Qatar: architecture (without) restrictions
29.08.18 22:04
September 2 is Qatar Day at Strelka. During the conference “Qatar: Architecture (Un)Constrained,” Qatar's leading architects and urban planners will discuss how they take advantage of their investment opportunities, the engineering constraints imposed by the climate, and how the oil economy and tradition influence architectural trends.
The conference is being held as part of the Cross Year of Culture between Qatar and Russia 2018 with the support of the Barwa group of companies.
At the lecture "Past, future and present of Qatar's architecture" Ibrahim Mohamed I Jaidah, CEO of the Arab Engineering Bureau Qatar and project manager of the Fire Station gallery, transforming neighborhoods in the city of Lusail and the stadium for the 2022 World Cup in the form of the national headdress - keffiyeh, will talk about how the architecture of Qatar from pre-
oil to the post-oil era, and whether it is possible to build a glass skyscraper while maintaining traditions.
At the lecture "Architecture between tradition and modernity" Abdelwahed Elwakil, architect, consultant to Barwa Group and winner of the Driehaus Prize and Agha Khan Award, will share his vision of how to create authentic forms without extra costs, why old engineering techniques are useful and what Arab neoclassicism is.
Within panel discussion “Construction in extreme conditions» CEO of the development group of companies Barwa Salman Al-Mohannadi, Finnish architect and head of the Avanto Architects bureau Ville Hara, project manager of Strelka KB Monika Konrad, as well as head of the Center for Urban Anthropology of Strelka KB Mikhail Alekseevsky will present projects of public spaces for different regions and discuss what southern city planners can teach the north, whether there is a one-size-fits-all approach to building in ice and desert, and how harsh conditions help create rules.
Ali Abdelrouf Ali Abouelsaad, professor of urbanism, head of research and development department of the Department of Urban Planning of Qatar, will give a public interview “From big construction to big life” and explain using the example of the university city of Al-Rayan, the Museum of Islamic Art, the National Qatar Museum, the artificial Pearl Island, the Souq market and the stadiums for the 2022 World Cup, how such megaprojects have changed the physical and cultural landscape of the capital of Qatar.
“As part of the Cross Year of Culture between Qatar and Russia 2018, it was important for us to create an opportunity to exchange experience and knowledge between our countries, especially in the field of architecture and urbanism. Because the desire for innovation, combined with the deepest respect for our historical heritage, is what unites our peoples, noted His Excellency
Fahad bin Mohamed Al-Attiyah, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Russian Federation. - At the conference, organized jointly with the Strelka Institute, the best architects of Qatar will talk about how to create modern architectural buildings that maintain a balance between efficiency, aesthetics, environmental friendliness and cultural identity. It is thanks to projects like this that Doha is today recognized as the pearl of modern Middle Eastern architecture.”
The event is free with pre-registration.
You can follow the news on the page on Facebook, VKontakte and Instagram.
2018 has been declared the Cross Year of Culture between Qatar and Russia. Despite differences in geographical location, climate and history, countries share common values: modernization while preserving national traditions, creating the most favorable conditions for the development of human potential. Cross-cultural projects, exhibitions, concerts and festivals, educational and charitable events on the territory of both countries will help unite the two distinctive cultures of Qatar and Russia. It is in these areas that a particularly productive exchange of knowledge and experience is possible between the two states, with their respect for historical heritage and ability to sensitively respond to the challenges of our time. The Cross Year of Culture will create an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding necessary to expand business contacts and strengthen economic, tourist and cultural interaction between countries.
We have always been posthuman
24.08.18 08:57
Strelka Institute opens enrollment for educational program“The New Normal” with a lecture on design philosophy.
On August 27, Strelka will host a series of lectures “We have always been posthumanity” about a radical shift in design philosophy, the starting point of which was the consequences of the technological transformation of the 21st century. The event will open applications for the third and final cycle of The New Normal, the Institute’s free postgraduate research program. This year's research focuses on the topics of algorithmic governance and the relationship between technology and policy, various aspects of the spread of artificial intelligence on a city scale, as well as exploring areas not intended for people. Students will study design whose real ambition is to remake man rather than serve him.
● “Outside”: learning to live with territories not intended for us”: design theorist, writer, program director of the Strelka Institute, professor of visual arts and director of the Design Center at the University of California (San Diego) Benjamin Bratton will focus on automation at the city scale . Automated areas of factories are spaces that do not depend on traditional ideas about how work areas for personnel should be designed: people are safe from robots, which in turn are protected from vandalism. Bringing logic industrial automation going to the city means having to learn to live with territories not intended for people.
● “Plastic Man”: Mark Wigley, professor, dean of Columbia University's School of Architecture, Design and Preservation (2004 to 2014), theorist, architectural historian, and co-founder of Volume magazine, will present research on the continuous self-reconstruction of the human species, beginning from the invention of the first stone axes to the transformation of humans into insects with the advent of the first radio antennas at the end of the 19th century.
● Design Anesthesia: Theorist, architectural historian, co-founder and director of the interdisciplinary Media and Contemporary Program at Princeton University, and professor and director of graduate studies at the Princeton School of Architecture, Beatriz Colomina will demonstrate how modern design is surprisingly intertwined with the history of modern pain relief.
● “Practices of the New Normal”: graduates of the Strelka Institute will talk about current design practices using the example of prototypes of alternative projects, the ideas of which are presented in various forms - from films to games and strategies. The topics covered in the lectures reflect the main direction of the third year of the free educational program “New Normal” 2018/19.
You can apply for training on the program website from August 27 to November 1, 2018. Designers, architects, programmers, sociologists and young professionals from other fields have been trying for 5 months to find a definition of what has become the “new normal” in the modern world and how technology is changing our belief that man will forever remain at the center of the development of the world around us .
The New Normal program connects theoretical seminars and discussions with field research and technical workshops, where students gain practical skills in working with machine learning algorithms, cross-platform tools for creating games and applications, augmented and virtual reality, video editing and post-production, sound design and data visualization. Lead program faculty include Benjamin Bratton (Program Director), Liam Young, Keller Easterling, Metahaven, Etienne Turpin, Lev Manovich, Anthony Dunn and Fiona Raby, Jeff Maina, and others. The training takes place in Moscow and includes 2 large research trips - in Russia and abroad. Students from the past two cycles of the program conducted research in Murmansk, Magadan, as well as California and China.
