YAC - Young Architects Competitions - launches CULTURE STATIONS, a competition of ideas for a regeneration of Elini and its surroundings at the heart of  Sardinia, one of the most amazing islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Contestants will be asked to reinterpret ancient railway infrastructures in terms of culture and tourism, considering a general mood of  “sweet mobility” and “slow tourism”.

The cash prize of €15,000 will be distributed to the winning proposals selected by an international jury panel made of, among the others Ricardo Bofill, (Giuseppe Zampieri) David Chipperfield, David Telerman, Marijn Schenk (NEXT Architects), Edoardo Tresoldi.

Brief

Two centuries have gone by since the time when locomotives were considered the highest achievement of science. Even so, stations – ancient stations – still exert a timeless fascination. 

Slow and noisy, located in wild and remote scenarios, many stations are not in use anymore, leaving behind breath-taking landscapes crossed by rusty cast iron strips and scattered with vernacular structures.

Rail infrastructures have long been neglected or abandoned, far from being object of architecture projects, as they are linked to a form of transportation that was considered obsolete and incompatible with the speed of modern times. 

Today, however, a new sensitivity seems to be reopening the debate on the future of this heritage. Expressions like “sweet mobility” and “slow tourism” show a new desire for quiet, for a future in which life will not be all about speed and progress anymore. 

In this future, old stations will have an important role to play. 

What can we imagine for old stations then? How can we transform the small towns on their path?

These are the questions of Culture stations, a competition organized by YAC and the Municipality of Elini, to reinterpret ancient railway infrastructures in terms of culture and tourism, considering them as opportunities for the areas they cross. Leaving aside their original functions and embracing a new cultural purpose, designers have endless possibilities: stations as museums, “case cantoniere” (roadmen’s houses) as accommodation, storehouses as ateliers, railway parks as open-air theatres, bridges and galleries as exhibition spaces. 

The system of railway infrastructures of Elini is surrounded by art and culture, therefore this is a unique opportunity to create evocative itineraries for travellers who want to discover remote places, contemplate a moving landscape, and enjoy creative avant-garde artworks, accompanied by the rattling of an old locomotive. 

Jury

Ricardo Bofill

(Giuseppe Zampieri) David Chipperfield

David Telerman

Marijn Schenk (NEXT Architects)

Edoardo Tresoldi

Antonio de Rossi (Politecnico di Torino)

Matteo Agnoletto 

Paola Candiani (FAI - Fondo Ambiente Italiano)

Monica Stochino (MIBAC)

Mario Luigi Carcassi (Regione Sardegna)

Stefania Aru (Regione Sardegna)

Alessandra Casu (Università degli Studi  di Sassari)

Prizes

1st Prize 8.000 €  

2nd Prize 4.000 €

3rd Prize 2 .000 €

2 Gold Mentions 500 € each

10 Honorable Mentions

30 Finalist Mentions

Calendar

14/06/2021  “early bird” registrations-  start

11/07/2021 (h 23.59 GMT) “early bird” registrations-  end

12/07/2021  “standard” registrations-  start

08/08/2021 (h 23.59 GMT) “standard” registrations-  end

09/08/2021 “late” registrations-  start

05/09/2021 (h 23.59 GMT) “late” registrations-  end

08/09/2021  (h 12.00- Midday- GMT) Materials submission deadline

More information can be found at Young Architects Competitions' website.  

Contact: [email protected].

Top image courtesy of YAC.

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