Foreword

Buildner is pleased to announce the results of its Portable Reading Rooms international competition! This is the second edition of the popular design event, and hosted in partnership with MArch Valencia which will support the further education of one designer selected from the received submissions, in the form of a scholarship.

This competition sought designs for a small structure that could be embedded within existing public spaces in multiple locations around the world. The reading rooms are to function as an intimate meditative space in which people can read and exchange books. The structure itself is to be highly versatile so that it could be located in various locations, and could function in various climates and seasons.

Buildner collaborated with an excellent international jury panel: Rami Bebawi is an architect and co-founder of KANVA in Montreal, Canada; Nancy Beka is an architectural designer and co-director of Studio Edwards, a Melbourne-based design practice established in 2016 to bring together architecture, interiors and conceptual design with a dedication to pushing these disciplines in innovative and unexpected directions; Fernando Brunel is co-founder of Balparda Brunel Oficina de Arquitectura - BBOA, an architecture studio established in Rosario, Argentina in 2012; Dan Dorocic is a Berlin-based member of design & architecture collective ON/OFF; Nicole McIntosh is the Co-Founder of the Swiss-American design practice Architecture Office; Martin Olivera is the founder of TATŪ Arquitectura based in Montevideo, Uruguay; Fran Silvestre is an architect and founder of Fran Silvestre Arquitectos in Valencia, Spain, and founder and director of the MArch Postgraduate School of Architecture and Design at the European University of Valencia; Rogelio Vallejo Bores is an architect and founder of Mexico-based HW Studio; and Cristina Verissimo is co-founding partner of Lisbon-based CVDB arquitectos.

Buildner and its jury panel congratulate the winners and thank each of the participating teams for submitting proposals.

COMPETITION ORGANISERS
Portable 
Reading Rooms
Official partner
Portable 
Reading Rooms

1st Prize Winner

Project name

THEM

We participate in architectural competitions to challenge our ideas, push our thinking further, reconsider our universe, reject the status quo, and take certain concepts to even greater heights.

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  • 10/10 Linework
  • 10/10 Quality of drawings
  • 10/10 Balance of color
  • 9/10 Layout
  • 9/10 Hierarchy
  • 8/10 Annotation
  • 8/10 Text
  • 10/10 Clarity of story
  • 10/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 10/10 Quality of overall presentation

2nd Prize Winner

Project name

Tight Knit

Competitions provide us with an intellectual outlet to explore our core interests, investigate new challenges and opportunities, and quickly test out ideas. These competition briefs may deviate from our current projects and offer a refreshing and stimulating exercise.

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Country United States
  • 9/10 Linework
  • 9/10 Quality of drawings
  • 9/10 Balance of color
  • 7/10 Layout
  • 8/10 Hierarchy
  • 8/10 Annotation
  • 8/10 Text
  • 8/10 Clarity of story
  • 9/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 8/10 Quality of overall presentation

3rd Prize Winner

Project name

Attract. Explore. Read.

I participate in architecture competitions to stay curious. In ideas competitions, there is enough freedom and enough restraints in place to be playful while remaining mindful.

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Author Gi Giannone
Country United States
  • 8/10 Linework
  • 9/10 Quality of drawings
  • 8/10 Balance of color
  • 7/10 Layout
  • 8/10 Hierarchy
  • 7/10 Annotation
  • 7/10 Text
  • 9/10 Clarity of story
  • 8/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 8/10 Quality of overall presentation

Buildner Student Award +
Buildner Sustainability Award

Project name

READING CRAFT

We pursue the excitement of design. Architecture competitions fulfill our desire and, at the same time, allow us to share it with other people.

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Authors Yu Hsiang Hsieh, Chu Hua Huang, Jia Pei Lin, Yen Ting Chou
Country Taiwan
+122 points Buildner University Rankings
  • 9/10 Linework
  • 9/10 Quality of drawings
  • 10/10 Balance of color
  • 8/10 Layout
  • 9/10 Hierarchy
  • 8/10 Annotation
  • 8/10 Text
  • 9/10 Clarity of story
  • 9/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 9/10 Quality of overall presentation

Scholarship

Project name

Lugar Aislado

This was our first competition entry, with the goal to challenge ourselves, showcase our skills, and share our ideas. As students, we believe competitions are the best opportunity to be part of and develop projects that contribute our young concepts to the real world. We firmly believe that practice makes perfect. To improve our capabilities, we seek to participate in as many design competitions as possible to refine our respective styles and grow as architects.

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Authors Max Gerber, Eitan Adrián Guzmán Cuéllar
Country Germany
  • 8/10 Linework
  • 8/10 Quality of drawings
  • 8/10 Balance of color
  • 7/10 Layout
  • 8/10 Hierarchy
  • 7/10 Annotation
  • 7/10 Text
  • 9/10 Clarity of story
  • 8/10 Clarity of diagrams
  • 8/10 Quality of overall presentation

Honorable Mentions

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Project name

OPEN THE BOOK!

