The call for ideas EXTINCTION MUSEUM was launched by YAC aiming to imagine in the ancient crater of a quiescent volcano a museum to display the last mass extinction – the extinction of dinosaurs- and inform about the current threats for living species.
An outstanding jury panel including Carmine Annicchiarico (WWF ITALIA), Lars Almgren
(DORTE MANDRUP), Seul Lee (SNØHETTA), Simon Frommenwiler (HHF Architects), Fabrizio Canonivo (Oasi WWF cratere degli astroni), Ornella Zerlenga (Università degli studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli), Giulio Rigoni (BIG- Bjarke Ingels Group), Catello Pasinetti (MIBACT) and Atelier Alter evaluated the project proposals selecting those better responding to the competition’s brief. The winning projects have been awarded with a total cash prize of €15.000 distributed to the first five teams ranking.
WINNERS
1ST PLACE
Aleksei Sofinskii
Russia
In particular, the Russian team Aisof ranked first and was rewarded with €8.000. The project was made by Aleksei Sofinskii focused on a museum built in an ancient crater near Naples, integrating into this place as delicately as possible, minimally affecting the precious natural formation. The exhibition chronologically shows the stages of extinction on earth, beginning with mighty elder dinosaurs and ending with the dramatic object of a human skull lying on a pile of plastic rubbish. In this sense, the building has been designed using sustainable materials such as rammed earth as the main wall material and glued timber beams of recycled wood.
2ND PLACE
Víctor Moisés Fonseca Gaspar, Lizet Ledesma Urquieta and Daniel Abraham Corona Bautista
Mexico
The second prize of €4.000 was awarded to the Mexican team e.suspensivos featuring Víctor Moisés Fonseca Gaspar, Lizet Ledesma Urquieta and Daniel Abraham Corona Bautista, recalling the interaction between the human being and extinct species through excavations in the earth, they built a series of craters that function as exhibition spaces, which are articulated through tunnels, pointing out the importance of walking as part of the first architecture. The museum seeks to merge with the landscape with open-air exhibition spaces generating a wild, natural and prehistoric atmosphere.
3RD PLACE
Thanh Quy Ngo, Hoai Nam Nguyen Cao, Huynh Duyen Nguyen, Hoang Bao Pham Nguyen and Nhat Tan Van
Vietnam
The team U.A.DLab from Vietnam ranked third and won a cash prize of €2.000 with a project proposal submitted by Thanh Quy Ngo, Hoai Nam Nguyen Cao, Huynh Duyen Nguyen, Hoang Bao Pham Nguyen and Nhat Tan Van that based their project on “Nature’s nature” and “Human nature”. Through the last one, they would like to propose a method of sightseeing based on curiosity, introducing visitors to the role of a natural researcher. After passing the sightseeing journey, people can admire nature with different perspective through the “temple of perception”. One feature is a space conceived as if it were a reflection of the dust created by human history in an effort to explore and conquer nature, and a sense of a 6th mass extinction caused by human hands.
GOLDEN MENTIONS
Yanging Wang, Qihong Lin, Shilan Yu, Shan Wang and Moye Guo
China
The Gold Mentions rewarded with €500 each follow in the ranking: the Chinese team ArchMASS featuring Yanging Wang, Qihong Lin, Shilan Yu, Shan Wang and Moye Guo based their project on the Ark which will serve as a new “shelter” for these species that should have survived. The curved solid hull is raised from the ground by a wooden frame below, reducing the impact on this pristine forest and giving the impression that an ark is being built, symbolizing the need to prepare for a possible disaster. The Ark faces the lake and backs up to the hillside, from where visitors enter the museum. Upon entering, they get to the central part of the atrium, where the natural skylight creates a mysterious atmosphere for the main exhibition hall, while the undulating interior walls of the museum building are inspired by sails of the boat.
Violetta Breda, Suzan Calisir, Salvatore Borghese, Mattia Festa and Martino Felice Cucurnia
Italy
The second Gold Mention was allocated to the team Architempore from Italy featuring Violetta Breda, Suzan Calisir, Salvatore Borghese, Mattia Festa and Martino Felice Cucurnia; their project tells a story of dinosaurs, mysteries, life and death. Through different paths, visitors can immerse themselves in the discovery of History: the dinosaurs’, the site’s unique territory and human civilization, meeting with different points of discovery and connection, which therefore offer a 360-degree view of the area. An oculus containing museum, auditorium, restaurant and other spaces. It is a circumference that recalls the crater, but also the footprints of meteorites. The project develops following the concept of the footprint.
Follow in the ranking 10 Honorable and 30 Finalist Mentions, published on YAC’s website: https://www.youngarchitectscompetitions.com/past-competitions/extinction-museum
