Overview
Amer and Sara Faraon — siblings working between Istanbul and London — received an Honourable Mention for an entry focused on adaptive reuse and the quiet power of passive design. Amer is Education Manager at Parametric Architecture / PAACADEMY; Sara is a designer at Studio Tim Fu working on computational and AI-driven projects. Their entry treats the existing market not as a backdrop for spectacle but as the primary material of the proposal.
The concept
The pair's strategy hinges on careful material selection and working with the existing structure to improve spatial and environmental performance without resorting to heavy intervention. The proposal makes the case that thoughtful, low-cost passive moves — applied across the right surfaces — can deliver outsized improvements in atmosphere, comfort and longevity. It is a sustainability argument made through architecture rather than around it.
Workflow & process
Amer and Sara treated the 48 hours as a fast-paced design sprint. They began with concept, material strategy and spatial interventions, then moved into visualisation. Because the window was short, rapid iteration mattered as much as the ideas themselves. Gendo sat naturally inside the workflow — letting them test different materials and visual directions quickly, and communicate the result clearly. Although they had used other AI tools before, this was one of their first projects using Gendo end-to-end, and the canvas's board feature gave them a shared surface to brainstorm and develop ideas fluidly.
Interview
Q: Was this your first time using Gendo, and how has your relationship with it evolved?
We had experimented with different AI tools before, but this was one of our first times using solely Gendo in a full design sprint. It was easy to navigate, and the board feature helped us brainstorm together and develop ideas more fluidly.
Q: What did the result mean to you — and what would you do differently next time?
Winning was exciting and encouraging for both of us, especially within such a short timeframe. As our first AI competition, having the work recognised by an esteemed jury encourages us to keep exploring this direction. Next time we would spend more time refining the final presentation and developing the narrative further.
Q: In your own words, what was it like to compete in Gendo 48?
Fast-paced and really fun. The limited time pushed us to make quick decisions, trust the process, and stay focused on our initial idea.
Key takeaways
Amer and Sara's entry is a quiet argument for restraint. Where other proposals reach for the spectacular, theirs leans on material honesty and passive intelligence — and uses AI not to invent atmospheres but to communicate decisions made the traditional way. A useful counterpoint, and one that speaks to where adaptive reuse practice is actually heading.