First - the prize of the "Perspective" review-competition, now - the exposition for the "Arch of Moscow". Please tell us about your participation there and there.
R. Arakelyan:
In fact, participation in Perspective was almost spontaneous. At the end of March, at the Architecture and Nature Forum, dedicated to the expansion of Moscow, I gave a lecture in which I highlighted the key points of my dissertation research. The organizers became interested and offered to present the project to the jury of the “Perspective” competition.
As for the exposition for the Arch of Moscow, here, according to curator Bart Goldhoorn, my work very accurately fell into the declared theme of the festival, namely, “identity”. A 20-meter wall in the hall of the Central House of Artists is allocated for the exposition, where an extensive visual range will be located, and booklets will be prepared for more detailed acquaintance.
The problem of the study sounded in a special way in the context of the expansion of Moscow, which, by the way, I do not approve. Nevertheless, when creating a new urban environment, it is important to emphasize the need for the formation of elements of secondary nature in conjunction with the urban landscape. It is important to understand that it is not so much matter - buildings that should be created, but the space as a whole, which is rapidly degrading today under the cover of formal and consumer approaches to organizing the urban and, in particular, the living environment.
In your project, you are just addressing the study of the immaterial part of space - to emptiness. How did this topic come about?
R. A.
For the first time I took up the question of the study of residential voids during my postgraduate studies at the Moscow Architectural Institute. The research topic was supported and approved by my scientific advisor A. B. Nekrasov. The dissertation was the development of my thesis, in which I tried to extrapolate the intangible values of the old Armenian courtyards in modern Yerevan.
I was greatly influenced by the research course of Yuri Grigoryan at the Strelka Institute, which deals with the problems of public spaces. This is how the topic of the dissertation gradually took shape, where the object of research is emptiness.
What do you mean by the concept of "living emptiness"?
R. A.
I will not go into philosophical discussions about the nature of emptiness. There is a material environment (body), which, in turn, forms an immaterial environment (antibody). In fact, I separated the body and the antibody, leaving as an independent object of research only the emptiness, in fact, which determines the quality of the urban environment.
It was interesting to consider emptiness from the standpoint of spatial characteristics inherent in matter - size, density, saturation, dimensions, etc. In addition, I studied the balance of the ratio of emptiness and building, external and internal factors affecting the formation of residential voids, as well as changes in their boundaries in the process of evolution.
The spatial characteristics of a void are dictated by a combination of external and internal factors. External factors include political, technological, economic, urban planning processes and many related "sub-factors". Internal factors are the socio-psychological, visual and behavioral needs of the inhabitants of the environment.
I was interested in the balance of internal and external influences on emptiness. Today, the formation of residential voids occurs mainly under the influence of external factors. I wanted to turn to the voids that arose as a result of the influence of internal factors, i.e. person. Therefore, I chose residential formations of "native", natural origin. This does not mean a senseless interpretation of bygone forms, but the disclosure of spatial values, the consideration of which will allow developing new approaches to the formation of a living environment.
You are considering a huge time span - from antiquity to the present day. How did the living voids change in the process of changing civilizational models?
R. A.
I focused on the key civilizational models adopted in modern sociology, highlighting the pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial periods. As a territorial reference, the Armenian Highland was selected - 7 residential formations. In this case, the territorial tie is rather arbitrary, since emptiness has greater geographic flexibility than matter and cannot be tied to a specific region. At the same time, the change in spatial characteristics was considered taking into account the global political, economic and technological reforms, the system of values and the principles of formation characteristic of a particular period.
As a result of the retrospective analysis, a temporary infographic was compiled, illustrating the "mutation" of the spatial characteristics of the living environment in the process of changing the main historical eras (ecotopology).
So, the quarter of the VII-VI millennium BC. was quite compact (0.17 ha) and had an irregular structure. The antique period is considered in the context of the transition from the natural principle of the formation of residential formations, characteristic of archaic settlements, to the principle of preliminary planning. This principle is based on regular planning integrated into the natural terrain. As a result - the geometrically correct shape of the quarter and its increase to 0.93 ha.
In the medieval period, two vectors of development can be observed: the integration of natural and regular patterns of formation and a return to the natural formation of quarters, which have become a little wider, and their outline is more disorderly. This feature persists until the 18th century, before the start of the industrial revolution, after which the character of the quarter changes sharply towards orderliness. As a result, in the process of evolution in the XX century. the size of an average quarter with a characteristic extensive urban development model, largely determined by the Athenian Charter of 1933, reaches 8.3 hectares against 2.1 hectares in the middle of the 19th century.
Similar changes can be seen in the evolution of courtyards. It is interesting that in the ratio of the body and the void, a spatial inversion is observed: in primitive settlements, the body was 92%, and the void was 8%, which is inversely proportional to the modern typical buildings.