At the end of the program, students will present their projects that expand the traditional definition of what urban design includes - not only the design of residential spaces and territories, but also the design of digital protocols, simulated environments and new user regulations. You can view last year's results on the program website thenewnormal.strelka.com.
During their studies (February 2019 - July 2019), students are provided with a monthly stipend. The minimum age of the applicant is 25 years. The language of instruction is English.
A series of lectures “We have always been posthumanity” will be held at English language with simultaneous translation.
Admission is free, pre-registration is required.
Strelka Institute of Media, Architecture and Design is a non-profit educational institution, founded in 2009 to change the landscape of Russian cities. Any change begins with people, therefore all programs and projects of the Institute are educational in nature and aimed at development human capital. The main topic Strelka always remains a city and urban development.
The New Normal is an experimental postgraduate educational program of the Strelka Institute, aimed at specialists from various fields. Every year from 2017 to 2019, a group of 30 students from around the world are trained in an interdisciplinary, research-based think-tank. Together with Program Director Benjamin Bratton and leading faculty, the city is viewed through the lens of the latest technology trends using speculative design methodology.
"Architect of the Future" - the first international conference
09.08.18 10:27
From September 10 to 12, Strelka will host the first international conference in a strategic partnership with DOM.RF with the support of the Russian Ministry of Construction. As part of this event, lectures, discussions and workshops will be held, the participants of which will be representatives of leading architectural bureaus, design studios, institutes, development companies from the UK, USA, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland and Russia.
The focus of the program is the main issues that face modern specialists. Already today, data processing experts, game and interface developers work in architectural bureaus, and in technology companies, architects create virtual art projects. What demands will the future place on the architect? How will design tools and ways of communicating with clients change? Will computer programs and VR glasses replace mock-ups and tablets? Time narrow specialization are leaving: the professional architectural environment assumes interdisciplinarity in approach, practitioners and theorists, and the path to the future passes through the boundaries of today's competencies.
As part of the conference, young architects from Russia will have the opportunity to undergo a special selection for the Future Architect: Open-call for Young Architects competition and go to the Creative Exchange international architectural fair in Ljubljana (Slovenia) in February 2019.
From August 7 to 27, applications will be collected, and on September 12, the finalists who have passed the competitive selection will present their projects to the international jury and listeners as part of the public defense of applications. After the open presentation, 5 winners will be announced, who will go to the architectural fair and will be able to personally meet representatives of the largest architectural and cultural institutions from all over Europe, get an internship with them, take part in one of the professional biennales and integrate into the international professional environment.
The conference is being held as part of the educational program ARCHITECTS.RF in a strategic partnership with DOM.RF with the support of the Russian Ministry of Construction.
Sonya Elterman, Chief Editor Strelka Mag:
“Changes have already begun: new public spaces, city festivals, and cultural centers are being created from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. We began to follow heroes and events that do not fall into the radar of the federal media, but are very important for the development of urban culture. How do these changes affect the city's economy and, most importantly, the people who live there, their education, safety, income and mood? The new Strelka Mag aims to answer these questions every day.”
Strelka Mag talks to leading architects and design theorists such as Rem Koolhaas, Benjamin Bratton, Winy Maas and Keller Easterling, as well as urban experts and activists. Along with the relaunch, a news feed also appeared on the site.
You can follow Strelka Mag news on its Facebook, VKontakte and Instagram pages, telegram channel or mailing list.
Hani Rashid. Moscow experience
28.08.15 18:23
On September 3, the Strelka Institute of Media, Architecture and Design will host a lecture by the founder of the New York architectural bureau Asymptote.
Hani Rashid, a prominent architect and brother of outrageous designer Karim Rashid, is known for ambitious, innovative projects around the world. Among the latest works are two buildings in Moscow, which will be discussed at the lecture. One of the buildings - a 150-meter tower on the territory of the ZIL plant - will be built by 2017. The architect will explain how the new buildings will fit into the cityscape and talk about the combination of historical references and technological innovation. In addition to Moscow projects, the architect will talk about the process of creating the Yas Marina hotel in Abu Dhabi and the Multimedia Museum of River Culture.
09/03/2015; starts at 20.00
David Fisher. Dynamic architecture of the future
18.05.15 20:02
On May 28, the Strelka summer educational program will open with a lecture by an Italian architect who creates movable buildings.
David Fisher is the author of the theory of Dynamic Architecture; his design of the eighty-story “Rotating Skyscraper,” the world’s first building with a variable shape, radically changes ideas about what houses can be. The skyscraper will be assembled according to the principle of a structure, will be able to change its shape and rotate around its axis due to the energy generated by wind engines.
At his lecture, Fisher will talk about how modern technology will affect the design and construction of houses. Using his own projects as an example, the architect will explain why the pre-assembly of buildings must move outside construction site and what benefits these changes will bring. The audience will learn why, in the near future, architecture will no longer be considered a “matter of taste” and will be assessed solely in terms of safety, environmental friendliness and functionality.
About the speaker:
David Fischer is an Italian architect, founder of the Dynamic Architecture Group and the Association of Dynamic Science, author of the project for the world's first building with a variable shape. Fisher's career has spanned every possible aspect of architecture, from teaching to design and construction management.
Language: English with translation
The entrance is free. Start: 20.00
"Tactile City"
01.08.14 00:26
On August 8, the Strelka Institute will host a lecture by the Greek artist Artemis Papageorgiou about fibertronics - the possibilities of using electronic components in working with textiles.
"Haptic City" - a joint project Greek multimedia artists Artemis Papageorgiou and Aphroditi Psarra. At the lecture, which will take place on August 8, Artemis will talk about the use of interactive technologies in urban space, and before the lecture, the results of the workshop, which she will conduct from August 5 to 8, will be presented. The artist works with the so-called “E-fabric” - programmable textiles into which microcomputers, sensors, and sound sensors are built. Workshop participants will try to apply this material in the study of the urban landscape and create an interactive map of Moscow from E-fabric.
Artemis Papageorgiou Graduated from the Computer Arts Department of Goldsmiths University in London, where she collaborated with the Cinimod studio, specializing in lighting design, and the Jason Bruges studio, creating interactive installations for interiors. Artemis participated in master classes from the London art group MzTek, where she studied LED technologies and DIY electronics. Upon returning from the UK in 2011, she founded the Athens Plaython festival in Athens, which takes place every year and features numerous workshops on design and related technologies, as well as street games, quests, and parties. The festival was awarded a prize in the TEDx Athens Challenge.
