On January 26, the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art announced the winners of an open competition for redevelopment concepts for two Soviet cinemas, Varshava and Voskhod, initiated by the development company ADG group with the support of Moskomarkhitektura. The jury equally liked the two project proposals for the transformation of "Warsaw", so two teams became the winners - the Russian-Dutch bureau SVESMI and the consortium Spectrum + EMBT + A2OM. As for Voskhod, the project of the SVESMI bureau was unconditionally recognized as the best.
We have already talked about the fate and history of Soviet cinemas, which are planned to be reconstructed in the coming years, breathing new life into them, and in some cases - a new function. This competition, announced on November 6, was intended to kickstart this global redevelopment. In total, it will affect 39 cinemas located in the peripheral districts of Moscow. The ADG group company promises to approach each customer individually, taking into account all the historical and architectural features of the building and the place in which it is built.
As a reminder, everyone was invited to participate in the competition. At the first stage, the jury selected five finalists from the total number of applications. They began to work out in detail the proposals for updating the "Voskhod" and "Warsaw". The results of their work were presented by all five contestants during detailed public presentations prior to the announcement of the results of the competition. The organizer of the competition was the agency for strategic development "CENTER", the communication partner was the agency "Rules of communication".
We present the projects of the winners and finalists of the competition:
"Sunrise" / first place
SVESMI
The company of the Russian-Dutch bureau SVESMI, which already has experience in the reconstruction of old Soviet buildings (in particular, the bureau was engaged in the redevelopment of the Dostoevsky library), proposed to preserve the spirit and shape of the existing building as much as possible, saturating it with new and varied meanings. The cinema "Voskhod", which is not very well located between the transport main and the railway, according to the authors, should receive an interesting "root" function for the residents of the region. It will attract residents, revitalize the Ryazan district, which is unfavorable in terms of infrastructure, and provide commercial attractiveness to the long-empty areas. And such a function in the project is the food market, which will occupy the central part of the building, designed in the form of a covered atrium.
The dilapidated box of the cinema is proposed to be reconstructed, keeping the frame. In this case, the entire volume will be raised by one large podium, designed in the form of a green round platform. Thanks to its design, it is possible to accentuate and highlight a very laconic volume, and in addition, to organize additional entrances to the building from all sides. If in the old cinema only one street facade worked per city, now all four are active. In front of the central entrance and the stairs leading to the cinema hall, there is a landscaped city square on a hill. The once blank walls now appear to be pierced by large glass openings. The most noticeable one is located on the side of the main facade and accentuates a universal hall for various mass events. It serves as a city living room. And the huge window that fills it with light, covering the entire wall from the inside, is decorated with the help of a symbolic theatrical curtain. Something like a theater curtain, only made of stone, appears on one of the side facades next to the active perforation.
The theme of the theater becomes one of the central ones inside the building. Its atrium part, converted into a market square with light mobile counters, resembles a Shakespearean theater with wide balconies around the perimeter.
Warsaw / first place
SVESMI
In the project of reconstruction of the cinema "Warsaw" SVESMI was offered to preserve its historical appearance and modernist character. The unsuccessfully renovated building is proposed to return to its previous appearance by freeing the main glass facade from porcelain stoneware - it will become even higher than the previous one by adding one floor below. And the snow-white color of concrete, possibly with printing, will make a rather expressive volume more modern.
In order to obtain the required output of space, the designers propose to divide the internal space of the cinema into separate floors, but in a not entirely traditional way. So, between the first and third floors, an inclined plane appears in the form of a large amphitheater, which simultaneously serves as a concert hall and a staircase. The central entrance lobby, which plays the role of the main public space, goes one level underground, but remains as open and full of light as possible. Around it, a whole system of overhanging balconies is organized, occupied by commercial functions, cafes, shops and training centers. The entrances to the building are organized from two levels. Glass galleries will appear on the level of the additional underground floor, and above - open summer terraces linking Warsaw with the park surrounding the building.
As in the case of Voskhod's redevelopment, the market becomes the main function in this project. It can be accessed directly from the street by descending wide staircases or ramps. Food culture, according to the authors, today plays an extremely important role in the life of a city and a person, it unites people, attracts them. In addition, it is planned to open a library, children's and sports centers, and organize catering facilities in the former cinema.
Sergey Georgievsky
head of the organizing committee of the competition, director of the agency for strategic development "CENTER":
“SVESMI solutions are the most flexible of all. In the current economic situation, adaptability is as important as aesthetics and novelty. In the SVESMI project, in my opinion, it turned out to combine everything, preserving all the best from the architecture of historical buildings. Their solutions turned out to be simple and elegant. By adding an additional “basement” floor and glazing the facades, the architects actually returned the building to the city.
