First Place Winner
Mount Verde
Design by
Sean O’Sullivan & Garney Severe
Jury Critique
"Intelligent use of stacking and interlocking volumes creates a cohesive form inspired by nature’s efficiency."
-Amal AjithKumar
Sean O’Sullivan & Garney Severe
Sean O’Sullivan is a fourth-year master's student in architecture from Cleveland, Ohio. He first got into architecture by participating in an internship to build a dog park in his hometown. Architecture for him has become another way to express his creativity and his love for plants and architectural marvels, such as Cathedrals. In his free time, Sean loves to make art, work out, and learn the guitar.
Garney Severe is a Haitian American architectural designer and current master’s student whose work sits at the intersection of architecture, structural logic, and material performance. He studies how natural systems—such as environmental flows and climate-responsive patterns—can shape more efficient, resilient, and sustainable buildings.
Garney’s design approach is rooted in cross-disciplinary growth. Alongside his architectural training, he is pursuing a deeper understanding of structural engineering to strengthen clarity, feasibility, and innovation within his work. This drive pushes him toward detail-oriented problem-solving, where concept and construction inform each other. He aims to contribute to the built environment through thoughtful design, rigorous innovation, and long-lasting architectural ideas that build toward a meaningful legacy.
Celebrating Creativity & Vision
Winner’s Spotlight: An Exclusive Interview
Discover the story behind the victory — from concept to creation.
1. Inspiration and Concept
What specific insect colony or natural phenomenon inspired your design, and what aspects of it did you find most fascinating or influential?
Termites inspired our design. When we studied how termites operate, we learned they live in communities and work together toward a goal. We liked how termite mounds rise so high compared to the size of the termites themselves. With that in mind, we incorporated several aspects of termite colonies into our design, especially the separation of space and the efficient ventilation through the colony.
2. Translation from Nature to Architecture
How did you interpret and translate the structural or social principles of insect colonies into your residential design concept?
At first, we had a very symbolic approach when referencing insect colonies, which was only to incorporate the verticality of the mounds. However, as we studied the life of the termite, we discovered that there are more interesting movements occurring within the colony, which raised the question. How do we take the shifting and uneven levels in the section and bring them into our model? Through this question, we began a more interpretive approach, envisioning the user of this space as a termite that moves not just in plan but also in section.
3. Design Process
Could you walk us through your design process — from research and concept development to the final presentation?
Our design process began with one main question: Which insect should we study and emulate? At first, we looked at spiders and centipedes because they interested us, but once we began sketching ideas, we realized they were not good models for a small family home or a compact apartment complex. Right before starting this project, we had returned from a trip to Japan. There, we saw many buildings that used natural ventilation and were designed with a strong sense of efficiency. Studying the work of Junya Ishigami, Tadao Ando, Sou Fujimoto, and visiting projects like Akihisa Hirata’s Tree-ness House and Fujimoto’s Rental Space Tower, we began to think more carefully about form and airflow. This research helped us decide on the termite as our model. Once we committed to the termite, we focused on the main themes found in termite mounds: verticality, efficient airflow, and the way programs are organized around shared spaces. We made 10 to 15 massing models over two weeks, testing how to capture the tall, layered form of a mound while fitting in our program needs. After selecting a final massing, we organized the building by separating public and private zones. Since this is a five-unit apartment complex, most spaces remain private, but the onsen and washroom stay public so visitors can enjoy the calm environment without disturbing residents. As we detailed the individual units, we noticed that Japan’s housing standards are more flexible than those in the United States, and that termite nests often overlap and weave through each other. This inspired us to push and pull the unit dimensions, allowing rooms to intersect in efficient ways. Each resident has equal access to a shared “central space,” similar to how termites access the core of their mound. We also studied how termites move through tight hallways and vertical chambers, which influenced our circulation paths and sectional design. Finally, termite mounds carry a strong earth-based texture and color. To reflect this, we applied warm, natural tones to the façade and selected materials that matched the layered density of a mound. In the end, our building’s pyramid-like form, its airflow-driven circulation, and its balance of public and private space all come from our study of the termite and the lessons it offers for sustainable, community-minded design.
