It is harder to be on the selection committee of GEMSS than on a project-oriented competition jury since, in the former, the applicants are evaluated with all their productions and not only with their projects. The selection committee has given priority to creating a selection which would aptly represent the examples of young architects who, in turn, reflect the diversity of architecture – an intellectual field of activity spreading over a wide range of activities.

In the selection, it has been important to ensure that the candidates are active in multiple environments. To this end, it is evaluated whether their production and action areas are diverse, or they have been producing both in the academia and in the professional life. Their practical experience in professional life, attitude towards originality in architectural competitions and non-repetitive productions have been considered of great value. Candidates who have developed an individualized expression or have a sustainable potential in this direction have come to the fore.

The candidates who represent practices as different as building design and production, temporary space designs, product design, research, publication and education; who constitute architectural practice within the framework of values like ecological, social and cultural sustainability and environmental ethics; who develop their own unique expression in terms of design at the border of mainstream architectural solutions; who are aware of local values and accumulations while producing, or considered as having put efforts to produce, universally meaningful solutions have been eligible.

During the selection process, we have tried to represent various approach clusters within the applications in a balanced way. The efforts of young architects to create value beyond established expectations and practices by transforming job opportunities that they come up with, or have personally created, have highly been valued.

The abundance, quality and diversity of applications to GEMSS, which is being organized for the first time this year, are promising in relation to the architectural profession and young architects. We wish that the approaches in today’s architecture will grow with young and fresh ideas, and that GEMSS will continue flourishing in a sustainable way.

GEMSS ’19 Selection Committee

2 August 2019