The lecture and master class are organized within the framework of the interdisciplinary program of the Polytechnic Museum “Polytech.Science.Art: Science.Art.Technology”, together with the Strelka Institute and with the support of the MegaFon company. All program activities are aimed at popularizing science, as well as searching for new areas of interaction between science and art. Guest artists, photographers, scientists and engineers will present new forms of art in the digital era.
Presentation of works by master class participants— August 8, 19:00
Lecture by Artemis Papageorgiou “Interactive technologies in urban space”— August 8, 20:00
Location: Institute of Media, Architecture and Design "Strelka" (Bersenevskaya embankment, 14, building 5A)
Terribly beautiful total installation
07.07.14 18:32
Russian pavilion at the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale. Review of the ideas fair, impressions of the curators, upcoming discussions at Strelka.
Photo by Nikolay Zverkov
Until now, the countries participating in the Venice Architecture Biennale have been talking about pressing issues and achievements in their pavilions, without particularly caring about how the exhibition corresponds to the theme of the central curatorial exhibition. This time it's different. Curator Rem Koolhaas decided that before moving into the future, it’s time to draw a line and take a critical look at the past in order to understand how architecture became what it is. Therefore, for national statements, a separate plot “Absorbing Modernity: 1914-2014” was invented: each country was asked to reconsider what happened to its architecture in the past hundred years and show how it met, absorbed, absorbed or somehow perceived modernity in a different way with its global challenges and trends.
Photo by Nikolay Zverkov
Photo by Nikolay Zverkov
Most of the exhibitors conscientiously responded to the call of the curator and merged into a rather harmonious chorus of voices, somewhere monotonously, somewhere with expression, broadcasting about local versions of modernism with an emphasis on the development of panel housing construction. Russia entered this chorus with a dynamic, multi-layered and visually unexpected concept “Fair Enough”, prepared by the Strelka Institute of Media, Architecture and Design. Curators Daria Paramonova, Anton Kalgaev and Brendan McGetrick decided not only to analyze and demonstrate the landmark “developments” and discoveries of Russian architecture, but at the same time to show their viability in the modern world and prospects in the global architectural market.
Photo by Nikolay Zverkov
Photo by Nikolay Zverkov
Photo by Nikolay Zverkov
Under the eloquent slogan “Russia’s Past, Our Present” (“Russia’s past is our future!”) in the pavilion built according to the design of A.V. Shchusev, a real fair, an EXPO, unfolded, reproduced with stunning, sometimes hypertrophied and thereby revealing realism. At the reception desk, as expected, visitors were greeted by beauties in sickly pink blouses and miniskirts, who, however, were more reminiscent of flight attendants than businesswomen. The main hall was divided into two dozen plastic boxes with a variety of “products”, which were smartly sold by their smiling representatives under signs with telling company names. It should be noted that the appearance of the representatives surprisingly corresponded to the brands.
Photo by Nikolay Zverkov
The largest two-level stand was naturally occupied by the intercontinental architectural corporation Shсhusev Architects. On it, a radiant manager with a pleasant American accent talked about a wonderful company, ready, according to the behests of the great Shchusev, who was distinguished by his multifaceted and flexible talent, to build you a temple in the pseudo-Russian style, or a mausoleum. Fans of the Russian series Interns would, of course, recognize the radiant manager as actor Odin Land Byron, who plays aspiring expat doctor Phil Richards. But most likely, when trying to get an autograph, Odin would answer that it was not him.
Archive website
On the second level of the Shshusev Architects pavilion, in light boxes, just like the originals, prints of Shshusev’s drawings for four radically different projects were displayed.
Photo by Nikolay Zverkov
The representative of the company with the proud name Estetika Ltd also performed his role brilliantly. Speaking against the backdrop of black lacquer walls and golden elements of traditional carved decor, under the slogan Eternal Russian, he represented the eternal neo-Russian style, capable of turning even a utilitarian skyscraper in the business center into a marvelous work of art.
Image: Victor Ruben / Strelka Institute
“Yesterday we just talked with Sergei Kuznetsov about the problems of national identity in domestic architecture, showed him our proposals. He agreed that it would be appropriate to build something like that in Moscow City,” assured a young man with the appearance of a hero from a Russian fairy tale and showed on the screen a cyclopean bump in the color of one of the domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral.
Bang! Bang! Studio/ Strelka Institute
At the Ark-Stroy stand, a fit young man, dressed in military style in all black, offered to reproduce the Moscow “House-Ship on Tula”, built for employees of the USSR Ministry of Atomic Energy, anywhere in the world. An experimental, earthquake-resistant design developed during the Cold War, "just in case" was embodied in super-strong reinforced concrete. Such an ark house with 1000 apartments could become a reliable refuge from many natural and man-made disasters and even from the invasion of aliens, as illustrated by the poster on the wall.
Julia Ardabyevskaya / Strelka Institute
If you need a building for some kind of collective activity, Russian architecture once produced an excellent model in the form of the Narkomfin House. The enterprising company NARKOMFIN™ proposes to transform the creation of Moses Ginzburg into a modern student dormitory or a teenage colony or an elite spa center. A wide range of finishes and layout options are available to the client.
Photo by Nikolay Zverkov
Image: Sasha Takloo / Strelka Institute
Do you need to introduce some idea or ideology into the mass consciousness? The Russian pavilion refers to the experience of the Moscow metro, appropriated by the Moscow Metro Worldwide organization.
Photo by Nikolay Zverkov
Do you want your children to grow up to be developed individuals, not consumers? Forget about fake Disney castles. Build centers in your cities children's creativity in a modernist style, modeled on the Palaces of Pioneers erected in the USSR. Order projects from Young Pioneer Palace Atelie.
At the Young Pioneer Palace Atelie stand you could see original drawings by young students art schools on the topic Russian houses children's creativity.
Are you looking for new forms in architecture? Don’t worry - take it from the Shaping inspiration catalogue, which has collected and summarized to its geometric fundamentals the most energetic and creative structures of the Russian avant-garde, modernism and postmodernism.
