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Blank Space 2017 Fairy Tales Competition Winners

02.08.17 | By
Blank Space 2017 Fairy Tales Competition Winners

It’s official, the winners for the 4th annual Blank Space 2017 Fairy Tales Competition are in! This is a contest where designers, artists, and creatives from all walks of life are asked to design their own unique architectural fairy tale world.

For this year’s competition, three prize winners, an AIAS winner, and 10 honorable mentions were chosen from an esteemed jury that included: John Maeda of Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers; Dan Wood of WORKac, Chase W. Rynd, Hon. ASLA – National Building Museum Executive Director; G. Martin Moeller, Jr., National Building Museum Senior Vice President and Curator; Michel Rojkind of Rojkind Arquitectos; Antti Nousjoki of ALA; Sarah Balmond of Balmond Studio; Marion Weiss of Weiss/Manfredi; Michael Maltzan of Michael Maltzan Architecture; Jing Liu of SO-IL; Alan Maskin of Olson Kundig; Minsuk Cho of Mass Studies; Michael Van Valkenburgh of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates; Robert Hammond of The High Line; Gro Bonesmo of Space Group; Stefano Boeri of Stefano Boeri Architetti; Sarah Wahlgren, AIAS National President; Rachel Law, AIAS National Vice President; Alexander Walter, Editor in Chief of Bustler; David Basulto, Founder of Archdaily; Becky Quintal, Executive Editor of Archdaily; and Matthew Hoffman and Francesca Giuliani, the Blank Space Founders.

First place was awarded to Mykhailo Ponomarenko, a Ukrainian trained architect who created monumental landscapes with classical painting techniques for his entry “Last Day.”

From the artist:

Landscapes have always inspired me to put something weird, unreal and out of human scale into them. Something not feasible and not practical that contrasts with the natural surroundings, but also exists at the same scale. These satirical interventions lead to new ideas and feelings about nature – they make the viewer more aware about the environment and our harmful impact on it. We are flat surface creatures. Sometimes I feel that we crave it so much that the planet is going to be turned into pavement so cars can go anywhere, and our industries could continue expanding. The “Saturn Rings” in my proposal represent these flat surface desires but in a more poetic, optimistic, and friendly manner.

Second place goes to Terrence Hector for his entry “City Walkers” or “The Possibility of a Forgotten Domestication and Biological Industry,” which illustrates sentient architectural beings that humans harness for their energy.

Third place was awarded to Ariane Merle d’Aubigné & Jean Maleyrat for their entry “Up Above,” where refugees resort to small shanties built on thin stilts way up in the clouds to escape their oppressive life down on earth.

Last but not least, the AIAS Prize for the highest scoring entry from an AIAS member goes to Maria Syed & Adriana Davis for their entry “Playing House,” a story about the destructive power of split-personality.

The Jury also awarded 10 honorable mentions to: Minh Tran, Alan Ma, & Yi Ning Lui: Xinran Ma; Jun Li, Joris Komen, Yuxing Chen & Yina Dong; Carly Dean & Richard Nelson-Chow; Aidan Doyle & Sarah Wan (Wandoy Studio); Dakis Panayiotou; Julien Nolin; Michael Quach; Janice Kim & Carol Shih; Chong Yan Chuah, Nathan Su & Bethany Edgoose.

See more on the Black Space Project website.

As the Senior Contributing Editor, Vy Yang is obsessed with discovering ways to live well + with intention through design. She's probably sharing what she finds over on Instagram stories. You can also find her at vytranyang.com.