Architecture Competition Archhive Books' Portable Reading Rooms 1st prize winners - Lorenzo Sizzi and Müge Yürüten

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the 1st prize winners of our “Archhive Books' Portable Reading Rooms” competition - Lorenzo Sizzi and Müge Yürüten from Italy.

Lorenzo Sizzi and Müge Yürüten from Italy

We are two young architects based in Milan. While pursuing our Master’s studies in Architecture at Politecnico di Milano we collaborated in academic projects and international competitions and, eventually, we developed a strong interest in experimenting unconventional ways of doing social-oriented designs through the interaction between the human body/mind and space.

Müge Yürüten recently graduated with honors from her Master’s degree in Architecture at Politecnico di Milano following her previous Master’s degree in Theory and Practice of Architectural Design at ETSAB/Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and a Bachelor’s at Politecnico di Torino. Throughout her education she pursued internships at firms such as an innovation and design firm, Carlo Ratti Associati, and AOUMM, where she was part of the team that designed and built the outdoor furniture for the Terraforma Experimental and Sustainable Music Festival. Currently, she is working as a freelance designer/architect.

Lorenzo Sizzi recently graduated with a Master’s degree in Architecture from Politecnico di Milano with a singular thesis topic, a mixed-use proposal for an underused church that expressed his personal interest in the field of adaptive reuse. During his studies, he has pursued internships with architecture firms such as Enrico Scaramellini Architetti for temporary social residence projects and participated in international architecture workshops such as MIAW in Milan. He is currently working as an architectural assistant in London.

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?

During our studies together, we carried out two academic projects, both located in Milan. The first one was a design for a revolutionary social temporary residence in an existing building, while the second was a proposal devoted to reactivate a neglected historical public space. These two experiences strongly shaped our design approach, which is based on a great curiosity regarding how spatial design can affect a human’s behaviour. After our graduation in April 2019, we have individually been practicing our academic background in an international field. Müge Yürüten has been working as a freelance designer/architect, developing a new office project for a design studio based in Istanbul and London, while Lorenzo Sizzi has been working for London-based practice Arrigoni Architects, developing a high-quality residential project located in the Central Bedfordshire in the UK.

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

We believe that architecture has the great power of making a shift of conditions possible which can positively affect human conditions. A possible way for achieving this is through a creative approach, where simple ideas correspond to simple design actions. Looking through only one perspective is always safe and ideal, but architects and designers should constantly seek the unknown, aiming for unconventional approach.

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

We believe that participating in a competition is an extremely stimulating opportunity to express pure ideas and to experiment a multidisciplinary design by researching and involving different perspectives within the creative flow of architecture.

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

If the chance of getting a tremendous positive experience is not enough, our advice is just join the competition. Sometimes architects keep postponing their duties, but when the deadline gets closer, a strong motivation always drives them to a successful design.