International Architecture Competition

Painters'
Lake House

Results

Foreword

Competition organisers

Painters'
Lake House

Buildner is pleased to announce the results of its Painter’s Lake House International Competition!

For this competition, Buildner sought designs for a painters' residence to be located on the beautiful shore of Cernostes Lake, in one of Europe’s greenest countries, Latvia.

The site includes an existing home once inhabited by two brothers with their families. The site owners are now looking to transform it into a temporary home and workshop for painters. It will need to replace the current building and accommodate two painters with their own families for residencies that turn over every three months. The project is intended to be a prime example of sustainability and one which respects its natural environment.

Buildner worked with an international jury whose own portfolios include projects of similar scale, typology and ambition: Sam Brown is Co-founder of Glasgow-based O’DonnellBrown, a studio with a strong social conscience and a mission to bring about positive change: Marta Frazão, Filipe Rodrigues, and Inês Vicente are Partners at Atelier Data, a Lisbon-based office; Benedikt Hartl leads the activist architecture studio Opposite Office, which draws, writes, imagines and builds architectural stories: Marco Lavit runs Paris-based Atelier LAVIT which has completed such projects as a series of floating cabins for a hotel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape; Marta Maccaglia is Founder of Peru-based Asociación Semillas and a Professor at the architecture department of Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de América Latina (Ucal); Francesca Perani runs Francesca Perani Enterprise based in Bergamo, Italy, and is co-founder and curator of activist project RebelArchitette advocating for equality in architecture; and Tom Schroeder is a senior architect with Patkau Architects and a guest critic and faculty member at the University of British Columbia.

Buildner and its jury panel would like to thank each of the participants and teams from around the globe who submitted proposals for this event.

1st Prize Winner

Project name

Trio for Duo

Authors

Shilan Yu
Guisong Zhang
Moye Guo

Germany

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

After years of architectural study and subsequent work, the understanding and views of architectural design have gradually accumulated or changed. As a profession between rationality and art, there are many aspects in the design process that can restrict architects from expressing their ideas and showing their unique style. Through architectural competitions, we can better, and to some extent more freely, show our creativity. Even many buildings that are difficult to realize in real life can be boldly attempted in architectural competitions, which also promotes the development of the architectural industry to a certain extent and provides more possibilities for architectural design.

Jury feedback summary

Trio for Duo takes a tripartite form that responds to the site’s natural elements - the lake, the field and the country road. The existing house and barn are demolished though their spatial volume is maintained, replicated and rotated as ‘clones’ to fit the triangulated site. A new courtyard with abundant natural sunlight is created, which is centered on the historic well as a trace of the original construction. The proposed building is to be constructed in local timber. A void is created between a double roof structure as a space for the site’s bats to inhabit. 

Tom Schroeder / Buildner guest jury Patkau Architects Canada
This submission creates an architectural intersection in the landscape. The forces of family life, professional life and social life come together to offer a collaborative space that offers solitude at the far end, with communal living and working in the center.
Francesca Perani / Buildner guest jury founder of Francesca Perani Enterprise Italy
The project stands out thanks to its impeccable representation and original layout distribution. The only concern is the proximity of the road, which may impact privacy.
Marta Maccaglia / Buildner guest jury Founder of Asociación Semillas Peru
The proposal is connected to the lake and the forest through its paths and views. A harmonious link between private and collective spaces is achieved. The graphics are clear and fit the program requirements.

Buildner's architectural communication techniques review

Have a presentation for us to review? Order your review here!
  • 9/10
    Linework
  • 10/10
    Quality of drawings
  • 10/10
    Balance of color
  • 10/10
    Layout
  • 10/10
    Hierarchy
  • 10/10
    Annotation
  • 8/10
    Text
  • 10/10
    Clarity of story
  • 10/10
    Clarity of diagrams
  • 10/10
    Quality of overall presentation

Buildner's commentary and recommendations

The presentation utilizes excellent renderings, plans, axonometric diagrams and sections to tell a clear story and to communicate a truly high-quality project. Its layout takes advantage of a horizontal split which allows for variations on full-span or smaller images. The diagrams describe the project’s simple formal organization relative to the site and brief. The project would benefit from text that is divided into smaller, more digestible components that are easier to read in print, on screen or in projection. This is especially the case on the first sheet, where the lines of text are long and the print small. The paragraphs here would be more comprehensible if divided into several columns and by individual conceptual points. The site plan on the second sheet could be strengthened with annotative text similar to the section on the final sheet. Such annotation adds a layer of detail and complexity that makes a drawing truly sophisticated and complete. The section on the final sheet would benefit from more varied line weights to describe sectional lines versus projection lines in elevation. As drawn there is very little hierarchy. The colored trees and heavy gray ground, on the contrary, are both graphically interesting and strong, helping to ‘ground’ the lower portion of the image with visual weight located at the base, and ‘float' the top portion of the image with lighter colors to permit the overlay of text.

