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Design of Visitor Facilities
at the Giant's Causeway
Northern Ireland
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The British Government in Northern Ireland launched an international project competition, in a single stage, for the design of visitor facilities set in the landscape of the Giant's Causeway, situated on the northern coast of Country Antrim.
The competition was open to architects in the European Union countries.
In conformity with the UNESCO-UIA regulations, this competition was approved by the International Union of Architects (UIA).
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OBJECTIVES AND PROGRAMME
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In April 2003, the Ministry for Enterprise, Trade and Investment and the Ministry for the Environment decided to launch an international competition for the development of the new visitor facilities at the Giant's Causeway site, registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986. The natural beauty, geological interest and mythological connotations of this legendary site attract some 400 000 visitors every year.
The aim of the competition was to provide world class visitor facilities of outstanding architectural quality, sensitively integrated into the landscape. The design was to be environmentally and financially sustainable and allow for its harmonious future development in association with the local community.
Competitors were required to design visitor facilities of an overall area of 1 800 m2 including:
• Educational facilities (permanent and temporary exhibition spaces, class rooms, a theatre, etc…);
• Retail facilities;
• Catering facilities;
• A tourism information centre;
• Services corresponding to these facilities;
• Administration areas.
In addition, a car parking area was to be integrated and access and modes of transportation were to be redefined in relation to the new facilities. Competitors were also invited to make proposals for the open-air public spaces, and suggest on site modes of transport adapted to its status as a protected area. Projects were to take into account the unique nature of the site and its sensitive environment, guaranteeing its conservation and enhancement.
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JURY
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Under the presidency of Juhani Pallasmaa, architect, Finland, the international jury was comprised of Jochen Brandi, architect, Germany, Mario Cucinella, architect, Italy, UIA representative, Peter Hunter, architect, United Kingdom, Duncan Lewis, architect, France, Aidan McGrath, architect, appointed by the Royal Society of Ulster Architects – RSUA, Bruce Robinson, permanent secretary to the Department of Enterprise, Trade et Investment, Northern Ireland. Two deputy members also sat on the jury: Claude Godeffroy, architect, France, UIA representative, and Frank McCloskey, Northern Ireland, representing the promoter of the competition.
The jury met in Belfast from 21 to 26 August 2005 and examined the 201 entries. The jury appreciated the wide variety of architectural approaches and the excellent quality of the projects as a whole as well as the innovative interpretation of the programme and the objectives.
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PRIZES
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THE WINNING PROJECT
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The project exuded a simple and quiet monumentality evoking a strong sense of drama and expectation that corresponds to requirements expressed in the programme. The entry is based on the fundamentally simple and elegant move in the contour of the terrain and consists of a fold of the grass-covered slope and its counterpart. A cut on the slope forms the car-parking plane. The design responds to the elemental power within the geological formation of the site with scale and grandeur. The author succeeded in providing a solution with no visual or physical disturbance to the very important horizon line of the ridge.
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Paris, 20 October 2005
Roisin Heneghan, Heneghan Peng Architects.
