HLM triumphs in Moscow Circus School ideas contest

The studio’s ‘Elytra’ proposal – drawn up by Belinda Ercan and Maryam Fazel – was described by judges as a ‘well-deserved gem towering over Moscow’s culturally diverse Tverskoy district’.

Featuring an open-air amphitheatre, the concept was inspired by the ‘forewings of an insect that open up to create a protective shell’.

The design invites the public to watch circus performers rehearsing and also includes a flexible area which can be used for events, theatre performances and dining.

Second place in the contest organised by Concours d’Architecture (AC-CA) went to an Italian team featuring Marco Caprini, Riccardo Salà, Azat Akhmadullin and Francesco Galli.

Third place was meanwhile awarded to South Korean students Young-jae Lee and Ki-yeon Shon.

HLM design director Jeremy Pickard commented: ‘Using the competition as a mechanism within the HLM Academy to further explore different design processes and form-making, led to a series of extremely interesting and thought-provoking submissions, which challenged our regional teams to deliver ideas within an extremely short space of time.

‘We are extremely pleased with the result, and thoroughly enjoy the platform AC-CA provides for designers of all ages and experience to test themselves on such a diverse range of briefs.’