An Anglo-Korean design concept entitled ‘Square Moon’ has been selected as the overall winner of the Yeats 2015 Architectural Competition.
The announcement was made at the official launch of Yeats Day 2015 at the Model in Sligo.
The winning concept (see picture), inspired by WB Yeats’ poem ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’, was submitted by Shindesignworks – an Anglo-Korean architecture design team based in London and Daegu, South Korea. Architects Yong ho Shin and John Randle lead a small professional design unit specialising in exploring innovative concepts and developing advanced proposals in the field of architectural, environmental and industrial design.
Their submission, which is an aluminium-scaled frame and uses luminous lantern light, impressed the independent judging panel for its clarity and simplicity.
The Yeats Architectural competition was conceived by the Institute of Technology Sligo Architectural Design Programme team, Cliona Brady, Bernadette Donohoe and Michael Roulston, in partnership with the Model Sligo, Yeats 2015, Hazelwood Demesne Ltd and Sligo County Council.
In January this year, conceptual interpretations were invited of WB Yeats’ famous poem ‘The Lake isle of Innisfree’. The competition attracted strong international interest with 110 entries from 33 countries meeting the stringent competition criteria to be assessed for the main award.
The student category award was won by Zita Fodor, Nóra Ferenczi and Éva Baráth, from Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Hungary.
The overall winning design will be temporarily installed along the jetty area of Isle of Innisfree on Lough Gill for Yeats Day, June 13th this year, as a realisation of Yeats’ vision – a gift on his 150th birthday. This temporary installation will also coincide with a series of special events at the Model in Sligo.
The structure will then be moved to its permanent home – on the campus of IT Sligo.
“As one of the principal backers of the competition, the Institute is delighted to help create an important cultural legacy in this very special year for Yeats celebration,” said Professor Vincent Cunnane, President of IT Sligo.
“We’re honoured to be the permanent home for this new creative installation. It’s the Institute’s hope that its presence on our campus will help foster an enduring connection with Yeats amongst our young student population.”
The competition is part of the Yeats2015 celebrations – a year-long programme of cultural and artistic events to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Irish Nobel prize-winning poet William Butler Yeats.
‘’We welcome this ground-breaking architectural event in the year of Yeats2015,” said Ian Brannigan, CEO and Head of Regional Development at the Western Development Commission (WDC). “The international reach of such a venture amply demonstrates the West of Ireland as a veritable global creative region.’’
Selected competition entries from the Yeats Architectural Competition will also be on display as part of special exhibition in the Model, Sligo during September and October.
For more information, visit the competition website: www.yeats2015-architecture-competition.com.
For more details on Yeats2015, visit www.yeats2015.com.
Photo Caption:
A conceptual image of the winning submission entitled ‘Square Moon’, submitted by Shindesignworks, which will be temporarily constructed on the Lake Isle of Innisfree in Sligo for Yeats Day (June 13th).
List of main prizewinners
Main Competition
Overall Winner Shindesignworks, London/Daegu (South Korea)
Highly Commended AP+E – Architecture Practice + Experimentation,
Copenhagen, Denmark
Highly Commended time[scape]lab – Tennessee, USA
Commended Nós Workshop, Dublin, Ireland
Commended Samuel Little, London, UK
Student Conceptual Competition
Overall Winner Zita Fodor, Nóra Ferenczi and Éva Baráth, Budapest University
of Technology and Economics, Hungary
Highly Commended Andras Dankhazi, Graduate, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland
Highly Commended Creative Leap Collective, University of the West of England,
Bristol, UK
Highly Commended Conor English, Henry Forbes & Matthew McCallum, Dundee
School of Architecture, Dundee, Scotland, UK
Highly Commended Rachel Delargy, Queens University Belfast graduate, Belfast