Architecture Competition RE-Stock London Housing Honorable mention – UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS BERLIN

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our Honorable mention winners for our “RE-Stock London Housing” competition – Gustava Grüntuch and Jakob Fischer from Germany!

Jakob Fischer and Gustava Grüntuch from Germany

We have been friends since childhood and both grew up in Berlin.

After finishing his bachelor's degree at the Technical University of Berlin whilst working at Feddersen Architekten, Jakob went on to work for a range of renowned international offices such as Herzog & de Meuron in Basel and Nord Studio in Berlin. Recently, he has returned to Berlin to start his master’s degree and is now headed to Paris (ENSA Versailles) for his final academic year.

Gustava received her bachelor's degree from Universität der Künste Berlin, spending a semester abroad at the Royal Danish Academy School of Architecture in Copenhagen. She spent two semesters of her master’s studying at GSAPP Columbia University in New York City and has now returned to Berlin for her final academic year. She has been part of a competition team for a C40 Reinventing Cities Competition in Paris and has worked at Arrhov Frick in Stockholm.

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

For us, architecture is a tool to creatively research, explore and visualize – an attempt to find answers to the questions of our time and surroundings. We are interested in analyzing what it means to “build sustainably“ in the face of growing cities, climate change, digitalization, and globalization today.

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

We think it’s interesting to see the variety of answers and proposals that result from the same brief.

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 brief motivates you and you have the time and resources to work on it, it can be an enjoyable way of approaching a potentially new subject within the field of architecture.