Silver Spin Awards Success for Architecture Duo

Manchester School of Architecture students, Esther Frimpong and Zena Moore, have secured a Silver Award at the Spin Awards 2017 in the Young Talent category.

The pair, who are currently in the last year of studying on the MArch programme, were awarded silver for their idea and development of their app PIC, or Platform for Interactive (EX)change.

PIC is a booking app, designed to enable people to utilise commercial spaces out of hours, it provides a platform for space owners to list their space and those looking for space to book it for activities, with the aim of connecting underused spaces to the communities who need places for activities and events.

To gain this award, Esther and Zena first presented their concept to a jury in a preliminary round in the UK, where their idea was judged on creativity, financial feasibility and the quality of their pitch.

They then qualified for and attended the Young Talent Finals in Amsterdam. During the three day programme they were coached by Helga Guardian from Creative Communications Agency the Van Santen Netwerk before finalising their concept and presenting their work to a grand jury.

PIC was praised by the Spin Awards jury for fitting ‘perfectly in the ‘sharing economy’ and being ‘scalable solution community…that created opportunities for owners of empty properties’.

In a statement released on the Spin Awards’ website the jury commented that ‘the team have piloted the concept successfully, which makes PIC more than just an idea: it is a serious business case. We foresee a bright future for PIC!’

Esther and Zena commented that ‘it is great to know that architecture has the potential to move beyond its traditional associations to embrace a rapidly changing world.

Technology has fast become the forerunner for all things social and the architectural professional is increasingly looking for ways to embed such advancements.

Winning a Spin Award for our architectural studio project demonstrates this present need for collaborations between platforms. Our project, Pic, addresses the problem of underused spaces in the city and the technological difficulties of making the virtual a reality, through strengthening networks of people who live in our communities.’

Esther and Zena follow in the footsteps of Manchester School of Art graduates Adam Tranter and Andrew Page who won the Global Grand Prize, while studying BA Graphic Design in 2016. 

If you are interested in seeing more MArch outcomes, work will be on display in this Degree Show, which is open from 10-21 June. Find out more about the show at: http://degreeshow.mmu.ac.uk/