The eternal presence of absence, Bamyan Cultural Center.

An architectural project with minimal visual impact on the territory

The project for the Bamyan Cultural Center by M2R Arquitectos wins the competition, proposing a new vital center for communicating and sharing ideas: not a building-object, but rather a meeting place; a system of spaces where the imposing landscape of the Buddha cliffs intertwines with the cultural activities that the Center will promote.
The building, completed in 2021, was not 'constructed' but rather 'discovered' by carving it out of the ground. This proposed solution, unlike other architectural projects presented, aims to create a building with minimal impact that fully integrates into the landscape, utilizing the thermal inertia and insulation of the ground while also representing a true homage to local building traditions.

Open Space for Landscape and Culture

When visitors face the new Cultural Center, instead of being overwhelmed by a building that imposes itself on the landscape, they first encounter an open garden that harmoniously welcomes the entire population of the city of Bamiyan. The Cultural Center, which develops its interiors below the access level, leaves room for a panoramic view of the Bamiyan valley and the Buddha cliffs.
Moreover, it is the roofs of the center that create suggestive panoramic platforms where visitors and local residents can meet, contemplate the landscape, and explore the activities of the Cultural Center.

Three buildings that structure the cultural center

A gentle ramp, aligned with the now sadly empty niche of the statue of the giant Western Buddha, guides the visitor towards a square that serves as the vital core of the cultural center: an open space for cultural activities.
The spaces of the ramp and the square are delineated by the three buildings of the Center: in the Performance and Exhibition Building public activities are hosted; the Research and Education Building contains semi-public activities, and the administrative 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