Winner announced: Bamiyan Cultural Centre competition

An Argentinian team has taken out first prize in the competition to design a new cultural centre in Afghanistan. The cultural centre will sit near the site of the world famous Bamiyan Buddhist statues, which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 after their government declared them to be idolatrous.

The winning scheme by Carlos Nahuel Recabarren, Manuel Alberto Martínez Catalán and Franco Morero was selected from 1070 entries from 117 counties. As the architects describe, the proposal “tries to create not an object-building but rather a meeting place.” The design consists of a system of negative spaces, where the impressive landscape of the Buddha Cliffs, where the statues once stood, intertwine with the rich cultural activity the centre is intended to foster.

The single-stage competition was organised by the UNESCO and the Government of Afghanistan. The objective of the project is to help foster Afghan unity and promote cross-cultural awareness among the diverse ethnic groups in the region.

The jury described the wide hallways of the winning proposal as "elegant."

The jury described the wide hallways of the winning proposal as “elegant.”

The jury praised the scheme for its sensitive site strategy, particularly the integration of the building as part of the landscape. It also acknowledged other merits, including a well conceived plan for public programs; spatial organisation separating the exhibition activities from research and educational activities; the elegance of the entry sequence and passageways that could double as informal meeting spaces or additional gallery spaces; and the expression of its brick construction in the internal spaces.

Exhibition spaces inside the winning proposal for Bamiyan Cultural Centre.

Exhibition spaces inside the winning proposal for Bamiyan Cultural Centre.

The winning design has been endorsed by the Afghan President HE Ashraf Ghani. Furthermore, the Afghan government will set up a national-wide cultural program – including archeological surveys, creative industry programs and targeted activities to safeguard minority rights – in an effort to valorise the country’s rich cultural diversity.

The Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture, together with UNESCO and with financial support from the Republic of Korea, will construct the US$2.5 million building over a two year period.

The winning design team was awarded US$25,000. Four runner ups, including a teams from Turkey, France, The Netherlands and New Zealand/Cyprus, were awarded US$8,000 each.

The international jury included: Zahara Bereshna (architect, Afghanistan), Young Joon Kim (architect and coordinator of the Paju Book City, Korea), Robert Knox (curator, Canada/United Kingdom), Elizabeth O’Donnell (architect, Acting Dean of The Cooper Union, USA), Ajmal Maiwandi (architect, CEO of the Agha Khan Trust for Culture, Afghanistan), Jukka Jokilehto (Special Advisor to the Director-General of ICCROM, Member of International Council on Monuments and Sites) and Cameron Sinclair (architect, Executive Director, Jolie-Pitt Foundation, co-founder of Architecture for Humanity).

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