PROJECT RUSSIA №53 - under 33

This issue of Project Russia is dedicated to young architects – to the most promising of their generation. To a large extent, this is a tribute to the charm of an exhibition of work by finalists in the Avant-garde Prize organized by Bart Goldhoorn, a curator who is also Editorial Director of our magazine, and the Russky Avant-garde Foundation at this year’s Arch Moskva. An architectural consciousness which has been trained to put everything into distinct categories and which has a sense of proportion is readily enchanted by various selections, classifications, ratings, and so on. This is the reason for the persistent juggling – possibly entirely apt – with words such as ‘style’ that denote a concept which in connection with contemporary art is never used at all… To put together a ‘hit parade’ of young architects is now doubly tempting. As construction activity collapses, attention is switching from the production of space to the production of ideas – and who are we to look to for the latter if not young people? Thirty-three, the age limit set by the organizers of the Avant-garde Prize struck us as entirely satisfactory. So, while recognizing its arbitrary quality (why not take 35 or 37, the age at which Pushkin died, or 40?), we adopted this as our upper limit – due to its pleasing roundness and tranquil symmetry, which is not without metaphysical connotations, on the one hand, and, on the other, because this is the age which marks off the first ‘non-Soviet’ generation of Russian architects. Those who are now 33 entered higher education in 1992-1993, and the Soviet Union, as we all know, collapsed in 1991… But we are not copying the long list for the Avantgarde Prize, but putting together our own list of the most promising young architects. And there are two main considerations that guide us here. First, selection of candidates for the Avant-garde is based on the principle of self-submission. This means that architects who for one or another reason are not interested in the prize or who have failed to notice announcements concerning the competition are excluded from it a priori. Secondly, architects are selected for the Avant-garde on the basis of submission of a portfolio. However, for various reasons, this portfolio may not include their most interesting work (for instance, projects that are not absolutely fresh or which are the result of teamwork). And then there are certain kinds of activity (curating, for instance, or organization of events, architectural criticism, etc.) that can never be part of a standard architectural design portfolio. For these reasons we decided to select the most interesting of today’s young architects ourselves. Realizing our limited knowledge in this field, and also out of a desire to avoid excessive subjectivity, we called on the help of people with special in-depth knowledge of the Russian architectural scene. (1) These experts were permitted to name any number of architects. The only limit was age – 33. The results of this express poll are revealing. More than 30 names were put forward, of which only five figured twice or more. (2) It is easy to guess that this kind of spread of opinions is due not so much to a wealth of choice when it comes to young talent, but to the fact that these people are not known to anyone: we know only those young architects with whom we have come into contact personally for whatever reason. This failure of knowledge is revealing. It tells us very simply that among professional architects no one has any time for young people. If help was being offered – if there were transparent competitions held for real design briefs; if there were grants available; if young architectural firms were hired for large government projects; and so on – then someone, but especially the editors of specialist media in this field, would be able to express a consolidated opinion with regard to the new elite that is taking shape. But the situation here in Russia is that our elders, our architectural ‘generals’ and ‘colonels’, are occupied exclusively with their own affairs. Everything that comes outside the scope of this business simply does not interest them and everything that is capable of offering them competition puts them on their guard. Here, incidentally, we can detect something in common between the fate of our young architects and that of their foreign colleagues who have set out to design buildings for Russia. But if the latter have the opportunity to realize designs in other countries, the only option left for our young architects is to invent ‘another Russia’ – to emigrate either into the virtual space of the computer or to remote ‘pampas’ where some festival of land art is being held. Alexei Muratov, editor-in-chief CONTENTS NEWS Natalia Bronovitskaya In memory of Boris Tkhor (1929–2009) Dmitry Shvidkovsky Back to dinosaurs In brief Yury Grigoryan Sustainability is here Elena Petukhova Anniversary of the crisis. Everybody is invited... Sergey Tchoban, Alexei Levchuk Eifman Theatre: afterword to the competition Alexei Komov Hydroblow: time of the river Sergey Khachaturov 'Beyond the Earth.' Festival ArchStoyaniye-2009 Sergey Sitar Iced Architects at MUAR Andrey Ivanov Settling of the nomad Inna Ivanova Treasures of the South-west Vladimir Yuzbashev Architects in the open air Alexander Zmeul New MAPS report OBJECT OF THE SEASON Valode & Pistre architectes The Hyatt Regency Hotel, Ekaterinburg UNDER 33 Alexei Muratov. Editorial Bart Goldhoorn NEXT: on branding in architecture Elena Petukhova The web generation or: Virtual drive TOP-15 PR questionnaire (part 1) A-GA Reconstruction of the Ostankino Television Centre A-GA Patriot, residential building in the town of Zagoryanka in Moscow Region Andrey Asadov ‘Cities’ architecture festival Nikita Asadov Sugar House Nikita Asadov The Button Anton Barklyansky An esplanade and its metamorphoses Boris Bernaskoni VILLA MIRROR Boris Bernaskoni. Architecture today looks like glamorous make-up that has smudged on society’s eyelids Elena Deshinova Menschbahn Fedor Dubinnikov Goods Concept Store Fedor Dubinnikov MEL office PR questionnaire (part 2) Timur Karimullin Landscaping of the grounds of the residential complex on ul. Tikhomirnova in Kazan’ Sergey Kuznetsov Reconstruction of Block No. 270 in the region of ulitsa Sretenka Alexander Kuptsov The Interior+Design pavilion at Arch-Moscow 2007 PR questionnaire (part 3) Nikolay Pereslegin Towers Natalia Sukhova Apartment/dacha hybrid Anastasia Chernyshova Commune house without a single door ludi architects ‘Ways of Living’. Design of exhibition space za bor Studio Private house in the Moscow countryside GRADUATION PROJECTS Nikita Tokarev. Tough questions Ruben Arakelyan Housing development in Yerevan Olga Banchikova Scientific educational centre for nanotechnology on Vorobyevy Gory artairport: Concept plan for the regeneration of the premises of the Central House of Artists on Krymsky val MONITOR Alexander Brodsky Rotunda. ArchStoyanie Festival A.D.I. Apartment in Moscow FRONTARCHITECTURE ProfOffice headquarters Pastushenko and Samogorov Bureau Cottage in Samara TEXTS Anna Bronovitskaya Open city: The Soviet experiment Dmitry Mikheykin Realization and idealization of the new architectural environment of the USSR in feature cinematography of the 1960s Yury Bocharov To the revival of professional urban planning in Russia MOSCONSTRUCT Sergey Skuratov: Works from 1999–2009 DESIGN / TECHNOLOGY PROJECT RUSSIA CATALOGUE