M2R Arquitectos' design for the Bamyan Cultural Center won the competition, proposing a vital new center for communicating and sharing ideas: not a building-object, but rather a meeting place; a system of spaces in which the imposing landscape of the Buddha Cliffs is intertwined with the cultural activities that the Center will promote. The building, completed in 2021, was not 'built' but rather 'uncovered' by carving it out of the ground. This primal architectural strategy creates a building with minimal impact that is fully integrated into the landscape, takes advantage of the thermal inertia and insulation given by the terrain, and is an ode to local building traditions
The winning project of the UNESCO competition for the Bamyan Cultural Center, in Afghanistan. An architecture intended to emphasize the eternal presence of absence
Following the destruction in 2001by the Taliban of the world's two colossal Buddha statues, the world's largest dating back 1,500 years, UNESCO, with financial support from the government of South Korea, launched an international competition in 2014 for the Bamyan Cultural Center. A center to safeguard the existing heritage and promote the social and cultural development of the region
When visitors arrive at the new Cultural Center, instead of finding a building that imposes itself on the landscape, they first encounter a garden that is open to the entire population of Bamiyan town. Located below grade, the Cultural Center leaves the panoramic view of the Bamiyan Valley and the Buddha Cliffs completely unobstructed. The center's rooftops create viewing platforms where visitors and locals can meet, contemplate the landscape, and browse the Cultural Center's activities
A soft ramp aligned with the now sadly empty niche of the giant Western Buddha statue guides visitors to a plaza that serves as a vital core for the cultural center: an open space for cultural activities. The ramp and plaza spaces are delineated by the Center's three buildings: the Performance and Exhibition Building houses public activities; the Research and Education Building contains semi-public activities; and the Administration Building houses private activities
The interior spaces of the Bamyan Cultural Center are deliberately unadorned to encourage a contemplative and reflective attitude with their austerity. Openings in the attics create lines of light that move following the path of the sun across the sky, giving the visual experience of passing time. The vaulted spaces of the exhibition area are oriented in line with the axis of the Western Buddha niche and frame views toward it, giving a dramatic historical backdrop to contemporary cultural events
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