Educational Design Fabric, abbreviated as EDDE, the results of which were summed up on December 11, is not just a competition, but a whole face-to-face educational course, the participants of which not only compete with each other in developing projects on a given topic, but communicate with a whole team of teachers for several weeks and experts and adjust their work in the learning process. The current EDDE course is the third in a row, and if the first two were devoted to the creation of interiors (residential lofts and loft-style offices), then this time the competition went into the city. Its theme was defined as “New Historicism. Design and reconstruction of building facades in the historical center of the city”, and Dmitry Barkhin became the curator. The object of creative efforts of the participants was also chosen in advance - the general partner of the course, KR Properties, proposed the facade of the Knop building of the Danilovskaya Manufactory 1867 as a competitive task, and a contract for the implementation of the best reconstruction project as the main prize.
The EDDE / Facade course started on September 27 on the territory of the Danilovskaya Manufactory 1867 loft quarter and lasted two and a half months. It gathered more than 65 participants and about a hundred more free listeners, each of whom sought to find their own answer to the question of what the facade of a historic building could become during reconstruction. And in order for these reflections not to remain abstract, KR Properties formulated more than a specific competition task: the long brick facade of the former factory building had to be turned into a recognizable and attractive object of modern architecture that could not only transform the space, but also make it more comfortable for townspeople.
Seven projects reached the final, after three qualifying stages, from which the jury chose the winner. The work of the team of Andrey Bidenko, Lyubov Shirokova and Anna Ignasheva was recognized as the best. The architects did not limit themselves to transforming the facade itself, but suggested creating a pedestrian street along the building, decorated with multifunctional sheds and lawns. In an effort to preserve the industrial style of the facade, the authors make steel canopies. The lower canopies are designed to protect pedestrians from precipitation and the sun, the higher ones accentuate the entrance groups and can be used as exploited terraces. In all structures, without exception, the architects intend to install LEDs, and the street lighting is conceived to be completely autonomous - the necessary electricity will be generated by solar panels. And in order to make the new street even more attractive for the townspeople, Andrei Bidenko, Lyubov Shirokova and Anna Ignasheva propose to turn it into an open-air gallery where works of contemporary art can be exhibited.
The competition for young designers, the results of which were announced on December 13 at the ARTPLAY loft club, attracted slightly fewer participants. It was organized by the Neuhaus Gallery with the support of the same KR Properties company. In total, about 40 authors worked on the image of loft apartments, intended for both living and work. As in the first competition, here the architects also worked with the existing object - the competition was held on the basis of the drawings of the Clerkenwell House (a loft apartment on Komsomolsky Prospekt). But the contestants had to come up with the customer for the project themselves, and I must say that they did not deny themselves the fantasy, creating lofts for an architect, an astrologer, a fashion designer, a psychiatrist, and even a homeless person and an alien.
The first place of the jury, headed by Professor of Moscow Architectural Institute Leonid Zorin, unanimously awarded the project to the project of the students of the Stroganov Moscow Art Academy, Ilya Chainikov, Lyudmila and Valeria Bastrikov, who invented a loft for a young photographer, likening housing to a street. The floor is covered with asphalt and has markings, the cabinets are designed as containers, and the lights are made in the form of neon signs. The jury chose this project not only for the unusual decor, but also for the extremely rational layout of the loft, with a convenient and logical division into private and work areas.
The second place in the Neuhaus competition is traditionally awarded to two projects, and this year was no exception. "Silver" was awarded to the project of Dmitry Litvinov and the "loft for the Creator" Alexandra Tareeva and Olga Davydova. The first loft impressed the jury with its interior, which combines designer items with bright, almost flashy accessories, and the second was awarded for "a wonderful bright free space for a restless creative person."
Well, the third places were shared by three participants at once. Marina and Anton Fruktovs were awarded for "a loft for the most fashionable homeless person in the world" who only recently moved to an apartment from the street, Tatiana Bo received a "bronze" for the loft of the owner of an Internet boutique, where the working and private areas are not divided by floors, as in most projects, but vertically, and Angelica Yakubova was awarded by the jury for a loft for a web designer, in which an office box is located in the very center of the apartment.
