The Interval Between Arrival and Departure

WINNER [3] of New Zealand Nature Retreat: Antipodes Island

+ WINNER [3]

New Zealand Nature Retreat: Antipodes Island

[7068]

The Interval Between Arrival and Departure

Team

Name: Mohsen Bokaei

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/mohsenbokaei 

Nationality: United States

Institution / Company: MultiStudio

Name: Hossein Amery

Instagram: amery_hossein

Nationality: Germany

Institution / Company: TH OWL (Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe)

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This project is based on transformation rather than construction.

A sailing schooner departs from the nearest wooden shipyard to the Antipodes Islands, in Dunedin, New Zealand. While traveling, it exists only as a vessel. There is no shelter yet. Upon arrival, the means of travel is no longer needed in its original form and begins to change.

At a sheltered bay, the schooner is dismantled and reassembled along the cliffs. Its components shift roles: the mast becomes a vertical structure, ribs become structural elements, deck planks form floors and lightweight access bridges, and sails transition from propulsion to enclosure. When the shelter is fully assembled, the vessel no longer exists. When the vessel exists, the shelter does not. The boundary between the two remains intentionally blurred.The retreat stands only for the duration of use. Nothing is added, and nothing is left behind.
When the stay ends, the transformation is reversed. The shelter disappears, the vessel returns, and the island remains exactly as it was before and after the journey.

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Jury Comments

– Yanyan Zhang

This proposal thoughtfully integrates the retreat/living space with the mode of arrival—the boat—forming a coherent spatial and experiential system. From arrival to occupation and departure, the project leaves no physical trace on the site, demonstrating a highly sensitive response to the local environment. Rather than relying on conventional construction, the scheme invites a reconsideration of the relationship between architecture and nature through transformation and temporality. It reflects a profound understanding that human presence is transient, and that architecture can exist as a respectful guest within the world rather than a permanent imposition.

– Federica Fogazzi

This submission transcends the static nature of construction to offer a journey through space and time. By treating the built environment as a temporal experience rather than a finished object, the designers successfully address the inherent friction between human intervention and its natural long term context.

– Maria Vittoria Delli Carri

Beautiful object and design exercise. On the practical side, I wonder whether it would have been more efficient just staying a boat.

– Olivia Bina

beautiful, poetic, concept of zero footprint but how to flip the boat?!