Maja Wrońska / Strelka Institute
Photo by Nikolay Zverkov
The Russian Council for Retroactive Development urges not to demolish historical buildings, but if such a misfortune occurs, it can recreate the monument exactly as it was. The correctness of the position is confirmed by the examples of the restored Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow and the City Palace in Berlin, the reconstruction of which will be completed by 2019.
Photo: Lena Tcibizova/Institute Strelka
A rival firm, Financial Solutions, is promoting the opposite idea of dealing with heritage in the next box. Why build exactly as it was if you can do better? She takes up the task of upgrading monuments, relying on precedents such as Voentorg and the Moscow Hotel. A model of the Shukhov Tower, growing into shopping mall with underground parking. “Well, why would it just stand there, we can do something useful inside,” the company representative calmly reasoned.
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Photo Archive website
And if before this a sophisticated visitor willingly participated in the performance and interestedly delved into the features of the products of unprecedented companies, then here he should have felt somehow uneasy. In every joke, as they say... Photographer Yuri Palmin, at a round table in MA dedicated to the Biennale, admitted that for the Financial Solutions boxing, the curators ordered him to photograph Voentorg and the Moscow Hotel so glossy and beautiful that it was “sickening to the point of nausea.” Sharing his impressions, he noted that he really liked the Russian pavilion this time, “liked it very much, because in places it really became scary.”
Photo by Nikolay Zverkov
It must be said that among the performers representing fake companies, only the aforementioned Odin was a professional actor. Another actor played a security guard, a key figure in any exhibition. The rest of the exhibitors are well-known architectural critics, researchers, journalists, and sociologists, many of whom the pavilion curators consulted when choosing topics. The “performance” lasted all the days of the preview, then its characters returned home. If you come to the Russian pavilion in Giardini today, then Italian consultants who have received detailed instructions. There is an audio guide that can be downloaded online and listened to as a guided tour. But this is a little different.
Photo by Nikolay Zverkov
Image: Iakov Chernikhov International Foundation
Drawing by Yakov Chernikhov from his book “101 Architectural Fantasy”, published in 1933
The Biennale jury appreciated the idea and drive of the Russian fair of ideas with a “Special Mention”. There was talk on the sidelines that they could have given a “lion”, but since Strelka, in a sense, is the brainchild of Koolhaas, who launched its training program, and in general the story of Fair Enough itself turned out quite in the spirit of his own research, deployed in the Central Pavilion and Arsenal, the jury considered that it would be “not comme il faut.” However, “Special Mention” for the second year in a row is an excellent result for the Russian pavilion. Daria Paramonova and Anton Kalgaev told us how it was achieved, what meanings were put into the concept, what impressions were left from the work at the exhibition.
Strelka Institute
Anton Kalgaev:
“The curatorial team was formed by Strelka director Varvara Melnikova. We all knew each other, but had never worked together before. It cannot be said that we had any obvious division of responsibilities. Everyone was involved in everything, together they critically reviewed many options. We came to the final concept somewhere in September. But from the very beginning we knew that we wanted to show not the linear history of the development of Russian architecture over 100 years, but the entire complexity of the country’s modernization process, its multidirectionality, as a result of which we now have such a multi-fold architectural landscape. The twenty stories presented are a diagnosis of the current state of architecture, a reaction to the ideas and demands that architects around the world are working with today. They are all very real. Another thing is that it would be better if some of them did not work, like Financial Solutions for example, but such logic, no matter how terrible it is, exists. One of the critics even said about the reconstruction of the Shukhov Tower: “What? Not bad idea".
In addition to the content itself, we needed to find a universal format for presenting it. The international fair is the embodiment of a publicly accessible language for transmitting ideas around the world. The title Fair Enough is a play on words that expresses our honest critical attitude towards the Biennale as an architectural fair and towards the state of architecture in Russia. Ambiguity and play on words are also present in the names of companies and their slogans, which indicates the ambiguity and paradox of the processes presented in each box. There is something paradoxical in the fact that we talk about the possibility of applying Soviet-era ideas in the capitalist world. It is curious that foreigners in to a greater extent understood irony and metaphor. As for the Russian public, they are generally inclined to sprinkle ashes on their heads. Many of our compatriots saw only an evil parody, a panegyric on Russian architecture; some were unpleasant about the very language of the fair.”
Strelka Institute
Daria Paramonova:
“It was important for us - so important that we even included it in the name of the pavilion - to describe the current situation in Russia as plausibly as possible. In previous years, national pavilions created abstractly beautiful designs, trying to look better in the eyes of foreign audiences than they really were. But the desire to seem, and not to be, was always visible. We didn't want to portray anything, we wanted to be. Therefore, such a format, such a concept, such a name. Russia often tried to present itself as a little mystical, sophisticated, with its own specific images that were not always clear to the world. We set the task of integration into the international architectural discourse, we sought to show that we are also part of the globalized process of absorbing everything and everyone into the language of modernism. In an effort to achieve verisimilitude, we chose the format of the fair - this is what the representation of architecture in Moscow looks like, from the Moscow ARCH to the market building materials. We studied the examples very carefully, traveled to expo centers to recreate the aesthetics and buildings down to the smallest detail. Credibility also lies in the story about the flexibility of architects, about their ability to adapt to the market. Whatever there is an order for, we offer. At least skyscrapers in the neo-Russian style, at least Lissitzky. I can’t say that this is criticism, far from it, it’s up to the audience to judge. Eat good ideas, there are warnings, but the fact is that anything can be bought and sold.
We were especially pleased with the process of the fair itself. There was no confidence that “sales” would come. Everything might look a little artificial, but the result exceeded expectations. There were people who took everything that was happening seriously, asked how they could contact companies, left business cards, and wanted to build something similar somewhere in their home. If we consider the exhibition a total installation, then it was a success. Because the moment when you can’t understand how fictional everything is, worked. The departure of the performers after the preview is a well-thought-out story. There is irony in this too: over the format of the Venice Architecture Biennale. After all, this whole grandiose show is essentially designed for the first days - for the jury, for the critics. The main influx of visitors and live communication occurs at the very beginning. And if you arrive a week later, you have the feeling that you are late for the holiday, all the catalogs and souvenirs have been distributed, all the specialists have left, and you are walking through giant empty spaces. So our pavilion now deliberately gives the impression of an empty EXPO.”
