Nominator: Vanessa Tsakalidou

Nominator's statement

I hereby select Iliriana Gjera and Georgia Gkousiou for the BIG SEE Perspectives Award, dedicated to supporting emerging talent from Greece. They have just completed their studies for the Diploma and Integrated Master’s Degree in Architecture at the School of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Their overall performance at the school has been outstanding, and their diploma design thesis was particularly exceptional, receiving unanimous approval with a score of 10/10.

F.A.R.M. : FOOD ARCHITECTURE RESEARCH MAKING

The central idea of the project revolves around the creation of a place where production, knowledge, and everyday life converge into a unified field of experience. The farm operates not only as a space of cultivation, but also as an open learning laboratory within which visitors are invited to engage with land-based practices, participate in activities, and understand the production cycle through direct, embodied interaction.

The architectural and functional organization highlights the importance of the relationship between humans, the landscape, the land, and the productive process. Spaces are structured as a network that alternates between the scale of community, the quietness of labor, and the immediacy of nature. The project aspires to function as a model of sustainable rural infrastructure and as a key meeting point between agrotourism, education, and ecological awareness.

Within a broader framework, the project does not aim solely at food production, but at rethinking the ways in which we inhabit, work, and share space. The farm is proposed as a living organism that both “educates” and “learns”—a place where the experience of the land is intertwined with collective action and the pursuit of a more conscious and sustainable everyday life.

MUSEUM OF EMOTIONS - COMPETITION 2025

Collision is a spatial narrative born from a national tragedy, a train accident that deeply scarred the collective memory.
This project seeks to transform trauma into space, offering a journey through contrast: grief and hope, death and life, darkness and light. The proposal unfolds through two distinct linear volumes. The first is a long, narrow corridor of exposed concrete, heavy and enclosed. Above, small skylights allow only limited natural light to pierce through, creating a space of reflection, gravity, and remembrance. As visitors move forward, they are gradually led toward a second, opposing space, a transparent, light-filled volume made of glass. Open to the landscape, it invites contemplation, breath, and the quiet emergence of hope. The transition between the two spaces is symbolic: from the weight of sorrow to the possibility of healing. The contrast of materials, solid concrete and delicate glass, intensifies the emotional progression and supports the architectural narrative. Rather than merely commemorating, Collision offers an immersive experience that honors memory while opening a path toward resilience.
The greatest challenge of this project was to express pain with dignity, without dramatization or detachment. The final result is not just a structure, but a spatial ritual, an architecture of mourning, transition, and ultimately, light.

BRIDGE HOUSE
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This was the first project that we created together during our first year at architecture school. It was more than just a project; it marked the beginning of our journey into architecture and became the starting point of a friendship that has lasted ever since. Bridge House is located in a coastal area in Sweden. The house can be described as somewhat isolated from the busy pace of everyday life, yet closely connected to nature, as it is surrounded by tall coniferous trees and low vegetation on its eastern side. The western side of the house opens toward a view of the archipelago. The residence consists of two volumes and four spaces: two primary-use spaces and two secondary-use spaces. The two volumes are connected by a corridor on the second level, which resembles a bridge—hence the name Bridge House. In addition, the house is covered by a single sloped roof that visually unifies the two volumes, making them appear as one structure. The proposed construction materials include oak wood for the structural elements and exterior cladding, gypsum board for the interior walls, dark metal sheets for the roof, and double-glazed glass for the window frames.