WINNERS ANNOUNCED - SENSORY ARCHITECTURE | AN ESSAY

2021

Foreword

Sensory Architecture – An Essay is an international Architectural essay competition organised by Archiol. We are proud to declare that we received more than a thousand entries (1058, to be precise) from around the world.
The competition’s aim was to find out the varied and unique approaches on the topic of Sensory Architecture. The contest is an annual competition and will be released again in 2022.
Scroll down to see our winning entries.

First prize Winner!

Be like a fish in the water ©JODEL BISMARC MEKEMTA

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Be like a fish in the water: a way to renew with ourselves

Be like a fish in the water, we have certainly heard about this expression in our entourage. Probably yes or no! Far from being a simple figure of rhetoric, it dates back to the 18th century and means "that a person is as comfortable in an area or place as a fish in the water, its natural environment". Frequently used, this expression shows how important the feeling of well-being is. Its manifestation is the result of the satisfaction of the body and the calm of the mind and is influenced by the way we interact with our environment. It is why in his book Architecture Oriented Otherwise, David Leatherbarrow states that: "An atmosphere, like a mood, impresses itself on the experience..."1 .As an architect, how do we create that experience?

JODEL BISMARC MEKEMTA

I am a student and am currently working on my master thesis project. Writing inspires critical thinking in collective thinking which is key to the enlightenment of people’s consciousness. Already winner of several competitions and architecture prizes published in international magazines, I am convinced that just as the writer heals society, architecture teaches, shares, balances and offers us a second life.

Second Prize Winner!

Fear of the Water House ©Bruno Cardoso de Almeida Pirro

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Fear of the Water House

F.O.T.W.H. is a phenomenological study when I try to transpose one auditory stimulus in architecture. Creating the same atmosphere, making possible the existence of the same feelings, sensory perceptions, and atmosphere in the project. Addressing the relationship of the known, with its security and comfort that call you in, and the unknown, with uncertainties and mysteries. The essence of the individual, the fear, and the desire to know the unknown.

Bruno Cardoso de Almeida Pirro

Bruno, 26 years old, lives in São Paulo - Brazil, and studies architecture since 2018. Seeking inspiration in films and music, loves phenomenology and tries to use the senses to design your own projects in architecture university.

Third Prize Winner!

A eulogy to the mother of all arts: architecture ©ELIANA HELTSCHL

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A eulogy to the mother of all arts: architecture

What is sensory architecture? It is the actual experience of architecture. The moment we step into a building, the moment all our senses trying to grasp our surroundings. The first look, the first inhale, the first touch. The feeling of happiness, anguish, safety, sadness, peace or stress... We all know and remember the sometimes overwhelming effect a building – sometimes even the remains of it – can have on us. That is the art of sensory architecture: to make you feel something.

ELIANA HELTSCHL

I am a 29 year old Architect from Austria. I'm originally from Tirol, but I moved to Vienna when I was 18 to study Architecture at the TU Vienna. I finished university last year and now I am currently working in an Office and in my freetime I am working on different projects in a studio that I share with 10 friends of mine.

Honorable Mention

Spatial Perception ©PRIYANSHI HIRAN

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Spatial Perception

We homo sapiens possess five classical senses in our bodies which allows us to experience every second of our lives. Amongst these senses the tyranny or our ‘visuals’ is indigenous. Thus, capturing how actually things feel, smell and even tastes become a callous process. This arises an ambiguous question; if the ocular centric prejudice towards art and design actually forestalls a deeper collective experience. Architecture is part of our culture and it is our responsibility to honor these cultural nuances. Architecture affects our thoughts, mental & physical well-being, cognitive abilities and our emotions.

PRIYANSHI HIRAN

Honorable Mention

Baltimore Bouquet ©RANDY SOVICH

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Baltimore Bouquet

In the spring of 1979, a young graduate architect arrived at the Baltimore-Washington airport as the sun was setting. From there, he was the lone passenger on the airport shuttle to Baltimore, where he would be interviewing for a job the next morning. Sitting in the front row, near the driver, he asked, “Where is the best place to go for seafood in Baltimore?”

The graduate grew up in a small town south of Pittsburgh, the steel city. Rust was the color that dripped from the COR-TEN clad U.S. Steel Headquarters building downtown, permeating the surrounding concrete and cobblestone paving. Rust is a color but also a scent. Southwest Pennsylvania is known as the rust-belt. A monstrous decaying blast furnace, a once firey dragon, standing tall in the Monongahela River valley, became a dark silhouette dominating his hometown. Soot from the dragon’s flaming furnace left the town’s stone libraries, churches, and city hall blackened. Fish was not a taste he associated with his burgh, except for the square frozen variety. He never considered consuming the fish from the murky river where he swam as a youth--where the challenge was hastily swimming across the river to avoid being crushed by on-coming coal barges.

RANDY SOVICH