Initially, the curators of the Russian pavilion at the XII Venice Biennale of Architecture commissioned Sergey Skuratov Architects to design a folk theater and a small residential complex on the territory of an abandoned park on the banks of the Tsninsky Canal. Skuratov admits that even before he met Vyshny Volochk personally, the terms of reference, formulated in this way, surprised and puzzled him. After the architect personally visited this city and talked to its mayor, it became obvious to him that the problem of the degrading city center cannot be solved by the theater alone. “In a wonderful city with a rich historical heritage, there are practically no functionally developed and architecturally meaningful public and recreational zones today,” Sergey Skuratov makes a helpless gesture. "There is no place in the city that would be the center of attraction, concentration of its cultural and social life." At his own peril and risk, Skuratov decided to conduct a deeper analysis of the socio-economic and urban planning needs of the city, and later, when his initiative was fully supported by the curators, he began work on a project for a comprehensive reconstruction of the central part of Vyshny Volochok.
The epicenter of the new construction is two large islands in the bend of the Tsna River, in the place where the Tsnitsky and Tveretsky canals depart from it. It is difficult to disagree with the fact that Skuratov managed to find almost the most ideal place to locate the new public center: on the one hand, these islands have never been built up, and on the other hand, they are not flooded during the spring flood of the river. However, the choice of location also imposed very special requirements on the architecture. Firstly, such a city as Vyshny Volochek, with its low-rise, mostly wooden buildings, is contraindicated in large public buildings. And secondly, as already mentioned, the islands from time immemorial remained undeveloped and are an integral part of the panorama and landscape of the city. It was the latter circumstance that prompted Skuratov to the idea of making the entire architecture landscape, imitating the natural relief with its smooth lines. Having designed gently sloping, operated roofs with a lawn covering, and using only natural materials (stone and glass in facades, wood in structures and interiors), the architect achieved an amazing effect: the panorama of the city has not changed, but its center has become noticeably greener and acquired a delicate European charm.
In plan, the complex resembles a three-pointed boomerang, oriented strictly along a grid of roads on opposite banks. The highway, by the way, passes through the entire island, but is enclosed in special buried tunnels, which allows freeing its territory from transport almost entirely. Parking lots for visitors' cars and tourist buses are located in the lower tiers of the complex, and several additional intercepting parking lots are located outside the islands and are connected with them by pedestrian bridges. All functions that require a minimum amount of new construction were scattered along the shores of the island - for example, a public beach, an open amphitheater for city-wide celebrations, a pier with a boathouse, and the rest were pulled closer to the center and introduced into the landscape, "collecting" several new folds. At the same time, it was essential for Skuratov to place all functions on one of the islands, which has a large area. Its smaller brother is completely set aside for a park with paths for cycling, skateboards and roller skating.
Fundamental changes in the terms of reference, which Sergei Skuratov courageously decided on, naturally led to very cardinal urban planning proposals. In particular, they include the restoration and laying out of several more parks and squares on the banks of the river and canals, the construction of embankments and bridges, and the laying of new pedestrian and highways. And yet the most important thing Skuratov remained faithful to the original curatorial intention. His project is also a renovation, not of industrial buildings, but of an urban area. And most importantly, he showed the city, completely unfamiliar with modern architecture, that architecture is indeed capable of improving the quality of life, while remaining correct and delicate in relation to the existing landscape.
br> In the coming days, read texts about other projects made for the exposition of the Factory Russia pavilion in our news feed.
