Our New School is a national educational initiative proposed by the President of the Russian Federation in February this year. Its main goal is to modernize the school as an educational institution in such key areas as the reorganization of teaching and teacher training systems, improving educational programs and knowledge assessment systems, as well as organizing children's leisure and creativity within the walls of the school. Provides for "Our New School" and the development of new architectural projects of educational institutions, since the existing standard buildings are unlikely to become a worthy platform for the implementation of all the planned transformations. That is why, within the framework of the national initiative, a custom-made architectural competition was held, organized by KoperniK and Sberbank of Russia.
The best architectural bureaus of Moscow - "MEL", "Architects Ass", "Meganom", "Za bor", "AB", XYZ and Nikolai Lyzlov's workshop were invited to participate in the competition. They were given the task of developing a project for a compact modular volume of a multifunctional hall, which can serve as both a sports and assembly hall. In addition to the functionality, the terms of reference stipulated such object parameters as area (no more than 900 square meters), cost (up to one million dollars) and construction time (maximum six months). In fact, this is an extension that in the future will be able to supplement any existing typical school building. Such a transforming hall can be used as a sports ground, as a dance podium, and even as a cinema; it is intended to help Russian schools find additional space for developing classes with children without global and costly renovations.
The works of the participants of the competition were included in the exposition "Our New School", presented on May 26, on the day of the opening of the Second Moscow Biennale of Architecture. In the central hall of the Central House of Artists there are seven tablets and layouts of multifunctional extensions for Russian schools. Throughout the entire work of the Biennale, this exhibition has invariably attracted the attention of visitors - the theme of the school did not leave anyone indifferent, and the bright proposals of architects for the "rehabilitation" of dull standard projects of 30 years ago aroused interest and delight. The participants of the competition really made their projects as optimistic and imaginative as possible. Thus, the school extension of the Za bor bureau is designed in the form of a parallelepiped with broken edges, as if covered with scarlet ribbons, and the XYZ bureau extension is a barrel with retractable arches laid on its side, which allows to enlarge and radically transform its interior space.
At a press conference dedicated to summing up the results of the competition, Russian Presidential Aide, one of the jury members Arkady Dvorkovich noted that "these wonderful school extensions meet all modern requirements, both architectural and functional, and are also safe and environmentally friendly." And the president of IG KoperniK Alexander Senatorov stressed that each of the developed projects can be implemented in any climatic zone of Russia. Probably, in order to give Russian schools more chances for modernization, the jury of the competition chose not one, but two winning projects at once - the works of the MEL Studio and the Project Meganom bureau.
The school extension of the Project Meganom bureau is designed as a rectangular volume with enclosing structures in the form of a metal lattice. In fact, this is a naked skeleton of a building, on which any facade panels can be hung, depending on the tastes and preferences of a particular school. Such a solution will give teachers and students the opportunity to determine for themselves what their new multifunctional pavilion will be like. The inner space of the extension is divided into two parts - the hall itself and the gallery around it. As required under the terms of the competition, the hall can be transformed from a sports hall into an assembly hall.
The second winning project is the school extension of the MEL Studio, headed by architect Fyodor Dubinnikov. In this project, the jury won over the versatility of the interior space and its ability to easily transform with the help of movable and retractable elements. At first glance, it seems that this is an ordinary sports hall, but with the help of a transformable stage and retractable stands, it turns into a theater or concert hall with a wave of the hand. At the same time, the space, divided into two parts by a movable partition, can simultaneously perform both functions, that is, serve as a place for sports training and a rehearsal room.
The jury noted the high level of all the works submitted for the competition and thanked the architects for their outstanding innovative projects. As for the winners of Our New School, their projects in the very near future should reach the stage of developing working documentation. The construction of the first transformer halls will begin in 2011. At the same time, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation plans to announce an architectural competition for the best project of a new generation school.
