Congratulations to the national winners of Super Studio 2021, Angela Xu and Thomas Li, currently in their third year at The University of Sydney for their submission, Sedimentary Fabrics. Super Studio is a national conceptual design challenge that encourages students to think creatively and to experiment with different design techniques and methodologies to produce a response to a brief.
We caught up with Angela and Thomas to hear more about their experience and why students should get involved in opportunities like Super Studio.
Why did you decide to participate in Super Studio?
What was incredibly appealing to us, was how the Super Studio brief allowed the opportunity for us to explore so many conceptual possibilities. We were excited by how we could engage with the brief at a personal level, allowing our own lived experiences to shape our outcome of the project.
What was your favorite experience of the competition?
Being given the opportunity to interact and socialise with other students from other universities during the presentation. It gave us an insight into the way they approached architecture; their philosophies and different workflows, which provided very interesting alternate perspectives.
How did juggle participate in Super Studio with your other commitments, and do you have advice for students who might be concerned they won’t be able to manage?
As a team of two, we felt the workload was very achievable, even to the smallest of team/individuals. We were able to balance uni life with this competition quite easily, working between lulls in our school assignments. For us what we thought was more important was to develop a concept that was genuine and resonated with us rather than spend heaps of time working on the aesthetic presentation.
What advice would you give to students who are considering participating, but might be concerned they aren’t “good enough”?
The competition goes so much beyond what you or your team creates. At the end of the day, there is no grade associated with what you make, so just have fun with it. You will end up meeting new people, experimenting with new ideas, and working under some very unique conditions and time constraints.
Why do you think it is important for students to get involved in extracurricular SONA activities like Super Studio?
Extracurricular events like Super Studio allow students to practise design outside of the pressures of university and academics. It is a very freeing experience. Every University encourages a certain style and workflow and we felt it was invaluable to be able to practice producing something under such a vastly different scenario.
