This post is sponsored by TerraViva Competitions

With the aim of imagining a museum capable of breaking with the conventions of the traditional, the challenge of this competition was to integrate an accommodation program in the heart of the Nivola Museum’s park. Competitors were therefore asked to imagine and design creative and unconventional proposals to host those tourists intent on traveling through the Sardinian inland, and the international artists who periodically reach the museum to set up their own exhibitions.

The awarded projects were able to interpret the context in a highly sensitive way, experimenting with different architectural approaches capable of creating unique and original scenarios. It is clear to notice that both the history of Costantino Nivola and his works of art as well as the natural features of the site have been key factors in the design of the best proposals. 

Organized by TerraViva Competitions, in collaboration with the Nivola Museum, the competition was open to students, architects, designers, artists, makers, activists, and anyone interested in the fields of design and architecture. 

The winners were selected by an international jury panel composed of:

• Stefano Boeri (Stefano Boeri Architetti | Milan)
• Carl Stein (Elemental Architecture LLC | New York) 
• Arthur Chang (NADAAA | Boston)
• Nicolás Campodonico (Nicolás Campodonico | Rosario)
• Claudia Magri (Topotek 1 | Berlin)
• Luis Gallego Pachón (Paredes Pedrosa | Madrid)
• Ilaria Positano (One O One Architects | Seoul)
• Angelo Michele Pagano (Studio O | Berlin)

1st Prize
“A night at the museum” — Project by Tatiana Skorduli (Russia)

Details: "The heritage of the italian artist Costantino Nivola is concentrated in his homeland, Orani. The Nivola museum’s collection is growing and the body of the museum are constantly expanding. Both the museum's program and new contemporary features are being integrated: ‘today the Nivola art collection is becoming more and more the cultural and social reference point of the town and the entire surrounding region’, as stated in the brief. The large territory of the Sardinian olive grove overlooking the panorama of the city of Orani is perceived not only as an opportunity to accommodate tourists-visitors overnight and thereby keep them in the area. In my proposal, this area is primarily an extension of the museum, and the main function remains to exhibit the magnificent works of art of Nivola but in a more natural environment — in the open air among the olive trees. As the art garden in his courtyard on Long Island. For each sculpture, I propose a special stylobate that emphasizes and articulates the sculpture. And the rooms are located in the thickness of this stylobate."

"A night at the museum is a unique experience. A night at the museum should be remembered as something special. Therefore, I do not strive to comply with the standards and rules for designing rooms for daily rent, but on the contrary, I try to get away from the usual forms, inscribing the living space in the 'backroom' of the museum. Each room has a window towards the city and a door yet to be found."

"In my proposal, 7 artifacts are presented, loosely placed on the territory, depending on the relief, view axes and the location of olive trees. Living spaces are hidden in five artifacts, the remaining two are common spaces intended for leisure and communication of guests, social and cultural events etc. The stage with a breath-taking view of the city serves as a platform for performances not only in the museum, but also for the commune of Orani."

2nd Prize
"Almost Commemorative" — Project by Maple Lin, Xinwei Chen (USA, China)

Details: "[the monumental — the ordinary] the new spatial condition is the transformation of the ordinary to the monumental. as the act of mining lose its substantial value, it becomes a symbol. While the museum celebrates commemorative significance as a form of monument that is differentiated from the ordinary, the project proposes an alternate interpretation of the confrontation between the ordinary and the monumental: apposition. the present ordinary is captured within the form of monumental, where both are given commemorative significance, where the otherwise unrecognized ordinary becomes just as memorable as the monumental."

"[the object — the non-object] when the ordinary and the monumental are confined by the same spatial dimension, monumentality is no longer defined by scale, but solely by its properties as an object. as the regular grid cuts into the hill, individual monoliths are extracted. these monoliths become objects while voided unitary space within the grid becomes non-object."

"[the appreciated — the experienced] the grid that cuts into terrain creates two realms. it defines, within itself, identically dimensioned space created from excavation - the experienced realm. here, spaces are experienced in the form of ordinary wander and encounters. spiral stairs in some of the courtyards connect the experienced realm to the upper platform — the appreciated realm. here the monoliths are monuments, protected, controlled, to be viewed at distance. it is a living museum where sculpted monoliths anchor the two realms: the ordinary 'living' experienced in space within the grid coupled with the monumental 'museum' above where objects are appreciated."

3rd Prize
"Becoming Landscapes" — Project by Associates Architecture (Italy) 

Details: "The proposal for the Nivola Museum's accommodation facility is the result of a careful study of the site, of its history and of the analysis of the spontaneous architecture that dots and has dotted the Sardinian hinterland for centuries. This Architecture is characterised by a strong introverted and defensive character, based on the profound bond between man and the land. It is precisely this link between man and land that gives rise to the idea of designing a reception structure that allows the user to live the authentic and symbolic experience of descending into the bowels of the earth."

"A long retaining wall, built using the local raw earth construction system, unfolds like a line that follows the curves of the land. The line physically and metaphorically connects the museum to the pre-existing dry-stone wall, where a small cavea for outdoor meetings has been added."

"Our intention is to design a narrative sequence of experiences that have to do with the memory of these places. Leaving the museum square to the south, one finds himself in a walk among the many olive trees, in which one can recognize stairs leading up to the rooms. Descending symbolically and physically into earth, we find ourselves inside rooms that have a relation with the outside, framing the landscape. The project does not insist on defining a particular form, but rather conceives architecture as a question of relationships generated by geometry and perceptions. An architecture conceived to disappear and become landscape." 

Golden and Honorable Mentions

Golden Mention "Richard Ingersoll"
"Zarra Pavillions" by Edoardo Daniele Stuggiu, Enrico Vito Sciannameo (Italy)

Golden Mention “Richard Ingersoll”
"Making Retreat" by Man Yan Milly Lam, Ziwei Paula Liu (Hong Kong, China) 

Golden Mention “Richard Ingersoll”
"Living Studioli" by Marlene Sophie Mezger, Sophie Marie Schmidt, Natalia Wyrwa (Germany, Poland)

Golden Mention “Richard Ingersoll”
"Standing stones" by Louis Bauchet, Julie Siol (France)

Honorable Mention
"Inhabit the Edge" by Benedetta Badiali, Gloria Aiolfi (Italy)

Honorable Mention
"Porte Aperte" by Silvia Diaz, Emma Filippides, Quinn Giroux, Benjamin Rea (Italy, UK, USA)

Honorable Mention
"ground//cut" by Zsuzsa Peter (Romania)

Honorable Mention
"Casted Cabins" by Daniel Asoli, Nathaniel Banks, Yidian Liu, Dongmin Shin (USA/Italy, UK, China, South Korea)

Honorable Mention
"Working Materials" by Karine Szekeres, Nicolas Wicart, Klaudia Adamiak (Belgium)

Honorable Mention
"Living Museums" by Natasha Lvova (Russia)

Honorable Mention
"Folding Connection" by Martino Bonfioli, Carlo Giovanni Bernyak (Italy)

Honorable Mention
"To (Gather) Orani" by Maria Arez Lopes, Sarah Malinowski, Vicente Mateus (Portugal, Germany)

Honorable Mention
"La Sophia" by Juan Pablo Lopez Isabella (Uruguay)

Honorable Mention
"Under" by Sébastien Bonnerot (France) 

To learn more about the competition and its winners click here.