The open international competition "Changing the face - changing appearance" was jointly organized by the Union of Architects of Russia, the British Royal Institute of Architects and DuPont and was held from February to June this year. The competition, in which architects from 62 countries took part, set itself the task of identifying the most unexpected and interesting options for the reconstruction of the Pushkinskiy cinema building. And since the competition does not imply implementation (this is a competition of concepts), its participants were completely unlimited in their fantasies: in their projects, they could change the facades of the cinema, its area and the shape of the roof, as well as offer the most unexpected options for improving the adjacent territory. The only condition set by the organizers was the use of at least one of the DuPont finishing materials. And, of course, "Pushkinskiy", even after the most daring transformations, had to remain a cinema, although it could be supplemented with any functions. In total, more than 1000 applications were submitted for the competition, and the jury selected 70 projects for the shortlist, among which was the proposal of Yuri Vissarionov's PTAM.
The authors gave their project the name "Living Space" - as effective as it is telling, since it refers to the biomorphic architecture, beloved by this workshop. The modernist building with an open gallery at the level of the second floor and a roof in the form of a concrete "hood" is being extended by the architects to a parallelepiped, for which virtually the entire space of the gallery is covered with a glass volume. This new building envelope is designed to be completely transparent so that it may not be visible at all from a distance. And in the gallery space protected in this way from precipitation, the architects place several bright objects resembling molecules, capsules and flying saucers. “We intended to intervene minimally in the architecture of the cinema itself - an object that is undoubtedly significant for its era and ideal in terms of proportions and adherence to the chosen style (in this case, modernism),” the authors of the project explain. - That is why the building is complemented by an almost invisible casing, and in the attached area we design volumes that are completely opposed to it - both with their color scheme and plastic. Such biomorphic elements are akin to natural nests, cocoons that appear in a conservative environment due to the arrival of spectators with new and different needs, tastes and preferences."
With the help of these elements, additional functional "cells" or lagoons are introduced into the large-scale space of the cinema (and the former "Russia", we recall, was originally designed as one of the main cinemas of the city and the country - its huge cinema hall is designed for more than 2 thousand spectators). are called by the architects themselves. Some of them can be used as buffets, exhibition galleries, recreation areas and children's play areas, while others will serve as small auditoriums. It is important that the function is not assigned to any of the volumes once and for all - both their purpose and the design itself can change. By the way, it is precisely this “mobility” that turns them from works of architecture into a kind of exhibits that, on the one hand, give the appearance of a cinema modernity and revive the space of the square that was laid out in front of it, and on the other hand, are perceived as temporary structures that exist today, and may tomorrow change dramatically.
Corian, invented and produced by DuPont, was chosen as the main material for finishing "cocoons" in strict accordance with the requirements of the competition. With the help of thermoforming technology, it can be given almost any shape in literally a matter of minutes, and an extremely rich color palette of more than 100 shades allows you to make these shapes as vivid as possible. In one of the drawings, the architects clearly demonstrate how "cocoons" can change their color and shape - it would seem that the "flying saucer" had just been neon green, and now it is already dazzling purple.
In conclusion, we note a certain similarity between the biomorphic "cells" invented by Vissarionov's PTAM with the interior design of the Institute of Cytology and Molecular Biology of the Blizard building by William Alsop, where individual laboratories are also located in volumes that outwardly resemble molecules, cells and other research objects of this institution. True, if Olsop's volumes are rigidly fixed on thin long supports, then in this case the "cells" can freely move around the space of the cinema foyer. The architects do not exclude the possibility that "cocoons" may well be placed not only in the interior of "Pushkinskiy", but also, say, on its roof.
