Architecture Competition Sansusī Forest Food Court 3rd prize winners – Ash McCarthy, Alette Avsnes, Selma Gulden and Andrei Nemes

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the 3rd prize winners of our "Sansusī Forest Food Court" competition – Ash McCarthy, Alette Avsnes, Selma Gulden and Andrei Nemes from Denmark!

3rd prize winners from Denmark

Having recently graduated from the Aarhus School of Architecture, all four of us are pursuing new creative opportunities within Scandinavia and beyond. Our academic background explored bio-materials, sourcing and re-use to minimise waste and extraction in our current abundance-driven societies. Coming from Norway, Ireland and Romania, our creative impulses overlapped in many ways during our studies. Using different points and places, we are interested in critically examining how we build today and from what.

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 a collective, we have been involved in numerous projects within our diverse studios. From design-build, bio-based material prototyping, transformations and exhibitions. Together we focus on critical regionalism and local sourcing, where we zoom in on different approaches to sustainability.

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

The architect's role has changed significantly over the last few years. We enter our early careers with a lot of responsibility on our shoulders. Working with a sensitivity towards our environments, our land and the materials we hold in our hands, we have a new mindset. Our current and future designs must test new ways of building, with an initial awareness of the materials we use and how we specify them. The architect must not get fixed on past, limiting ways of thinking but invite interdisciplinary collaborations, postulating between the local and global scale.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

We participate in competitions as they provide a great platform to stimulate and explore the creative potential of architecture. As recent graduates, competitions allow us to further develop and learn in a team-based environment, working within the parameters of the brief and critically questioning architectural processes and interventions.

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

Our advice for individuals struggling to decide about competition is to be curious. By funnelling this curiosity, it gives an opportunity to explore other ways of proposing architecture. Competitions can be stimulating starting points to spark this creative interest further.