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An Interview With Best Student Of Tiny House 2022 Architecture Competition - Zhaoheng Wang and Jiale Huang

Interview

Mumbai,Maharashtra,India

Inspired by the most intelligent invention of people living in the wild the tent we offer a new solution for tiny house. It follows the stable structure of the triangular support in form, but takes into account the material and spiritual needs of contemporary human living space in function: a living space to meet the needs of daily life, and an adequate space for rest. It was challenging to fit these two spaces into a 28 sqm house, which is a composite of separate functional rooms in a modern house. So, we set up a large staircase in the room and thus brought a diagonal element to redefine the use of this composite space.

And considering another attribute that this tiny house has, which is usability and mobility in any kinds of environment, we propose a drawer type movable structure which can be retracted when it needs to be transported in order to save space. And after placement, the transparent volume under the fame structure can be pulled out of it, which on one hand extends the usable range of the tiny house, and on the other hand, the overhanging of the glass volume allows one to be immersed in a 360-degree surround environment, while on the other side of the frame structure, we constructed a home planting platform using a rainwater harvesting system, which can solve a certain degree of self- supply problem.

Zhaoheng Wang and Jiale Huang

Sweden

VZ- How would you introduce yourself / Team /Firm? (50-100 word)

Z&J- We came from China and just start our architecture journey in Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden last year. Zhaoheng studied Architecture and Jiale was majored in Architecture and Planning beyond Sustainability. Thus, incorporating the knowledge of sustainable design thinking within our project.

VZ- Give us brief information of your previous projects/ works/research/achievements?

Z&J- We hadn't done many competitions before and this was our first international challenge. When I visited the Volume Zero website and found this interesting topic, I thought why not give it a try? There was no reason to hesitate. We soon set up our team and got to work. The first experience was very smooth and we came up with a lot of good ideas, which I think has fueled my motivation to go on to more competitions.

VZ- What advice would you give to individuals who struggle to decide whether it would be beneficial for them to participate in architecture vision competitions?

Z&J- Competitions are a very rewarding challenge for architects, and it fosters a strong self-drive, which is something I find most valuable in a long career of architectural study. Of course, interest is always the first driver and there are very challenging topics and thought-provoking questions that are embedded in these competitions. If it happens to be a topic that interests you, it creates a positive feedback process that will keep us entertained.

VZ- What were the challenges you faced while designing for such architectural space?

Z&J- The idea of sustainability was at the forefront of our minds from the very beginning, and of course it was very challenging to put this concept into practice in every detail of the design. It was not only a matter of thinking about space compression and human scale in terms of traditional architecture, but also of giving it a socially meaningful attempt at sustainability.

VZ- What was your thought process while designing for Tiny House Architecture Competition 2022?

Z&J- We first considered the mobility of the small house, so we did not set a specific context for it’s use - in other words, it should be able to adapt to any site. The second step was therefore to satisfy its daily use from the user's point of view while at the same time ensuring that the house was scalable and that people could move it without too much cost. Then is to give more meaning to the house's scalability, which can bring benefits such as flexibility and space efficiency to our daily use. Of course, all the details need to be sustainable, and tiny house should be able to be recycled and self-sufficient.

VZ- What attracted you to this competition?

Z&J- This is a topic of such relevance and social importance that there have been so many attempts and examples within the community. It is hard not to think about how I would design my own house if the opportunity was presented to us one day.

VZ- Where does your interest in design come from?

Z&J- It's about the courage to want to make the world a better place, and as idealistic as that is, we need people who are brave enough to change society and change lives.

VZ- What design fundamentals do you believe in?

Z&J- Our intuition. The basis of design lurks within all people not just architects, each of us envisages a lovely living space for ourselves.

VZ- What were your references/ inspiration?

Z&J- I was inspired by the drawer, which is a brilliant and intelligent invention that works very well and will keep our lives organized. It would be great if the house could be so efficient and easy to use.

VZ- Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?

Z&J- Sustainability, like I mentioned earlier. Because we are currently living in one of the most sustainable countries in the world and everything here is inspirational.