Rome Rain Rooms competition Honorable mention winners - Kenji Kurt Schmidt, Chenyu Hu, Ayse Sirin Karoglu and Alara Başak Köse

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the Honorable mention winners of our Rome Rain Rooms competition – Kenji Kurt Schmidt, Chenyu Hu, Ayse Sirin Karoglu and Alara Başak Köse from Italy!

Kenji Kurt Schmidt, Chenyu Hu, Ayse Sirin Karoglu and Alara Başak Köse from Italy

Please tell us about your company (when it was founded, where it is based, how many employees, etc) Alternatively, if you do not have a company, please give us some insights on your own professional/academia background.

We are four undergraduate students who met during our studio class at Politecnico di Milano, while two of the group members are enrolled at Politecnico di Milano, and two of us are exchange students from Technische Universität Berlin and the University of New South Wales. This diversity brings different cultural and academic perspectives that enrich design process and collaboration.

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?

As we are currently university students, most of our work to date has been developed through academic projects. However, we are also actively involved in opportunities beyond university, including participating in art exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale , undertaking internships in architecture and construction practices, and attending architecture design camps. These experiences have allowed us to explore a diverse range of scales, from smaller-scale installations and artistic work to architectural and construction projects. Working across different contexts and media has also helped us develop a broader understanding of design and strengthened our ability to collaborate across different disciplines.

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

To us, architecture speaks to the past while shaping the future. It is more than simply providing shelter or space; it holds collective memories, reflects the values of a society, and influences how people experience and interact with their environment. The role of an architect is to contribute to a more comfortable and liveable world for people and other living species, while understanding the broader societal and environmental impacts and long-term consequences of their design decisions. Good architecture should not only be technically and environmentally responsible, but also leave room for creativity, playfulness, and the unexpected ways people make spaces their own.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

Most of us had not participated in an architecture competition before, but we had always been interested in the opportunity to explore architecture competitions. When this competition came up, we saw it as a valuable opportunity to challenge ourselves. Through the freedom of the competition and the many discussions within our group, we learned a lot about what we truly value in architecture. Looking back , the competition was therefore not only about producing a final proposal, but also about discovering and refining our own values as designers through experimentation, discussion, and collaboration.

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

People are unsure whether to join competitions mostly for the concerns of cost and time. However, joining competitions is worth the investment, even if you do not win a prize. The most valuable part of the competition was everything we learned through the process: how to work through uncertainty, discuss and challenge ideas as a team, make decisions, and understand what we genuinely value in architecture. Even without a prize, those lessons and experiences are something you take with you into your future work.