The topic of this issue is “Banks”. The notion of bank has many meanings and contradictions. It is a border, a margin, an edge, behind which there is something unknown. But a bank is also a link, a threshold that is crossed by something new. The current condition of architecture (both as a profession and philosophy) is generally perceived like this: we find ourselves on a bank beyond which the familiar ends and the unknown begins.
A prominent architectural theorist and methodologist, Alexander Rappaport celebrates his anniversary this year. To convey anniversary greetings to one...
2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture recipients announced.
This is not only an information pavilion. It is 278 “bowtie” benches for the city. It is the future urban furniture designed for San Sebastian in the form of the European Capital of Culture pavilion of the present.
At the recent Congress of the Union, architects discussed the problems of the professional workshop, set out in the report speech of President A. Bokov, First Vice President V. Vasilyevich. Logvinov and vice-presidents for federal districts, in heated discussions outlined ways to solve them. According to the new charter, the congress will become annual, and the presidency is limited to two terms. The congress elected the president, the board, the professional ethics board and the audit commission.
The article tells about the results of the review competition of children’s architectural and art creativity held during the 24th Annual International Festival “Zodchestvo”. The theme for the review competition-2016 is “Master’s space”. The young authors and their teachers demonstrated their interest toward such masters as Leonardo da Vinci, Alexander Pushkin, Le Corbusier, Kasimir Malevich, Jacov Chernikhov, Antonio Gaudi, Victor Shukhov, Mikalojus Ciurlionis and others. Architecture and art schools from 18 Russian cities took part in the competition.
The architectural school "Evolution" with the support of the Union of Architects of Russia and the Union of Moscow Architects held an open architectural competition "Prestige", which was attended by authors and teams from Russia and Belarus.
The theory of architecture is in crisis today: very few people discuss theoretical texts, because very few people read them. A. G. Rappaport in his works of theoretical architecture tries to prepare ‘the collective unconscious of the profession’ to a global breakthrough in thinking and practice. He believes that professional reflection will come across the problems which are now alien to professional consciousness.
The 23rd of October 2016 is Alexander Gerbertovich Rappaport’s 75th anniversary. He has made a great contribution to formation of a new paradigm of architecture. Within seven years he has published more than two thousand articles on theory of architecture and art in his blog “The Tower and the Labyrinth”. The blog as a new format of theoretical work involves theorists and practicing architects who care about the future of architecture.
Those who consider themselves architects disapprove of the statements about destruction of the subject of architectural culture, profession and of the subject of architectural theory. At the same time, a deep crisis of both theory and practice is obvious. When theorists of architecture of the 20th and early 21st centuries turned to the subjects external to architecture – sociology, psychology, semiotics, ecology, post-structuralist criticism, etc., instead of enriching and renovating the architectural theory, the results were just the opposite. A brand new and independent paradigm of...
The relations between a waterfront and a city structure are viewed historically. The author gives examples of both positive and negative attitudes of city-planners towards sea and river waterfronts. The author makes a hypothesis that a positive modality of perception of the waterfront encourages a kind and friendly atmosphere in the city.
There is nothing stronger than stone, but it can be broken by the flow of time and by the flow of water, which proves to be a more reliable storage of memory than the stone. Storage is a process in time. In stone, this process relates to unchangeability of the crystalline substance, to constancy. Water, however, is always in the process of recovery and movement. Neurophysiologists came to the conclusion that memory of living organisms is embodied in recovery processes, but not in untransformable substances. The main material in these processes is water.
Water running over the...
The article continues the theme of integrating architecture and nature started in the previous issue (PB49). The place preservation principle is defined, and the history of formation and the contemporary state of ideas, practices and concepts based on this principle are presented. The article reviews the international and national experience of using this principle. It analyses the conceptual projects of a new type of housing based on the biocenosis regeneration principle.
The article presents the design of the new embankment Lisikha in Irkutsk. The architectural-artistic appearance of the embankment reflects a legend about a fox. The article describes principal town-planning, architectural and technical solutions for the future embankment.
The article features the architects’ architectural and town-planning credo, views and experience demonstrated in the concept of the public-recreational environment of Krasnoyarsk. It can be properly realized only through the dialogue between the power, business representatives, architects and municipal communities. It is concluded that a high-quality urban environment is possible only if the interests of different social groups, communities and each citizen are considered in an integrated manner, in relation to the current urban processes and the city’s architectural and spatial...
The article presents the basic concepts of the project on creation of the zone of advanced economic growth “Tomsk embankments” in Tomsk. Disconnected territories in the center of the city containing a lot of slum houses, industrial, household and warehouse facilities are united through the system of public spaces that opens the city toward the river. A modern and good-quality level of territorial development is provided by reinterpretation of functionality and the use of platforms for formation of “new territories” in the interdam space. The first impression of the city is created by a...
