The pavilion representing Russia at Expo 2015 is located in the eastern part of the one and a half kilometer axis of the world exhibition, which the organizers called decumanus in the antique spirit. It is quite far, about half an hour's walk from the main entrance, behind the main exhibition area. However, there are pavilions of Japan, Turkey and the United States nearby, and the distribution of seats on the territory, apparently, took place by the lottery method - no logic can be read in their mutual arrangement, except for random. The sections of the national pavilions are tightly packed along the main axis and cut in three different ways. Medium pads - narrow stripes; larger areas are similar in plan to the letter P: a narrow leg extends to the decumanus, and a wide comfortable rectangle is referred to the depth; the corner carved from the side of the main street forms another, small area for the adjacent pavilion. The site of the Russian pavilion is large, with a P-shaped plan. The project of Sergei Tchoban, Alexey Ilyin and Marina Kuznetskaya was selected at a closed qualifying stage, which was held in February 2014 by the organizing committee of the Russian section. According to Sergei Choban, this result is dictated, among other things, by the correct choice of high-altitude accent in the conditions of crowded buildings, limited viewing angles and strict altitude regulations. However, it turned out to be no less important for the victory that SPEECH were able to offer a bright, recognizable volume that develops the traditions of Soviet and Russian buildings at world exhibitions of past years and, which is also important, is implemented in a short time with a limited budget.
So, the tightly cut master plan of the exhibition posed a difficult task for the architects: how to make the entrance noticeable if it faces the main street with only a narrow nose? The expo is replete with a variety of answers to this question: ramps, attractions, labyrinthine gardens … The option proposed by Sergei Choban is one of the most architectural, its pavilion is subordinated to a refined plastic gesture: a long, almost extreme proportions visor, whose pointed nose with a slightly curved mirror lining easily flies over a narrow area paved with a tree, attracting visitors with the integrity of the form and the clarity of the image, especially attractive against the background of the intricate solutions prevailing around. For some reason, many other pavilions preferred to hide the entrance, placing it in some unusual place: on the side, behind, or even “protecting” it with a labyrinth, which turned the exhibition into a difficult quest with long runs that do not always entertain the visitor. The Russian Pavilion is one of the exceptions, here the entrance is not only obvious, but also turned into the main architectural attraction. The authors especially emphasize: it is convenient to take a selfie in the mirror - and indeed, already on the opening day, despite the nasty little rain, few people passed by, everyone walked with interest on the wooden platform, threw back their heads, and yes - took pictures in a giant mirror.
I must say that mirror surfaces are one of the favorite themes of Sergei Tchoban and SPEECH architects in general. It's enough to remember
the NHow hotel in Berlin, or the Russian pavilion at the 2012 Venice Biennale, where a pantheon-like dome reflected itself, placing the viewer in the center of an imaginary sphere. Now in the Renaissance courtyards of the University of Milan, an exhibition of the Interni magazine is taking place, where the installation of Sergei Tchoban, Sergei Kuznetsov and Agnia Sterligova, Living line takes a central place there - it is also completely mirrored, so much so that at times it just dissolves into the environment.
The base of the flying, smoothly curved visor is supported by four round mirrored columns inside a transparent glass vestibule: thin joints of glass plates make the entrance part of the pavilion perfectly visible through and through. The console appears to be lying on the glass. The picture is completed by the shading of wooden lamellas, visually continuing the line of the visor where it actually does not exist - on the facades of the volume of the main exhibition part, which are made, in contrast to the transparent vestibule, of black glass. The visor visually grows out of the volume and this makes it seem very long - the idea is best revealed when viewed from the south-west: the viewpoint, which Sergei Tchoban calls the main one, is located on the path of the main flow of visitors and most of the viewers will not pass this angle one way or another.
The black volume, in which the actual exposition is located, is erected in the depths of the site and, following its contours, expands to the east. Its upper part is trimmed with wooden slats on all sides, which, according to Sergei Tchoban's plan, should be perceived as a reference to the traditional Russian building material. Similar ribs are used to trim the oval reception desk inside the glass lobby. There is not so much wood, however, and it only slightly disguises the glass-metal volumes.
