Introduction

COMPETITION ORGANISERS
Tiny Kiwi 
Meditation Cabin
Official partner
Tiny Kiwi 
Meditation Cabin

The Tiny Kiwi Meditation Cabin Competition is part of Bee Breeders’ Small Scale Architecture Appreciation Movement showcasing small projects that contain big ideas. Designers were tasked with proposing an eco-friendly cabin located alongside the Hauraki Plains in New Zealand.

This event is the first in a series organised by Bee Breeders in collaboration with Earth Energies Sanctuary, a wellness retreat designed to bring about balance of body and mind, set within 200 acres in New Zealand, ideal for seclusion, relaxation and experiencing nature. The sanctuary currently features a 2-bedroom cabin on its site where guests can enjoy spectacular panoramic views.

For this particular competition, participants were tasked with submitting designs for a meditation space to be constructed in a clearing on the site. The proposed location sits roughly 300 meters downhill from the main residence, accessed only by foot. The cabin should be able to accommodate up to 4 guests plus a meditation guide for 1 to 2 hours during the day or evening. This space is not intended to act as accommodation, and therefore does not require any amenities or facilities other than those needed to run a meditation session.

As winning designs for the Tiny Kiwi Meditation Cabin are to be considered for construction, jurors sought designs that were sustainable in nature and offered innovative, creative solutions.

Bee Breeders worked with an international jury with backgrounds in design and academia. Several of the jurors have portfolios of built work focused on small-scale residential and cabin projects. The full jury included: Willem van Bolderen, founding partner of Helsinki-based Studio Puisto Architects Ltd; Pip Cheshire, director of Cheshire Architects, based in Auckland, New Zealand; Jakob Gate, co-founder of architectural studio Native Narrative and mobile sauna company Scandinavian Sauna; Kai Gu, Associate Professor at the School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland; Dr Ferdinand Oswald, architect, researcher and course coordinator of Design Technology courses at the School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland; Jordi Riembau Ribot and Miguel Rusca Mestre, co-founders of Nordest architecture SLP; Michael Romanowicz, founder and CEO of Den Outdoors; and Rick Sommerfeld, an architect, Assistant Professor and the director of ColoradoBuildingWorkshop, the design-build program at the University of Colorado, Denver.

Bee Breeders and its jury panel would like to thank all the designers that participated in this competition.

We sincerely thank our jury panel
for their time and expertise

Caro Robertson

Co-founder Wellington, Space Craft Architects

New Zealand

Miguel Rusca Mestre

Co-founders, Nordest architecture SLP

Spain

Jordi Riembau Ribot

Co-founders, Nordest architecture SLP

Spain

Erik Sommerfeld

Director of ColoradoBuildingWorkshop

USA

Dr Ferdinand Oswald

School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland

New Zealand

Kai Gu

School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland

New Zealand

Jakob Gate

Co-founder, Native Narrative and Scandinavian Sauna

Denmark

Pip Cheshire

Director, Cheshire Architects

New Zealand

Willem van Bolderen

Founding Partner, Studio Puisto Architects Ltd

Finland

Michael Romanowicz

founder and CEO, Den Outdoors

USA

1st Prize Winner

Project name

The Nest

Architecture competitions are an opportunity to challenge yourself, think outside of the box, and let your imagination soar. Through participating in such competitions, we explore and learn about different new countries and their unique cultures, as well as broaden our network as architects by connecting with new architects from different parts of the world. In addition to learning about new architectural languages and seeing how other architects think about the same project, this adds to our experience as architects.

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Authors
Rabie Al-Ashi
Omar Othman
Country
Saudi Arabia

2nd Prize Winner

Project name

Meditation House

Competitions, like school, allow for the freedom to “play”, test ideas, take risks, to be unusual. Besides the benefit of exploring ideas and representational methods beyond the sometimes-banal day-to-day tasks of the profession, competitions allow me the opportunity to demonstrate who I am as an architectural designer, from the selection of competition briefs and sites to the choice of materials and organizational strategies, to the final panel layouts.

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Author
Mat Winter
Country
Canada

3rd Prize Winner

Project name

Tiny kiwi meditation cabin

We want to practice beyond our limits, have fun, and tell stories by using architecture and design. Competitions open the door to new unconventional projects and possibilities.

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Authors
Lukáš Valenčin
Zuzana Capková
Country
Slovakia

BB STUDENT AWARD

Project name

RECONNECTION

First of all, the process of designing a single topic in the direction I interpreted it is interesting. And it's meaningful to participate in the contest, but if I can win this award, I think I can graduate with more confidence.

