The bold projects of the masters of MARSH studio Evgeny and Kirill Assov caused a lot of questions and discussions from the commission. The leaders took on a really controversial topic for their group - “Rethinking Basic Forms”. Theoretical analysis became the basis of student projects, prevailing over practice. However, this concept is close to Evgeny Ass's approach to architecture.
Evgeny Ass
founder of the bureau "Ass Architects", rector of MARSH, head of graduation projects:
“The studio, which we directed with Kirill Ass, was called“Rethinking Basic Forms”. It was about identifying the fundamental forms of architecture that have existed throughout history and which have defined as such the basis of all architecture. We tried to identify the main genome of architecture.
First of all, of course, we did research, studied architectural monuments - this was precisely the search for the genome. After a long study of different prototypes and study of architectural monuments, we invited the students to make a kind of manifesto of the basic form, on the basis of which they had to determine the typology of the future building, its position and program.
The only strict condition that we have set is that the object must be located in its hometown. Since all our students are from different cities, the geography turned out to be quite interesting. Everyone searched and determined for himself what the basic form is and how it is synthesized in modern culture. There were often very conflicting proposals, but we were open to any search.
Maybe we gave too much freedom, which is why sometimes the semantic core was a little blurred. Therefore, there were many questions on the defense. In any case, it was a very interesting experience of intellectual work, useful from the point of view of the fundamental principles of shaping, adapted to specific conditions and typologies."
Continuation of the leader's story - below, after the projects.
Recreatio. Baskunchak
Anton Timofeev
The hometown of the student is Astrakhan. The salt lake Baskunchak was chosen as an extreme of natural and climatic conditions typical for the Caspian lowland. They outline a number of architectural challenges associated with overcoming negative environmental factors. The building is located on the shore of the lake, typologically it balances on the edge of the installation. But functionally it is a sanatorium with living rooms. Eugene Ass suggested placing a freshwater pool inside an elliptical structure.
But the practical purpose is not so important, more important are the architectural features that are acutely responsive to the environment. In the description of the work, the author constantly touches on the topic of his own feelings, analogies, associations caused by the place. The elliptical building is based on a complex wooden structure that encircles the pool and forms a covered walking area. The rest of the "ring" of the building, bounded by a large radius, is occupied by administrative premises, living rooms, treatment rooms, doctors' offices, and a dining room. Everything is located on three floors. From a technical point of view, the project follows all the rules related to the use of water reservoirs in architecture.
Anton Timofeev:
“The initial intention of my project is diversity and uniqueness. And if at the beginning of the project I stated the uniqueness and self-sufficient fulfillment of each point of the Earth, trying to illustrate this thesis with my project, then in the end I began to discover more and more complex relationships of diversity (uniqueness) and unity (community). Comprehension of these relations seems to me important for modern architecture, since the globalized architectural scene sometimes loses the focus of attention to local features, while the possibility and the need for more careful work with them become more and more obvious."
Anton Timofeev's project won The CASS and will be sent to an exhibition in London next year. ***
Moscow necropolis
Andrey Fomichev
Some of the topics chosen by the students were called provocative by Yevgeny Ass. These include the development of a new cemetery in Moscow. After analyzing the urban situation, the author of the project suggested that Moscow needs a different burial site that could be placed on a minimal area. At the same time, the area of land saved due to the new typology of one columbarium corresponds to 1-2 km2 traditional cemetery.
The author of the project proposes to build local cemeteries with a crematorium on the territory of Moscow, and not outside the Moscow Ring Road, as is customary now. The roots of the idea are in sociology: a person who lived in a city should be buried in it, and not outside of it.
Andrey Fomichev:
“I consider it necessary to revive local cemeteries in Moscow. This could be part of the city's decentralization policy, as large suburban cemeteries are also global centers outside the city. As a result, people living between the center and the border of the city are deprived of any of their "centers", be it work, entertainment, study or a cemetery. And the cemetery in this case is no less important link for personal self-identification than a workplace or cultural and public facilities. A cemetery in a city generates a relationship between a person and a place, regardless of the frequency of its visit. Therefore, I consider it wrong to take out cemeteries outside the city limits, especially in such a metropolis as Moscow. In addition, sanitary problems do not relate to the burial of ashes."
