Architecture Competition Portugal Olive Guest House Honorable mention winners – SLOVAK UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY IN BRATISLAVA

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our Honorable mention winners for our "Portugal Olive Guest House" competition – Samuel Andrejcak, Jakub Ceresnik and Lukas Bim from Slovakia!

Honorable mention winners from Slovakia

We are a group of friends studying at the Faculty of Architecture and Design at STU in Bratislava. We have known each other practically since the beginning of our studies, and from the first time we met, we became friends as well as colleagues with identical perspectives on architecture.

Currently, we are in the last year of our studies, and alongside our academic pursuits, we all actively work on projects of different scales and assignments in various studios. We love being a part of different architectural competitions and enjoy the feedback we receive, as it propels us further and helps us improve in what we do. We always strive to work as a team, seizing every opportunity, not only during our university projects but also in other endeavors.

In the future, after graduation, we aspire to open our own studio.

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 enjoy practically all scales of assignments and always strive to find the right answers and solutions. The connection between a person and space or a building in a landscape is essential to us. Most often, we work on scales similar to this competition, but we have also worked on interior design projects as well as urban design projects. Additionally, we have been part of designing a number of exhibition displays where we have realized how crucial the form of presentation of a particular idea is, which holds true in our profession in general.

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

First and foremost, for us, it's about creating a quality space and environment for people. In architecture, we often enjoy taking a multidisciplinary approach to work on different briefs, finding interesting solutions for a given context. Addressing even the smallest detail in our projects holds significance to us. Part of our passion for architecture is the process and the creation of the work itself, witnessing the evolution from first sketches to realization. To us, being an architect means helping people and society to exist in everyday life. A person's life is greatly influenced by their surroundings, and architects should devote themselves to the creation of these environments.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

We like the fact that competitions help to create new and high-quality projects. For the client, it means offering multiple answers to a specific brief, which pushes the quality of the final design validated by multiple solutions. At the same time, we are competitive. We are always interested in the perspective of other architects and the diversity of ideas. It is a huge positive these days that architectural competitions are coming to the fore and have different scales of interesting briefs.

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

Do not be afraid! It is always worth investing time, energy, and bringing forth new thoughts and ideas. Being part of such a competition brings valuable experiences that propel us further.