Architectural School MARCH is preparing for a new, second enrollment of students, which will begin next summer. And, as the last day of open doors showed, there are more than enough people who want to: the spacious hall of the school barely accommodated all potential applicants. At the entrance, the guests were greeted by an exhibition of projects completed by the studios in the first academic semester under the leadership of Sergei Skuratov, Anton Mosin and Evgeny Ass, as well as the current, not yet completed work of the second semester and the final projects of summer and winter schools.
In an informal setting, at a "round table", the rector of the school Yevgeny Ass and its director Nikita Tokarev introduced those present to the procedure and reasons for entering the school. In general, the rules have not changed in comparison with the first set. Students of MARSH, having passed a competitive selection, can become people who already have an architectural education with a bachelor's degree and knowledge of the English language. For admission, you need to prepare a portfolio - this is the first qualifying stage. based on its results, applicants will be invited for an interview.
This year it is planned to host 48 people. All of them will be divided into four studios. A studio is a group of students who design under the guidance of one teacher during the semester, working on one topic. After its expiration, the students of the entire stream are obliged to independently choose a new teacher and, accordingly, a new topic. You cannot sign up for a studio twice with the same manager. Thus, students receive the maximum amount of information, get acquainted with different and sometimes polar approaches and views, and also constantly interact with each other, without being locked in one small team: "migration of thoughts" - Evgeniy Ass described this process.
The heads of the studios for the new academic year are already known. They will be Alexander Brodsky, the buromoscow group, the tandem of Vlad Savinkin and Vladimir Kuzmin, as well as the creative team of Nikolai Lyashenko and Alexander Tsimailo.
The topics of design work have also been outlined. So, Lyashenko and Tsimailo propose to study the theme of the river and its influence on the urban environment.
Olga Aleksakova and Yulia Burdova from buromoscow are interested in the issues of typical housing intended for all population groups in our country and in the world. "Lifestyles" - this is their theme.
Alexander Brodsky, whom the audience greeted with a burst of applause, had not yet formulated the topic completely, but told future students that it would most likely be about personal architecture and the possibilities of implementing such projects in the city.
Vlad Savinkin and Vladimir Kuzmin admitted that they had lost peace and sleep since Evgeny Ass invited them to teach at MARSH. Hence, the topic of research - "Space of rest" arose.
The result of work in the studios should be a portfolio, including research and analysis, as well as the project itself - all this in 15 academic weeks. The portfolio includes almost everything that a student does during the semester - from his first thoughts, sketches, experiences and experiments to a completed project proposal.
In addition to the design itself, the curriculum consists of special modules - a digital culture course, a module of progressive structures and technologies, a course "Theory and history", a course of professional practice and a module "Problems of Urbanism". With such a rich program, classes at the school go on full-time - as the first-year students themselves noted: "We do not only study here, we live here."
For all comers, short-term courses, in particular Summer and Winter schools, continue to work at MARSH. In summer, it is planned to hold two schools at once - "Presentation of an architectural project", which will be held by Alexander Ostrogorsky and Maria Fadeeva, and "Light architecture", dedicated to the issues of lighting buildings and interiors. Also in the plans of MARSH is the opening, together with ANO "Archpolis", of a new program on urbanism, consisting of courses in urban planning and management of the development of territories.
Let us remind you that training at MARSH lasts two years. And next year, the first admission students will make their graduation and graduation studios, which will be headed by Sergei Tchoban, Rubens Cortes, together with a Russian architect, whose candidacy has not yet been approved, and Evgeny Ass.
Towards the end of the presentation of the school, students who have studied within its walls for almost a year, shared their impressions with the guests. So, Yulia Andreichenko, to the question "Is it difficult to study at MARCH?" Without exception, all the students who spoke out noted a special, completely new approach to teaching, when such a degree of responsibility falls on the shoulders of a student that he can feel like a real professional, when "an architectural project is formed from trifles, from personal feelings and experiences", when the distance between teachers and students are minimized. The guys, especially those who came to study at MARSH from other cities, admitted that, for example, Sergei Skuratov was previously seen only in pictures, and now he has become not only a teacher for them, but also a friend.
It is difficult to study at MARSH, difficulties begin from the first minutes - already with drawing up a portfolio, but the more valuable is the result. It is not without reason that in response to the question of the teachers "how does education at MARSH differ from Russian architectural education?", The students said that "MARSH is the new Russian architectural education."
