“The first building in the Skolkovo innovation center” began to be designed in 2010 and opened in the fall of 2012. Already between these two dates in Russia, a lot had changed, and the "Hypercube" of the Bernaskoni bureau opened in completely different circumstances than it was intended. The book about him was published in the spring of 2015 - after even more radical changes. Therefore, despite its novelty, the publication seems to be a historical source: leafing through a brief chronology of the emergence and development of the Skolkovo idea and the modern achievements of Russian science and technology, stumbling upon a photograph of Dmitry Medvedev, whom Steve Jobs is showing an iPhone, it is difficult to believe that since then only five years have passed.
Also, the optimism that comes through in the author's texts of Boris Bernasconi - originally from the Russian 2010: "Modern architecture successfully copes with global energy, environmental, economic and social challenges" - it's amazing to read this when you know that, for example, this summer in the UK, the program of transition to "green" housing construction was curtailed to save money, and the global problem of slums did not come close to its solution one iota.
But what to say: you have rarely heard of Skolkovo itself lately, and that construction is underway there and companies have already settled, you would rather learn from your acquaintances working there, rather than from the media. The policy of silence pursued by the Skolkovo Foundation does not allow even the authors of the project to follow the life of the building after its commissioning, and in the book you will not find indicators of the efficiency of resource consumption and observations of the use of the Hypercube over three years of its operation - the most interesting data for such him buildings of increased "stability". Therefore, with mixed feelings you read Bernasconi's words that he is “not one of those architects who build and leave” and that he “wants to stay” when he talks about the program invented by his bureau for the Hypercube - the program of the Skolkovo symbol. its information portal, the most open and multifunctional building of the whole complex, a sample of innovations, meeting places, presentations, art exhibitions (including on the "hyperfacade") …
But, of course, the value of a book about architecture is not always in its political, socio-economic relevance, and the "Hypercube" can be turned in other facets, although as a small time machine it makes a strong impression. First of all, this is a detailed story about how this building was “made” - in the absence of specific context and users. Therefore, the architects focused on its ability to change and maximum multitasking. The components of the "Hypercube" 28 modules can be combined both horizontally and vertically, which gives almost 17 million configurations, an auditorium with a variety of use cases and a façade suitable for information, advertising and the aforementioned artistic actions. Transformations have not only spatial, but also temporal indicators, therefore Boris Bernasconi emphasizes that his construction takes into account time, the "fourth dimension" as its main parameter. Hence the abstractness of its formal solution: so it will not become obsolete.
In addition, the "Hypercube" is conceived as a resource-efficient facility - with solar panels, heat pumps, improved insulation of the shell, a rainwater collection system, etc. For Russia, such a comprehensive approach is still a rarity, so a detailed analysis of each "green" and all other elements of the project is at least informative. Tables, diagrams, drawings, various quantitative data (including the budget and its components) make the publication quite fundamental.
However, one more aspect of the "Hypercube" is no less important: it is an architect's book. This genre often reflects its time and its architectural - and not only - values: suffice it to recall the Codex Seraphinianus, which embodied the peak of postmodernism. I don’t know if Boris Bernasconi’s book will become such a landmark publication, but it fully expresses the situation at the beginning of the 21st century. In the last issue of Project Russia magazine, its editor-in-chief Anatoly Belov
wrote about his fascination with creeping line with quotes at the bottom of the TV screen, and here we also find it: it passes through the grainy video frames of the events of 2010–2011, significant for Skolkovo, and in general - with them the book begins. This decision is reminiscent of some other publications, primarily the OMA / AMO books, another example of the genre. The silvery cover with an iridescent tint is at the same time colorless and contains the “possibility” of any color - obviously, this is a metaphor for the unlimited potential of the “Hypercube” building (“Dima Barbanel's Workshop” was responsible for the design). Inside, there are almost no detailed texts or manifestos, and this is also a kind of manifesto. As its guest editor Anton Kalgaev explains, the book wanted to avoid the typical "literature on architecture", which - concrete or abstract - hides from the reader the answers to his questions. Therefore, the text, with the exception of the final book article on the "Hypercube" by Sergei Sitar, first appeared in PR 69, is limited mainly to the energetic monologues of Boris Bernasconi and accompanying texts to the diagrams, both of which are very brief. This is quite in the spirit of the times: in the era of social networks, the opinion of a professor is no more valuable to society than the opinion of a high school student, and if desired, even an axiom can be challenged, and such a point of view is also encouraged to be respected. Therefore, not only architectural criticism, but also detailed analytical texts are losing popularity: only interviews are in demand (as a reflection of the ideas of a particular character allegedly untouched by the mediation of a journalist) or short publications with numerous illustrations. The latter trend is vividly embodied in the comic strip included in the book, based on Robert Heinlein's fantastic story about the hypercube house …
At the same time, the authors of the book still do not abandon the value system, replacing the traditional subjective criticism with a scale of energy efficiency. Therefore, two key tables of the edition - "Matrix of properties" and "Matrix of decisions" of "Hypercube" - are designed as application forms for "green" certification of an object according to the LEED or BREEAM system. In the end, this approach is no worse than any other: it is a pity that the reader does not recognize the results of this certification from the book.
Boris Bernasconi. Hypercube: how the first building at Skolkovo was made. M.: Interface, 2015. ISBN 978-5-9906079-0-3
