y design

Museums in Akershus launched an international competition for a new workshop building at the Follo Museum in rural Norway. The competition sought proposals for a new building that can be used to teach and preserved traditional craft skills. The new workshop building will be an extension to the existing exhibition building and open-to-air living museum in Seiersten which features historic timber buildings from across the Follo region.

The proposed concept creates a multifunctional space that can be adapted and transformed in many ways. The building was set to allow placing the key functions and public spaces along the existing north-south path. The proposed new workshop simple cubical form compliments the existing museum building. The entire building was designed to be constructed as a prefabrication kit made of CLT timber and galvanised steel cladding.

In mid-2020 the MiA organised an international contest for the new National Log Driving Museum and Competence Centre for Wetlands. The site is located in Fetsund, 30km east of Oslo, and has over 400m long bank along river Glomma. The new building will be cr. 7,000 sqm.

Log driving (the traditional technique of moving logs downstream using the river current) has been used to move timber in Norway since the 13th century. The Fetsund Booms is a former industrial site that played an important role in Norway’s log driving history.

The intention behind the proposed design was to achieve a form that conveys the rudiment essence of the log driving industry and its strong connection with the river Glomma. The proposed museum bulky form resembles a log resting on the river bank waiting for its final journey. The proposed extended wide pier provides a space for various outdoor activities, close exploration of the life hidden in the river Glomma and future arriving by boats.

In November 2019 An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission for our holiday cottages concept in Dalkey Village, however, the tender progress has been put on hold due to uncertainty in the hospitality sector caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The proposed scheme includes 12No of independent, own door guest cottages linked only by an external garden 'green corridor' - the configuration making an ideal blueprint for the post-pandemic holiday accommodation demand.

Taking into account the historic site context, the proposed design aim at balanced and sensitive development. The idea was to find form inspired by traditional Irish cottages which would capture the unique charm of the historic 'organic' architecture. The proposed scale of the cottages, open spaces, the irregularity of their forms and facade setbacks aim to reminisce the traditional settlement.

The selected main two external finishes (natural fieldstone and fair-faced concrete) create a visual dialogue of distinctive texture contrast between a traditional, naturally shaped by time and nature, and contemporary, artificially man-made stone.

In 2020 Cork City County Council organized an architectural competition seeking proposals to improve functionality and usability of one of the main ‘soft space’ in the inner city - Bishop Lucey Park. The approx. 150x50-metre park is located between South Main Street and the Grand Parade in the medieval quarter of Cork City and includes a partial exhibition of the medieval city wall.

Cork City is characterised by a dense network of urban blocks, streets, spaces, laneways and quays that vary greatly in both form and function. Within this urban structure, there is a very limited number of parks and “soft spaces". Improvement of the functionality of existing public spaces has continuously been recognised as a very important element of the inner city development strategy.

The proposed design aims to increase the number of park users by maximising the usable areas, the attractiveness of the spaces and improved pedestrian access. The existing major south-east connectivity along Church Lane is maintained, however, the overall new path layout is designed to encourage the passing people to detour, slow down or pause for a minute.

The proposed 'Black Knight' concept includes the installation of a circular gazebo-like pavilion above the unearthed part of the medieval wall to create an essential guiding landmark. The canopy has been inspired by typical circular temples and commemorative structures forms and the proposed weathered steel cladding is reminiscent of medieval knight armour.

In 2019 the City of Tampere organised an open urban competition for the future of the Viinikanlahti brownfield area and its long shoreline of Lake Pyhäjärvi. The area has been allocated for future Tampere City Centre housing expansion with elements of the waterfront related tourism and associated retail. The population target is circ. 3,000 residents with an estimated 180,000 sqm of the total gross development area.

The proposed concept aims to maximise the benefits of waterfront development and to create a strong integration with the city centre urban structure. The predominately north-south direction blocks distribution maximises facades sun exposure and apartments views of the lake. The breakdown mass creates many dynamic urban interiors and the raised podiums a clear division between public and semi-private spaces. The concept has been developed putting a future community safety, happiness and integration as a paramount goal with various types of accommodation and associated functions addressing 21st-century urban living.

Long awaited project for the first floating hotel in Slovenia is reaching a major milestone.
Our concept includes 45 luxurious floating bedroom suites, along with 50 detached forest-like-cabin suites, reception, restaurant, conference center and more, situated on the shore of the Velenje Lake. More information coming soon...

In the Press:
  Dnevnik Newspaper  
  Vecer Newspaper  
  RTV Television  

In 2013, Austrian govermant drafted an open international competion for the EXPO2015 pavilion design.

Our proposal has been among a few shortlisted to stage 2.

HARVEST FESTIVAL
The proposed pavilion theme presents harvest celebrations as a reminder that the environment around us is the best source of food and should be respected, nurtured and celebrated, as it was for centuries. For centuries people around the world celebrated harvest time in many forms, it was an integral and natural part of the cycle of their lives.

The pavilion itself will house a festival of joy and hope, a sensory experience bringing us back to our agrarian roots.

THE SYMBOL OF THE WHEAT SHEAF
The wheat sheaf – a symbol of strength, unity, life, fertility and essential nutrients is the inspiration for the building form. The sheaf signifies abundance, closeness to the earth and her resources. It also stands for strength and power, because bound together, the wheat strands are strong and resilient. The themes of fertility and unity send a clear message of the need for cooperation in the fight to address the great imbalance in access to food supplies around the world

100% ORGANIC
The organic form of the pavilion is achieved by using “organic” materials and an “organic” method of construction.

In 2014, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation launched its first open international design competition for a proposed Guggenheim museum in the Finnish capital of Helsinki. The response was a record-breaking 1,715 entries ...

The proposed concept was inspired by wooden playing blocks, the symbol of simplicity, pragmatism and sustainability. The blocks are arranged to provide a matrix of various sizes, shapes and heights of the exhibition spaces. The function is clearly divided into three main components, with exhibition space located on the first floor and accessible from the central main foyer spiral ramp.

The design guidelines for the new play park within Le Fanu Park were directly shaped and influenced by a programme of community engagement events led by the Irish Architecture Foundation and The Matheson Foundation over the summer of 2015.

The international design competition has been launched in the middle of 2016. Our proposal received 3rd place.

The Play Park project has been funded by the Matheson Foundation in partnership with Dublin City Council and the IAF and will combine various play/skate/BMX areas.

In 2013 Salford City Council and RIBA organized an international design competition for a new landmark pedestrian bridge over river Irwell linking The Crescent (A6) and Meadows. Adjacent to the University of Salford, this new bridge will unlock the vast development potential of this major corridor linking Salford and Manchester, part of the Middlewood Loop concept.

The proposed form is unique and intriguing, making the bridge a surprising and an easily recognisable landmark of The Crescent/Chapel Street.

The new Salford Meadows Bridge will be a “gate” to the world of untouched nature. This extreme difference between those two banks has been inspirations for the sinusoidal form of the bridge - the sound wave.