In 2014 our office rethink worked together with the office Labgrad, Saint Petersburg, on a development strategy of the Republic of Tatarstan. The Republic of Tatarstan is crossed by two large and mythic rivers – the Volga and the Kama - and is generally divided by a dense network of river valleys. Today, cities worldwide rediscover their waterfronts and take advantage of their waterfront position to differentiate and to attract residents, jobs and investments in international competition. In our study we set a focus on the potential of the Volga and the Kama River space to become a...
The article refers to the history of design of the Moscow Palace of Young Pioneers architectural complex on Leninskie (now Vorobievy) Gory viewed in the context of evolution of the national architecture. While speaking about how the project came into being and which way was chosen to find the architectural character, the author proves that the Palace was a pivotal point in the history of Russian architecture and became one of the symbols of Soviet Modernism.
The article deals with the issues of building of modern university campuses through the example of a new campus of Vienna University of Economics and Business – a successful project that facilitates the improvement of education quality and provides conditions for harmonious development of the individual.
The architectural concept of the building was formed gradually, in the process of overcoming of this or that standard regulating construction of kindergartens. The territory remained after development was not enough for providing each group with a playground. That is why the playgrounds are partially located on accessible roofs. It defined a distinctive outlook of the building: its both wings are terraced and resemble decks of a ship. The flow-through verandas on the earth and on the roof with small toylike houses integrate the main building and its ground into a single community.
The article features the main areas of focus within the Architectural Planning Department of Irkutsk National Research State Technical University related to designing of new museums for towns in Priangarie. Several student projects elaborated for Irkutsk, Malta, Khuzhir and Listvyanka are described. The article also presents the contents of architectural student competitions and scientific events on this topic. The relation between construction of museums and development of tourism in the towns is considered. The article comes to the conclusion that building of new museums in Irkutsk...
The poem “Architecture” by Joseph Brodsky was commented on by Alexander Rappaport, Konstantin Lidin and Elena Bagina. The poem deserves to be studied at all architectural schools and to be learnt by heart by future architects; and the problems touched upon in this poem deserve to be thought about by architectural theorists. This poem is a quintessence of the contemporary theoretical thought about architecture. It raises such themes as time and memory, space, place and substance. It also speaks about ideal geometric shapes in architecture and dynamics of architectural forms. Architectural...
The article refers to the history of the International Architectural Festival “Eco-Shore” – a unique international project on ecological, architectural, town-planning and design comprehension and development of the waterside space of oceans, seas, rivers and lakes. It also reviews the results of the Festival “Eco-Shore 2016” held in Baku.
The article features the present-day problems of small rivers in Irkutsk and reviews the international experience of using riverfronts and the existing programs of their rehabilitation.
An ironical way of world perception is peculiar not only to the absurd art. A detached metacultural ironical view is utterly tolerant, because it refers to no one moral-aesthetical system. Visual collages of the blog “Archemistry and Absurdecture” by O. Ermolaeva and A. Rappaport are remarkably ironical: while robbing the familiar visual objects of their meaning, they give those objects new unexpected and paradoxical meanings.
The article speaks about the history of the design of the National Innovative Complex “Olonkholand” in Yakutsk. It features the concept of the future complex, which will play an important role in the development of the territory. The focus of the article is the International Architectural Competition for the design of “Olonkholand”.
To create a comfortable city, which uses maximum recreational potential, we propose a concept for the park that integrates two basic typologies: one of a city park with a number of urban amenities, infrastructure, anchor objects and a protected embankment; the other is a natural park with maximum preservation of valuable elements of nature, formation of new landscape zones, recreational places and promenades along the natural bank of the Angara River.
The article features an infrastructure development of the banks of the Ushakovka River in Irkutsk proposed by specialists of Irkutskgiprodornii in 2011. It describes principal town-planning, architectural and technical solutions. Proposals on functional zoning of the territory are also provided.
The article reviews the history of development of the left bank of the Angara River within the territory of the Irkutsk Hydroelectric Power Plant. The article analyses the project worked out by N. Zhukovsky architectural bureau in the 1990s. It features recreational characteristics of the site and an integrated nature of the project. It also speaks about preservation of the historical heritage of the Soviet period - the 1st and the 2nd HPP Settlements, as well as the toponymy. The article touches upon the question of expediency of the location of the Temple of Alexander Nevsky. The...
Объектом 50-го номера журнала «Проект Байкал» стала градостроительная концепция «Новая Земля». Главный редактор ПБ Елена Григорьева беседует с автором проекта архитектором Тимуром Башкаевым.