Winners of inNATUR Competition Announced

The inNATUR Competition, organized by OPENGAP, recently announced three winning entries and five honorable mentions. The international contest sought for innovative and cutting-edge ideas for a Nature Interpretation Center committed to a strategy of implementing architecture in a protected natural environment. The jury comprised architects Edgar Gonzalez, Liong Lie, Gerardo Mingo, and Paula Montoya.

The brief asked to find synergies between nature and the building itself, and designers were invited to find spaces that promote a deep understanding and assimilation of nature. Each participant or team could define the location of their project, however, the proposal had to justify the choice of the location and the interaction reached between the project and the site’s environment.

These are the winning proposals:

First Prize: IN1257
Authors: Lindsay Griggs, Jason Tan, Reece Vigelsaks, Robert Barker (United Kingdom)

Jury verdict: "The proposal covers all aspects of the competition in an intelligent, original and surprising way. The project goes beyond the architecture and interacts actively with its context. The time factor is involved in the proposal as a key aspect with fascinating results. The idea is not  only committed to having a positive impact on the environment through the years, but also to creating a virtual window that allows users to infer the importance of the project going beyond  the present state of the site. It provides an unprecedented architectural figuration halfway between the industrial and the  ephemeral, resulting in a strange, original beauty. It is brave and rigorous in its research on waste  treatment technology that makes productive argument of the proposal: the debated "leaching" of great interest to the jury."

 

Second Prize: IN989
Authors: Gregorio Saura Lorente, Jose Carlos Pérez Martínez, Carlos Cubero Valera (Spain)

Jury verdict: "This is a great idea that explores the boundaries and paradigms of architecture. It is remarkable  how the project itself expands its own scope and possibilities through a daring and original concept. The project is not just born from an imaginative compelling and inspiring idea, but also offers a convincing and original development of  the requirements in the architectural program. It is very remarkable the figurative and architectural quality of the proposal, creating a bold  language and impeccable constructive resolution of it. The effort shown is consistent with the  high level of risk of the proposal. The concept of roaming architecture is also fascinating, with "docking" stations  which, like the  itinerary of the "airborne observatory" are subject of careful design."

 

Third Prize: IN1115
Author: Heinrich Lipp (Germany)

Jury verdict: "The jury highlights the stunning beauty of the image of a building immersed in a waterfall. This huge structure and formal gesture has been perceived as very strong and exceptional. The project has a strong presence on the site but also blends in a very attractive way with the  envirnoment."

The jury also awarded five honorable mentions which you can find in the image gallery below.