Bee Breeders Architecture Competitions has announced winners for the Great Kemeri Bog Visitor Center architecture competition invited participants to submit designs for an iconic entryway to Latvia’s Kemeri National Park. 

The second in a series of competitions to focus on one of the largest national parks in Europe, participants tasked with creating a unique and functional entranceway to the park that was in keeping with the park’s identity and could be constructed out of durable materials.

The jury selected winning designs that had the potential to become landmarks for both the park and for Latvia, such as the first prize winning entry from Jan Tomas Ciesla, Miroslav Krátký, and Iva Potůčková from the Czech Republic. The project’s rectangular-bar form effectively creates a simple yet striking entranceway to the park. Its use of natural materials and the varied layout of its vertical facade module five it a natural aesthetic in keeping with its surroundings.

Second and third-place prizes went to teams from Uruguay and France respectively. The Forest Pond project from the Uruguay team of Rodrigo Zagarzazu, Lucia Rehermann, Renzo Bonina, and Christian Flores was chosen for its simple, strong, circular form with a visually permeable facade of timber posts. Sauvineau Florent’s Scape Architecture project won third prize for its use of a repeatable and constructable module that manages to create an organic, landscape-like form.

Student award went to Aleksandra Kubiak and Marta Buchner from the Warsaw University of Technology and Green award went to Dalya Ortak and Jinsoo Kim from Germany.

See the winning projects below with short jury comments:

1st prize: Jan Tomas Ciesla, Miroslav Krátký, and Iva Potůčková from the Czech Republic

Jury comments:

"This project is perhaps the most effective at establishing a gateway to the Great Kemeri Bog. The rectangular-bar form set perpendicular to the entry drive firmly separates the vehicular entry from the camping grounds and pedestrian network of pathways, and filters visitors through a single access point that also becomes the starting point for the bog’s network of wooden boardwalks. The sectional drawing expresses the project’s constructability, and the interior images reflect its simple use of natural materials. The varied layout of its vertical facade module gives the otherwise harsh block form a more natural aesthetic that is clearly related to the trees of the surrounding forest."

Read interview with the 1st prize winners

2nd prize: A Forest Pond by Rodrigo Zagarzazú, Lucia Rehermann, Renzo Bonina, Christian Flores from Uruguay

Jury comments:

"The project stood out to the jury for its simple, strong form. The circular visitor center’s repetitive and visually permeable facade of timber posts both connects to the surrounding site and encloses a space which monumentalises the relationship of the site with water. The central exterior space offers a quiet meditative area that focuses on the pond and the sky, yet it also has the potential to be used for group events. The walkable roof offers special views of the park. The drawings and images are extremely effective at describing the circular form’s minimal disruption to the site. While the building’s central location on the site clearly sets it apart from the parking and within a natural ‘reservation area’, the jury would recommend the designer to further consider the building’s access from the car park and drive, as well as its connection to the bog boardwalk."

Read interview with the 2nd prize winners

3rd prize: Scape Architecture by Sauvineau Florent from France 

Jury comments:

"The design is commended for its use of a repeatable and constructable module that manages to create an organic, landscape-like form. The project proposes a burned-wood cladding that fortifies it against Latvia’s variable weather, and interiors of natural wood that connect it well with its forest surroundings. The section drawings and details are especially well-considered for modularity and construction using sustainable materials. The building’s plan form strongly establishes a central gathering space, however the jury questions the vertical pitches and dips and wonders if the geometry might rather relate more strongly to its internal program. The project certainly has the potential to become a park landmark."

Read interview with the 3rd prize winners

BB Green Award: Kemeri Bog Visitor Center by Dalya Ortak, Jinsoo Kim from Germany

Read full interview with BB Green Award winners 

BB Student Award: Great Kemeri Bog Visitor Center by Aleksandra Kubiak, Marta Buchner from Poland

Read full interview with BB Student Award winners

See Bee Breeders' next competitions and other competitions here. 

All images courtesy of Bee Breeders Architecture Competitions

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