SPEECH bureau developed the architecture of the pavilion and the reception desk in the vestibule. An exposition entitled “Growing for the Good of the World. Cultivating for the future,”another team did. Immediately after the entrance, in the lobby, visitors are greeted by the painting by Vinogradov-Dubossarsky "Rye", then, behind the transparent lobby, it is dark. The walls in the first hall are covered with images of plants from the collection of seeds of cultivated plants created by Vavilov, and in the second hall there is a periodic table interspersed with stories about elements valuable for nutrition. The concept of the exhibition was based on the idea of a recipe catalog proposed by Yuri Avakumov, but was subsequently transformed. The recipe book, however, was published specifically for the Expo. In the first hall, visitors are greeted by a luminous model of a distillation cube, but are treated to soft drinks; in the second, food tastings are carried out; in the back there is a restaurant. The halls of the first floor along the perimeter bypass the technical rooms located in the central part and all together it looks like a stylized letter R. On the second floor, there is a conference room and a VIP loggia, the roof, designed in the form of a smoothly rising ramp, is greened and, according to architects, will soon be open to visitors.
Returning to the visor: its mirrored surface of the console reflects not only people photographing themselves in the square in front of the pavilion, but also a glass vestibule, and even misleads from a distance: it seems that the lobby, together with the large letters “Russia” written above the entrance, continues upward, curving sprouting into the surface of the visor, and there are twice as many people entering inside, a sort of funnel forms at the entrance - only after a couple of seconds the illusion dissipates, and you begin to understand where is reality and where is reflection. This is also part of the idea, and unlike many other mirror attractions, often hidden inside the Expo pavilions, here the main plot is brought out. Architecture has become a noticeable part of the exposition, moreover, in its own way, it sums up the total of many years of Russia's participation in the previous world exhibitions, appealing to the historical pavilions and summarizing the technique inherent in them.
Of course, first of all I asked Sergei Tchoban why his project is so similar to
The Montreal pavilion of EXPO'67 by Mikhail Posokhin - the similarity is obvious, and here and there a long flying canopy is placed on a glass volume, emphasizing the effect of levitation of the roof line. In response, the architect suggested recalling a broader historical context. According to Tchoban, the Montreal Pavilion is just the most famous representative of the general trend that links a number of other Soviet pavilions at world exhibitions. In particular, Sergei Tchoban recalled the project that Konstantin Melnikov drew in 1962 for the 1964 World Exhibition in New York (the project remained on paper, the USSR did not participate in the exhibition). Versions about the connection of the Montreal pavilion with the unrealized project of Melnikov have already been announced (see, for example, here).
Konstantin Melnikov's project of the USSR pavilion at EXPO in New York. 1962. Source: flickr / pulkuz; embed
Konstantin Melnikov's project of the USSR pavilion at EXPO in New York. 1962. Source: flickr / pulkuz; embed
What is the sequence of Soviet pavilions at world exhibitions, you can find out from a review made recently by the site archspeech. Some of them, indeed, are subordinated to the impulse "forward and upward", like "Worker and Collective Farm Woman"; others are more pompous, but they are also flying somewhere, perhaps into space. The theme of flight is not limited to world exhibitions - the titanium arrow of the monument to the Conquerors of Space is no less energetic.
In other words, Sergei Tchoban's project not only continues the line known from the Montreal Pavilion, but also to some extent restores historical justice, going back not only to Mikhail Posokhin, but also to Konstantin Melnikov. It is curious that Melnikov planned to realize his pavilion “at the limit of his possibilities” - and in almost the same words Sergei Tchoban speaks of the visor now being built in Milan. The extension of the console is thirty meters, the maximum possible for this design. The rise at the highest point is seventeen, which is five meters higher than the height of the main building, subject to twelve meters of height restrictions set by the master plan of the exhibition. Moreover, according to Sergei Tchoban, the lifting of the console could only begin outside the main volume, in the glass vestibule.
There is a feeling that the architect seeks to completely exhaust the topic, to develop it to the limit of technical and emotional possibilities. The Milan pavilion is more intimate than the monumental Montreal, but its long and narrow console takes off more energetically, and the mirror enhances the effect, giving the architectural solution the theatricality of an exhibition installation. The impression, indeed, is closer to Melnikov's sketch, where the console is directed towards the stars both visually and symbolically - something cosmic is even drawn on it, and the description of the project in the best traditions of the sixties speaks of the "hidden power of celestial mechanics." Recalling both the first satellite and the fascination with the starry sky - the zodiacal, astrological - of the architects of the Renaissance, and the scientific, astronomical - Empire style. And here we, perhaps, get to the essence of the plot: Sergei Tchoban's mirror console makes us raise our eyes to the sky - in order to see ourselves there. There is something special about it. But, on the other hand, what difference does it make why we - albeit occasionally - looked at the sky? Let it be a selfie now. It's already good that they raised their eyes.
