The Russian pavilion at the XI Venice Biennale will showcase contemporary architecture - buildings and projects by Russian and foreign architects. It would seem that it could be simpler to show in the national pavilion what is currently being built in the country. However, during the 28-year history of the Venice Biennale, Russia has never done this. As a rule, in an effort to correspond to the prestigious international exhibition, conceptual expositions were arranged in the Russian pavilion - most of all they showed “our everything” - paper architecture, the most subtle and beloved by critics phenomenon. At the previous Biennale, Russia was represented by an installation by Alexander Brodsky, in 2004 - by the student workshop Workshop Russia.
This year, the curators decided for the first time to break the established tradition and show not the past and not the future, not dreams, not hopes and not memories, but, as far as possible, reality. The author of this idea, one of the two curators of the Russian pavilion of the XI Architecture Biennale in Venice, the famous Russian architectural critic Grigory Revzin, spoke about this at today's press conference.
The main exposition of the pavilion is attended by 15 Russian and 10 foreign architects building in Russia. Grigory Revzin selected the participants on the basis of the "citation" principle - he invited those architects about whom the press writes the most. Each of them will be represented by a model of one building or project. It is essential that the exposition shows together Russians and foreigners, both of the latter stars and non-stars, figuratively putting them on the same board. One of the tasks of Grigory Revzin is to visually compare the work of "Varangians" and "local" architects - which, according to the curator, he has already done mentally more than once. Grigory Rezvin is convinced that with such a comparison, Russian architects will not lose, and maybe even win.
The curator announced one of the peculiarities of the Russian situation at a press conference. Russian architects have more completed buildings. However, in the process of implementation, they undergo many transformations - the project will be coordinated, improved and spoiled, changed in every possible way. For something to remain, the author must fight for his project. Russian architects perceive this struggle as a natural part of their profession. And foreigners do not really want to fight, they bring a concept and as soon as they encounter typical Russian difficulties, they refuse to build. Therefore, foreign projects often remain at the conceptual level, at which the image looks more effective.
Grigory Revzin gave a very illustrative example: two architects, Sergey Skuratov and Erik van Egeraat, designed two different residential skyscrapers, built on the same idea - the spiral-like twist of the building volume. Houses like this are expensive to build, and both had problems with a developer. However, Sergei Skuratov changed the project, achieving the effect of turning the torso of the building through a simpler technique, and Eric van Egeraat began to sue. One finishes the construction of his building, and the other won the court. Thus, the curator concluded, the roles have changed - before, Russian paper architects painted beautiful fantasies, while Western ones fought with practice, and now foreigners in Russia found themselves in the role of paper architects who draw beautiful pictures, and Russians (including many of them - “former wallets ) realize their dreams as reality allows.
So, the main exposition is a cut of the architectural process, a kind of photo finish for the state of 2008 through the eyes of a famous Russian critic. In addition to layouts, the work of each participant of the exposition will be covered in more detail on monitors and in an electronic catalog.
This concept, for the first time in the history of Russian architectural exhibitions in Venice, focused on showing realities, however, is completely out of sync with the motto of the 11th Biennale, announced by its curator, the famous American architectural critic Aaron Betsky. The motto is difficult to translate and sounds like this: “Out there. Architecture beyond the building "- that is," architecture beyond the buildings. " And in the Russian pavilion they decided to show exactly buildings, and even many buildings. That is, the essay risks not revealing the topic.
True, we must admit that the mottos of the Biennale, as a rule, are not very suitable for the demonstration of the buildings themselves, leading the thoughts somewhere outside. Betsky's theme seems to be the quintessence of this tendency, but there used to be Burdette's "cities", Forster's "metamorphoses", Fuksas's "ethics". In a word, it was decided not to change the main idea of the pavilion.
It must be said that Grigory Revzin becomes the curator of the Russian pavilion of the Biennale for the second time. The first time was in 2000, and then he also worked not on the topic, but against it. Massimiliano Fuksas asked to think about "ethics instead of aesthetics", and in the Russian pavilion there was Mikhail Filippov's aesthetic staircase to the sky and Ilya Utkin's aesthetic photographs. As you know, Utkin received a special prize for these photographs - and this was the only time that the Russian pavilion was awarded at the Venice Architecture Biennale. That is, going back, we can say that this is not the first time that Grigory Revzin does not reveal the theme of the Biennale.