City prison
Daria Zaitseva
Another provocative project of the studio is a prison in the city center. The author of the work sees an educational function in such a solution.
Daria Zaitseva:
“The system of punishment through imprisonment not only physically restricts freedom, but also destroys the dignity of the individual, in fact, completely deletes a person from society and does not give him the opportunity to return. In my opinion, a prison should restrict freedom, but not exclude a person from society. Therefore, I create a prison that is not isolated from society and the city. The architecture should reflect its function, so I design the "house of confinement" in the form of a skyscraper tower. Prisoners enter the building through the lower level, where a check is carried out. Further, they rise to the level corresponding to their conclusion. When leaving the prison, the person descends to the lower level again. This personifies the path inside the building that the prisoners take from the beginning of their stay to freedom. The contrast is very important - "lack of freedom" is raised above the ground; return to society - return to the city. However, all entrances and exits are not at ground level, this is the highest degree of punishment. Free people in the city have the opportunity to approach the building, touch it, feel it, walk around, make sure that there is no entrance or exit. The vertical prison rises symbolically in the city. It is part of the culture of the metropolis, as important as a bank, office, hospital or any other institution working for the city."
The building is based on a cantilever trunk structure with three load-bearing axles located along the perimeter. The material is reinforced concrete, strong due to its heavy weight and fire-resistant. Reinforcement ties around the bearing shafts will give additional stability to the structure.
University in Cherepovets
Grigory Tsebrenko
Grigory Tsebrenko:
“The challenge was to rethink length as one of the basic forms. The location of the university in it imposes on the structure of the form its own principles of internal organization related to the problems of education and communication. As a result, the university building is a sequence of twelve autonomous study blocks connected by open wooden walkways. Along the embankment - the main city promenade - a campus is emerging, claiming to become one of the key structures in Cherepovets, open and permeable."
Nursing home in Kazan Daria Gerasimova
Daria Gerasimova:
“I consider old age as a“basic”concept - as a form of existence. Determination of the location for the object in the center of Kazan entailed solving two other problems: urban planning with the peculiarities of the quarter structure and cultural - a revision of the attitude in the city to historical wooden buildings. That is, the search for alternatives that exclude the demolition of these buildings. The result was the project of a city home for the elderly, some of whose residents are able to lead an active life. The project involves the construction of one- and two-story houses on the basis of preserved wooden structures. All buildings are different in typology, but related to each other. Residents, thus, have the opportunity to interact with local residents through the inclusion of a multifunctional community center in the nursing home complex and additional services relevant to the townspeople. Those residents who need inpatient care are accommodated in a separate building with full medical equipment. In the inner part of the block there is a city park with a small pond connecting the nursing home with the kindergarten on the site. This kind of connection between generations gives special social and psychological help and support to the elderly."
*** Evgeny Ass, founder of the bureau "Ass Architects", rector of MARSH, head of graduation projects: [back up]
“I can say that I am generally satisfied with the studio. The projects were highly appreciated by both invited domestic critics and English colleagues who came specifically to get acquainted with the works of students.
I would like to mention four projects. This sanatorium on the Salt Lake by Anton Timofeev is a very striking and unusual project. There were also two provocative projects - the prison of Dasha Zaitseva and the funeral complex of Andrei Fomichev - a completely new typology. This is a very powerful and monumental work that exactly coincides with the philosophy of the basic form, since we talked not only about geometry, but also about social and cultural foundations - death was considered in the project as one of the key components of social life. And the prison fits very precisely into the context of the basic form. Another interesting project of Grigory Tsebrenko is the University in Cherepovets. It raised a lot of questions from the commission about the connection with the topic, but, in my opinion, the project is very unusual and interesting.
Some also worked with traditional forms of different characteristic points of Russia - Altai, Yakutsk.
It seems to me that the course turned out to be interesting. This is the second year that we have been working on the topic of shaping in architecture. We decided that we will continue this interesting, but at the moment poorly developed theme in the architectural world”.
Anton Timofeev
author of the project “Recreatio. Baskunchak , The CASS award winner:
“I can advise applicants to plunge into this sea with their heads and fully devote themselves to learning, without a trace. This is a very difficult process, which is not easy, and the more one's own efforts are invested in it, the higher the results. It is important to understand and decide very clearly for yourself that such a huge, complex and multifaceted business as architecture is the business of your whole life."
