The Davidson Prize

Previous Davidson Prize winner, Squint/Opera share their thoughts on making a winning submission, and how the first step is to take the time to ask what we value in a home.

In 2020 Squint/Opera joined a multidisciplinary team that brought together people from architecture, digital design, sound, academic research and poetry. Collectively, we reflected on our experiences of working during the pandemic and the experiences of others through conversation, articles, podcasts and online lectures. Home Forest was an idea that could happen now and for everyone, in every home, and scalable to each individual.

HomeForest is an application that utilises intelligent projection mapping to bring the calming effects of nature into one's home; the app examines the user's behaviour in their living and working environment using mobile and connected devices, then adds sensory experiences like the call of birds and the scent of rain to create a natural environment, specifically for individuals living in cities with limited green space.

The fundamentals of Home Forests still apply to this year’s theme - exploring what can be done for homelessness now. It’s important to consider what you value as a place to call home - and how something like Homeforest could expand beyond your home’s walls to permeate wider society. Accessibility to nature should be a right in our cities and towns. How can we take our ideas and make them inclusive for everyone in our communities?