Photo by Nikolay Zverkov
Starting July 21, Strelka will host a series of discussions “Biennale Week+”, during which curators and performance participants will share their impressions and talk about how certain topics were chosen. Perhaps even a fragment of the pavilion itself will be recreated.
On July 21 at Strelka, as part of the Biennale Week, exhibition curators Anton Kalgaev, Brendan McGetrick and Daria Paramonova, as well as the project’s graphic designer Maria Kosareva, will present an exhibition in the Russian pavilion and the most interesting architectural ideas that were shown in Venice. Over the next four days, discussions will be held with the participation of curators, performance participants and invited experts on the applicability of the architectural ideas presented at the exhibition, as well as the reactions of visitors to the Russian pavilion. The week will end with a Venetian-style party in the Strelka courtyard on Saturday, July 26.
Weekly schedule:
July 21, 20:00 // Fair Enough - fair of ideas
July 22, 20:00 // Architecture and education
July 23, 20:00 // Mythology of architecture
July 24, 20:00 // Architectural “flexibility”
July 25, 20:00 // Untouchables
July 26, 20:00 // Feedback
“New Everyday Life” at Strelka
02.07.14 18:35
On July 3-4, a conference will be held in the space of the Institute of Media, Architecture and Design, in which Grigory Revzin, Winnie Maas, curators of the Belgian and Japanese pavilions of the 14th Venice Biennale will take part. The topic of discussion is the influence of everyday experience on urban development.
The main conference of the Strelka Institute in 2014 brings together those who study the complex world of the everyday, and those who try to design, format, and invent it anew. Historians, sociologists, journalists, anthropologists, architects, urbanists, designers and directors join the conversation about what the new everyday life is, what it consists of, and how citizens - and the city itself - are changing along with it.
The first day's conversations are devoted to ideal, invented routines - from the everyday life of the Burning Man project to the life of urban kibbutzim in Jerusalem, as well as those rituals and routines that have arisen in Russian cities in recent decades - sociologist Viktor Vakhshtain, critic Grigory Revzin, theater director Dmitry Volkostrelov and other discussion participants will discuss the oddities of Russian everyday life.
The special guest of the first day, scent researcher Sisel Tolaas, will discuss with conference curator Anastasia Smirnova the complex formulas of familiar city scents and the design of the “aromatic landscape” of the metropolis.
On the second day of the conference, a kind of marathon of projects will take place, one way or another formatting everyday life. Architect Winnie Maas, the team of curators of the Belgian Pavilion from the last Venice Biennale, and international logistics specialist Claire Lister will argue about the role and capabilities of the designer in the broadest sense of the word - in the world of the ordinary and banal.
Performance program
12:00 - 12:15
Opening remarks by Anastasia Smirnova, Strelka Institute, SVESMI Bureau
Part 1. “The value of the ordinary”
12:30 - 13:45
“Specifics of Moscow everyday life” Grigory Revzin, Strelka KB
14:00 - 16:00
"Ideal life" Series of short lectures
— Megan Rutigliano, Burning Man as a City and Experience
— “City kibbutz. The future of the past"
Yuval Yassky, Faculty of Architecture, Bezalel Academy of Arts
— “The interior as a “network space.” Projects for the future and the city of Montreal."
Mark Pimlott, Delft University of Technology
“Ideal life”: round table
Moderator: Brendan McGetrick, Strelka Institute
Participants: Kirill Ass, Megan Rutigliano, Yuval Yassky, Mark Pimlott
Part 2. “New routines and rituals”
17:00 - 18:15
"Big city between holiday and prose"
Boris Dubin, sociologist, independent researcher
18:30 - 19:30
“New urban rituals”: round table
Moderator - Viktor Vakhshtain, sociologist, RANEPA
Participants: Dmitry Volkostrelov, theater director, Andrey Korbut, Higher School of Economics,
Mikhail Alekseevsky, Strelka KB
20:00 - 21:00
City of smells, evening conversation between Anastasia Smirnova and Sisel Tolaas, researcher and scent designer, RE_SEARCH Lab, International Flavor & Fragrance INC., and demonstration of Tolaas' olfantorial projects.
Part 3. “Designing everyday life”
Session moderator: Anastasia Smirnova, Strelka Institute, SVESMI Bureau
13:00 - 14:30
"(Un)usual"
Winy Maas, MVRDV
14:45 - 15:15
"Behind the Scenes, or Big Logistics"
Claire Lister, University of Chicago
15:15 - 15:45
“Rethinking the familiar. 8 small Japanese houses"
Kayoko Ota, Commissioner of the Japan Pavilion at the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale
15:45 - 16:15
"Interior: Lessons in Private Life"
Sebastien Martinez Barat, Benjamin Lafort, Sarah Levy, team of curators of the Belgium pavilion at the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale
16:15-16:45
"How big business formats our everyday life"
David Erickson, Hyper Island
17:30-18:30
“Designing Everyday Life”: round table
Moderator: Anastasia Smirnova
Participants: Claire Lister, David Erickson, Kayoko Ota, Sarah Levy
18:45 - 20:30
Review of the Strelka Institute student exhibition – “Urban Everyday Life”
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Spend your summer wisely
15.05.14 21:18
The Strelka Institute of Media, Architecture and Design opens a summer program. Over the course of four months, invited media artists, scientists and engineers will give lectures, conduct master classes and take part in conferences. Upcoming events are May 21 and 22.
The program opens May 21, 2014 lecture as part of a joint educational project with the Polytechnic Museum - "Polytech on Strelka". The Dutch sculptor and inventor will talk about his work Theo Jansen, author of the famous Strandbeests - artificial life forms created from hundreds of polyvinyl chloride tubes.
A 22nd of May French media artist Clément Briand will give a lecture on the use of photo projections in urban environments.
Pictured above and below: Clément Briani of his work
Also, the most significant lectures of this summer will be held by:
- Australian media artist Geoffrey Shaw, one of the founders of media art, author of the famous flying pig he created for Pink Floyd;
- Su Fujimoto- the youngest architect to design a pavilion for the Serpentine Art Gallery in London;
- Mexican New Wave Architect Michel Rochkind, who created a national film archive for the 21st century in Mexico;
- Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, famous for combining new technologies and conditions external environment in his architectural practice.
