About how students worked on the disclosure of the proposed topic "Territory of childhood"
says the head of the studio
Narine Tyutcheva:
“The methodological goal of our work this semester was to understand how emotion or sensation can be formalized and transformed into architecture. For the most vivid illustration of this process, the topic "Territory of childhood" was chosen, which involved thinking not only and not so much about kindergartens and playgrounds, but about whether our city is suitable for children to live in it, and whether a child can, together with parents in this city feel quite comfortable and safe. In this situation, the perception of the city by children is only a criterion, the most demanding assessment, a litmus test that responds to the well-being or unfavorable environment.
The students were offered a number of exercises that were supposed to lead to the emergence of emotion. Next, it was necessary to determine the most important direction for oneself, which would sincerely touch and interest the student, and then illustrate their experiences in the project proposal. The main task was to come up with an inspirational object that generates a positive and humane environment inside and around itself, influencing the entire urban space as a whole. In fact, this is a task of incredible complexity. When I offered it to students for a solution, I myself did not have a ready-made answer. And this is fundamentally different from the traditional curriculum and teaching methodology, when it is well known what and how should be designed in the end. Here, the initial data was practically absent, and it was necessary to start with looking inside oneself.
The choice of the topic was dangerous, at some point I doubted that the students would be able to find interesting topics on their own, because even for me it was a very difficult task. To be on the safe side, I have prepared several safety options, a few spare ideas. None of them were needed! This pleased me most of all. It was very interesting for the students to research this topic, there were constant heated discussions, everyone worked with great enthusiasm. And in the end, it seems to me, everything worked out. In any case, all the concepts were very personal, and everyone made some kind of discovery for themselves, penetrated into an area of being, into which they had never penetrated before. Further, due to circumstances, skills and abilities, everyone was able to develop their idea to one degree or another. Students offered a wide variety of answers to the question posed: from large urban planning concepts, reconstruction and restoration - to very tiny objects that conceal deep meaning and sometimes generate even stronger emotions than large urban projects.
I believe that the most important thing we have succeeded is: students have acquired a unique skill to discover something new in themselves and in the world, not to create secondary, borrowed objects, but to nurture an idea from beginning to end. This is the first step in finding your own architecture, your own view of the world and the formation of your own personal creative signature. Several projects, in my opinion, came out just fine - with a strong idea, presentation and a very detailed study of the urban environment."
Below we publish the projects marked by Narine Tyutcheva as the most successful.
City commune. Author: Anastasia Weinberg
Anastasia Weinberg chose an abandoned block of houses on the small Sukharevskaya square as the “territory of childhood”. The main idea of the project is the construction of an ideal world that exists in accordance with the laws of childhood, the formation of an open urban commune. One of the buildings, seriously damaged in the fire, according to the author's plan, should become a through urban space that will connect the courtyard of the quarter with the Garden Ring. Inside the ruined, burned-down building, it is proposed to create a vertical city square and at the same time - the main public place of the commune. It will host educational and creative classes and lectures for children and adults, as well as a library, workshops, etc.
It is proposed to adapt the ruins to such exploitation by erecting wedge-shaped scaffolding and glazing, which form all the interior rooms and open terraces. These are pre-fabricated structures that can be dismantled as quickly as they can be erected. However, they are warm and designed for year-round use.
Underpass portal. Author: Valeria Samovich
The main tool for helping children to play is imagination. The most familiar parts of the city - such as arches, narrow streets, courtyards, construction sites, garages - can become the main playgrounds for a child. In her project, Valeria Samovich tried to find those fragments of the city that arouse the greatest interest among children, and eventually settled on underground passages associated with a mysterious portal to a fairy-tale world.
As a concrete example, the transition between two large city parks - Muzeon and Gorky Park was chosen. This territory is oversaturated with functions: coworking, lectures, sports center, observatory, bookstore, exhibitions, fairs, etc. But the road here acts as a gap, hostile and unsafe space. The project proposes to give priority to pedestrian traffic, to widen and extend the crossing, connecting it with the Crimean bridge. The first level of the passage turns into a city square, below there are workshops for children. In addition, a certain pattern of movement through various "portals" is set, which becomes the main scenario of the game.
Children's world labyrinth. Author: Yulia Andreichenko
"The territory of childhood" in the project of Yulia Andreichenko is located within the boundaries of the surviving walls of "Children's World" on Pushechnaya Street. Considering that the building is an architectural monument, the walls remain practically intact, some transformations affect only the internal facades. The author sees his main task as preserving the spirit of the place, recreating its living atmosphere. However, the structure of the building is changing a lot. Walls become the border between reality and the territory of childhood. Behind the “fortress wall” is a green courtyard surrounded by an amphitheater, the steps of which can be used as a place for games or a tribune. The walls themselves house a parliament, a marketplace, many workshops, a public library, and spaces for seclusion and experimentation. Upstairs, along the perimeter of the fortress wall, it was proposed to start up a railway, along which a bright children's train will run continuously.
Symbiosis of a summer residence and a city courtyard. Author: Maria Kartseva
The project is based on personal memories from the childhood of the author. The main territories of childhood for Maria Kartseva were the dacha, which acted as one giant playground, and the city courtyard, which was smaller in scale and strictly limited to residential buildings. As a result, Maria suggested combining both territories. The space of the dacha village with its clear structure was decomposed into several grids: from the smallest one, on a scale of six hundred square meters, to the grid of roads, main landmarks and boundaries of visual coverage. All these grids, being built into the structure of the courtyard, where only houses and greenery are stored as constants, form a new play space. From here all cars are taken out, paving of paths and squares, landscaping and landscaping of the territory is envisaged. Trees are planted along the perimeter of the courtyard, creating a natural security border. In addition, orchards, shrubs and plants, traditional for summer cottages, appear inside the courtyard. Also, the courtyard is saturated with various objects - there are sports and playgrounds, a climbing wall, an artificial mountain, bicycle paths, workshops, towers, stairs, a dovecote, etc.
Imaginarium. Author: Julia Arnautova
Yulia Arnautova has developed a project of the imaginary - a simple and at the same time mysterious space, pushing people to build their own extraordinary imaginary world. The Imaginarium is not tied to a specific place. It can be placed anywhere: in a park, in a kindergarten, in a school, in a yard or even in an office. He has no age limit. Structurally, the imaginarium is a large spiral, inside which you can walk like a labyrinth. The spiral, closing in a ring, forms a secluded closed space within itself. But in view of the special flexibility that is characteristic of all springs, its location and size can be changed according to needs.
Filling the imaginary is built around four basic concepts that stimulate the imagination: thinking, perception, emotion and intuition. The author offers various scenarios for using the object, including as an exhibition space.
