We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the winners of one of our Honorable mentions for the “Iceland Northern Lights Rooms” competition - Maria-Alexandra Antal, Greta Samiș and Andra Samiș from Romania!

Maria-Alexandra Antal, Greta Samiș and Andra Samiș from Romania

Our team is made up of three young architects, recently graduated from the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism in Bucharest. We met during our studies and started collaborating on various school projects. Among others, our experiences led us to student exchanges at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, internships at COBE in Copenhagen and Miralles Tagliabue EMBT in Barcelona, partly overlapping.

Even though we live in different cities at the moment, we continue to explore new challenges and ideas as a team. Currently, Andra and Greta live in London, working at Allies and Morrison Architects and C.F. Møller Architects respectively, while Alexandra works with MFRMGR Architects in Warsaw.

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

To us, architecture is that activity which, at its peak, apart from structuring the environment and shaping space, provides its users with some meaning and enriches their lives.

The nature of the profession requires the architect to negotiate between different and - at many times - colliding scales, disciplines and interests; a successful negotiation is the one in which the resulting space, building or object is useful, valuable and meaningful to the ones who use it.

Ultimately, the goal is to provide well-thought, quality solutions to real problems, regardless of their scale, while doing our best to make the world a slightly better place.

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

Regardless of the outcome, architecture competitions provide a chance to deal with ever-changing and unusual briefs, scales, and clients and to keep an open mind. Moreover, if you are studying or working full-time, this is a bulletproof exercise in time management and a way to broaden and diversify approaches, tasks and ways of thinking.

Top 3 Reasons Why You Should Enter Architecture Competitions

Curious about the value of architecture competitions? Discover the transformative power they can have on your career - from igniting creativity and turning designs into reality, to gaining international recognition.

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