Architecture Competition Sleeping Pods On A Cliff Student Award winners – University Of California, Berkeley

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the Student Award winners of our “Sleeping Pods On A Cliff” competition – Xinwei Chen and Maple Lin from United States!

Xinwei Chen and Maple Lin from United States

Atelier XX is freshly founded by David (Xinwei) Chen and Maple Lin. We graduated recently from the University of California, Berkeley’s Master of Architecture program, and are excited to enter the industry where architecture can be executed. David and Maple have been working together now for one year on three projects – one school studio project and two competitions.

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?

So far, we have been focused on smaller projects, in which, in addition to abstract concepts, we pay extra attention to construction detailing. Moving on, we would like to work on projects/competitions in urban settings, with the attempt to carry design concepts across all scales.

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

Architecture is our passion. It gives us alternative ways of reading our surroundings. It is a physical extension of our vision and a reflection of our surroundings. Architects, just like everyone else, are participants of our society. Architects are given more chances, and thus more responsibilities, to contribute to the construction of our living environment.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

Transitioning from school to the real industry is challenging in that execution takes over the projects. While we are deeply immersed in the practical, we wish to maintain our keenness and acuity on conceptual design and design theories through participation in architecture competitions.

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

Researching, thinking, conceptualizing, team-working, and producing are valuable skills to be practiced in architecture competitions, not to mention the valuable chance to get international exposure in the field!