The proposal of Alliance Francaise was shortlisted for the final stage of the competition. The building is a celebration of all what we have inherited and what we are today. It has to be experienced and enjoyed. The building belongs to the century in which it will be built, spanning two cultures and two technologies effortlessly. We hope it will be enjoyed by its users who will experience its changing moods and nuances, its architectural geometry and its ethos as it entices the visitor and student into its portals of learning. We hope they will leave the richer for it as we certainly have been enriched by working on it.
Bamiyan Cultural Centre, Afghanistan, by Ahmet Balkan Architects
The proposed runner-up proposal for Bamiyan Cultural Centre (competition by UNESCO and Ministry of Information and Culture of Afghanistan), designed by Ahmet Balkan Architects, is an open landscape building with the idea of unity enhanced by simplicity and silence.