A team of four PhD
students in the computation program of the Department of Architecture has
recently racked up a string of impressive wins in design competitions. Referred
to as SPARC, the international team consists of Sergio Araya of Chile, Orkan
Telhan of Turkey, Duks Koschitz of Austria and Alexandros Tsamis of Greece.
Together, on their own "free time," they work on projects ranging from object design to landscape architecture – often in collaboration with artists, designers and consultants – experimenting with different levels of "embedded behavior" by which designed material becomes an active interface between people and the built environment.
Their recent wins include first prize in the London Architecture Gallery International Competition; first prize in the Gillette Landmark International Design Competition; and a winning response to the Permeable Building challenge from the Media Lab, an invitation to create engaging augmentations of the Lab's interior space using elements of the outdoor natural environment.