True, he himself does not make of this principle. It was announced at the conference that the idea to show "real architecture" appeared much earlier than Betsky voiced his motto. National pavilions of other countries have responded to the motto in different ways. In an effort to go somewhere outside the building, Germany has announced a competition for the most sustainable project, and the American pavilion is likely to show something student. The exposition of the Russian pavilion decided not to bend to match the main theme entirely, but to build interaction with the motto of the Biennale in a slightly different way. Grigory Revzin invited the famous landscape architect-artist, the recluse of the Kaluga village Nikola-Lenivets, the author of the army of snowmen, the hay ziggurat, the imperial border made of wooden posts, etc. to participate in the exposition. etc. - Nikolai Polissky.
And he masterly motivated this curatorial move - one might even say he explained the criticism as a critic. The author of the motto, Aaron Betsky, turns out to have a book with the same title - "Architecture beyond the building". And this book says that every territory is a space that wants to be built up. So, Revzin argues further, Russia is a huge and mostly empty space that wants to be built up. Nikolai Polissky, in his gigantic landscape fantasies, expresses this desire for Russian open spaces - his objects are not yet architecture, but its images and embryos, similar to towers, walls, houses. But all this is outside the building, no one can accuse Polissky of building buildings. Polissky in this situation acts as an artist-medium, sitting in the outback and catching the desire of an empty territory to be built up. In Russia, there is especially a lot of empty territory, and it turns out that the Russian emptiness - as the largest in the world - is a response to Betsky's reasoning about architecture outside buildings.
This part of the exhibition - on the one hand, ideological, and on the other, artistic, will be located on the lower floor and will serve as a creative and theoretical basis for the exposition. Above, on the second floor, there will be a "superstructure" - the result of the desire to fill the void. The void tends to fill - a construction boom is obtained. Architecture is the result of the construction boom Which we show.
The concept is slender, it starts from the theories of Betsky himself, projects them onto Russia, searches for a suitable medium in Russia, and brings all this to the realities that one wants to show. She justifies everything logically, if you read and think about it. There is one unresolved question - whether they will ponder. However, this is directly related to the artistry of the presentation of the exhibition. And the design of the exposition is still a secret - so said Pavel Khoroshilov, the second curator of the pavilion.
Below is a list of exhibitors at the Russian pavilion:
Alexander Asadov
Architectural workshop of A. Asadov
Multifunctional complex on the site of the Cheryomushkinsky market
A. R. Asadov, K. Saprichyan, E. Vdovin (GAP), A. A. Asadov, O. Grigorieva, A. Dmitriev, A. Polishchuk, A. Astashov, A. Shtanyuk (Workshop of A. Asadov). Yury Ravkin (Yury Ravkin Creative Center) Engineers: T. Novoselova (GIP) (JSC "Promstroyproekt"), P. Rafelson, G. Karklo (Workshop of A. Asadov)
Alexey Bavykin
Workshop of architect Bavykin
Office complex on Mozhaisk highway
A. Bavykin, M. Marek, D. Chistov, D. Gumenyuk, with the participation of N. Bavykina; chief designer - K. Kabanov; Chief Project Engineer - L. Slutskovskaya; fire safety - S. Tomin