4. Sustainability and Environmental Response
Insects build habitats that are naturally adaptive and sustainable. How did your design incorporate these environmental strategies or ecological principles?
Strategies that we used to be more naturally adaptive and sustainable include the use of heavy vegetation, natural lighting, and built-in furniture. Vegetation can be found in every apartment because every apartment has access to greenery, whether it be a view or a balcony. This abundance of greenery decreases the natural temperature of the building, decreases the amount of electricity needed to cool the building, and provides shading. The built-in furniture decreases the need to outsource outside furniture and other living amenities, which reduces costs. Through an abundance of windows, a lot of natural lighting can be found in each apartment, reducing how much electricity is needed to operate the building. Almost everything we have used besides the excess material is used to increase the efficiency of the project and usability.
5. Spatial and Structural Innovation
What innovative spatial or structural solutions did you derive from studying insect-built habitats, and how do they enhance functionality in human living spaces?
After mapping out the massing for our project, we decided that we would use all our space as efficiently as possible, just as any insect would. This meant that instead of making rooms huge, we could split up spaces by pushing and pulling different apartments into each other. By applying this method, apartments could be minimized, and the spaces for the bathhouse and terraces could be maximized. We also made sure to implement a “mountain mass” look to Mount Verde that is akin to how termite mounds look, so the building is very wide on the bottom floors and tapers off at the top floors. Even the wide amount of vegetation we added to the project is so that the residents feel less like they are living in apartments and more like they are within nature itself.
6. Community and Social Organization
Insects thrive through cooperation and well-defined social structures. How did these ideas influence the way you approached community or shared spaces in your project?
The termite mounds' social structures influenced our design through the circulation of the project. Within termite mounds, rooms are separated creating these private bubbles while having a communal space that serves as the gathering point in these insect homes. We used this same idea to create a clear distinction between our private and public spaces. Keeping all of the apartments on the edges of the project while having this social/communal space in the middle. Furthermore, there is circulation that happens within the void spaces that occur between the apartments. Within this communal area, we have a public Onsen/Bathhouse that acts similarly to the termite nest that serves as the gathering point of the residents. The other shared space would be the laundry room located on the second floor for the residents. This laundry room is accessible through multiple avenues, whether it's from the main staircase or the bridge that connects from the top of the onsen. By dividing our spaces up similarly to how termites do, we can replicate a clear and efficient space that provides a pleasant experience for the users.
7. Challenges and Learnings
What were the biggest challenges you faced in translating biological inspiration into architectural design, and what did you learn through this process?
The biggest challenges were keeping the rooms spatially efficient, replicating the circulation of termites while still keeping privacy, and submerging the project within nature while keeping it structurally sound. We learned that most of the problems we had trouble with could be solved by going back to researching insect homes. By looking at different insect nests, we understood that the push and pull of spaces would usually happen within the transition spaces of the apartments, or that by pushing one apartment a few feet down, we could pull programs up from the apartment below it. Even with the vast amount of nature we have within the project, we made sure that the trees on top of the apartment have planters big enough to hold their weight. Since insects have adapted so well to their environment, it makes sense that a lot of our design problems can be solved by seeing how they live.
8. Future Vision
How do you see biomimicry — especially insect-inspired design — influencing the future of sustainable residential architecture?
The future of sustainable residential architecture depends on architects paying closer attention to the environment, and biomimicry offers a way to do that. During this competition, we realized that when we look for sustainable ideas, we should study the natural world more closely. Humans are not very different from insects that live in groups, so our buildings can learn from how they create their homes in the landscape. In our project, we created a feedback loop with the environment, and this helped us decide the spatial layout and material density more easily. This showed us that biomimicry is not just about copying the shape of nature. It should guide things like microclimates, vegetation, and how the building interacts with its surroundings. This approach helps buildings regulate themselves and fit better with the environment in a sustainable and affordable way.
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