Architecture Competition Portugal Elderly Home 3rd prize winners – Dian Luo, Xiang Liu and Guisong Zhang

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the 3rd prize winners of our "Portugal Elderly Home" competition – Dian Luo, Xiang Liu and Guisong Zhang from China!

3rd prize winners from China

We are three young architects from China and met in Germany. Coming from the same university, we build a team due to shared passion for creation and innovation. We obtained master’s degrees from TU Braunschweig, and after graduation went to work in Hamburg together.

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?

Our team members own different working experiences in plenty of firms such as gmp, ksp, wulf architects and grüntuch-ernst architects. Projects we have participated in include designing of Campus BFH Bern, Deutz Campus Cologne, School Campus on the Insel Areal Pforzheim, Shenzhen Art Museum & Second Library and Yangzhou Theater. We believe that cultural and educational projects are of dramatic social significances, which affect the economic, historical, and cultural development of a city intangibly.

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

Each architectural practice is a reflection on the present: site, architecture and people are inseparable. The understanding of sites gives the building a consistent spirit, and will also evoke deep memories, which in turn evoke resonance between people and architecture.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

We join the competition for the reason that it provides us with a platform to inspire our passion and create works freely. Architects often face multiple restrictions in their routine work due to various reasons. However, in this competition, we can delve deeper into current social issues and problems, giving more attention to the context of our designs. By enhancing our design philosophy and updating traditional design styles, we strive to pursue optimal solutions.

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

It is a wonderful opportunity for us to join the competition because not only can we improve our capacity of creating and thinking but also enhance our expression skills and teamwork, all of which helps us make our dreams and ideas come true.