2nd Prize Winner

Project name

Picturesque

Authors

Cristina Popescu

University

Ion mincu university of architecture and urbanism - uauim
+92 points Buildner University Rankings!

Romania

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

Participating in competitions allows me to focus on conceptual thinking. I always try to pick something new, a subject or a programme I haven’t had the chance to approach before, so I learn a lot in doing research this way. It is an excellent way to better your concept approach, learning about new technologies, adding a great project to your portfolio, etc.

Jury feedback summary

Picturesque’ is a poetic proposal. It aims to be a contemporary solution designed in alignment with Baltic vernacular building practices. The house makes use of a traditional truss structure and organizes spaces for all main functions under a single roof. The layout encourages interaction between guests so that knowledge and ideas can be shared. Long spaces provide expansive lake views to connect the interior with the exterior. A terrace physically and functionally connects the building with its landscape. An articulated facade is designed to provide niches for animal life.

Sam Brown / Buildner guest jury Co-founder of O’DonnellBrown Scotland
There is a wonderful level of restraint and material sensitivity prevalent in this design. The dark timber facades are beautifully proportioned and contrast successfully with the warm, light timbered interior. A beautiful proposal.
Filipe Rodrigues / Buildner guest jury Partners at Atelier Data Portugal
The proposal reinterprets in a very subtle and inventive way the local traditional architecture condensing in one single building all the programs required. The relationship between the construction and the lake is provided by a gentle deck facing the lake, a simple gesture that promotes several possibilities of uses.
Marco Lavit / Buildner guest jury founder of Atelier LAVIT France
The narration of the project is fascinating and life in the common areas generates a sense of community in relation to the shores of the lake. The drawings and graphic documents are very qualitative and accurate.

Buildner's architectural communication techniques review

Have a presentation for us to review? Order your review here!
  • 10/10
    Linework
  • 10/10
    Quality of drawings
  • 9/10
    Balance of color
  • 9/10
    Layout
  • 9/10
    Hierarchy
  • 9/10
    Annotation
  • 9/10
    Text
  • 9/10
    Clarity of story
  • 9/10
    Clarity of diagrams
  • 9/10
    Quality of overall presentation

Buildner's commentary and recommendations

The presentation layout makes use of a typical two-part division, with rendered images to the left and supporting drawings and text to the right - an easy-to-read organization for the viewing eye. The project uses autumnal colors with an excellent balance and generally a strong level of hierarchy. The quality of the images and the level of detail they communicate is advanced. The rendered images of the longitudinal building elevations on the first and second sheets are quite similar in terms of their content, perspective, scale and, hence, the amount of information they communicate. Given the limited amount of space available on competition sheets to tell a complete story, it is recommended that such entries avoid repeat information. A rendered view of the transversal elevation, in the perpendicular direction, would be a very useful addition to complete one’s understanding of the project. The final sheet is denser than the others, in terms of drawing size and number, and has a weaker color balance and hierarchy. It could be visually strengthened with the use of some color, even if solely for one drawing, such as the well-drawn and detailed enlarged section. In comparison to the other sheets, the text here is also rather disorganized and unrelated to the immediate adjacent imagery.

3rd Prize Winner

Project name

MUZA HOUSE

Authors

Kaan Oncuoglu
Ekin Guzer
Sevin Erkenek
Orcun Cinar

Turkey

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

Collaboration elevates design quality by fostering a broad range of perspectives and creative problem-solving by integrating the design approach of various architects. Competitions produce demanding programmes that call for these original and comprehensive concepts. By participating in architecture competitions, we hope to promote improved design quality through collaborative design.

Jury feedback summary

Muza House is a proposal for a thatched-roofed timber building organized in a U-shaped arrangement to emphasize a courtyard approach that is warm and welcoming. The project’s namesake is drawn from a short-term shelter of natural and manmade elements. The construction materials embrace the traditions of Latvian vernacular architecture and the building systems include a mass heater and composting toilet. The workshop space includes a system of movable walls that yield a variety of functional scenarios - private working, coworking and exhibiting. 

