The idea of the design concept of the architects was inspired by the oxymoron of the situation itself - most of the 2014 Winter Olympics will be held in a city in which there is no winter as such. That is, cold weather and winds there, of course, regularly happen, but that many days of snowfall, snowdrifts to the waist, "frost and sun" - this is by definition impossible in the resort region. And the architects of A. Asadov's workshop found it very offensive that numerous foreign guests and participants of the Olympics would come to Russia in the winter, but the famous Russian winter (which, by the way, along with bears, earflaps and vodka, is one of the most common stereotypes about our country) will never see. This is how the idea arose to convey the spirit of winter, at least metaphorically: a whirlwind of snow bursts into the almost closed circle of Olympic facilities and creates a single and dynamic space.
You can bring the idea of a snow whirlwind to life with minimal decorative means. For example, with the help of a swirling lawn pattern and paving footpaths, the layout of decorative ponds and the creation of "thematic" facade shells. The latter, as conceived by the authors, will imitate a surface covered with frost, over which the drawn snowflakes are unevenly distributed: the closer to the roof, the denser the "snow cover". Well, in the dark, when the white patterns on the "packaging" for buildings will not be visible, the effect of recently passed or ongoing snowfall is planned to be maintained with the help of a unified architectural lighting system. It will also allow the frosty facades to instantly transform into a multi-colored flower meadow, which, according to the architects, should remind guests of the warmth and brightness of the sea coast.
In addition to the design concept, stylistically uniting the future sports facilities in the Imeretinskaya lowland, Asadov's team developed the design of one of the main symbols of the Olympics - the Olympic torch. It represents the Olympic rings, twisting in a spiral into a five-pointed star or the same snowflake. According to the architects' plan, five athletes from different continents will simultaneously light a fire on the rings, symbolizing their parts of the world, the flame will soar up five spirals and light a torch.
It must be said that in their creative searches, the authors did not deviate too much from the general line of the organizers of the Olympics, because the stylized image of a snowflake is considered one of the official symbols of the 2014 Games. The architects only multiplied this image, proposing to make the image of the Russian winter, snowy and blizzard, the hallmark of the competition and of Russia as a whole. The “Snowy Russia” project does not set itself the task of abandoning some Olympic facilities or radically rethinking their appearance during construction - rather, it is about developing a corporate identity for the second Russian Olympics, about trying to give it a vivid, memorable image.
Of course, it is too early to say that the ideas of A. Asadov's architectural studio can be used in the preparation for the 2014 Olympic Games. However, the designers intend to seriously fight for the presence of Russian architecture in Sochi. They have already patented their concept and plan to present to the country's leadership.