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Author
Seo Hyeon Gyu
Country
South Korea
+72 points Buildner University Rankings

BB GREEN AWARD

Project name

Behind the curtain

I like to challenge myself with projects and tasks that I don´t have in my normal working routine. I work mostly on small residential projects, so I like to challenge myself with competitions where I can try something different and learn something new. The second reason why I like to participate in architecture competitions is to challenge myself with other participants. It´s quite easy to close yourself off and work on the same routine and ideas when you have an office. So, when the results of the competition come out, it´s always interesting and refreshing to see how other colleagues have approached and solved the same problems.

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Authors
Matteo Foresti
Arianna Boccalatte
Country
Sweden

Client Favorite

Project name

Point of View

Architecture competitions have various themes and limited preferences. The design that I create through the storytelling and penetrating concepts awaken potential creativity. Projects that emerge through many concerns and discussions help the further growth of participants and demonstrate their potential for development.

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Author
Dabeen Kim
Country
South Korea
+22 points Buildner University Rankings

Honorable Mentions

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Project name

How far into the forest ?

Author
Gabriel Foulquier-Gazagnes
Country
France
Project name

Cabin of Light

Authors
Iqbal Ziaul Haq
Nur Saddia Maulinda
Bahrumsyah Bila Sahil
Rahman Akbar Sayekti
Country
Indonesia
Project name

Okioki Cabin

Authors
Oonagh Davis
Elias Bennett
Country
United States
Project name

The Cube

Author
Doug Smith
Country
Denmark
Project name

360 CABIN

Authors
Al Barry Ayaquil
Andrea Bianca Novencido
Country
Philippines
Project name

The Spirit Space

Author
Aubin Prost
Country
France

Shortlisted projects

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RE_CON_ME

Johana Reinosová

České vysoké učení technické v Praze - Fakulta architektury

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
Czech Republic

Wahi Ata Noho

Alex Yuen
Weijia Song
Dylan Gibbs

Collective Operations

New Zealand

Empty cabin

José Pereira
Portugal

'When I am among the trees'

Balint Iszak
Csenge Gyorgyi
New Zealand

Transition to meditation

Sejin Kim
South Korea

Respite Cabin

Benjamin Feng
Louis Panszczyk
New Zealand

Alter

Chiara Shim
Emily Dalley
Keegan Hannaway
Ariana Faulkner
New Zealand

The Meditative Verb

Neel Patel
Germany

Arca

Santiago Arizcun
Uruguay

Birdhouse

Tucker Douglas
Ane Gonzalez lara

Idyll

United States

Light Shelter

Emese Lakatos
Emese Juhász
Hungary

The Cube

Doug Smith
Denmark

Absorbed In Nature

Sumin Park
South Korea

Point of View

Dabeen Kim
South Korea

The Nest

Rabie Al-Ashi
Omar Othman
Saudi Arabia

Cove Cabin

William Christian
John Dowling
Australia

RECONNECTION

Seo Hyeon Gyu
South Korea

Behind the curtain

Matteo Foresti
Arianna Boccalatte
Sweden

Resonate Cabin

Jong-hyun Han
South Korea

OPEN UP

Catalina Plaino

Catalina Plaino Architecture

France

Zen Meditation Sanctuary

Artemis Hasa
Niki Cane
Julian Beqiri
Lezo Kroj

CoRDA

Albania

Hidden Silence

Wesley Thompson
United States

Tiny Kiwi Meditation Cabin

Brad Scahill
Annie Tong
New Zealand

How far into the forest ?

Gabriel Foulquier-Gazagnes
France

Earth Energies Sanctuary Meditation Cabin

Chelsea Jno baptiste
Sahil Mohan
Savannah Cheung
United States

Okioki Cabin

Oonagh Davis
Elias Bennett
United States

The Wooden Den

Zorbey Tuncer
Turkey

The Beehive Box

Cam Wilson
New Zealand

In Between

Michael Hoover
Abigail Peters
United States

Meta Nature

James London-mills
United Kingdom

Spiritual Nest

Valentina Gonzalez
Jhorman josé Cadenas montaño
Sergio andrés Cantor amaya
Nicolás felipe Ariza torres
Colombia

Cabin of Light

Iqbal Ziaul Haq
Nur Saddia Maulinda
Bahrumsyah Bila Sahil
Rahman Akbar Sayekti
Indonesia

alma

Barbara Sandri
Andrea Smaniotto
Italy

The Spirit Space

Aubin Prost
France

Meditation House

Mat Winter
Canada

focus.

Dumindhi Nanayakkara
Netherlands

Tiny kiwi meditation cabin

Lukáš Valenčin
Zuzana Capková
Slovakia

Brahmavihara Pavilion

Kellen Thayer
United States

360 CABIN

Al Barry Ayaquil
Andrea Bianca Novencido
Philippines