The market inside is, on the one hand, the solution to the problem: how to make the building work. On the other hand, there is a cultural code: historically, the city began with a market square, where residents exchanged goods, ideas, and made important decisions. The creation of a new market square inside "Warsaw" and "Voskhod" returns the centrality of these places to their districts. The key principle of space organization in each project is “theatricality”. That contributes to the variability of its use and the visibility of the space from the street and its different points. Something new, lively, socially significant is constantly happening here, which attracts people. " ***
Warsaw / another first place
Spectrum + EMBT + A2OM
Obviously, the old cinema, located in a fairly saturated area of the city, will not be able to compete with the neighboring Metropolis shopping and entertainment center. Therefore, the consortium members proposed to fill the building with a completely new meaning, and just like their colleagues in the first place, SVESMI, made the gastronomic function the main and even the mono function of the former cinema. In addition to the local food market located in the basement, there are plans for a local cooking school, food court, restaurants, media bars, conference rooms, kitchenware and hand-made stores, a fair and even a guest lab.
The Stanislav Lem Science Fiction Center, which is proposed to be located on the top floor with access to an exploited roof, will be a reminder of the building's cinematic past, where a summer cinema will operate in warm weather and an ice rink in winter. All this, according to the authors of the project, will be able to attract different categories of people - not only local residents, office workers, children and their parents, but also science fiction lovers from all over the city.
The interior of the renovated building is built around a large atrium. All rooms behind translucent partitions will be clearly visible from it. The staircase leading to the central entrance portal is turned towards the Voykovskaya metro station. Separately, you can get into the large market premises, and from the side of the park - into the children's center. As for the architectural image, the designers approached this issue with a grain of humor. Starting from the gastronomic theme, they came to the folklore image of a self-assembled tablecloth, and from it - to the openwork oilcloth tablecloth of the average Soviet canteen. A recognizable pattern can be transferred to the walls of a building, like an ornament of perforated panels or a pattern on frosted glass.
Sunrise / finalist
Consortium: Spectrum + EMBT + A2OM
The functions offered are very diverse: sports, entertainment, shops, media centers. All this is located in the existing volume in separate cells, built around the central core of the atrium with an amphitheater, and resembles a low shelf with protruding terraced shelves. An interesting idea is to locate a territorial development office inside the building, which will become the main discussion and working platform for interdisciplinary teams to improve the quality of life and beautification of the Ryazan District.
According to the author's idea, a bright shell capable of creating a wow effect, following the example of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, will also be able to attract the flow of visitors. This is facilitated by the bright yellow color of the cladding panels, the deep ribbed relief of the walls, the glass extension encircling the building, which serves as an additional gallery and central entrance, and a high-quality landscaped area with elevation differences, ramps, stairs and a fountain. “Bilbao in South-East Administrative District” - the authors jokingly called their project, slightly ironic about both themselves and the bored fashion for the notorious effect.
Sergey Georgievsky:
“The consortium Spectrum + EMBT + A2OM offered the most economically comprehensible program model for“Warsaw”- a gastronomic center. In addition, they created a vibrant attractor - the Stanislav Lem Science Fiction Center, which can become a point of attraction for science fiction lovers from all over the city. These decisions made the team a leader.
In the case of Voskhod, I remember the bright shell, which acts as a symbol of changes, adds color to the gray buildings of Ryazansky Prospekt. ***
Campo project / finalist
"Studio 44"
In their project of transforming two cinemas, the authors, by their own admission, were inspired by the avant-garde of the 1930s. Structural construction is associated with the image of the sloping areas of Italy - campo (campo). Hence the name of the project. “Studio-44” has already done something similar for the Hermitage, where the created amphitheater is being successfully operated. The same sloping amphitheater square is proposed to be located in the former auditoriums of Voskhod and Warsaw. The entire space around is filled with various volumes, symbolizing urban development. Each separate "house" has its own independent entrance from the street and from the amphitheater, its own facade structure and its own functional purpose. This is either a library, a learning center, or creative workshops. There is a restaurant at the highest point of the amphitheater.
The “buildings” that surround the square differ from each other in shape, size and height. Due to this, the external contour of the walls is unusually solved: while maintaining the basic shape, the internal volumes "pierce" the walls of cinemas through and through, protruding outward with cylindrical towers and glass cubes.
