The competition was held among Strelka students for the 2013/14 academic year, but the jury, chaired by OMA partner and head of AMO Reinier de Graaf and with the participation of Giovanna Carnevali, director of the Mies van der Rohe Foundation, was very impressive. According to the judges, the best of the 9 works submitted for their consideration was the plan of the Squadra Komanda group (which included strategist Rule van Herpt, journalist Daniele Belleri, architects Olena Grankina, Giulio Margheri and Nicholas Moore). According to their plan, "Strelka" will not only be conveniently located in the building of the All-Union State Library for Foreign Literature, but will also revive the institutes located there - "Inostranka" itself and several international educational organizations.
The project is titled Strelka Unsettled (that is, “Strelka” has been displaced or changed its position): this refers to the plans of developers to turn Krasny Oktyabr into a residential area, which implies the eviction of all current tenants from there. In 2015, the institute will have to move, and the aforementioned competition of ideas was organized to solve this problem.
However, Squadra Komanda saw the unpleasant prospect of the move as an opportunity for further development of Strelka - in conjunction with the difficult late Soviet architectural heritage (meaning the building of the All-Union State Library for Foreign Literature in 1966 by architect Dmitry Chechulin) and with the conservative cultural institutions based there.
According to the authors of the project, the post-war development is not loved by Muscovites as "an unpleasant reminder of the recent past"; these buildings seem outdated, unattractive and of low quality to them. This perception is aggravated by the fact that they often host organizations that are going through hard times, and the buildings themselves are empty or simply neglected. At the same time, this development makes up almost two-thirds of the urban fabric of Moscow and has considerable potential. Therefore, the "pilot" project for working with VGBIL can serve as a model for the development of this heritage as a whole.
The second topic, which the winners of the competition took up, is the cultural institutions of Moscow and Russia as a whole lagging behind modern times. They are focused on preserving, not presenting, their values and therefore lose in the fight for public attention. Their success is not facilitated by unattractive entrances, underutilized or unused spaces, and lack of communication between individual organizations. This is especially true for libraries that are everywhere in the crisis caused by the digital age.
Squadra Komanda participants note that the VGBIL building with a total area of 20 thousand m2 is in relatively good condition, but its filling cannot be called relevant. Their project is aimed at destroying the association between Soviet buildings and unattractive institutions located there, as well as creating active cooperation between all the "residents" of the building (library, British Council, American Center, Japan Foundation, Iranian Cultural Center and other organizations). As a result, a living cultural "prototype" should appear in a completely unexpected place.
On the one hand, Strelka, in cooperation with all local institutions, will be able to expand its educational program. This will be facilitated by doubling the areas available to her. The new spaces will include a hotel for students and researchers, a Green Bar in a greenhouse on the roof, a library with individual workstations, a coworking club and a kindergarten for residents of the surrounding neighborhoods.
To make the building more comfortable and attractive inside and out, new entrances and corridors will be created there, in particular, the entrance to the courtyard from the Yauza side. The triangular "square" in front of VGBIL, now not used in any way, will become a place for lectures, meetings and celebrations in the open air. From the courtyard level to the top floor, all elements of the building's program will be connected by a public "Trajectory".
The authors of the project do not consider their idea to be utopian, although for its implementation it is necessary to agree with the owner of the building - the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. In their opinion, it can be implemented step by step, and therefore Strelka will be able to move into a new dwelling in the fall of 2015. And the Ministry of Culture will benefit from cooperating with the institute on the already tested Strelka business model, when the proceeds from commercial projects go to finance educational and social programs.
An interesting aspect of Squadra Komanda's plan is that VGBIL is not viewed as the final base of Strelka: it is assumed that by reviving Inostranka, the institute will move on - to solve new problems and settle new territories.
