The Home of Shadows #2 competition 3rd prize winner - Mladenka Doric, Miroslav Lukic, Kristina Pajic, Aleksandar Tesic

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the 3rd prize winners of our "The Home of Shadows #2" competition – Mladenka Doric, Miroslav Lukic, Kristina Pajic, Aleksandar Tesic from Serbia!

Mladenka Doric, Miroslav Lukic, Kristina Pajic, Aleksandar Tesic from Serbia

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 group of second-year architecture students at the Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad, Serbia. There are four of us: Mladenka Đorić, Miroslav Lukić, Kristina Pajić, and Aleksandar Tešić.

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?

Our previous works were all separate and we focused mostly on small-scale projects included in our university studies. For this project, knowing each other’s earlier works and work ethics, we decided to form a group and focus our skills on one problem all together.

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

For us, architecture is a medium through which we can express our creativity, reshape the way we look at our surroundings, and test the limits of design. It is also a medium that shapes our world and acts as the backdrop for all of our life’s experiences, which is why the role of an architect goes far beyond personal creative expression.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

We see architecture competitions as an opportunity to push the limits of our thinking and test our strengths in every aspect of working as a group.

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

Sometimes we doubtfully ask ourselves how much we have actually grown as architects, and architecture competitions can be a great opportunity to reevaluate our knowledge, see how far we have come, and understand how much we still have to learn. We would also encourage other students to participate in these competitions as much as possible because they offer a change of perspective and a step into the real professional world.