Sansusi Sound Sculpture competition Honorable mention winner - Paula Anna Kebere

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the Honorable mention winner of our "Sansusi Sound Sculpture" competition – Paula Anna Kebere from Latvia!

Paula Anna Kebere

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.

I'm currently finishing up my Master's in Architecture in Riga, Latvia. As a student I've participated mainly in academic competitions, but I've managed to try my skillset out on a few competitions with skilled architects as well during my internships. Professionally I'm just getting started, but I have quite a firm idea of my style and the career path I'm taking after graduation.

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?

Professionally I started out with public interior projects, slowly leaning into residential architecture. My main focus outside of my everyday project typology - which currently is related to public and administrative architecture, offices - is small scale timber architecture, which I'm rather fond of due to my stance on sustainability.

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

An architect is a torchbearer of sorts, leading people towards a better environment for themselves, sometimes - without the people understanding what they're being blessed with. On the contrary, it is so important to acknowledge people and their needs and put them above a designers or architects personal views, make them come to life in a well thought-out manner. Sort of like a doctor of the environment, diagnosing a specific space and reviving it to make it better moving forward for the people that will use it. It's such a blessing to be able to participate in the process.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

To challenge myself and see what I can accomplish when putting my skills to use under pressure. I always view it as an exercise—first and foremost, I do it for myself. Additionally, participating in a contest is creatively valuable because you don't see the other submissions until the end. After doing extensive research to develop your solution, it’s fascinating to see the results, knowing all the specifics of the site, the rules, etc. That experience is humbling and, in my opinion, incredibly valuable.

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

I would say - treat it like a professional milestone - because, well, it is. You get to see how you work without being put in a box creatively - like it sometimes happens in academic projects or with some clients, I suppose -, the competitions let you express your vision completely and that exercises your creative side of the profession - which is most important to maintain.