Aleksandar Pilyov: HM of the Re-Draw.05

+ Aleksandar Pilyov 🇧🇬

Honourable Mention of the Re-Draw.05: Nakagin Capsule Tower

Portfolio: https://www.non-a.com/members/alex-pilyov/portfolio/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleksandar.pilyov/?hl=en

1) Could you briefly introduce yourself?

I am a recent graduate with a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Leuven in Brussels, Belgium. With my latest achievements, I developed a profound interest in architectural representations beyond what we see and experience. I had the opportunity to explore that and myself as a designer in my diploma project. There I worked on a research paper that uses various hand-drawn techniques in ink, pastels, modelling materials and so on. These were some of the tools that concluded an extensive portfolio on the disused industrial complex in the city of Ostrava, the Czech Rpublic. Overall, I enjoy the drawing process in every design project and attempt to apply everyday interests in the methods I use to work it out.

2) What inspired you for the Re-Draw.05?

The Nakagin Capsule Tower was an ambitious design project that needed to be more independent of its inhabitants. There were flaws in how it was programmed during the construction that worsened the condition of the living quarters in its future. Most of the photographs and video footage in the past decade revealed that the materials were decaying, pipes were leaking, and the steel was falling apart. This natural decay that provided absurd living conditions led to its untimely end. What truly inspired me was the peeling, the decomposing, and the deconstructing of the building. I combined all elements and represented what I experienced in my research and sketches. As with every other organism, it was running out of time.

3) Can you describe any particular challenges you faced during the design process and how
you overcame them?

Breaking down all of the complexity of the building and bringing it back together in one single representation was the most rewarding challenge to overcome. Using whatever is left of it evidence was the only way I could experience the building. And the fact that it is no longer present kept it challenging to feel what the inhabitants were feeling until the end.

4) How do you think your educational background or professional experiences influenced your winning design?

In my educational experience I had the opportunity to experiment and invent myself through architectural techniques. Some of these techniques made it into this project as a method of representing my ideas. This drawing in the way it looks and thinks can be traced back to my diploma project in many ways.

5) What advice would you give to students or young professionals looking to excel in architecture competitions?

As designers I believe we should take use of what we have already learned and push it to the next level in every new project. Through exploration we should adapt to the challenges, overcome them and reinvent their meaning.

6) What are your future aspirations in the field of architecture?

The conclusion of my studies lead to the beginning of my new prospects as a future architect. The way we perceive architecture is unique for each individual. Buildings are just like organisms that undergo different stages in life and we should strive to design them according to a healthy and sustainable standard until their inevitable end. Building efficiently and thinking beyond the design process.