THIRD PRIZE WINNER!
Hana Cicevic & Daniel Abraham Gandica
United States
Hana Čičević is an architectural designer currently living and working in New York city. She graduated in 2022 with the Master of Architecture degree from the University of Florida where she also did her undergraduate studies. In her final year, Hana focused on topics of post-war reconstruction and how architects can re-shape the ways in which the communities inhabit damaged spaces, about which she wrote a master research project. She is currently working on the projects based in New York City in affordable housing and education and is developing interest in sustainability.
Daniel Abraham Gandica is a project specialist based in the city of Orlando, Florida. Originally from Maracaibo, Venezuela, he graduated in 2022 with a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Florida, after completing his bachelor’s degree in architecture at the University of Central Florida. In his last year, Daniel turned an eye back home and focused on vernacular indigenous architecture, the way in which communities can adapt and overcome to the challenges posed by sea level-rise, and the possibilities of a hydro-generated urbanism. He currently works in the sector of data centers’ architecture. Some of his interests include medieval history and architecture, and mapping.
Interview with the Winner
What is your design philosophy?
Hana: Our design philosophy is based on the idea that architecture can become a critical tool to address some of today’s and tomorrow’s issues, especially those regarding human interaction with their built and natural environment. We believe that all design ideas are orbited by micro and macro factors which have the ability to change the way a singular person approaches space or a daily routine, or change whole communities’ lives for the better.
Can you briefly explain your understanding of the topic and the source of ideas?
Daniel: The focus of our essay Mottainai, Kintsugi, and Sakiori: Redefining Sustainability through the Lenses of Three Resource Philosophies is on the idea that these concepts can be used as principles of sustainability in architecture.. Hana had originally researched the concept of Kintsugi during her master thesis in which she analyzed the connection between kintsugi and post-war reconstruction architecture. Kintsugi is an ancient Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with gold. This concept is not only applicable to pottery, but is rather a wide philosophical concept that can be applied to many aspects of life, including architecture and sustainability.
Hana: During our later discussion regarding the topic of architecture, we have discovered that two more philosophical principles can be applied to it, the principles of mottainai and sakiori. Mottainai refers to the respect towards the resources that we already have and avoiding wasting them. This principle can also be applied to sustainability in architecture where old buildings are not seen as waste, but are rather recognized as an already existing resource.
Third, Sakiori is a Japanese art of reusing old fabrics to create new clothes where old and new materials are woven together to make innovative designs. As the two previous principles, sakiori is also applicable to architecture and refers to a notion of reusing the old materials in order to decrease the waste made through the construction and to create beautiful designs that transform old materials into new designs.
When and how were you first introduced to architecture?
Daniel: I was first introduced to architecture at a very young age in the shape of educational magazines and models distributed in his native Venezuela, which quickly captured his interest and imagination. Said interest was nurtured by his parents, who encouraged reading, traveling and pursuing architecture as a major. Said major would be pursued abroad, where he would be introduced to many different approaches and points of view regarding architecture.
Hana: I was first formally introduced to architecture when I enrolled at the University of Florida as a freshman student and started taking architectural design courses. As most other students, in these classes I was able to develop the skills not only in architecture, but also in analytical thinking, theory, model making, conceptual design. The first design classes I took were very abstract, but they have shaped how I think about architecture and spaces to this day as they created a base of my knowledge in architecture.
What does architecture mean to you?
Daniel: For us, Architecture is the pinnacle of human imagination, it is ideas, sometimes very abstract, materializing into livable, usable space. It is a field that allows you to rationalize and develop a physical, sometimes monumental, imprint of your beliefs, philosophies, dreams, fears, and hopes. It is humanity coming together to solve everyday problems, through the product of our hands, minds, and tools. It is an opportunity to tell the world that we were here, and that we dreamt, and lived.
Architecture is a tool to serve ourselves, and our communities. It is the analysis, and product, of the complex relationships of humans with their physical environment.
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