In the middle of summer it will take place series of events on the role of innovation in architecture and urban planning. Berlin, Barcelona, London and Amsterdam will be considered as examples by the finalists of the main architectural awards MISA VAN DER ROOHE.
As part of the cross year of culture between Russia and Great Britain, Strelka will host British design days And Film Festival of Unknown Hitchcock Films.
Large conferences this year: "Books in the Air", which will explore the topic of the difficulties of interacting with information in our time; "New Energy of Museums"- usage modern technologies in the museum space; “New School” - advanced techniques in the field of organizing educational institutions; At the “Everyday Life” conference, the topic of “urban routine” will be examined in detail.
In 2014, the Strelka Institute curates the Russian pavilion of the Architecture Biennale in Venice. In the project's boundaries "Biennale+" The curators of the pavilion will share their own experiences with the audience and discuss with experts how the theme of the 2014 Biennale came about.
Summer program calendar: http://www.strelka.com
Three approaches to “Ukraine”
27.02.14 15:28
Based on the results, 10 people took part in the development of concepts for designing the space in front of the architectural monument of the 1950s creative teams. On February 26, the Jury reviewed their decisions. The projects of ABD architects (Russia) with the participation of Werner Sobek Moskwa (Russia), Studio 44 (Russia), TPO Lesosplav (Russia) with the participation of Malishev Wilson Engineers (Great Britain) were recognized as the best. Judging by the specifics of the finalists' works, the Jury chose the most thin and light structures that would be spectacular and at the same time respect the historical architecture of one of the seven Stalinist high-rise buildings.
TPO Lesosplav and Malishev Wilson Engineers propose to stretch a long (250 m) white ribbon of milk glass on thin chrome-plated columns in front of the Ukraina Hotel. Visually light, it seems to float between Kutuzovsky Prospekt and Taras Shevchenko embankment. This is not just a utilitarian canopy, but also a piece of modern design in its own right. It contrasts with the historical building, but does not enter into dissonance with it, the authors believe. Without drowning out the historical composition of the high-rise building, the canopy ribbon connects it with the embankment, covers the access ramp to the hotel and at the same time forms a line of the promenade leading to the river.
ABD Architects proposal (photos above and below) strives for even greater visual neutrality. The canopy has the shape of a “blade” plate on “invisible” steel supports. It is expected that with constant illumination it will look like a very thin lamp that will not interfere with the perception of the original portico of “Ukraine”. However, “physically” the new canopy is connected to it: “The canopy structure is formed by a system of cross trusses resting on steel supports (working in compression) built into the existing columns and fixed by steel tension rods located between the pylons at the outer wall of the portico. Load-bearing vertical structures rest on existing foundations.”
Studio 44 installed in its project e (photos above and below) in front of the Ukraina Hotel there is a kind of abstract sculpture. Two square cast iron blocks (6 x 6 m) on cast iron pedestals support a thin metal sheet 112 meters long. It bends slightly and, according to the authors, should be associated with a rush towel, hinting at the hospitality (“bread and salt”) waiting inside. The structure corresponds to the historical building in scale and rhythm of elements, but is stylistically autonomous and stands back from the main portico. Thus, it serves as a modern propylae or avant-portico in front of the legendary building.
Now the customer (Hotel Ukraine OJSC) will have to choose one of these projects for implementation. The competition is held on the initiative of the Moscow Committee for Architecture, with Strelka KB acting as a consultant.
competition It was attended not only by the participants, but also by members of the jury, representatives of the board of trustees and foreign experts. According to the Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Grigory Pirumov, this is actually the first experience of an open competition that would meet all modern world requirements. “Openness, publicity, transparency of all procedures are the characteristics of this competition,” Pirumov said. - More than 900 participants from different countries the world sent their proposals. At the first stage, 10 teams were selected based on their portfolios and sketches; now the circle of finalists has been narrowed to three. The winner will be announced before the end of the year at a meeting of the board of trustees, headed by the Minister of Culture of Russia and the mayor of Moscow.” Denis Leontyev, CEO KB "Strelka" emphasized that among the 10 intermediate finalists there were three bureaus from Russia. “This proves that in our country there are many architects who can compete with foreign colleagues,” Leontyev noted.
The jury's discussion about the finalists lasted two days and was quite tense. “All finalists received an equal number of votes, so there is no priority in the order; we will announce them alphabetically,” said Moscow’s chief architect Sergei Kuznetsov, adding that the past architectural competition is a big step forward in the development of competitive practice and search successful formula selection of participants. Several members of the jury noted that the finalists' concepts attempted not just to design a container for works of art, but to create a modern communication environment in which art would be the main component. That's why they were chosen. It should be noted that the work of Steven Holl Architects (USA) and 51N4E and OFFICE KGDVS (Belgium) received special mention from the jury.
Architects from Heneghan Peng Architects they see the NCCA complex as a tower in the center of Khodynsky Field, composed of rectangular elements offset relative to the axis. The building received a vertical vector of development - in this fundamental difference Irish solutions from the projects of fellow competitors. The exhibition spaces are designed in the form of galleries located one above the other. Thanks to the vertical organization of space, access to the halls is simplified; the visitor can go up to the floor he needs without going around the entire building. The center of the interior is a multi-level foyer. An escalator goes up from its depths, passing the storage area and administrative premises, like archaeological layers.
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Concept of the bureau "Mel"
Bureau "Mel" set itself the task of creating a flexible exhibition and public space, a territory of a new quality, rich in cultural life and urban activity, but at the same time having a human scale and natural landscape. The main functional zones of the NCCA are placed inside a single stylobate - a “hill”. A landscape park with pavilions is organized on the roof, where there are halls for permanent and temporary exhibitions, an educational center and a media center, a cafe-club and creative residences. Finished with slabs of natural stone and polished concrete, the pavilions resemble rock formations with a multi-layered and complex structure.
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The public area on the roof and in front of the NCCA building is represented by various zones that perform many functions. There are areas for installations, outdoor activities, film screenings and lectures. The green covering compacts towards the edges and “dissolves” towards the middle, forming a pedestrian route. The first floor is a single communication space connected to the exhibition hall and pavilions on the roof. Each of them can be entered through the park, which allows the pavilions to be used for independent exhibition projects of various sizes.
