Architecture Competition Sleeping Pods On A Cliff 3rd prize winners – Harsha Rajashekar and Christofer Cattell

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the 3rd Prize winners of our “Sleeping Pods On A Cliff” competition – Harsha Rajashekar and Christofer Cattell from Australia!

Christofer Cattell and Harsha Rajashekar from Australia

Harsha: I was born in Sydney, Australia where I completed my undergraduate degree in Architecture and my Master of Architecture at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). During my completion of the master's degree, I worked as a casual academic staff member at UTS within the architecture and interior design faculties and as a part- time architectural photographer for my business Hash.Stuff. Shortly after graduating from UTS, I began working at Billard Leece Partnership – an architecture firm in Sydney focusing on education and healthcare design.

Christofer: I grew up moving between Australia and Switzerland. In Sydney, I pursued an undergraduate and Master of Architecture degree at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), during which time I completed an internship with Supermanoeuvre and worked as a casual academic staff member within the architecture faculty. Since graduating, I’ve worked in architectural practices such as Grimshaw Architects and H&E, becoming involved in a number of commercial towers, multi-use residential, and education projects. We are collaborators who have been working professionally since 2017. Our friendship and collaboration emerged out of working together during academia at the University of Technology, Sydney. We both work at different medium to large scale architecture practices based in Sydney while working on private commissions and competitions with our collaborative title: HA + CH

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?

We have both worked on larger macro-scale master planning projects, commercial towers, and detailed, bespoke residential/education projects, as well as public health projects in our professional careers. We have worked on smaller scale, micro-projects in our academic careers and explored materiality and its conventions, industrial and furniture design, and sustainable building practices. Moving forward, our preference is to combine the knowledge learned from our professional experience in regard to technical execution and delivery with the design ideals and scale we acquired during university.

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

Architecture as an outcome has a real weight and presence to it. We both chose this profession because the ability to shape and enrich this outcome in a way that is meaningful is super exciting. We get to invent experience, be experimenters of space, and create things that are solid, considerate, and beautiful. The architectural process addresses serious problems with an often-serious solution. The architect’s role is not to have all the answers but to be active custodians of the built environment – to use all the information we have at hand with a responsibility to make the best design decisions possible for a sustainable future. As designers, we advocate for playfulness. A design more nuanced, centered around designing unconventional relationships between people and objects that questions why we use space the way we do.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

We do competitions for a few reasons. Firstly, to expand our exposure to the built environment past our local context. International competitions especially allow us to test the local knowledge we have developed over the last 10 years and validate our ideas against external briefs. Secondly, doing competitions feels liberating. We are given the empowerment and platform to test out even the most eccentric ideas in an effort to obtain a design solution. The unhindered nature of the process also compliments our playful design philosophy.

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

Design is about exploration. It’s so easy to stay within your own bubble. Competitions are a nice way of mitigating design complacency. We think that your identity as designers and your process, whatever stage you are in your career, can only benefit from a diverse collection of projects for your portfolio. Competitions are good because they help achieve this while exposing you to a community of people who are working on the same design problem as you with an array of different solutions.

Open architecture competitions

  • Closest Deadline first
  • Project competitions first
    Selected winning projects have the potential to be constructed
  • Ideas competitions first
    Experimental competitions with the focus on pushing the boundaries of creativity
ideas COMPETITION
The Architect's Chair
Edition #1

Take a seat and make a statement!

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 06
Sep 06
Nov 01
ideas COMPETITION
Beyond Isolation: Senior Housing
Senior living. Edition#2

Reimagine senior living spaces

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 08
Sep 08
Nov 02
project COMPETITION
The Legendary Highway 14 Tower
South Dakota, USA

Design an iconic tower for De Smet, South Dakota, USA

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + POTENTIAL TO BE REALISED
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 09
Sep 12
Nov 03
project COMPETITION
Iceland Beer Spa

Design a beer spa in Iceland's captivating landscape

Prize: MONETARY AWARD + POTENTIAL TO BE REALISED
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 14
Sep 14
Nov 08

Reccuring architecture competitions

ideas COMPETITION
Silent contest
For this competition, NO DESCRIPTION TEXT is allowed. The architecture ideas must be communicated strictly with visuals.
The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial
Edition #3

Design a memorial that speaks to the cause of ending all nuclear weapons programs

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 26
Sep 03
Nov 05
ideas COMPETITION
Workplace Reimagined
Edition #3

Redefine the future of workspaces

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Sep 14
Nov 16
Jan 18
ideas COMPETITION
Silent contest
For this competition, NO DESCRIPTION TEXT is allowed. The architecture ideas must be communicated strictly with visuals.
Museum of Emotions
Edition #4

Use architecture to create different emotional states

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Sep 27
Nov 28
Jan 30
Run repeatedly
Los Angeles Affordable Housing Challenge
Affordable Housing Series #16

Design affordable housing solutions in Los Angeles

Prize: MONETARY AWARD
Eligibility: OPEN TO ALL

registration deadlines

Remind me
Jun 07
Sep 07
Nov 01
Register now

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Competition results

Hong Kong 
Pixel Homes

Hong Kong Pixel Homes

Affordable Housing Series #2
MICROHOME

MICROHOME

Small living, huge impact! Edition #4

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