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Open Competitions

Ireland

Meditation Mine

YAC launches a competition of ideas aiming to recondition an Irish industrial archeological masterpiece into a meditation destination immersed in nature.

Meditation Mine

People often talk about it. Mass culture is steeped in its legends and landscapes.Yet, this time the Ireland we are about to describe is not the Ireland of Celts, moors, fairies or sprites. This story is about a dusty Ireland made of dirt and sweat, efforts and poverty.

This is the Ireland of miners, men and women of brave heart that used to mine from the heart of the island the minerals feeding the furious 19th-century industry. This is a story of silent heroism, ordinary people, an extraordinary ordinariness attested by majestic ruins that are no less fascinating than the stark castles and mysterious abbeys depicting the best-known face of Romantic Ireland.

The architectures towering over Allihies mines are machine-buildings that used to move miners underground. Today, they appear as gutted stone engines that seem to defy gravity with their huge cracks. Nevertheless, for centuries they have been guarding natural paradises that had been abandoned or visited by a few passionate hikers.
Today, though, the common perception is changing, and new scenarios are being set for these architectures too.

There is an increasingly common need for solitude, silence, return to vast natural spaces.

Indeed, there is a growing need to escape from the urban environment, from an everyday life that is often too suffocating and alienating. There is an increasingly common need for solitude, silence, return to vast natural spaces. It is the need to reconnect with one’s intimacy to be met by visiting places with supernatural fascination. Notoriously, Ireland is studded with the most intriguing scenarios.

Ancient mines were built to mine minerals from the mountain. However, in their ruins, maybe contemporary humanity can mine something that is even more valuable than metals and find that sense of peace and harmony contemporary society has somehow jeopardized.

This is the goal of the competition Ireland Meditation Mine, aiming at turning Irish industrial archeology masterpieces into a retreat and meditation destination for people who look for meaningful experiences away from contemporaneity and immersed in the mystic beauty of a timeless nature.

Surrounded by stones tormented by the wind and uninterrupted silence, humanity can undertake the escape from civilization that urged the first wise men to retire to their caves in pursuit of a solitary life that has always been considered the most effective recipe for human happiness.

YAC thanks all designers who will accept this challenge.

Jury

Each jury is nominated with utmost care and is composed by professionals of the highest repute whose activity is consistent with the theme of the competition.

  • Gong Dong
    Vector Architects
  • Danny Collins
    County Councillor West Cork
  • Edoardo Currà
    La Sapienza University
  • Valerie Mulvin
    MCCULLOUGH MULVIN
  • Federico Pompignoli
    Former OMA
  • Neil Hubbard
    Heatherwick Studio
  • Rossana Hu
    Neri&Hu
  • Tadhg O’Sullivan
    ALLIHIES COPPER MINE MUSEUM

Prizes

All awarded projects will be sent to websites, magazines and architectural platforms. Furthermore, they can be displayed in national and international architectural events.

1st Prize

€ 8,000

2nd Prize

€ 4,000

3rd Prize

€ 2,000

2 × Gold Mentions

€ 500

Honorable Mentions

10

Finalists

30

Timeline

Complying with deadlines is a fundamental requirement to take part in the competition. All architects are encouraged to pay the utmost attention to the timeline and to complete each phase in advance.

* +22% VAT. Fulfilling an “Early bird”, “Standard” or “Late” registration does not affect submission deadline.

Early Bird Registration

€ 65 / team*

Standard Registration

€ 85 / team*

Late Registration

€ 115 / team*

Material Submission Deadline

Jury Summoning

Results Announcement

Download

YAC provides architects with content-rich competition material so that they can best express their ideas and thoughts wherever they live.

2D & 3D Drawings

Photos

Rules

ITA – ENG – FR – ES – PT – RU – ZH

FAQ

Shall all the areas listed in the competition brief (museum, service center, wellness area, yoga gym and accommodation) be designed or is it up to the designer's decision?

What should be the dimensions of each function mentioned in the program?

Shall the project contain new road infrastructure like parking, supply paths and roads for cars?

Is it possible to connect the currently existing galleries to underground spaces conceived for the requested new areas?

Shall the accommodations be built within a unique and compact structure or can each one be isolated and distant from the others as long as the required number of accommodations is respected?

Does the 7 meters height regard the distance from ground to roof, including the outer limit of the roof? Can the limit of 7 meters be exceeded if it is inside the ruins (for example in the rectangular tower)?

Is the limit of 2000 sqm referring to all useful areas including outdoor spaces such as pools/terraces without roofs etc.? Is the surface of the walls excluded from the 2000sqm?Do technical rooms count in the useful surface of 2000 sqm?

As regards building inside the ruins, can designers introduce changes in the ruins, such as new holes for doors, windows, or underground floors?

Is there an age limit to take part in the competition?

Can a team submit more than one proposal?

Partners

YAC thanks all the people who have been engaged in organizing the competition by sharing time, materials and resources to make the experience of architects unique.

Allihies Copper Mine MuseumCounty Councillor West CorkHeatherwick StudioMccullough Mulvin ArchitectsNeri + HuVector Architects

Ireland

Meditation Mine

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