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Concept by Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos
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Based on the concept of Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos formed the unrealized projects of the Russian avant-garde with their unique technical and architectural solutions, as well as the powerful industrial structure and factory typology that is used in contemporary art. The volumetric-spatial composition of the Spaniards is based on the use of a cylindrical shape. Transformation of volume allows you to create a number of rooms connected in various combinations. Exhibitions can move from room to room while maintaining a connection to the foyer, which will be the functional center of the building. Inside there is a horizontally oriented space, similar to a covered street. This longitudinal “ridge” passage will become the heart of the NCCA and a meeting place for visitors, artists, researchers and spectators. Four blocks are reserved for permanent exhibitions, and three for temporary exhibitions. Artists' workshops and apartments are designed on the upper floors of the outermost cylinder.
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The selection of applicants was carried out in two categories: “sketch” and “portfolio”. Based on the presented concepts, LLC Arch Group (Russia), TPO Lesosplav (Russia), Simona Melli Architetto (Italy), Bynd (Germany) and Pedro Miguel Estrela de Almeida (Portugal) advanced to the second round. If one of the companies in this group for any reason refuses to fight for victory, its place will be taken by the Indian bureau Tahaer Zoyab.
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Based on an analysis of relevant professional experience, Studio 44 (Russia), ABD Architects and Werner Sobek Moskwa (Russia), Balmond Studio (UK), Wolfgang Buttress and Simmonds Studio (UK) and Work AC (USA) were invited. Ten teams will receive a detailed technical specification, and based on the projects developed according to it, the jury will select three finalists during the period from November 29, 2013 to February 25, 2014.
Hotel "Ukraine", built in the middle of the last century, is one of the symbols of the Russian capital, a recognizable object that, among others, shapes the architectural and historical appearance of Moscow. Therefore, the entrance reconstruction project - and this is emphasized by the chief architect of Moscow - must be carried out with all delicacy and at the proper professional and conceptual level.
The competition is held in two stages. At the first (September 17, 2013 - November 20, 2013), applicants are selected based on submitted applications (until October 25) and provided sketches. Participants in the second stage (November 29, 2013 - February 25, 2014) will be five applicants who have passed the first stage, as well as five teams invited by the customer to participate in the competition outside the selection procedure. From among them, three finalists will be identified, with whom the customer will conduct competitive negotiations. The reward for participation in the second stage is $10,000. All details can be found on the official website of the competition.
What do Muscovites want? The answer to this question lies on the surface: a comfortable and modern living environment with neatly decorated markets near the metro, aesthetic trash cans, comfortable playgrounds, large public spaces for relaxation and communication. Now architects and designers will be able to offer their own solutions to these problems: a section of the same name has appeared on the website, where professionals independently upload materials illustrating their concepts. All of them will be included in the final atlas of ideas and decisions, “What Moscow Wants,” which will be published at the end of 2013. All projects will be presented at the Moscow Urban Forum on December 5-7, 2013.
As part of collecting solutions from designers and architects, Strelka Institute plans to hold a series of workshops for young professionals. Experts in the field of design, architecture and related fields together with students of specialized educational institutions and everyone will come up with and develop visual solutions based on the most popular public requests.
CHANGING THE CITY
Strelka was founded in 2009 to change the cultural and physical landscapes of Russian cities. The Institute promotes positive changes and creates new ideas and values through its educational activities. Strelka provides brand new learning opportunities, while the City remains at the center of the Institute's research program.
DEVELOPING HUMAN CAPITAL
Strelka Institute is a non-governmental institution with an experimental approach to education. Its 5-month study program is aimed at young international specialists with backgrounds in architecture, design, the social sciences, and other fields. Strelka’s multidisciplinary education program was shaped specifically to develop human capital and boost students’ creative energy.
CREATING THE FUTURE
Strelka’s educational program promotes critical thinking and public presentation skills. Other cornerstones of the study program are visual skills development, creative research and data analysis and - last but not least - the potential applicability of research projects and their value in solving the real problems of Russian cities.
NEW STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC SPACE
Strelka is open to the world and has always been ready for cooperation and networking; all the knowledge produced at the Institute and many of its educational events are free to the public. This openness has turned the Strelka Institute into a popular public space around which various communities are built. Every summer, the Strelka courtyard hosts a number of public events: including lectures, conferences, and film screenings. Because of the Institute’s great location — in the center of Swamp Island, right opposite the Kremlin, Krymskaya Embankment, ‘Museon’ Park and Gorky Park — Muscovites come here daily to work, socialize or just to have lunch. This territory used to belong to the Moscow chocolate factory ‘Red October’ and was turned into a creative cluster several years ago. As a lively and open public space, Strelka has had a huge impact on the development of the whole island.
Tasks
The Strelka Institute of Media, Architecture and Design aims to educate a new generation of architects, designers and media specialists, on whom the shape of the world in the 21st century will depend. The postgraduate program is intended for graduates of higher educational institutions - young professionals, to whom Strelka gives the opportunity to work together with the authors of brilliant projects in the field of urbanism, architecture and communications from around the world. For non-specialists, the institute organizes open lectures, seminars and round tables on current topics, in which everyone can take part.
The institute's board of trustees includes: Ilya Oskolkov-Tsentsiper, Sergey Adonyev, Alexander Mamut, Oleg Shapiro and Dmitry Likin.
Location of the institute
"Strelka" is located on the territory of the former chocolate factory "Red October" on Bolotny Island - a stone's throw from the Kremlin, the House on the Embankment and the State Museum of Fine Arts. A. S. Pushkin. The institute occupies factory garages, where until 2009 the ARTStrelka cultural center was located. Since “Red October” is the youngest cultural space in the center of Moscow, the institute has new neighbors every month: galleries and photo studios, editorial offices and bars, design bureaus and architectural workshops.
Learning strategy
Strelka Institute of Media, Architecture and Design is educational project, offering a postgraduate program of study and research in areas particularly relevant to modern Russia. Strelka is located in the center of Moscow and brings together architects, designers and media specialists, giving them the opportunity to express themselves creatively in various interdisciplinary projects. Every year, young specialists choose for study and research several of the most important topics for Russia - from the preservation of the urban environment and population migration to the energy of the future and virtual space. At the end of the six-month research cycle, the Institute, together with various print publications, television channels, network resources, mobile operators and advertising agencies, disseminates information about the results research work students and teachers.
