Bee Breeders announces the winning projects for the Pavilosta Poet Huts competition

Organized by Bee Breeders, the Pavilosta Poet Huts competition challenged designers to submit proposals for a writers community in the small coastal fishing village of Pavilosta, Latvia. Known for its beaches and local fishing industry, the Pavilosta competition sought designs for a small writers retreat. Designers were asked to design "Huts" that housed basic amenities like a bed, desk, kitchenette, washing station, and storage. 

Submissions included a range of building typologies, such as isolated cabins scattered across the site, single buildings focused on the community experience, and even towers offering views to the surrounding region. Upon review of the materials, the jury members selected a set of winners that offered strong proposals for communal complexes that captured both the ability for writers to work in isolation, as well as interact with fellow visitors.

Below is a list of the competition winners and their winning projects.

1st Prize Winner + BB Student Award
"A garden within a garden" by Daniel Brigginshaw

Jury Comments: "A garden within a garden’ references traditional Baltic architecture using local materials such as timber, and resourceful building methods. The design collects all of the program within a single structure. It offers a distinctly modern rectangular block form, articulated by a grid of vertical and horizontal lines of alternating thicknesses giving hierarchy to the form. The facade is defined by a square clerestory window set on horizontally-oriented rectangular facade panels. The project’s take on a courtyard-building typology lends to its intent on creating a sense of community for users. It intelligently mixes interior and exterior spaces under a common roof, and provides views to both the interior shared space of the courtyard and the exterior site."

2nd Prize Winner
"Enclosures" by Linnéa Holmberg, Maria Torrent, and Karl Zetterholm

Jury Comments: "Enclosures’ also considers the writer as a worker that requires both isolation and community. The proposal places a single building in the center of the site, enclosing a garden with a large tree and meditation zone. The approximately circular form features a low profile with a pitched roof that covers a corridor on the interior side of the ring. The design uses a glulam primary structure clad with heartwood and plywood. In plan, enclosed spaces are interspersed with exterior covered terraces that offer permeability."

3rd Prize Winner
"The Pitch Hut" by Katharina Kocol and Olga Bialczak

Jury Comments: "This proposal offers a unique formal organization defined by two bars of program connected by a linear circulation space, like two bands of buildings facing an internal street. The first houses writers’ accommodations; the second is filled with shared program as well as host accommodations. As with the other winning proposals, ‘The Pitch Hut’ mixes internal spaces with external decks. Each writer’s hut contains a large vertical window offering exterior views, and a horizontal window paired with a desk for views to a private terrace."

BB Green Award Winner
"Scrivum" by Margaux Loubser

To learn more about the competition's honorable mentions and other details about the projects listed above click here.