YAC - Young Architects Competitions is calling for ideas for its new "Military Museum" competition, aiming to transform the Military Fortress of Capo d’Orso in Palau (Sardinia) into a museum of the military, marine and navigation history.

YAC and the Italian Government have collaborated on the “Military Museum”, an architectural competition to re-purpose a breathtaking military fortress in Sardinia into an international hub dedicated to the military history. A cash prize of € 20,000 will be awarded to the winners selected by a well-renowned jury made of, among the others, Fuensanta Nieto from Nieto Sobejano, Rossana Hu of Neri&Hu, Todd Saunders of Saunders Architecture, Edoardo Tresoldi, Livia Tani from Ateliers Jean Nouvel. 

Competition brief

There are places in which history is extremely meaningful. There are spaces where memory becomes nearly physical, tangible and where the memory of the past is stunningly real and intensively present.

The military fortress of Capo d’Orso in Palau is one of these places. It is sculpted in the granite of a monumental coast. From its bastions, the luxurious yachts sailing in the Mediterranean Sea evoke the English galleons, which chased the Napoleonic fleet in the same sea stretch centuries ago.

Here wars have ended, soldiers are gone. However, the barracks, the shooting stations, the arsenals have lived on. They are forgotten architectures that have survived their own purpose. They are the legacy of difficult times when the pages of history were written by the steel of bayonets and cannons. To a certain extent, it is a history that is too recent and too hard to tell. However, it is crucial to pass this history on to the new generations.

That is the reason why Military Museum was launched. This is a YAC competition in collaboration with the Italian Government in order to transform the Military Fortress of Capo d’Orso into a museum of the military, marine and navigation history. It will be a place where the account of the events that occurred in this sea stretch can originate one of the most fascinating museums of the Mediterranean. It will attract the millions of tourists who crowd these coasts every year. It will be the new foundation to build a civilization of peace and solidarity.

How to transform war architectures into new tourist and cultural architectures? How to harmonize a past of conflicts with a present of entertainment and escapism?

This is the challenge of Military Museum. This competition will offer designers the opportunity to design the most important center for the discovery of the Military History. It will be a place where to get involved with the account of ancient events and a time when the sea was tamed by the sweat of man and the roaring of cannons. 

Renewed by culture and new architectures, the fortress of Capo d’Orso will no longer serve the logic of violence. It will rather enrich the contemporary society by giving the world one of the most fascinating museums of Europe. This museum will be set among the rocks of wild nature and located in one of the most majestic landscapes of the Mediterranean.

Jury

Fuensanta Nieto (Nieto Sobejano)

Rossana Hu (Neri&Hu)

Todd Saunders (Saunders Architecture)

Edoardo Tresoldi

Livia Tani (Ateliers Jean Nouvel)

Giovanni Zito (Italian Government)

Daniela Scudino (SABAP Sassari e Nuoro)

Antonella Giglio (Regione Autonoma Sardegna)

Teresa di Giorgio (Municipality of Palau)

Donatella Fiorino (University of Cagliari)

Prizes

1st prize: 10.000 € 

2nd prize 4.000 € 

3rd prize 2.000 €

4 Gold Mentions 1.000 € each 

10 Honorable Mentions

30 Finalists

Calendar

March 26, 2018 “early bird” registration – start 

April 22, 2018 (h 11.59 pm GMT) “early bird” registration – end

April 23, 2018 “standard” registration – start

May 20, 2018 (h 11.59 pm GMT) “standard” registration – end

May 21, 2018 “late” registration – start

June 17, 2018 (h 11.59 pm GMT) “late” registration – end

June 20, 2018 (h 12.00 pm – midday - GMT) material submission deadline

All drawings, photos and detailed competition brief can be downloaded from YAC's competition website.

All images courtesy of YAC

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