 

Tom Schroeder / Buildner guest jury Patkau Architects Canada
This submission is a simple and direct union of family and artists that reflects the physical and social environment of Latvia. The mechanics of pivoting walls need not be so complex or orchestrated, but the flexible and transformative nature of the exhibition or canvas walls makes the temporal situation of the artists a tangible experience.
Francesca Perani / Buildner guest jury founder of Francesca Perani Enterprise Italy
The adaptable layout of the workshop area connected to the lounge is the heart of the entire building, where the view of the lake will permeate the whole space. The layout easily allows residents to gather together and preserve their privacy.
Marco Lavit / Buildner guest jury founder of Atelier LAVIT France
The morphology of the building, in plan as in section, is particularly suited to the given topic. Indoor and outdoor spaces match perfectly. The modularity of the project is very interesting without becoming excessive.

Buildner's architectural communication techniques review

Have a presentation for us to review? Order your review here!
  • 6/10
    Linework
  • 7/10
    Quality of drawings
  • 9/10
    Balance of color
  • 6/10
    Layout
  • 5/10
    Hierarchy
  • 7/10
    Annotation
  • 7/10
    Text
  • 7/10
    Clarity of story
  • 7/10
    Clarity of diagrams
  • 7/10
    Quality of overall presentation

Buildner's commentary and recommendations

The presentation makes use of strong visuals in the form of various interior and exterior renderings, plans, sections and diagrams. It does not, however, have a clear overarching principle for layout or organization. The author would benefit from a more rigorous set of rules to guide the composition of the sheets. While the rules can always be broken for variation, a template should set the visual standard. This is important for guiding the reader’s eye so that one is not searching for information differently on each sheet. The enlarged detail section, section II, is not taken from a clear location within the project, as it shows a cantilevered roof component that does not have significance for the image; rather this component relates to information behind the viewer. It is recommended that the author shift this section towards the center of the U-form, or edit the drawing to remove this roof element, for comprehensibility. The rendering related to the plan flexibility with movable canvas walls would benefit from showing a clearer separation of spaces. The use of a short, transparent component of movable wall does not accurately reflect the usefulness of the design to segment spaces for various functions.

Buildner Student Award +
Buildner Sustainability Award

Project name

The Ripple

Authors

Hao Wen

University

University of sydney
+122 points Buildner University Rankings!

Australia

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

I wasn't entirely satisfied with my academic projects, and so external competitions were both a way of improving my skills in designing, and also served as an act of redemption to prove myself.

Jury feedback summary

The Ripple is based on a planar arrangement of the art studio and residence based on the composition of the original house, maintaining its footprint. The proposal is for a sustainable project of timber framing and thatched roofs, which are also contextual. The envelope includes timber cladding recycled from the original house, charred for lower future maintenance. The profile of the building in elevation takes the form of a water droplet as a reference to the adjacent lake. The natural curvature of the roofs, which are embedded with skylights, allows sunlight to penetrate within the southern residential half of the complex, while the north receives indirect light.

Sam Brown / Buildner guest jury Co-founder of O’DonnellBrown Scotland
The designs are intelligently considered with a highly successful modest but compelling outcome. The consideration of reuse and retention of material is to be commended , a fundamental consideration for today's architects. The drawings are also seductive in their explanation of the proposals and spatial quality.
Tom Schroeder / Buildner guest jury Patkau Architects Canada
This submission expresses and embodies the cultural, environmental and personal values of the region with a poetic dance between material sensitivity and logical planning.
Inês Vicente / Buildner guest jury Partners at Atelier Data Portugal
This project attends carefully to the existing constructions and their relationship with the surroundings. This project offers a great potential for further development.

