a research facility or industrial park, an education campus or an airport, we design for the present and the future of our communities.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

For the Stantec Buildings practice, competition projects stretch our design thinking, show what’s possible, and make room for innovation. They give us a chance to apply our designs, critical thinking, and collaboration to pressing issues facing society.

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

Architecture competitions can be fulfilling and rewarding exercises that unlock creative and innovative ideas, build connections between team members, and inspire us with the power of design.

Competitions provide an opportunity to challenge yourself as a designer by exploring new, unique, and innovative ideas around creating the physical environment. They’re a great opportunity to explore approaches and get inspired about the possibilities for design that enhances community. They encourage us to think and dream big.

The team interaction creates an inspiring dynamic. The competition provides a forum for an exuberant exchange of ideas. This often leads to unexpected meaningful results. For larger organizations it connects talented staff across the organization from different experience levels and locations. No ideas are out of bounds. So, we must bring our best ideas to the virtual table. We teach and learn from each other.

Competitions help us validate our design processes and strategies in the pursuit of design excellence. They are a forum that asserts the architect’s role as a changemaker and our responsibility to do what is right. They remind us that design is powerful.