The exposition was solemnly opened in the presence of Danish Ambassador Tom Risdahl Jensen and representatives of the organizers of the competition: Chairman of the Board of Directors of Zagorodny Project Company Dmitry Aksenov and Executive Director of VELUX Jesper Frank Petersen.
According to the organizers, the interest in the competition turned out to be higher than they expected - more than 200 young architects from various cities of Russia submitted applications. However, only 55 participants submitted projects. Their works are shown in the VKHUTEMAS gallery until February 28, at the same time everyone can
vote on the Internet for any project, determining the audience choice prize.
It is not surprising that out of two hundred applicants left a little more than a quarter, it is not surprising: the requirements stated in the conditions of the competition are really high. His motto - "simplicity and clarity of design" definitely does not imply that homely simplicity, which is "worse than theft." On the contrary, our (including young) architects rarely face so many conditions and restrictions. Participants were required to design a single-family home ranging from 150 to 180 sq. meters. Construction costs were not supposed to exceed 50,000 rubles per sq. M. meter (the total cost of the house ranges between 7.5 and 9 million rubles). The costs of house maintenance should subsequently be lower than usual for our country. In addition, it was necessary to strike a balance between energy saving, respect for nature and comfort. Take into account national traditions, the specifics of the Russian climate, provide the best views from the windows. All houses had to be designed for the use of renewable energy sources (solar, geothermal, wind energy and even biomass), have a minimal impact on the environment and be designed for such building materials, in the manufacture of which the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is minimal.
According to the jury and organizers, all 55 projects presented at the exhibition in VKHUTEMAS meet the competitive requirements: “the authors paid a lot of attention to natural lighting, fresh air circulation and harmonious combination of the house with the surrounding landscape”.
At the opening of the exhibition, Evgeny Ass read out the list of nominees - finalists of the competition. It was planned that there will be 10 of them, but the experts decided to add to the list the eleventh project - Yulia Potekhina, with a special wording "for the will to win": the author, in addition to the traditional tablet, also presented a model.
The main winner of the competition will be named after the nominees will defend their projects in front of the jury on February 28, on the closing day of the exhibition, including Eugene Ass, Bart Goldhoorn, Nikolai Belousov, Michael Eichner and representatives of the organizers.
Let us remind you that Active House is a new direction in housing construction for Russia, and it is being developed on the basis of the European concept of Active House. The first Russian "active house" was initiated by Velux and was built by Zagorodny Proekt jointly with NLK and other partners (without a tender) in the Zapadnaya Dolina settlement in the Narofominsky District of the Moscow Region. It was designed by young Moscow architects Alexander Voronov and Svetlana Vasilyeva, and a week ago in Yekaterinburg he was awarded the Grand Prix of the Eurasian Prize. Now the house is being tested by a young family with three children.
