The voting of the townspeople held at the exhibition of competitive projects, and the opinion of the jury coincided: the residents of the city and the jury experts opted for the WORCac project, according to a press release distributed today by the British The Architecture Foundation, which was organizing the competition on behalf of Roman Abramovich Millhouse … Thus, WORCac was chosen as a "consultant for the creation of a master plan" for the future reconstruction of New Holland (note, not at all by the main architect of this reconstruction, but by the consultant).
WORKac architects called their concept “city within a city”. They turned an empty space along the Admiralty Canal into an artificial hill with parking spaces inside and an outdoor poster for outdoor performances. It is planned to build a promenade with a winter garden inside the old buildings of New Holland, thus letting in “nature inside”. This promenade will connect buildings with different functions, including contemporary art, design, education and trade. “We're thrilled to be working on such an important project for one of the most beautiful cities in the world,” says WORCac executives Amale Andraos and Dan Wood. “Our master plan balances conservation and renewal, he respects the past of St. Petersburg and prepares the ground for the future development of its culture and art."
In moving from the concept stage to the project stage, New Holland Development and Iris are planning to hold a series of both closed and open discussions on the reconstruction of New Holland with the participation of all stakeholders, according to a press release.
The exhibition of New Holland's competition projects was held in the building of the Central Naval Museum on the Kryukov Canal for two weeks from July 16 to July 30; it was attended by 6617 people. At the exhibition, 8 projects of all participants in the custom competition were shown, 4 of which (David Chipperfield, MVRDV, Studio 44 of Nikita Yavein and WORCac) were included in the short list of candidates for the victory.
And so it happened that OMA Rem Koolhaas, offering to dig New Holland with an additional channel, was eliminated at the first stage of the competition - and his students WORKac won. However, this bureau is already well known in the world: its portfolio includes many cultural centers and urban planning projects. They now work for three museums: Bluffer in Houston, the Clark Institute of Art and the Children's Museum of Art in New York.
Yu. T.
