04:_INTEGRATION

The Zero_Ireland Meditation Mine

Nature: Personal Work for competition Role: Main Building Design +50% Graphic Design Competition: Young Architects Competition Collaborators: Yitian Xiao, Zixuan Zhou Date: Jul. 2022-Aug. 2022 Location: Allihies, Ireland

Landmark buildings, as a medium of cultural memory, are the products of history and the present. They reflect the historical characteristics of the construction, preserve the material fragments of memory, and attest to the majestic stories of heroism or ordinariness. At the Ireland Meditation Mine Competition, aiming to turn an Irish industrial archeology masterpiece into a meditation resort, we attempted to create a dialogue between the unique landform and the heritage building.

The project comprises three parts: a comprehensive functional building, an "isolated" meditation center, and a series of residential suites. Through innovation in form and material, the Irish mines' distinctive landforms and heritage architecture, which are key elements, have been incorporated into the design.

Main Buidling Section

The main building is the closest one connected to the heritage building. Viewed from its plane, it takes the “windmill” as the core idea, takes four independent spaces (four windmill blades) as the original point, and then radiates to the surroundings. These four built-in spaces are surrounded by radiated and expanded volumes, thus forming secret and independent meditation spaces within the integrated space. Through the unique trapezoidal shape and the use of red brick materials, it resonates with the heritage, especially its chimney part. By adding an outdoor plank road, the expanded spaces are skillfully connected with the space within the existing historical building.

A series of residential suites include three difffferent divisions of spaces, which meet the needs of three difffferent suites. The material includes splicing of stone, concrete, glass, and metal. The wall close to the mountain is completely covered by stone, while the other side of the house (panoramic glass surface) is mainly made of modern materials.

The meditation center is the purest interpretation of “escape from civilization.” Stripshaped windows at the top of the building make the incoming natural light quieter. The building is partially embedded in the mountain, and its elevation looks like cut rocks, blending with the surrounding natural landforms. Two trapezoidal spaces correspond to the chimney part of the historic building.

Beyond the structural innovation within the architecture, the meditation center also acts as a healer from the suffocating and alienating urban environment. People are expecting a temporary escape from the hustle and bustle and dwell in solitude and silence of intriguing scenarios. We expect the sense of connection between the building, the human body, and nature consolidates the visitors’ identities as escapees from civilization.

Spadina Ave.

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