YAC and Dartagnans Launch Tree House Competition in Loire Castles

YAC – Young Architects Competitions and Dartagnans, a European crowdfunding platform for French heritage, have launched an international call for young architects to design a tree house in the forest of a Loire castle. The competition, titled Tree House Module, aims to create a fantasy refuge that reconnects visitors with nature and authenticity in post-pandemic travel. The tree house will be built within the parks of castles owned by Dartagnans, including Château de la Mothe Chandeniers, which was crowdfunded with over €1.6 million from 27,910 participants across 115 countries, and Château Ebaupinay in Deux-Sèvres (Nouvelle-Aquitaine), acquired in September 2018. The romantic settings also include Château de Vibrac in Cognac lands. Architects must define two tree house models to promote slow, immersive tourism in rural contexts. The first prize is €8,000 and project realization; total prize pool is €15,000 distributed among top three and honorable mentions. The jury includes Patrick Lüth (Snohetta Austria), Giulio Rigoni (BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, New York), Espen Surnevik (Espen Surnevik Studio), Peter Pichler (Peter Pichler Architecture, Milan), Matthew Johnson (Diller Scofidio + Renfro, New York), Tue Hesselberg Foged (Effekt, Denmark), Marco Lavit (ESA Paris, Atelier Lavit), Romain Delaume (Dartagnans), Paolo Tranquillini (Starpool), and Angelo Luigi Marchetti (Marlegno). Registration closes June 21, 2020.