AKVS architecture, Belgrade

The advantages of international competitions

The European architectural competition "Europan" pursues the goal of bringing European cities together with the next generations of architects, urban planners and landscape architects. The office AKVS architecture from Belgrade, Serbia, which acquires its projects mainly through competitions, has participated in "Europan" several times.

AKVS got a Special Mention in E16 for their project „Medieval Experimentarium“. It infuses life into the historical milieu of the old prison building of Landshut. A light steel structure, a skeletal double of the two prison wings, is inserted into its courtyard to act as a support system
Abb.: AKVS architecture

AKVS got a Special Mention in E16 for their project „Medieval Experimentarium“. It infuses life into the historical milieu of the old prison building of Landshut. A light steel structure, a skeletal double of the two prison wings, is inserted into its courtyard to act as a support system

Abb.: AKVS architecture

NOW // Participation in Europan E16

We love to take part in international competitions, because this is a unique chance to compare our architectural thoughts with teams from all around the globe, from different cultures, climates. And even after the competitions, we continue to follow each others work! Europan is a very important competition for us, because it promotes experimental and novel approaches to architectural and urban design, based on healthy and sustainable life in the future, and it gives such experimental projects a chance to be actually implemented in real life! Most of all, we appreciate the unique implementation process that Europan offers – it creates platforms for architects, local communities and city representatives for collaboration and brings a variety of very important different experiences and points of view into the project. Having won an award in Europan E16 for our project "Medieval Experimentarium" in Landshut, Bavaria, we are now looking forward to presenting our ideas to the local community and city representatives in November this year. We will see where it takes us from there.

WHY // Benefit

For us, architectural competitions are a unique opportunity to develop our design skills and architectural thoughts, to experiment and suggest unconventional solutions, and to learn from the entire process, from one competition to the next. For young architects, open public competitions are a chance to work on large, important projects if their proposals win, which would otherwise be entrusted to older and more experienced architects. We took part in our first competition in 2013, about a year after graduating. Since that moment, we have done almost 50 national and international competitions, and are still improving our skills and learning for the next one to come. It is a beautiful, free and open process. For the past ten years, our professional practice has been primarily focused on competitions. So we don‘t really do them in our free time, but have literally founded and sus-tained our studio based on the awards we won on many national and international competitions. Some of which are currently under construction. From our point of view, by doing competitions, young architects are investing in their own future practices!

On one side, the existing building is being reconstructed and transformed into a creative experimentarium. On the other, the new structure forms a vertical public space – a promenade along the old facades on multiple heights, allowing access to all floors from the outside
Abb.: AKVS architecture

On one side, the existing building is being reconstructed and transformed into a creative experimentarium. On the other, the new structure forms a vertical public space – a promenade along the old facades on multiple heights, allowing access to all floors from the outside

Abb.: AKVS architecture

WHAT // Preparation

Everyday life, natural and built environment work on the same principles all around the world. We have developed our individual approach to both local and international competitions, based primarily on extensive research on the energies of the site – we try to really understand and feel the atmosphere and life of a specific place. Vitality of spaces is very important for us – we devote a lot of time in our design process to research and understand the existing energies of the spaces we work with, and how our intervention may affect or create new energies in the future. In the first part of our design process we focus on finding out as much about our location as we can. This is never from one single source, but many combined. Digital databases now offer much needed informa-tion, about physical structures (topography, built, greenery), natural energies (sunlight, dominant winds, microclimate), and about social and everyday life patterns (local events, organizations, initiatives, habits, customs). Visiting the site is uniquely important of course, but when it is not possible, we try to be excellent detectives!

Located on the edge of the historical city centre, "Medieval Experimentarium" literally becomes the Gate of the City, allowing access to the historical town through the Experimentarium via the Promenade, and not around the enclosed prison site as it has been during the past 100 years
Abb.: AKVS architecture

Located on the edge of the historical city centre, "Medieval Experimentarium" literally becomes the Gate of the City, allowing access to the historical town through the Experimentarium via the Promenade, and not around the enclosed prison site as it has been during the past 100 years

Abb.: AKVS architecture

HOW // Realization

The earlier you begin, the better! It is not about working hard from the start, but about starting to contemplate the site, competition brief, possible approaches… In our studio we have a saying “One decision per day”, which is beautiful really, because you feel calm knowing that you don’t need to know everything right now. You just let the project develop gradually. Of course this means that you need to start early, and give yourself enough days for enough decisions! It is very important for us not to work overtime, but to always be well rested and bright for each new step. From our experience, the team needs to have a clear hierarchy – a leader or leaders, that guide the design and the entire process. When we assemble our team, we mainly ask for enthusiasm, commitment, and belief in what we are all trying to do! You don’t know right away if this is the case with someone when you work together for the first time, but when we recognize this energy, then these people stay in our team longer and they get higher privileges and responsibilities.

Andela Karabaševic and Vladislav Sudžum, an architect and an engineer, both with background in mathematics founded AKVS architecture in 2013. The studio‘s research and
designs are focused on atmospheric spatial systems that offer multiplicities of experiences for their users. Over the years, they have participated in over 40 national and international architectural competitions, including Europan E16, E15, E13, many of which have been highly awarded and some are now in design development stage.

WHY // Benefit

HOW // Realization

DBZ November/2022

DBZ November/2022