Architecture Competition Paris Affordable Housing Challenge Honorable mention - Noam Hazan

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the winner of the Honorable mention of our “Paris Affordable Housing Challenge ”competition - Noam Hazan from Canada!

Noam Hazan from Canada

SDI is a Toronto-based studio, founded in 1984 by Matthew Shuster. It has since evolved into a medium size firm of 15 people, it is guided by a design philosophy to create the best user experience with every project.

With a focus on workplace and retail spaces ranging from 5,000 to 100,000 square feet.

Although the majority of projects are interiors, SDI has also worked on architecture, installation graphic design and product/furniture design.

Noam Hazan, a graduate from the AA is a UK-trained architect who has worked for critically-acclaimed architecture practices such as Foster and Partners, Richard Meier, Make Architects in London, New York and Toronto.



Since moving to Toronto in 2014, Noam established Noam Hazan Design Studio, a boutique design firm focusing on architecture and interiors.



Applying his design and entrepreneurial skills, he co-founded Northspace, the first coworking company in North York, Toronto. Under Noam's leadership, Northspace was featured in Forbes magazine as one of the Top 10 coworking spaces in the world.



In 2017, Noam sold Northspace and merged his design studio with SDI Design where he is the creative director. Under Noam’s direction, SDI was awarded in the top most innovative companies in Canada.

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 company/individuals have been involved.

Notable projects include workspaces for: Sony Music, Ubisoft, Mazda, Mother Parkers Tea and Coffee, Alectra Utilities, Beazley Insurance, Novo Nordisk. WRKkit is an award winning design project featured at the Interior Design Show which was a 20x10ft life-size kit-of-parts that could be reconfigured into thousands of configurations according to one’s ‘workplace personality’. Noam’s previous work includes the interior of Harrods’ Department Store new elevator Lobby and Commercial development London Wall Place, Moorgate, London.

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

The power of architecture is often underestimated. The majority of people spend a significant part of their lives in buildings and therefore cities, buildings, interiors and even furniture have the ability to affect everything from entire populations to the individual for either the positive or negative. It’s the responsibility of the architect to continuously question the status quo and design to optimize and enhance our lives as much as possible. Through technology, societal norms and needs are changing rapidly and it is architecture that be integral to leading those changes.

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

Architectural vision competitions provide the opportunity to put forward a polemic or radical idea that prompts thought, debate and discussion which may often be a catalyst for change. Without the constraints of conservatism (and sometimes budget), we enjoy a level of freedom to question and often mock the ideas that we assume are a given.

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

For a company or individual who is looking to elevate their status or be considered as a thought leader within the industry, architecture vision competitions provide a platform to express vision and capabilities.