I participate in architecture competitions because they offer a space for creative freedom and critical reflection. They allow me to address social, environmental, and urban challenges from new perspectives, beyond the constraints of conventional commissions. Competitions also encourage research, continuous learning, and the exchange of ideas at a global scale.

Architecture competitions are a great opportunity to balance the routine tasks the profession often requires with pure creation. They allow space for experimentation and ideas to emerge freely.

Competitions are spaces for experimentation that allow us to contribute to public discourse, challenge conventional solutions, and position design as a meaningful driver of social, environmental, and spatial quality.

We take part in architectural competitions for several reasons. First, they allow us to engage with contemporary challenges and address themes closely connected to current issues. Competitions also provide a valuable experimental framework for exploring different project scales, ranging from territorial approaches—such as those developed through Europan—to micro-architecture. Finally, they offer an opportunity to question and renew our ways of designing architecture by exploring new approaches and integrating a strategic, committed, and responsible vision.

We participate in architecture competitions to test and refine our design approaches and methodologies on projects we are truly passionate about. The freedom these briefs offer allows us to push creative boundaries in form, materiality, and structure, which often leads to bold, innovative ideas that would not always be feasible in real-world practice. Beyond competing, we see these opportunities as a platform to share our vision and thinking with the public and to engage in dialogue with other talented designers worldwide.

We find is a way to keep researching new ways of architecture while challenging ourselves and seeing what the world has to offer.

Competitions serve as a platform for us to explore fresh ideas, challenge ourselves, and experiment with cutting-edge design concepts. They grant us the freedom to think creatively and approach problems in unconventional ways, which fosters a culture of innovation within our team. This environment also enables us to continuously refine our skills as we engage with diverse design briefs and problem-solving scenarios, offering a sense of growth and development. Moreover, competitions provide an opportunity to inspire others and, in turn, increase our visibility and recognition within the architectural community and beyond. This exposure can significantly enhance our presence and reputation, amplifying our impact on the field. In essence, participating in architecture competitions resonates with our commitment to innovation, collaboration, social responsibility, and historical preservation. It empowers us to stretch the boundaries of our creativity, advance professionally, expand our professional network, gain acknowledgment, and contribute positively to our society.

Competitions have been a gateway for us. They offer a space to explore bold ideas without the limitations of conventional practice. For young studios like ours, they provide a platform that allows us to grow, test ideas, and gain global visibility while remaining grounded in local issues.

We view competitions as a vital opportunity to critically question our ideas, evolve our designs and contribute to a broader architectural discourse. Looking beyond the “bubble” of our own university and encouraging an international exchange of information is, in our opinion, essential for personal growth and for professionalizing our collaboration.


Competitions offer space for speculation—a chance to test ideas without the immediate constraints of client approval or regulatory frameworks. They allow us to explore material behaviors and construction methods that might seem unconventional within typical practice. For Playwood specifically, the competition format provided an opportunity to challenge the industry's relationship with "defective" materials. The project asks: what if we built with what's discarded rather than perfected? Competitions let designers ask these questions publicly and materially, turning propositions into tangible prototypes that can circulate, provoke, and inform future work.