PROJECT RUSSIA ¹51 - simplicity

It is tempting to link this issue’s theme of simplicity with the current crisis. But there are various ways of doing this; the emphasis may be placed on either practice or theory. In the first case, it will have to be said that the present situation forces us to simplify. This is no time for superfluity; the emphasis is on economy – on a more careful expenditure of resources, including of resources relating to expression and composition. But even in these conditions it is possible to create highquality buildings, as is shown by examples from the past… If, on the other hand, we take a more theoretical approach, then the argument will have a slightly different form, based on the fact that during times of crisis the economic aspect of architecture’s existence ceases to take priority. Accordingly, other aspects of the profession will come to the fore – and precisely those aspects which are related to architecture’s essential character as part of culture, as socially important practice, ‘the syntax of matter’, and so on. The theme of simplicity has a direct bearing on all these aspects. Not least, this is happening because during the course of history, including the history of architecture and the fine arts, ‘simplicity’ as a word has taken on the most diverse and sometimes contradictory shades of meaning. Some people, for instance, will agree with Le Corbusier that “Great art is simple, great works of art are simple.” Others, though, will join forces with the Russian lexicographer Dal’, for whom ‘simple’ means “unaffected, not fine, crude, without particular merit” and so on. Some will say that the simple is that which is uncontrived, archetypical, organically bound up with tradition and experience. Others will counter that simplicity must always conceal a complex multiplicity of ideas; otherwise, it becomes results-oriented production or ‘salon’ formalism. Some will declare that ‘simple’ art is essentially anti-bourgeois since it stands in opposition to everything that is figurative and decorative – everything that is an object of speculation for the market and the media. Others will object that this kind of art is nothing more than decorator’s avant-garde… The richness of meaning that is a distinguishing feature of simplicity is not merely a consequence of our age’s wonderful ability to turn any concept into a weather vein that will turn in any direction you want. Simplicity and simplicity of form are inherently open to the most diverse interpretations. Furthermore, simplicity of form is a convenient instrument for revealing and clarifying important ideas. Simplicity makes it possible to focus on constants while ignoring inessential variables. Abstraction and generalization are two qualities of simplicity that make it a maidservant of cognition. On the one hand, simplicity is inclined to make constant appeals to collectivity. Its clarity, concentrated quality, and concision are simultaneously both a sign of the striving for an ideal in the process of which easily comprehensible and commonly acknowledged objectives are set and realized, and a means of representing universal and therefore collective values. “Nothing helps make people closer,” wrote Lev Tolstoy, “than simplicity.” Here the formal interlocks with the social and the abstract with the specific. And it is at precisely such intersections that true architecture appears. Alexei Muratov, editor-in-chief CONTENTS NEWS Dmitry Shvidkovsky.  Writ of protection to the Register of Monuments of Russia Elena Petukhova. News from the Titanic, or On the ruins of Eldorado Alexei Shchukin. The end of development? Yury Grigoryan. Borders In brief Sergei Sitar, Elena Gonzalez. Expulsion of traders from the temple Tatiana Malinina. Poliakov in MUAR Vladimir Sedov. Expositional honours to Palladio Ekaterina Golovatyuk. Koolhaas and Hermitage Dina Sattarova. Triumph of democracy Sergey Khachaturov. Gloom and clarity of the Enlightenment Irina Shipova. Russia today: as seen by Philipp Meuser Arte+ Architects Administrative building on Tsvetnoy boulevard in Moscow Architect Bykov’s Studio Multifunctional complex on Oktyabr'skaya ulitsa in Nizhny Novgorod SIMPLISITY Alexei Muratov. Editorial Eugene Asse. Towards simplicity Pier Vittorio Aureli. Less is More: Towards a History of Non-Figurative Architecture Alexander Ermolaev. Oshevensk breakthrough Nikolay Lyzlov. Simple complexities OBJECTS AND PROJECTS asse architects Yacht club at Khimkinskoe Reservoir in Moscow asse architects ‘Platforma’ retail and business complex on Rublevo-Uspenskoe shosse near Moscow asse architects Boathouse at the resort of Pirogovo ‘Alexander Brodsky’ office House at the fifth green, resort of Pirogovo Project Meganom Private house near Moscow Project Meganom Cabanon. Project for the ‘Persimfans’ exhibition at the 1st Moscow biennale of architecture Project Meganom ‘Ether’ office centre on Butikovsky pereulok in Moscow Reserv ‘Avenue 77’ complex in Moscow Lyzlov Architectural Studio Residential complex on Ordzhonikidze street in Moscow Sergei Skuratov Architects Office block on Novodanilovskaya embankment in Moscow Alexander Konstantinov. Question and answer Sergei Khodnev. Vladimir Martynov: Minimalism is music’s natural condition Ivan Akhmet'ev. Straight look MONITOR Alexei Kozyr' Architects ‘Tsekh V’ gallery Alexander Konstantinov Haus Unter der Linde, Austria MK-Interio Apartment in St Petersburg Alexei Levchuk Jewellery boutique in St Petersburg Pole-Design Evrokommerts company headquarters in Moscow DESIGN / TECHNOLOGY PROJECT RUSSIA CATALOGUE