Sergey Georgievsky:
“The Studio 44 project is interesting from a visual point of view, it is an architectural experiment, an exercise, but it is difficult to implement. It presupposes the creation of several more buildings and new volumes inside the objects, permeating the historical "box", therefore, construction is expensive.
The team, of course, managed to come up with a kind of systematic approach to updating standard objects, this makes the work stand out from others. But they rather gave an answer to the question of reconstruction - improving the architectural appearance, and not to the question of redevelopment - changing the model of functioning of these objects. The program is sketched in large strokes, and the new spaces are organized for specific functions, little changeable. ***
Finalist
NEW + Practice + ZOLOTO Group + Chora + Project Group 8
A serious and largely research project of this consortium was aimed at identifying the needs and interests of the communities inhabiting both areas under consideration. In the case of "Voskhod", during a survey and questioning of various groups of the population, it was possible to reveal that residents of the Ryazan region, in addition to an educational and leisure center, are in dire need of household and repair services, a photo studio and a sports block. In the renovated building of the former cinema, the authors tried to accommodate all those services that will be most in demand by residents. With "Warsaw" things were different. Here, given the sufficient amount of cultural and entertainment infrastructure, it was required to create something new and competitive. Such a center of attraction, capable of forming a community around itself, could be a complex entirely devoted to a healthy lifestyle - and this is sports, and proper nutrition, and yoga, swimming and much more. The building of the former cinema is combined with the park with a long jogging track. The exploited roof has been turned into a sports park, open and accessible to all citizens.
The inner space of cinemas is built on the principle of an ordinary courtyard. The courtyard has always been perceived as a small local center, a meeting place, sports activities and games with children. In the rethinking of architects, a so-called "hyper-yard" is formed inside buildings, capable of realizing a huge number of scenarios. The authors tried to preserve and emphasize the architectural appearance of both buildings, enriching the facades with additional window openings and entrances.
Sergey Georgievsky:
“Consortium NEW + Practice + ZOLOTO Group + Chora + Project Group 8 applied the methodology of involving local residents in discussions of important urban changes, they created the largest consortium. Working in such a large team is an unusual experience in itself, which has provided a striking complex solution.
In the case of Voskhod, the team proposed to create a function of a local courtyard, the program and content of which are determined by the residents themselves. In the case of "Warsaw" they went the other way - they found the function of sports and a healthy lifestyle that was missing in the nearest area. At the same time, the building program is not just a fitness center, it is a new leisure center, where public spaces and services have been created for people united by the theme of sports. The team came up with probably the most radical idea - to make a swimming pool in the cinema. It is bright, but it is expensive to implement, besides, it will be difficult to redesign the pool room for other functions.
One of the most successful finds of work is a treadmill on the roof, smoothly leaving the park, this is the best integration of the building with the urban space. ***
Finalist
Nowadays office + Aventica
The authors called the project of transformation of the cinema "Voskhod" "Project of autonomy". After examining the portrait of local residents and understanding their needs, they proposed a model of a leisure and educational center. The first floor is reserved for commercial functions. The city hall was created in the space of the former spectator hall. All the main premises are located around the perimeter - circles and classrooms, cafes and anti-cafes, small shops with transparent windows. A small play complex with children's and sports grounds has been created on the operated roof.
It was decided to accent the utilitarian and economical volume of the cinema outside with the help of colorful billboards, media screens, art objects and inflatable sculptures, brightly illuminated at night. According to the authors, the sleeping and peripheral areas of Moscow need their own sights and create them, and sometimes it turns out pretentious and exaggerated. The project follows this logic.
The image of "Warsaw" is solved somewhat more calmly. By freeing the building from temporary layers and preserving its historical appearance, the authors bring a new era e change elements that should be perceived as nothing else: a sculptural ramp leading to the roof, or a "Martian landscape" on the roof. Inside, the only major change in the structure of the building is a new floor that unites the first floor into a single multifunctional space that opens into the park.
Sergey Georgievsky:
“The consortium Nowadays office + Aventica has the most daring project. They did not limit themselves to fantasy. On the one hand, they managed to make these buildings again noticeable on the city map due to public art objects and bold architectural forms, on the other, they clearly, within the framework of pre-project work, defined the typology of future users of these spaces, proposed the main scenarios for changing the functional content, calculated the economic model. But their project is “looking too much into the future”.
For Voskhod, the bureau has developed a catalog of objects (small architectural forms, design elements and public art) that can make a building truly interesting. ***
