The winning results of INSPIRATION HOTEL 2014

Opengap recently announced the winners of their latest INSPIRATION HOTEL competition. Architects, designers, and creative types worldwide were invited to send submissions for artists' spaces that foster creativity and concentration, allowing users to focus and develop their ideas.

The jury members -- architects Rafael Plascencia, Andrea Soto, Jorge Tejeda -- met on January 23 to evaluate the proposals.

At the end of their deliberation, the jury selected three prize winners and three honorable mentions.

1ST PRIZE: Sebastián Paredes Smith, Marisol Layseca Prieto, Gerardo Chávez Maza | PERU

Jury comments: "The project presents a unique, radical proposal of an extraordinary singularity and quality. By starting from a very simple structure it generates a multitude of very interesting interpretations. It has the virtue of owning the existing space by rooting the building to its context in a very neat and original form, with a very strong inherent beauty. It declines the formalism of the building and recovers the basic ideas of architecture: the structure, the space, the voids, the routes and especially the light; which plays a key role in the project.

The performance of light and shadow in this place can become one of the most inspiring reasons for users. The project evokes the creativity of users in unexpected ways, placing the artist it in a neutral space, in front of a stone canvas. The proposal is an engine for artwork, it is very interesting how the project takes the users out of the comfort zone and confronts them directly with the stone. A space with unique genre, directed exclusively to the spirit of artistic creation."

2ND PRIZE: Javier Ignacio Martínez García | SPAIN

Jury comments: "The project attempts into the limits of reality, but it doesn ́t forgets the architecture. It  brilliantly to all aspects of the competition but also takes interesting risks and solves them correctly.  The site selection is wise, since it not only chooses a unique and dreamy place, but includes elements and structures from the site. It presents very poetic spaces in the relationship with nature, evoking the contemplation, which must be continually in the work of an artist. As an architectural object it is very well managed and organized by merging manufactured spaces with a natural context.

Being a synthetic project "a ring" it does not steal too much prominence to the poetic of the site where it is located, merging in a very respectfully way, but with great conceptual strength. The contemplation space carved into the mountain is one of the highlights of the project. The proposal also offers a peripheral view of the environment in which each room has a unique vision. The radial distribution emphasizes the excellent relationship of the project with the natural element.

3RD PRIZE: Valentin De Neyer, Sebastien Maton, Raphaël Bourgois | BELGIUM

Jury comments: "A very interesting approach, situated in a real urban site, in a city with a very attractive historical  context. It takes advantage of a gap in the urban trace and inserts an architecture piece with a very particular gesture, which goes beyond the formal language. Its city scale makes it a very seductive project. It aims primarily 'a way' to address the approach of the competition beyond a formal result. The idea of red inclined roofs resumes, very consistently, the concept of historical   spaces but with a contemporary language. The merge between a cultural center and a hotel is excellently achieved.

The authenticity of the project lies in the way that it is made part of the city. It is a proposal with much reality and it can be repeated in other contexts of these characteristics. The proposal heals a city vane by making a synergy between the studios of the artist and enriching the environment around it. It achieves a good relationship with both internal and external users. The graphic quality and representation of the project are remarkable."

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Valeriy Aslanyan, Julia Trintsukova | UKRAINE
• Ian Lambert | UNITED KINGDOM
• Vermeyen Fréderique, Bram Van Sever, Jasper Aerts, Tom Lanclus | BELGIUM

Check out the Honorable Mentions in the thumbnails below.

All images courtesy of OPENGAP.