Second Place Winner
Pathways
Design by
Alicja Smoczyk, Iwona Kin & Pawel Mordeja
"The playful layout proposes a unique journey designed to take the visitor through a plethora of emotional and psychological states. Despite its industrial feel, both in terms of plan and materiality, the 'clean' spaces created could overwhelm with their apparent simplicity, making a strong impression on the psyche."
-Andreea Felciuc
"great graphics // great presentation // great concept // but unfortunately your proposal is a concrete maze of passageways?
conceptually very strong but infact you do not consider circulation but instead create a linear journey // emotion isn't linear"
-Lawrence Daykin
"A very interesting take on the idea of pathways and translating mundane daily experiences into relevant emotional experiences instead. The design development could have been made stronger through rigorous process work but an overall well addressed design."
-Sidra Khokhar
Alicja Smoczyk, Iwona Kin & Pawel Mordeja
We are Alicja Smoczyk, Iwona Kin and Paweł Mordeja. We are second-year architecture students at
Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. We have met during our studyings and have
connected over our similar opinions and tastes.
Celebrating Creativity & Vision
Winner’s Spotlight: An Exclusive Interview
Discover the story behind the victory — from concept to creation.
What is your design philosophy?
In our design process we aim to mix two opposing things: the very real and the very abstract. We want to focus on real problems that we notice in our direct surroundings and that we consider underrepresented. At the same time, we try to incorporate abstract and conceptual ideas, breaking away from conventional solutions.
Can you briefly explain your understanding of the topic and the source of ideas?
From our perspective as designers, we treated this topic as a kind of sandbox that allowed us to explore how specific elements of architecture affect our emotions. We investigated different surroundings and experimented with various elements, analyzing their effect. From the perspective of a visitor, we treated it as a display, in which the museum itself is the exhibit. One of the main sources of inspiration for us was our experience regarding communication spaces in buildings, which in our opinion often appeared to be designed based only on the necessities required to move people and goods through the building, completely ignoring their impact on users’ emotions. Therefore, we decided to show how important elements such as corridors or staircases are and explore the emotions they evoke.
When and how you were first introduced to architecture?
It’s difficult to indicate the exact moment, considering that architecture is something that surrounds us all the time. It would be more accurate to say that we have gradually become more aware of it, with the breaking point of starting our college education.
What does architecture mean to you?
We believe the essence of architecture is experimenting with form and creating spaces that serve a purpose. It connects the arts, science, and sociology to reshape and improve our environment
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