Fitzroy Food Institute explores themes of cultural perception, tradition and globalisation. The drawing presents a top-down view of a ‘typically’ Chinese roundtable dining setting. Separate presentation drawings – plans, sections, details, perspectives, diagrams and so on – are arranged into a composite drawing, exploring a dumpling-making process that places itself beyond the kitchen and engages with its greater context.
S: Our submission for this prize was actually prompted by our studio leaders. I woke up one morning to find a message on Instagram with just a link to the call for submissions, no other context whatsoever – we weren’t even aware of The Architecture Drawing Prize before this point! I made the submission thinking that as students, if anything, it would be nice to get our work and names out there, so receiving the first news of winning the hybrid category, let alone the overall winner, came as a pleasant surprise! (which really, is still a massive understatement)
M: To be the overall winner for The Architecture Drawing Prize has truly been a fantastic experience and we’re immensely grateful to be this year’s recipients and for the opportunity given! Seeing the quality of the other submissions (especially in a truly beautiful exhibition space) was also a humbling experience. The endless diversity of visual representation through drawing means it’s difficult to say one drawing is objectively better than another; being so close to our own work and then being able to appreciate the various amazing work from others serves as a reminder to us that there is still much more to learn and to improve. Even though we may have been the overall winner this year, I think that every drawing has won in one way or another.
S: Being invited out to London to attend the private view was the first time either of us had been to London, and I think that it’s pretty safe to say it won’t be the last. Visiting London was an unforgettable experience; to be able to experience London’s charm, which I’ve only seen before in film, and especially this early in my life, has truly been a privilege. It’s interesting to compare London to Melbourne, and even Auckland, where the city’s architecture moves quite frequently in the way of new development and commercial expansion, while for the most part, central London retains its altitude and heritage. Though I can say that trying to take the Tube during rush hour was quite a rough experience!
The winners receiving their award from some of this year's judges: Ken Shuttleworth, Samuel Wen, Michael Ren, Paul Finch
M: We’d like to extend our thanks to Make Architects and Sir John Soane’s Museum for granting us this award, and for providing us with the opportunity to exhibit our work in London and especially in person! It was a truly surreal experience to meet so many talented people and everyone who made this possible. Finally, a massive thank you to our studio leaders Sam and Danielle (@studio44_msd) – without their support and guidance, we wouldn’t be here to receive this award and share our drawing with you all.
This post forms part of our series on The Architecture Drawing Prize: an open drawing competition curated by Make, World Architecture Festival and Sir John Soane’s Museum to highlight the importance of drawing in architecture. View the winning and shortlisted entries of the 2022 competition at Sir John Soane’s Museum until 7 May, 2023 .