Architecture competition Urban Zoo Coworking Design Challenge 1st prize winners

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the winners of the 1st prize of our “Urban Zoo Coworking Design Challenge” competition - Marianne Ventre and Anthony Spennato from France!

Anthony Spennato and Marianne Ventre from France

Studio MAS is a french architect and interior architect duo founded in 2018 by Marianne Ventre & Anthony Spennato. The studio is based in Lisbon, Portugal but works across France and London on architecture and interior design projects. We are minimalists who value beauty, logic, honest expression of materials and clean lines to allow the architecture and its inhabitants to thrive.

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 company/ individuals have been involved?

The team focuses on small scale residential, retail and hospitality projects but is always interested in new creative challenges.

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

Architecture is a connection. The role of the architect is to create this connection while maintaining a good balance between the vision, the architecture and its environment. Adolf Loos says that "Architecture arouses sentiments in man. The architect’s task therefore, is to make those sentiments more precise".

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

Competitions are a free space to challenge yourself as a creative and to challenge the cohesion of your team. It’s also an occasion to think freely and to define what matters to you and what architect you’d like to be.

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

Architecture competitions make you grow as a creative. It trains your brain to transcribe your own visions and allow you to have fun in the design process. There’s no reason not to try.