Certainly, the visitor is struck by a certain, as they say now, "anti-crisis" modesty of the current festival in comparison even with the last year, held then, due to the renovation of the building, "visiting the Tretyakov Gallery." And the frequent talks about the crisis, especially the strained and cheerful statements that architecture, they say, is alive and well, aggravate the situation. But in general, the projects are shown mostly pre-crisis, this is the inertia of any architectural exhibition, even an interior one - they show what was done a little earlier, and therefore, the “cut” of reality lags behind today by about six months. So for now, one can observe not fading, and not a struggle for survival, and certainly not the sprouts of a new one, but rather the remnants of a good life.
As usual, the main hall of the festival was the "Model Hall", where tablets and interiors-installations are exhibited. In the adjacent corridors leading to another small hall, divided into lecture and exhibition zones by a flimsy partition, the main part of the projects-contestants in one category or another is located. All works participating in the festival's competition, both at home and interiors, can be divided into 2 groups: interiors and mansions "for the customer", diligently finished, filled with light and air - in a word, those where it is pleasant and easy to live. And conceptual projects, a little "raw" compared to the previous ones and most likely having no future, but so fascinating and different from the first group that their tablets are constantly crowded with architects and designers, cleverly studying brief descriptions of ideas.
Among such conceptual projects is the House of Elements, the layout of which is based on earth, water, air, fire and, which is typical, spirit. Each of the elements has its own zone in the house, and the connecting link, as conceived by the authors, was a tree in the pentagonal well of the courtyard. The project "House-A", the layout of which is literally solved in the form of the letter "A", stands out among other works with an unusual rounded facade. As the relief decreases, the facade sharpens, thereby visually and technically solving the problem of height differences.
Another - already implemented - project House above the ravine, is similar to the architectural embodiment of Cubism and from different angles evokes associations either with the avant-garde experiments of the 1920s (in particular, with the Schroeder house), or with the building of the Ministry of Roads in Tbilisi, or with houses the heyday of architectural minimalism.
Among the projects of residential buildings, a special place is occupied by the work of the architectural bureau 625, where screens in dazzling white frames are cut into the main volume at different angles. It turned out something like that, it looks like either Zaha Hadid, or a modern microwave oven.
Although it cannot be said that the crisis was not felt at all. Against this background, for some reason, environmentally friendly architecture has become especially relevant, which everyone now considers capable of preserving only natural, but also material resources. What is strange - seemingly modern ways of preserving the environment are not cheap, but on the contrary, very expensive, both in the automotive industry and in architecture. Low-cost preservation of the environment is possible only if you sacrifice comfort and merge with nature in a serious way. But the crisis has not yet reached this point, and everyone seems to be hoping that it will not. So far, schemes and theories have prevailed, all hope for the best. And for half a year now, as environmentally friendly, and just natural-like projects are listed in the category of anti-crisis.
The ecological theme was embodied in the project of a house on the Klyazminskoye Reservoir PTAM Vissarionov, which, like a living organism, consists of organic forms, similar to cells, and billowing canopy arches on the facades create the feeling that the house is breathing. The project of the House-Garden, as open as possible and striving to merge with the environment, provides for this large glazed areas of the facades, as well as their partial landscaping in order to create a natural transition from the interior to the surrounding space.
Among the interiors presented at the festival are both themed and ultramodern, there are also more traditional ones with stone fireplaces and semi-antique furniture. The interior of the Laboratory of Virtual Architecture is of a completely different quality, which perfectly fits the definition of “nonlinear paradigm”, there is not a single straight line, space becomes fluid, nonlinear, and, of course, unusual.
The interior festival on Brestskaya boasts a long history. He remembers the late 1990s, when the interior and country house was almost the only haven for many creative personalities. Since then, we have experienced a construction boom, individuals have moved from small private orders to houses, and in recent years more and more to projects of neighborhoods, neighborhoods and new cities. The interiors have become somehow less interesting to everyone. Until in the fall all this feast was suddenly cut short. Many architects are at a loss; someone is waiting for improvement, someone is waiting for the "bottom". So far, the exhibitions have retained the momentum of the summer of 2008.
But it is possible that soon the interior will again become a refuge for many - then something new will have to be expected from the festival.
The festival will run until March 23; The winners of the competition will be awarded on March 23rd.