Author Laura Raspanti
Country Italy
Project name

Biblioteca Vagon – Reading room on a journey

Authors Jessica Zhan, Bella Fane, Lucas Engen Gjessing, Wenjing Huang
Country United Kingdom
+72 points Buildner University Rankings
Project name

The Art of Reading

Authors Julia Fraolini, Felix Steinbacher
Country Austria
Project name

Rooms of Encounter

Authors Aitong Chen, Jing Hei, Yuxi Zhang, Yuchen Peng
Country United Kingdom
+72 points Buildner University Rankings
Project name

Four Corner Rooms: Reading Among the Forest

Author Stephen Good
Country United States

Shortlisted projects

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the end.

Fatema masuma Alidina

Tiffany Chui

Sarah Ghattas

Toronto Metropolitan University - TMU

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
Canada

Verse Grotto

Wan Yan

United States

Four Corner Rooms: Reading Among the Forest

Stephen Good

United States

The Art of Reading

Julia Fraolini

Felix Steinbacher

Austria

box?

Tudor Ichim

Tudor Ichim

Horia Rusu

University of Architecture G.M. Cantacuzino (Facultatea de Arhitectură GM Cantacuzino - TUIASI)

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
Romania

Lugar Aislado

Max Gerber

Eitan Adrián Guzmán Cuéllar

Germany

ON THE ROAD

Yuting Zhang

Pu Zhang

STUDIO RE+N

China

Nook Zone

Anca stefania Vlasica

Silvana maria Paraschivescu

Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism - UAUIM

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
Romania

Shape of Wood

Valerii Shpiklirnyi

Technische Universität Darmstadt, TU Darmstadt

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
Germany

The Forest

Lanyi Tu

Sichuan Fine Arts Institute

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
China

HUB-flexible reading space

Qing Duan

United Kingdom

Tight Knit

Danielle Beaulieu

Melanie Monastirsky

United States

Under a Tree

Gabriela De camarero perez

United States

Drift Reading Room

Rukhsar Zahid

Wanchi Wong

Humaira Keshtmand

Jadene Aguilar

United Kingdom

Urban Reading Toolkit

Yao Liu

China

Imaginarium

Tara Natalia

Catherine Leung

Canada

Book Sphere

Paula Smolka

Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice - Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Katowicach

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
Poland

NOT - A - ROOM

Adam Dunning

Australia

Project ID 117584

Merve Ucan

Istanbul Technical University

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Turkey

Attract. Explore. Read.

Gi Giannone

United States

READING CRAFT

Yu Hsiang Hsieh

Chu Hua Huang

Jia Pei Lin

Yen Ting Chou

National Cheng Kung University

+122 points Buildner University Rankings!
Taiwan

INFINITE SPACE

Samuel Eckerson

United States

AN ANALOGOUS ROOM

Thomas Mori

Italy

Lighting the blind walls

Elena Clapan

Azaria Rusu

Ioana Gheorghita

Irina Enache

Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism - UAUIM

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
Romania

Books Bubble

Rosanna Granatella

Italy

WOOD CHAPEL

Fabio Bragantini

Italy

Infinite Reading Space

Siyi Zhu

Xutianqi Wen

Manchester School of Architecture

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
United Kingdom

The Rhi-zones

Yuval Rabi

Bezalel Academy of Art and Design

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
Israel

"BEYOND"

Lorenzo Bongiorno

Italy

Heritage Reconciliation: Portable Reading Room Bridging Divides

Yasser Khaldi

Majida Khanfar

Palestinian Territory, Occupied

Fiesta Parasol

Frederik Sisa

Katherine Schaefer

William Ramos

United States

Biblioteca Vagon – Reading room on a journey

Jessica Zhan

Bella Fane

Lucas Engen Gjessing

Wenjing Huang

United Kingdom

UP

Giovanni Pagnamenta

Switzerland

The Outdoor Window Seat

Megan Mendoza

Canada

Daedalus Maze

Samuel Armange

France

E-Nookie Room

Shu herng Kok

Harith Hashim

Joshua Teh

University of Edinburgh

+2 points Buildner University Rankings!
United Kingdom

Origami Rooms

Jonathan Shek

Liza Sarmiento

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
United States

THEM

Marianne Charbonneau

Mélanie Hamel-Auger

Charles-Antoine Lauzon

Sandrine Arguin

Agence Spatiale

Canada

Rooms of Encounter

Aitong Chen

Jing Hei

Yuxi Zhang

Yuchen Peng

United Kingdom

OPEN THE BOOK!

Laura Raspanti

Italy