International Architecture Competition

Nemrut
Volcano
Eyes

Results

Foreword

Competition organisers

Nemrut 
Volcano 
Eyes

This competition tasked participants with envisioning a visitor observation platform to be constructed atop Nemrut, a volcano located in eastern Turkey. Positioned at an altitude of 2,800 metres at the southern edge of the dormant volcano, the intent of this new landmark is to provide unobstructed views overlooking the extraordinary caldera and its internal lakes, as well as the immense Lake Van to the east.

A caldera is a large depression formed when the ground surface collapses into the emptied magma chamber following a volcanic eruption, becoming a crater. With a total area of 4,800 hectares, and a diameter varying from 7 to 8.5 km, the Nemrut caldera is among the largest in the world. A pair of lakes within the crater - Lakes Ilı and Nemrut - support a microclimate with flora and fauna unique to the region, in part because the water bodies are fed by hot springs and never fully freeze during the winter months.

Participants were asked to deliver proposals for a 20 sqm iconic viewing station designed in consideration of this unique natural environment. The competition was not limited to a strict budget, but participants were recommended to conceive designs on the scale of US $100k. Given the site and limited access, submissions with cost-effective, environmentally-responsible and energy-efficient construction methods were viewed favorably. Access from a nearby ski lift station to the site should also have been considered in the design.

A number of factors were discussed by the jury while reviewing the submissions: If a platform were to be constructed, firstly can it offer something which the volcano’s current peak does not - shelter, new perspectives, or accessibility? Can it perform as a landmark that might encourage more visitors to make the journey to the natural marvel of the Nemrut caldera? Can it question given assumptions as to how a viewing station should function? Bee Breeders would like to thank each participant for their part in assembling a rich trove of new design ideas.

1st Prize Winner +
BB STUDENT AWARD

Project name

Upservatory

Authors

Fernando Irizarry
Marcos Ortiz
Gabriel Rivera

University

University of puerto rico, rio piedras campus
+178 points Buildner University Rankings!

Puerto Rico

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

The architecture vision competitions allow the possibility to take the design process to a level where experimentation and speculation become problem solving strategies in a creative and unconventional way. This is the perfect venue for telling a story through architecture.

Jury feedback summary

In what was among the most striking proposals, ‘Upservatory’ takes cues from well-known ballooning sites over the vast Cappadocia in central Turkey. This proposal considers the viewing station as a mobile, 20m²-circular platform elevated into the air by a hot air balloon with an asymmetrical form. The platform is accessed from an entry station near to the mountain’s ski lift; once elevated, the balloon-carried deck follows a guide rail cantilevered well over the peak’s edge, permitting visitors unrestricted views of the caldera and the surrounding geography. In a series of simple, captivating drawings, the submission succeeds in describing a completely new experience for observing Mount Nemrut. The jury encourages the designer to further study the structural implications of the roller-coaster-like guide rail. While the images show a project with minimal impact to the landscape, can it really be built so finely and meanwhile achieve such a cantilever? Can it be used year-round? How is it operated and maintained?

2nd Prize Winner

Project name

Nemrut Caldera Observation Route

Authors

Keremcan Kirilmaz
Erdem Batirbek

Turkey

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

It is a refreshing exercise and an escape from our everyday works. Generally, we get to design things that we do not regularly have a chance to design – sometimes for places and users we do not get to think about. It is a rewarding opportunity to face a challenge and develop new design perspectives as a result.

Jury feedback summary

This standout submission takes a winding form reminiscent of a lava flow. In emphasizing this sinuous form the presentation notes it is in keeping with Nemrut’s history as a mountain “constantly sculpted by movements from within and below.” The footbridge leading from the ski station to the viewing station is composed of a modular system of corten rails and perforated stairs set on precast concrete piers - the detail drawings are particularly effective in describing the design and its potential constructability. While the jury was less convinced about the seemingly large structure supporting the observation platform, the project is successful in giving importance to the trekker’s journey.

3rd Prize Winner

Project name

A Walk Beyond The Edge

Authors

Giuseppe Pastonesi
Desislava Georgieva
Marchela Varbanova
Nina Gerosa

Italy

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

This kind of competition is a good field for matching with other points of view. It can be fascinating to observe how a place can be conceived by other architects and designers. It gives you an opportunity to try different approaches and experiment which is definitely something you don’t see every day.

