The Architect’s Stair / Edition #1 competition Honorable mention winners - Peiyao Shen, Qiutong Huang, Yanlin Bao and Sheng-Yang Huang

 We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the Honorable mention winners of our The Architect’s Stair / Edition #1 competition – Peiyao Shen, Qiutong Huang, Yanlin Bao and Sheng-Yang Huang from United Kingdom!

Peiyao Shen, Qiutong Huang, Yanlin Bao and Sheng-Yang Huang from United Kingdom

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 a team of four architects and researchers, each based in London but with diverse professional and academic trajectories. Peiyao Shen is currently working in London, focusing on large-scale data centre design while also pursuing independent research. Yanlin Bao holds an MArch from The Bartlett School of Architecture and works as a freelancer, researching the intersection of cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and architecture. Qiutong also graduated from The Bartlett and currently works in London on the design of stadiums and arenas, combining a lifelong passion for football with architectural practice. Dr William Huang is a Lecturer at The Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL) and a Tutor at the AA, with an interdisciplinary research background spanning architecture, computer science, and design computation. Together, we form a collaborative team that bridges practice, research, and teaching, united by a shared interest in architecture as a cultural, social, and experimental practice.

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 group, our competition entry Segregation investigates the stair as a paradoxical hybrid of boundary and passage, ritual and segregation. The project reflects our shared interest in architecture as both spatial construct and social metaphor. Individually, our experiences span a wide range of scales and contexts: from large-scale data centres and stadiums (Peiyao and Qiutong), to AI-assisted digital heritage and heritage renovation (Yanlin), to residential renovations and international master planning (William). This diversity of professional backgrounds enriches our collaborative approach, allowing us to bring complementary perspectives into our design p

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

For us, architecture is simultaneously cultural, spatial, and intellectual. It is a tool for storytelling, a vessel for thought, and a medium for translating societal tensions into built form. The role of the architect is to mediate between diverse forces—technical, social, political, and emotional—while offering critical and imaginative visions for the future.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

Competitions provide us with a collective platform to explore ideas beyond professional constraints. They allow us to rethink fundamental meanings of architecture, test speculative approaches, and work as a team across different backgrounds. Competitions are not only about recognition, but about building discourse and experimenting with new forms of practice.

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

 We believe competitions should be viewed as opportunities for growth rather than judgement. The process itself—exploring ideas, collaborating, and expanding one’s design vocabulary—is valuable regardless of outcome. Our advice is to embrace competitions as a form of expression, a chance to stretch creativity, and a way to sharpen architectural thinking.