The Finalists – 2013 Life of an Architect Playhouse Design Competition

The last several days have been a blur of activity, culminating in the advancement of 30 playhouse designs in the 2nd Annual Life of an Architect Playhouse Design Competition.

And we’re not done yet! The final judging will take place this coming Saturday, April 27th and I can promise you that going from 30 down to three will be even harder.

We took 142 entries into this judging round and our goal was to reduce that number down to 30 – which will advance to the finals with the winners being selected for construction. The judging took place at ‘Life of an Architect World Headquarters’ (otherwise known as my house) and took 4 hours to complete. The judges were:

Barry Buford – contractor/ owner at Buford Hawthorne Custom Homes

Audrey Maxwell – architect with Michael Malone Architects

Scott Taylor – architect with Bernbaum Magadini Architects

Kate Borson – cultural prodigy and representative 8 year old

Mindy Morse – Dallas CASA representative

I was present to act as docent, host and bartender … I did not vote since I knew some of the entrants. All the people on this list are extremely well qualified to act as judges because they have either designed, built, or participated in the Dallas CASA Parade of Playhouses events for years. They understand what it takes to make a successful playhouse.

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Despite the seriousness of playhouse design, this was a fun evening – there was a lot of food, wine, and design consumed. Out of the 140 entries that made it into this round, it was extremely difficult to get it down to the final 30. There wasn’t one entry that was a consensus winner, approximately 5 entries received 4 votes,  a dozen or so entries that received 3 votes and about 30 that received two votes. If your entry advanced, or if your entry did not advance, chances are that if there was a different group of people judging the playhouses, the ones that are advancing might have looked considerably different.

In no particular order, here are the 30 playhouses that will move on to the final round – congratulations!

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[following each image is the individual who submitted the design, where they are from, and taken from their registration, a little more information about that person. You can also click on the images to have the full size entry board open in a new window that will allow you to scroll through all of the boards]

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Katie Friesen – Media, Pennsylvania, USA

Tell me about yourself [TMAY]: I am an architecture thesis student who has, oh, 92 days until my final jury presentation. (But who’s counting, right?) My 10-year-old brother, Kevin, will be joining me again for this competition. Last year our design (“The Treeless Treehouse”) was a semi-finalist and he’s spent the year thinking up some new ideas. Thanks for giving us another opportunity to be creative together! *Begins playing Eye of the Tiger*

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Sarah Fox – Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

TMAY: I am a fourth year architecture student at North Carolina State University. I work a lot with children and the arts; so, I found this competition to be very interesting! Can’t wait to see all the playhouses this year. Last years parade post was so fantastic:)

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Travis Pawley – Norman, Oklahoma, USA

TMAY:  I’m an architect living and working in Norman, Oklahoma. I graduated in 2006, and finished my tests and received my license last year.   I really enjoy reading your blog and love the projects you and your firm produce. I like that you have a positive voice regarding architecture and our practice. There can be a lot of negativity and complaining in our field, and it’s refreshing to hear someone that keeps it positive.

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Ricardo Rivera Lezama – Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico

TMAY:  Young architect from Mexico!

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Manuel Millán – Pobra do Caramiñal, A Coruña  Spain

TMAY:  I´m a 34 year old architect that currently resides in Galicia, Spain.  I grew up in New Jersey and have a Bachelor´s of Architecture from NJIT (New Jersey Institute of Technology).  Upon graduation I worked for a few years in New Jersey-New York (mostly educational and commercial work). In 2007 I moved to Galicia, Spain where I worked another couple of years in a small architectural firm (historical preservation and urbanism). From there I moved to Portugal for two years and got my Master´s degree in Architecture and Urbanism form the ESG (Escola Superior Gallaecia).  After Portugal I moved to the Republic of Mozambique where I am a Registered Architect and where I got the chance to start doing my own projects, mostly residential and commercial work.  I´ve currently moved back to Galicia and am starting to set up a small studio “Millán A+D” . Those are the highlights…I look forward to having a little fun with the playhouse.

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Alex Greenhut – Los Angeles, California, USA

TMAY:  Architect working in Los Angeles California recently moved from the East Coast. 24 years old with a passion for playing and a passion for building.

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Alyona Dekhtyar – Kyiv, Ukraine

TMAY:  Hi!  My name is Alyona and I’m from Ukraine! I’m an interior designer. In 2012 I was graduated from Kyiv National Institute of decorative-applied art and design named after M. Boychuk,  Faculty of Design.  I think this competition is a wonderfull idea to give kids an opportunity to play & dream! I have some ideas and I want to share it with you. Thank You for this chance!

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Thanh Ho Phuong – Piacenza, Italy

TMAY:  I’m just an ordinary young architect.   Thank you Bob, your blog is really helpful and interesting.

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Kyle Schwind – Muncie, Indiana, USA

TMAY:  I am a 23 year old graduate student at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and I am currently doing an internship with krM Architecture+ in Anderson, Indiana. I moved to Indiana last year to attend grad school, but I grew up just south of Toledo, Ohio and completed my undergrad at Bowling Green State University. I tend to take a hands-on approach to architecture. This stems my experience in the construction industry as well as a strong influence from my father being the great handyman that he is. Whether it was under the hood of his truck or with the hammer in my hand building a pool deck, my experiences learning from him led me to my hands-on approach.

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Jonathan Brown – Rowlett, Texas, USA

TMAY:  I am a member of the human race.