Buildner's architectural communication techniques review

Have a presentation for us to review? Order your review here!
  • 10/10
    Linework
  • 10/10
    Quality of drawings
  • 8/10
    Balance of color
  • 10/10
    Layout
  • 9/10
    Hierarchy
  • 10/10
    Annotation
  • 10/10
    Text
  • 10/10
    Clarity of story
  • 10/10
    Clarity of diagrams
  • 9/10
    Quality of overall presentation

Buildner's commentary and recommendations

This presentation is an excellent example for clean layout and sheet organization. The introductory sheet is especially impactful with its: clear, large yet subtle site plan situating the project within its unique context; an adequate amount of text to introduce the project which is also divided into clear paragraphs and highlights key concepts; and a rendering that cleverly balances architecture with rugged landscape. It is recommended that the second and third sheets, which consist purely of line drawings and text, also follow the guidelines of the first sheet by adding subtle color variation, for example within the trees and plantings to frame the drawings, or within the interiors to focus a reader’s eye. This would further engage the reader and avoid a potentially perceived monotony of the two sequential black and white layouts.The renderings include details such as timber joints that relate directly to the details and communicate a level of analysis and resolution that makes the presentation stand out from its competitors. 

 

Client Favorite

Project name

Studio by Still Waters

Authors

Mats Kemppe
Kristina Masyte

Norway

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

It is an opportunity to challenge ourselves and think in unconventional ways, working with other themes, settings, and frames than what our common projects provide. It is not every day we are asked to design dwellings for bats for example. Competitions also give us the opportunity to work in landscapes and environments which are different from ours. In addition, it allows us to immerse ourselves in new knowledge, find new inspiration and develop new ways of communicating our projects.

Honorable mentions

VIEWclose HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Project Name

Under a Common Sky

Country

Finland

Project authors

Flynn Lewer

Project Name

COEXISTANCE

Country

Denmark

Project authors

Mohamed Isak

Project Name

Borderline

Country

Sweden

Project authors

Linnea Holmberg
Kalle Zetterholm
Tobias Puhlmann
Charlie Tomlinson

Project Name

Painters' Lake House

University

Warsaw university of technology , politechnika warszawska
+72 points Buildner University Rankings!

Country

Poland

Project authors

Łukasz Rossa
Adam Górka

Project Name

Levitated House

Country

United States

Project authors

Daeho Lee
Beomki Lee
Jaeyual Lee

Project Name

Āderu Namas - Ader House

Country

Poland

Project authors

Jakub Wichtowski
Tomasz Bekas

Shortlisted projects

VIEWclose Shortlisted projects

Poland

Warsaw University of Technology , Politechnika Warszawska

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
Łukasz rossa
adam górka

Romania

Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism - UAUIM

+92 points Buildner University Rankings!
cristina popescu

United Kingdom

nichola barrington-leach

Italy

claudio carrieri
vittorio gemignani
francesco emanuele capaldi

United States

junfu cui
baiyang kong
jingyi xu
zhaoxuan yang

Chile

The University of La Serena - University of La Serena

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
skarlet escobar

Romania

Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism - UAUIM

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
ioana otilia popescu
madalina facaeru
alexandra moise
carolina zecheru

Ukraine

Balbek bureau

anastasiia vinidiktova
olena dobrovolska
nikolay k
marian beresh

Cyprus

marcos panayides
dionysios kakoulis

United States

daeho lee
beomki lee
jaeyual lee

Belgium

julien de muynck
julien de muynck
marine burtonboy

Hungary

Ybl Miklós Faculty of Building Science (Óbudai Egyetem Ybl Miklós Építéstudományi Kar)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
sándor cseke
norbert virág

Sweden

linnea holmberg
kalle zetterholm
tobias puhlmann
charlie tomlinson

Switzerland

ETH Zurich

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
lorin wiedemeier

Romania

Conic design studio srl

gabriel-andrei alexoiu
bianca-maria paun
cristiana-alexandra comanici

Brazil

USP – Universidade de São Paulo

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
cristina chen
leticia naomi umehara
maria fernanda del giovannino de oliveira
larah agostinho barbosa

Romania

Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism - UAUIM

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
miruna-liana alexandru
diana oancea

Germany

shilan yu
guisong zhang
moye guo

France

ENSAM - La Réunion, École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Montpellier (ENSAM École Nationale Supérieure D'architecture De Montpellier)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
pierre fortunel

Romania

mihai moga-paler
sergiu andrei zamfir
sorin lepădatu

Germany

Dresden University of Technology (Technische Universität Dresden), TU Dresden

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
felix beyer
vanessa ebert

Australia

University of Sydney

+122 points Buildner University Rankings!
hao wen

United States

matan gal
dana lieber gal

Turkey

kaan oncuoglu
ekin guzer
sevin erkenek
orcun cinar

United States

brandon haarer
austin pelfrey
 

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