When compiling a diagram of changes, periods of spatial fluctuations (jumps) were identified. For a detailed analysis, I chose the early and middle Middle Ages - a relatively calm stage of development without sharp leaps. The intangible values that were characteristic of this period, revealed in the course of the retrospective analysis, I applied to the modern city.
What are these values?
R. A. The living environment in the period under consideration was formed, to a greater extent, based on human needs, taking into account the geographical and climatic context. The leading roles were played by the factor of place, the need for socio-territorial ties, the availability of natural resources, the requirements of defense and security.
In most cases, space was not built from street to house, as it is today, but, on the contrary, from house to street. At first, residential cells appeared, then a system of connections was formed. This determined the complex geometry of the streets, and, consequently, the variety of visual scenarios.
The same can be said about the courtyards, which are strikingly different from today's mono-yard. For example, residential buildings in one of the formations of the Armenian Highlands were located at a distance of 10-15 m, and this corresponds to a comfortable communication distance of people (according to Edward Hall).
The streets, as a rule, faced blank walls with few window openings, which created a more introverted space.
Also, this period is characterized by pedestrian and visual permeability. Let's take the mountainous medieval formation of Shatili of the 10th century. in Georgia: in view of the limited land resources, the streets were the terraces of the underlying houses, along which, like a gentle staircase, it was possible to cross the entire settlement. At the same time, terraced farming developed on them. Another example is the honeycomb structure of the building, which was based on a single-hall living cell with an upper light hole. This typology made it possible, neglecting the light orientation, to place buildings almost close to each other even in difficult topographic conditions, as well as in areas unsuitable for agriculture. At the same time, an absolutely permeable and unobstructed space was formed. In the lowland settlements, the system of courtyards and pedestrian connections made it possible to cross the quarter without barriers, without bending around it around the perimeter.
Pronounced boundaries of households made it possible to control the territory.
Each residential unit had its own area of responsibility and an autonomous entrance.
I also referred to the fundamental values as the intensity and rationality of the use of the territory, architectural and typological diversity, modularity, identity, regulation of areas of responsibility, a variety of types of functional elements, adaptability - i.e. the ability of residential formations to maintain the structure of the building, despite the increase in density during active periods of urbanization.
Is it necessary to accept a medieval system of values today? Time, society, city have changed …
R. A.
I think there is a hidden potential in them, which, in my subjective opinion, is insufficiently studied and misinterpreted. Based on traditional values, I have developed a number of planning principles that are quite applicable in a modern city and objectively capable of improving the quality of the living environment.
The quarter is being built today mainly along the perimeter, inside it there is a huge courtyard area that does not belong to anyone in particular. Such a construction impoverishes visual scenarios, negates the identity of the place, and increases the distance of movement. The principle of polycentricity developed by me allows you to move away from the common courtyard and approach the medieval planning structure with many cozy micro-courtyards. At the same time, the building density is maintained, and the number of storeys is reduced to a human scale. Thus, the principle offers an alternative to the established monocentric structure of residential development in the form of interconnected living spaces of different sizes and configurations within the same plot.
The discreteness principle assumes the breakdown of one mono-volume (a standard multi-storey building) into several residential units. As a result, the number of storeys again decreases, the intensity of use of the territory increases, a natural and compositionally balanced silhouette building line appears, scenarios of movement that are convenient for a person appear, the identity of buildings clearly appears on the surface, and the variability of urban planning schemes increases significantly - from perimeter and uniform to diffuse formations.
The next principle is the regulation of areas of responsibility. As an example, I looked at the 19th century quarter. in the center of Yerevan along Tamanyan street. This area had its own unique urban environment, where each household had its own area of responsibility. During the Soviet era, the central quarters underwent serious changes, overgrown with new, alien objects.
In the case of reconstruction, it would be possible to return the historical boundaries, getting rid of temporary layers. For this purpose, a kind of semi-private space, a pedestrian route, has been designed inside the block.
For the integrity of the city, it is proposed to include not only the courtyard, but also the adjacent sidewalks in the zone of responsibility of private owners, as it was before the economic reforms of 1918. Thus, due to private investments, while observing the general urban planning code, the quality of public space is improved.
The principle of modularity implies the formation of a spatial planning structure of development based on variable combinatorics and replication of specified residential units within the development site.
In accordance with the principle of archipelagos, high-density multi-storey buildings are redistributed, organically combining the typologies of the city and the countryside. In other words, in one residential cluster, there are both urban, park and suburban education at the same time.
And finally, the principle of monolithic-porous construction. Here, buildings are evenly distributed horizontally, filling the entire area of the existing block. Vertical green yards are being formed - a kind of artificial relief. To ensure permeability, the building volume is raised on columns 5-10 m above ground level.
How do you yourself assess the practical significance of this study?
R. A.
I hoped to attract the attention of urban planners, architects, sociologists and other professionals involved in the formation of the immaterial environment. It seems to me that it is much more important than matter, because the volume often depends on the taste of the architect. Time, the city, the needs of people change, new technologies appear, but the integrity of the urban space must remain unchanged.
