> 2017
> Eleven Competition  
> Team: Silvia Nanu, Bernadett Csenteri



Living in urban surroundings and light-filled major cities has made us forget what the stars really looks like. We have lost the pure image of the millions of lights glittering in the night-sky and started to pilger into artificial environments simulating what was lost since we turned to the wonders of electrical light.

Starting this competition we wanted to connect the artificial and the natural, find a link between the segment of the stars that we can actually see and the ones that modern since has discovered millions of light-years away.
Taking away the light-pollution caused by urban environment we choose a sight away from modern civilization, already known as an insider tip for star tourism -the Atacama desert. This sequestrated landscape is also a paradise for astronomers since it not only holds the words largest telescope “alma” - short for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array - ALMA Radio Telescope.
The site chosen for the next extremely large telescope build by the European southern observatory in 2023.

The planetarium becomes an experience museum rather than a temple of knowledge.
Linking the natural night sky with the artificial one, the design allows the attended to glimpse the spectacular Atacama desert night on his way up and between the experience rooms. Blending the sky and the ground, the vortexes of our landscape design spiral around actual star constellations, emphasizing the idea that the firmament is not only above but all around you.
The perspective switches from spectator to
Participant, immersing the visitor into the universe, remaking the attenders into space explorers by design.