YAC Lighthouse Sea Hotel competition winners reimagine the historic Murro di Porco

In one of their recent competitions, Young Architects Competitions in partnership with Rimini Fiera, Agenzia del Demanio (the Italian Government), Paolo Castelli, and Videoworks challenged entrants worldwide to send their ideas for reviving the Murro di Porco lighthouse in Syracuse, Italy into a seaside hotel — all while respecting its original character and natural environment as much as possible. The competition aimed to provoke architects to consider how abandoned lighthouses like Murro di Porco can be preserved and revamped for the present day.

At the end of the competition, the jury selected three prize-winning teams and two gold honorable mentions. Another 10 teams received an honorable mention, and 30 finalist entries were recognized for design quality.

Winners will be awarded and have their entries publicly exhibited on October 15 during Sia Guest, an international hospitality event in Rimini, Italy.

Have a look at the winning designs below.

1st place winner: Maresia - Leonardo Marchesi, Jorge Soares Mendes

The Italian-Portuguese team Maresia (Leonardo Marchesi, Jorge Soares Mendes) won 1st place for their project, which focuses on the idea of sustainable tourism and a strong relationship with the area.

Project summary: “The proposal begins with an organization of the surrounding space adjacent to the lighthouse through the appropriation of the two unoccupied buildings and by a new horizontal and compact volume, in order to create a new nucleus and enrich the territory’s natural and cultural heritage. By using white concrete, we ensure a continuity in the white mono material constriction of the area and create a relation between these two landmarks, the lighthouse and the hotel. At the same time, the relation with the territory is given by using the same kind of stone in the pavement and preserving the existing one in the terrace as if the exterior continues into the inside of the proposal.”

2nd place winner: Sevak Asatryan, Álvaro Olivares, Esther Sanchis and Eduardo Sancho | Spain

Spanish team Sevak Asatryan, Álvaro Olivares, Esther Sanchis and Eduardo Sancho won second place for their project, which is deeply rooted in the natural landscape of the lighthouse.

Project summary: “The spectacular landscape invites one to stay, to carry out the minimum possible intervention to adapt it to the human use. A set of volumes born from the lines of the existing lighthouse are proposed, to showcase it in aim to allow the architecture and Murro di Porco’s environment to become a unique place. The project seeks the coalescence of existing buildings using the landscape as a resource. Previous paths, drawn by human steps, are kept and tamed and new volumes that frame the sea and the existing architecture are set along it. The aim of the new hotel is to act as an interlude, an element that achieves to join the parts in a whole to reach a unique experience.”

3rd place winner: Aut-Aut - Gabriele Capobianco, Jonathan Lazar, Davide Troiani, Edoardo Capuzzo Dolcetta | Italy

Third-place winners Aut-Aut from Italy submitted a concept that emphasizes the main function of a lighthouse: enlighten and guide overnight navigations.

Project summary: “We propose a light architectural approach where, along with a conservative restoration, minimal and well differentiated interventions are implemented. The new program is denounced by the presence of white metal frames added on top of the buildings. These light structures make the roofs usable, thanks to the stairs they provide and to the possibility of hanging traditional fabric drapes as shading devices. In this way each hotel room includes a private lifted terrace where intimacy is guaranteed.”

Two gold honorable mention titles were awarded to French team “A131”, whose entry focuses on the relationship between man and nature, and Italian team “Stanza”, whose concept envisions an imaginary pathway linking different points of the competition site.

The 10 honorable mention teams are: 2U; Huku; Jjprs; APS; Reviastudio; FIOR.E; Quadricolors; Louise Husman; MAS; AM90

All images courtesy of Young Architects Competitions.

Find the honorable mention entries in the image gallery right below.