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Irena Andreeva – Paris, France

TMAY:  I’m more an artist than an architect. I’ve studied Arts and Digital Media in Paris. I’m curious and creative. I like to try everything – drawing, photography, video, design and now – architecture.

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Fatemeh Shirpour and Faezeh Ensafi – Tehran, Iran

TMAY:  I am a student in forth year of studying architecture at Kashan University.22 years old & in love with architecture!!!

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Billy Rap – Tampa, Florida, USA

TMAY:  I am architect w/ JUNTO Architects from Tampa, Florida.   My interest in this project is from being a father of 2 and seeing how they tend to play and learn.

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Michael Rollins – Austin, Texas, USA

TMAY:  I grew up in Austin buried, as many budding architects were, under massive piles of Legos and building blocks. I was a benevolent creator (and sometimes a 60’s-era Godzilla) reigning over multicolored skyscrapers and streets lined with toy cars. In spite of my constructive childhood I actually didn’t consider myself much of an architect before going to college. I’m very excited about this competition—  the chance to help CASA in Dallas is a great opportunity. I have shared similar experiences as those children represented by the organization and, while this isn’t the forum to divulge certain childhood troubles, I sympathize with their plight. I can only hope that I will be granted the opportunity to help CASA out through design. Thank you for this chance, Mr. Borson.

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Lara Ying Issac – Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

TMAY:  I am a first year student from the University of Waterloo Architecture. I look forward to participating in my first design competition!

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Jelena Kalanj – Serbia

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Dustin Rousseau – Lafayette, Louisiana, USA

TMAY:  I’m an intern architect who graduated with my bachelors and masters in architecture.  I have a little brother who is mentally and physically disabled, so philanthropy involving kids is something I try to be involved with often.  I have been looking and looking for a cool competition to enter for months…AND I FINALLY FOUND ONE COOL ENOUGH!  I think this is a great competition and I am so excited to be a part of it.  Also, Dallas is close enough to where I live that I would love to drive in to see the playhouses once the competition ends and the winners are chosen.  Thank you for keeping it open ended and giving lots of creative freedom to the competition…I can’t wait to get started!

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Allison Moore – McMinnville, Tennessee, USA

TMAY:  I am an Intern Architect, who just finished IDP and I am currently learning Revit!

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Agne Gabreniene and Arnoldas Gabrenas- Vilnius, Lithuania

TMAY:  We own architecture art studio ‘Ararte’ and we live and work in Lithuania (one of the Baltic states). We love architecture and games, so here is our competition project “Sun bunnies” playhouse! We really enjoyed while creating such unusual project :). Thank You for organising this competition.

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Natalie M. Buches and Lauren Musulin – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

TMAY:  [Natalie] I’m an NCDIQ certified, LEED ID+C accredited Interior Designer with about 6 years of experience. Mainly commercial & government. I’ll be teaming up with Lauren Musulin who works at Michael Baker with me. She has her Masters in Interior Architecture, works hard and, like me, is passionate about glitter and unicorns.

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Katarzyna Cimoch and Jarosław Cimoch – Poznan, Poland

TMAY:  I’m a young, fighting to be licensed architect, with a co-work of my even younger brother-in-law visualizer. Working for a couple of years now for others, I’m trying my first steps on my own, hoping that this family cooperation for good cause will really bring something good.

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Hung Tran Tuan – Nam Dinh City, Vietnam

TMAY:  A weird architecture student with a weird mind.

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David Wint – Gloucester, England, UK

TMAY:  I am an Architect, working for Quattro Design Architects in Gloucester (UK). Loved the idea of the competition and thought the best way to show my support was to enter!

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Cristina Rodrigo Salazar – Zamora, Castilla y León, Spain

TMAY:  We are a team of two architecture students from Spain currently studying at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands.

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Chenoe Hart – New Haven, Connecticut, USA

TMAY:  Architecture student in the first year of the M.Arch program at Yale.

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Arjan van Mourik – Eindhoven, Netherlands

TMAY:  I graduated architecture last year and didn’t get the chance to do much with my architectural background/education since then.  I try to participate in small contest to keep me connected to architecture.

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Junya Toda – Doshin, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan

TMAY:  First Class Architect in Japan     Short Biographical Summary : Born in Niigata-pref, Japan (1956)  Graduated From Kyoto University (1980)  Received Master of Architecture (1982)

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Uran Ramadani –  Kosovo, Pristina, Serbia

TMAY:  Bach. Architect working a construction company supervizion buildings. I’ve only 26 years etc…

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Jansel Irarragorry  – Tampa, Florida, USA

TMAY:  I’m a recent graduate with a Masters of Architecture degree from the University of South Florida.  I’m now living the dream at my current firm designing, producing renderings, and also learning a whole lot.  Life is not good, it’s great!!

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Leopoldo Nava Flores – Mexico City, Mexico

TMAY:  I´m an architect from mexico city,I´m 33 years old, the last year i started with my own office.    I have got masters in energy and environment,and i looking foward to spend a creative and good time, making this contest.

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So congratulations to the folks who are advancing on to the final round but my most heartfelt thanks go to everyone who participated in this years playhouse competition. The effort it takes to prepare these designs is substantial and everyone’s efforts help advance the overall designs that get submitted. I am truly grateful and I know that the kids who benefit from your efforts are grateful.

If you find that I have misspelled a name, left off a member of the submitting team – whatever – just send me an email and I will make the necessary changes to make things right.

Cheers,

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