Mikhail Belov
Residential building in Filippovskiy lane in Moscow
Detailed design: JSC "Stroyproekt"
Facade works: BGS company
Execution and installation of decorative elements: the company "City of Gods"
Andrey Bokov
Mosproject-4
Ice Palace in Moscow
A. Bokov, D. Bush, S. Chuklov, V. Valuiskikh, L. Romanova, Z. Burchuladze, O. Gak, A. Zolotova, A. Timokhov
Constructors: M. Livshin, P. Eremeev, M. Kelman, E. Bekmukhamedov, O. Starikov
Architect-technologist: A. Shabaidash
Yuri Grigoryan
Meganom project
Multifunctional center on Tsvetnoy Boulevard
Y. Grigoryan, A. Pavlova, T. Shabaev, Y. Kuznetsov
Sergey Kiselev
Multifunctional complex Mirax Plaza in Moscow
S. Kiselev, A. Nikiforov, A. Breslavtsev, A. Busalov, G. Kholopov, E. Klyueva
engineers: I. Shvartsman, K. Spiridonov
Boris Levyant
ABD architects
Multifunctional high-rise building in Novosibirsk
B. Levyant, B. Stuchebryukov, L. Mikishev, A. Feoktistova, O. Rutkovsky, D. Spivak, I. Levyant, A. Gorovoy, M. Gulieva, M. Stepura, A. Volyntsev (3D)
Nikolay Lyzlov
Lyzlov Architectural Workshop
Residential building "City of Yachts" in Moscow
N. Lyzlov, M. Kaplenkova, E. Kaprova, N. Lipilina, A. Podyemshchikov, with the participation of A. Krokhin, O. Avramets, A. Yankova
Vladimir Plotkin
TPO "Reserve"
Shopping complex "Four seasons"
V. Plotkin, I. Deeva, Borodushkin, Kazakov, Romanova, Logvinova
Alexander Skokan
JSB "Ostozhenka"
"Ambassadorial House" in Borisoglebsky Lane in Moscow
Architects: A. Skokan, A. Gnezdilov, E. Kopytova, M. Elizarova, M. Matveenko, O. Soboleva, designer: M. Mityukov
Sergey Skuratov
Sergey Skuratov architects
Skyscrapers on Mosfilmovskaya Street in Moscow
S. Skuratov, S. Nekrasov - GAP, I. Ilyin, P. Karpovsky
Sergey Tkachenko
LLC "Arka"
Residential building on Mashkova street in Moscow
Architects: S. Tkachenko, O. Dubrovsky, S. Anufriev, V. Belsky, S. Belyanina, I. Voznesensky, E. Kapalina, A. Kononenko, M. Leikin, G. Nikolashina, V. Chulkova
Chief Engineer: E. Spivak
Designers: V. Gnedin, E. Skachkova, A. Litvinova, N. Kosmina
Mikhail Filippov
Workshop of Mikhail Filippov
Residential building in Kazachiy lane in Moscow
M. Filippov, M. Leonov, T. Filippova, A. Fillipov, O. Mranova, E. Mikhailova
Mikhail Khazanov
Resortproject
Multifunctional Center of the Government of the Moscow Region
Architects: M. Khazanov, D. Razmakhnin, T. Serebrennikova, E. Mil, V. Mikhailov, N. Shchedrova, L. Borisova, A. Zinchuk, A. Krokhin, E. Petushkova, D. Elfimov, D. Nasyrova, A. Kosheleva, V. Vedenyapin, K. Kuzmenko, D. Degtyarev, E. Akulova, M. Kalashnikova, R. Grigorevsky, O. Gulneva, A. Filimonov, V. Klassen, A. Odud, R. Belov, D. Spivak, V. Klassen, M. Chistyakov
Nikita Yavein
Studio 44
The concept of development at the Ladozhsky railway station in St. Petersburg
N. Yavein, N. Arkhipova, Y. Ashmetieva, V. Zenkevich (GAP)
Norman Foster, UK
Foster and Partners
Tower "Russia" in the City
Domenic Perrault, France
DPA
Dominique Perrault Architecture
Design of the new building of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg
Peter Schweger, Sergey Tchoban, Germany
SCHWEGER ASSOZIIERTE Gesamtplanung GmbH
Nps tchoban voss
Federation Tower in the City in Moscow
Eric Van Egerath, Holland
Erick van Egeraat associated architects
National library in Kazan
Zaha Hadid, UK
Zaha Hadid Architects
Private residential building near Moscow
Thomas Lieser, USA
Leeser architecture
Mammoth Museum in Yakutsk
David Adjaye, London
Adjaye / Associates
Business School in Skolkovo
Riccardo Boffil, Spain
Taller de arquitectura
75 quarter. Welton Park
Jean Nouvel, France
Jean Nouvel
COM, USA
SOM