Jury feedback summary

‘A walk beyond the edge’ is a triangulated platform with cantilevered viewing points to the crater and Lake Van. With its sculptural form in steel and wood, the design plays with weight, transparency and opacity: the station is entered via a footbridge, through an opaque ‘tunnel’ that frames views of Nemrut and performs as a counterweight to the cantilevered ramps; the mass then dissolves as the wooden floor gives way to perforated decking and guardrails, allowing views below. The triangular nature of the platform leads visitors to three distinct observation points. The drawings in the submission are compelling in their use of light versus shadow, giving presence to the structure’s ‘joint’ at the tunnel, while dematerializing the element projecting over the crater.

BB GREEN AWARD

Project name

Obsidian & Steel

Authors

Sam Naylor
Elaine Stokes

United States

Why do you enter architecture
competitions?

Competition prompts give us the constraints and platform to pursue creative design projects outside of the office. They also motivate us to follow through on these pursuits through a financial investment and fixed schedule.

Honorable mentions

VIEWclose HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Project Name

The Train

Country

Canada

Project authors

Fang Xu
Yuxuan Jiang
Zhi Wen Sun

Project Name

Reverie of the Edge

Country

Malaysia

Project authors

June Yong
Chun Fei Wong

Project Name

A door to Nemrut

Country

Finland

Project authors

Venessa Mok
Guido Mitidieri

Project Name

Re-Discovering Nemrut

Country

Kenya

Project authors

Joseph Mwaisaka

Project Name

Ledge

University

Academie van bouwkunst amsterdam
+72 points Buildner University Rankings!

Country

Netherlands

Project authors

Marilu de Bies
Simon Wijrdeman

Project Name

Flying Over The Landscape

Country

Ecuador

Project authors

Holger Patricio Cuadrado Torres
Edwin Patricio Moreno Estrada
Jimmy Paul Sinchire Capa
José Armando Paucar Ríos

Shortlisted projects

VIEWclose Shortlisted projects

United States

thomas haller
emily gross

United States

benjamin kellogg

Malaysia

pooventhiran p sangar
hui meng tuang
navinraj p sangar
widad bamadhaj

United States

murat yavuz
jason kachanovsky
hilario torres

Italy

simone paganelli
giordano pirozzi

Poland

Bialystok University of Technology (Politechnika Białostocka)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
ewelina bugajewicz

Australia

University of Sydney

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
xinyuan feng

Turkey

lesia petrovska
robert john lewis
semih igci

Spain

cirilo leal cabrera
jenny del pino díaz

Belgium

albert ohanian
gaetan pakdaman

Italy

giuseppe pastonesi
desislava georgieva
marchela varbanova
nina gerosa

Greece

National Technical University of Athens - School of Architecture

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
iakovos sierifis
charikleia chouli
panos athanasiou
ioannis periclis papapetrou

United States

jesse goguen
royd zhang
erik weaver

United Kingdom

william handyside
joseph istance

Puerto Rico

University of Puerto Rico - Río Piedras Campus

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
brian torres
michelle perez
christian gonzalez

Turkey

gizem kadioglu
izim can kurtaran

Hungary

Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
noémi éva sebestyén
kázmér domokos
szilárd suba- faluvégi

Iran

ali zolfaghari
sina sadeghi
sina gozashteh
mahyar jalali

China

chaoqiong guo
yiwen shi
ying yan
boya li

Mexico

Voleva arquitectos

fernando israel leal leyte
nicolas eduardo voegelin chavira
rene vargas lopez
cesar wong bustamante

Serbia

ana paunovic
andelka markovic
ana popovic

Puerto Rico

University of Puerto Rico - Río Piedras Campus

+178 points Buildner University Rankings!
fernando irizarry
marcos ortiz
gabriel rivera

Ecuador

holger patricio cuadrado torres
edwin patricio moreno estrada
jimmy paul sinchire capa
josé armando paucar ríos

United Kingdom

james tanner
edyta milczarek

Netherlands

Academie van Bouwkunst Amsterdam - AHK, Academy of Architecture - Amsterdam University of the Arts

+72 points Buildner University Rankings!
marilu de bies
simon wijrdeman

Italy

Università Iuav di Venezia IUAV

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
davide bertin
michele prendini

Portugal

The University of Évora, Universidade de Évora

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
joão ribeiro
daniel nunes
elisabete pinho
antónio brancas

Poland

Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (Politechnika Wrocławska)

+22 points Buildner University Rankings!
monika jokiel

United States

sam naylor
elaine stokes

Canada

fang xu
yuxuan jiang
zhi wen sun

Turkey

keremcan kirilmaz
erdem batirbek
 

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