Winners of innatur_2 Ideas Competition

The winning entries have been announced in the second edition of the innatur ideas competition. Organized by Spanish architecture platform OPENGAP, the contest invited designers to submit innovative and thoughtful strategies of implementing architecture in a protected natural environment.

Participants were invited to find spaces that promote a deep understanding and assimilation of nature. Projects had to lead through their architecture to sensitivity, awareness, understanding, enthusiasm and commitment to the natural environment around them. Approaches should point to find synergies between nature and the building itself. Participants could freely define the location of their project, such as natural parks, forests, jungles, beaches, mountains, etc. 

The jury was comprised of Spanish architects Luis Aldrete, Gabriela Etchegaray, Sergio Ortiz, and Mauricio Rocha.

The winning proposals are:

First Prize: IN21853  
Authors: Mariana Santana, João Gama Varandas, Gonçalo Batista, Ana Sofía Amador (Portugal)

From the jury report: "A clear and convincing proposal that, from a primitive, tectonic and compelling materiality;  resolves rightly the program praising the poetry of each space.  The honesty of the project is remarkable; the piece does not deny what it is. There is a  consistency, a clear correspondence between the interior and exterior, between what it  appears to be and what it is.  It is a project with memory. It is a piece with an evocative capacity and nostalgia. It invites to  reflection on the passage of time on the site.  It is a project that is closely linked to its environment, linking city and nature, with an almost  anonymous presence, not intending to have excessive role."

Second Prize: IN22067
Author: Gabriel Wulf (Switzerland)

From the jury report: "A project with a conception deeply linked to the landscape that generates spaces from  subtraction. Its paths invite to "go into the earth to reach an empty space."  The act of traversing the land with potent deliberated gestures has great conceptual strength,.  The idea of playing with the empty space conceived from "the negative" recalls the work of  artists like Michael Heizer or Chillida.  It subtly transforms the preexistence, inciting that, during the visit to the project, the users  have an experience far beyond the mere contemplation.  The raw material of the project is stone, light and movement.... nothing else."

Third Prize: IN22061
Authors: Jose Fernando Gomez, Felipe Bustamante (Ecuador)

From the jury report: "This is a sensitive, risky and very poetic proposal that explores the boundaries of architecture  and conceptual art. It is a fine line, a horizon that splits the landscape and speaks about infinity  in nature.  The piece allows an experience that immerses visitors in a contemplative mood of reflective  natural context.  It is a tool that helps to discover "what is already there" and helps us to see it from another  perspective."

All images courtesy of OPENGAP.