The Winners!
THE UNKNOWN RENDER CHALLENGE
First Prize Winners
Purva Jain
United States
My name is Purva Jain. I was born and raised in the city of Udaipur in the state of Rajasthan in India. My formative years growing up was the biggest influence in my pursuit of design as a profession because I saw the timeless architecture in the culturally and design rich Udaipur. I pursued Interior design diploma from Nirmala Niketan Polytechnic post high school and worked as a Interior designer for two firms for a couple of years after graduation. I translated that professional experience that I gained working for other firms into my own design firm that I started and grew for 5 years in Udaipur honoring local and contemporary works into my design. My desire to grow as a design professional lead me to Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture at University of Houston where I received an Masters in Architecture. I took a gap of 4 years post my architecture degree to grow my family and now I am going to be starting work as an Interior designer/Architecture associate at a renowned firm in Houston where I would be able to work on live projects integrating my design philosophy of socially responsible architecture.
What is your design philosophy?
My design philosophy revolves much around nurturing human emotions that are driven by the culmination of all the senses and mother nature while practising pragmatic architecture. I am a designer who thrives by identifying functional aspects to a design that have social, environmental and emotional woven into it. I would like to highlight this through idea through a project I worked on during my graduate work where I designed a juvenile detention center with the aim of reducing recidivism in kids by exploring the role architecture could play for the same. The outcome was a design that aided in enhanced sense of freedom for the residents through the interplay of spatial interplay of light, sound and the surrounding nature even in a restricted setting.
Can you briefly explain your understanding of the topic and the source of ideas?
Change and evolution has been like a law that has stayed with human beings in all and every aspect of life through time. Architecture has dealt with that evolution too. This evolution has been a gradual phenomenon which makes any change an obvious but events like the Covid pandemic bring a step change. The impact of such step changes weather they are driven by a pandemic or rapid advancement in technology or social and climate related upheavals I believe brings us squarely into the unknown. The source of my ideas for this challenge came from introspection and how pandemic brought this step change to me and my loved one’s life where we all felt spatially and emotionally stuck. The digital world was the only escape which allowed us to connect with our loved ones on a personal level and colleagues professionally. It also allowed us to live vicariously through the digital content and connect with the life that we all have missed living. The length of this ordeal was something that I did not want to go through again and I started to explore the things that I could do architecturally and via design so the future with such unknowns is more tolerable and that’s what I translated into my design.
When and how you were first introduced to architecture?
My first connection with architecture was emotional growing up in a city (Udaipur, Rajasthan, India) replete with centuries old forts, palaces, temples with beautiful and awe inspiring designs that transcend time over myriad of landscapes such as hills, plains and over water. Later in life, when I translated that emotional connect into a professional interior design career. I was introduced to architecture during my first internship where I saw beautiful designs grow organically through my colleagues working together, having discussions, sharing ideas and transforming them into functional spaces. Through them I learnt a new perspective of looking at design as a whole weather it is the outside or inside of a space and then on my love for architecture blossomed.
What does architecture mean to you?
To me, architecture is a way of thinking and expressing that vision on a blank canvas.
Second Prize Winners
Huang Jiayu & Zhang Yumeng
China
Zhang Yu Meng, Central South University, Chang Sha, HuNan, China, now studying for an undergraduate degree in architecture.
Huang Jia Yu, Shenyang Jianzhu University, ShenYang, LiaoNing, China, now studying for an undergraduate degree in urban planning .
What is your design philosophy?
The relationship between man and nature will become one of the focus of rural development, choosing coexistence with nature instead of opposition is an important premise of sustainable development. As a place with low level of human development, the ocean will become one of the new directions of rural development. Jellyfishing village will be a pilot and will lead to a new direction in which the new village will serve as a basis for ocean stability rather than a way for humans to further deprive the ocean of its resources. Through the establishment of Marine villages, Marine resources can be protected and exploited, and a new situation of harmonious coexistence and mutual promotion between human activities and natural environment can be established.
Can you briefly explain your understanding of the topic and the source of ideas?
The design is based on the problem of jellyfish infestation in the offshore area, and aims to find a new opportunity for the development of rural areas affected by the problem. Due to the increasing human activities in the offshore areas and the serious eutrophication of water bodies, the explosive growth of jellyfish occurs frequently every year. A large number of jellyfish gather in the offshore areas, which seriously affects the fishing industry, causes frequent injury accidents and poses severe challenges to the development of nearby fishing villages. At the same time, we found that as a kind of Marine life, jellyfish is also a valuable Marine resource with both ornamental value and biological value. How to establish a harmonious relationship between jellyfish and human beings becomes the focus of our design.
When and how you were first introduced to architecture?
Zhang YU Meng : I majored in architecture in college from 2018 ,and I have a great passion for it because of my interest in art . After learning architecture for about four years, I tried to enter architecture competitions .
What does architecture mean to you?
Architecture is not only my major, but also my hobby. Observing and thinking about architecture have already become a part of my life.
Third Prize Winners
Yue Wu
China
Special mention
Honorable mention
Geunho Min
Abhishek Gandhi
Fan Shengwu, Wang Zelun & Lin Manqian
Geunho Min
Abhishek Gandhi
Fan Shengwu, Wang Zelun & Lin Manqian