Offering free educational programs to students, Strelka Institute operates as a non-profit educational institution, independent of government pressure and market demands, and strives to create favorable conditions for creative research and experimentation, a new platform for solving Russian problems within Russia and with the involvement of international experience.
Education at the Strelka Institute is based on the principle of “thinking and doing.” Regardless of the restrictions imposed by official accreditation, research conducted at Strelka is aimed at solving practical problems and finding real applications for new developments. The educational process is focused not on obtaining a degree, but on students creating their own works based on independent research and critical reflection modern trends. These works are not just samples and models, but fully realized products, information about which is disseminated by leading Russian media, as well as through mobile technologies and blogs. Close interaction and interweaving of theoretical research and practice expands opportunities educational process and creativity in the fields of architecture, media and design.
Summer at Strelka
Since 2010, Strelka has been hosting a public program: seminars, round tables, film screenings and concerts. Strelka will continue the practice of conducting public programs in the summer of 2011.
Stupid quest. We didn't like it. The reviews are inflated. In this warehouse-type building made of iron in an industrial zone, the path where you will find it couldn’t be a bank, some kind of nonsense. The tasks are all the same type, the locations are too tiny, apparently because of this the same equipment is used several times, it seems like you’ve already done everything here and move on, but it turns out you need to decide there again. As a result, the monotony of the game begins to infuriate. Overall we didn't like it.
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Anna Egorova
July 19, 2019 City quest “Sherlock Holmes. The case of the kidnapped Kohinoor"Our family really loves city quests, so we visited a lot of them. The company IQ365 decided to try the quest "Sherlock Holmes. The Case of the Kidnapped Kohinoor" in Gorky Park. I liked the quest, but it is very different from all the other quests we have ever been on. The tasks of this quest are essentially in no way tied to those places in the park that you need to find. We did not receive any information about the park, no interesting information, unlike other quests. The tasks of this quest are mostly “linguistic” in nature: make a word from the available letters, solve a puzzle, etc. There is a logical problem, in our opinion, very interesting. Although the quest format is unusual for us, we liked everything, completed the tasks and walked around the park! We recommend it to everyone, but we ourselves are planning to go to “Little Grimm.”
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Eva Alexandrova
July 19, 2019 Beauty salon "Aldo Coppola"I've been getting eyelash extensions from Elena for a year now. The main criteria for me are accuracy of work and hypoallergenic materials. Elena succeeds. I can’t even imagine myself without eyelashes now. Really like
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Darina Puts
July 17, 2019 Beauty salon "Aldo Coppola"In Aldo, as the cosmetologist told me, I do an innovative VIP line hardware complex. Came with everyone known problems, excess weight and sagging skin. In two weeks they said I would see good results. A week has passed, in fact there is an effect. The waist has already lost 2 cm, but this, of course, is combined with proper nutrition, which is recommended by a cosmetologist at the start of the course.
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Alena Limanskaya
July 9, 2019 Quest “Hide and Seek 2.0 Kids”We went to play hide and seek in the dark with the children. Delight! The game actually takes place in complete darkness in adult mode. For children 11-12 years old there was special lighting and glowing lasers and drawings. Lots of labyrinths and passages. The children played with such enthusiasm that they did not notice how time had passed. Indeed, very original and mysterious. We'll definitely go again!
Concert Hall "Strelka Institute"
The concert hall was opened on the basis of the Strelka Institute of Media, Architecture and Design in 2009. The institute, in fact, is a new innovative educational project that was created in the building of the former Red October candy factory, located within walking distance of the Moscow Kremlin.
The concert hall is located on the territory of former factory garages, where the famous ARTstrelka cultural center was once located.
Currently, it is a young cultural space in the center of Moscow in which concert hall Strelka Institute is of great importance.
The Strelka Institute Concert Hall is an open area for holding entertainment events, as well as a complex consisting of four studios, a lecture hall, a video library, and the Strelka bar with a summer terrace on the roof. The concert hall has a large courtyard and an amphitheater.
Strelka Institute occupies an open area where premiere film screenings of films by famous directors of world cinema, as well as auteur and art-house films are held. In addition, this is the best outdoor concert venue, which occupies the courtyard of the Moscow Strelka Institute. In addition to film screenings and concerts, interesting discussions and lectures are held here.
Rather, the Strelka Institute is not a classic concert hall in the strict sense of the word. This is a constantly changing space, which is constantly adjusted to the format of the event that is currently being held here. Strelka Institute is similar to Big city, in which the audience is citizens who come up with interesting entertainment of different formats and levels for themselves. These include intellectual lecture halls, vibrant cabaret bars, video game venues, and film lecture halls. It happens that the space is transformed into an Indian tent city or a furniture flea market. But most often, the space is transformed into a concert venue with seats in the amphitheater. Over the course of one summer, the Strelka Institute concert hall hosts 12 concerts, in which young but already established performers take part. Over the summer, 400,000 spectators visit the open area. For such a space, this is a huge audience, which indicates the great popularity of this new cultural space among young people.
It’s amazing how the venue – the Strelka Institute auditorium – changes. At the closing of the season this year, the promising young group Kindness, which triumphantly performs at large and important festivals, played in the Strelka Institute concert hall. The setting for the show was a large stage made of many mirrors, giant discus throwers and special mirror bars from Absolut.
This evening had its own dress code. Men were required to wear elegant yet dance-friendly suits, while women were expected to wear sparkling cocktail dresses. And the dancing was not long in coming.
Bar "Strelka" at the concert hall "Strelka Institute"
This bar is a comfortable urban space, created for informal communication within the framework of an open concert venue. The interior of the bar is furnished in an eclectic style, in which elements of Art Deco, Italian and Scandinavian design of the 60s and 70s are interwoven.
The bar amazes with its large cocktail list and varied menu of international cuisine.
On weekends, the bar features a musician playing jazz on an antique piano, parties with DJs, and chamber concerts. Thus, the bar presents nightly programs in the format of live music. In the summer, the bar starts operating a summer terrace, organized on the roof of the former candy factory garage. It offers stunning views of the Moscow River.
Opening hours of the Strelka Institute concert hall:
Monday to Thursday from 19:00 to 000:00;
- Friday and Saturday from 19:00 pm to 3:00 am;
- on Sunday from 18:00 to 00:00.
Strelka Institute is an experimental model of a transforming concert hall. This project will be of interest to young, seeking people who love novelty of sights and sensations.
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