The name "Artek" in former times was known to any schoolboy. The very best were sent to this largest and most beautiful pioneer camp in the USSR, spread out on the Crimean coast. A trip to Artek was a reward, a change in it was an event that would be remembered for a lifetime. Politicians and cosmonauts, writers and heroes came here. Foreign delegations admired the "children's republic", and the experience of working with children, gained at "Artek", was used not only in our country …
Catch up to summer
30 thousand children were able to come to Artek in 2016. But over the past 20 years, the legendary Soviet “paradise for children” has lost its former attractiveness: the infrastructure is outdated, the buildings are dilapidated, the camp has gradually lost its significance. The summer shift in "Artek" has ceased to be an event, and the camp itself has become an ordinary resting place.
In order to revive the prestige of "Artek", but already at a new, modern level, in 2014 a concept for the development of the entire camp complex was developed, which was named "Artek 2.0. Reboot ", which provides for the introduction of the most advanced and innovative forms of education in the international children's center. But first, it was necessary to carry out an almost complete reconstruction of the camps themselves: to rebuild or restore buildings, roads, sports grounds, to build new facilities. And to do all this in the shortest possible time, without interfering with the rest of the children!
The first work began in the autumn of the same year, 2014, and was carried out around the clock for 9 months in order to be in time by June 1, 2015 - the beginning of the first summer shift. Six old camps were rebuilt that season. The best specialists were involved in the design and construction work, and materials for reconstruction and decoration were selected with great care, focusing on international standards.
Alexey Orlov, architect and deputy director, Arena design institute: “We have reconstructed the Lesnoy and Polevoy camps, as well as the Krug canteen where children from these camps eat. It was necessary to make the most comfortable buildings for living, while interesting in architecture and design techniques. It was necessary to increase the capacity of housing and a dining room, to solve certain technological problems, and at the same time everything had to be beautiful and memorable, so that it was bright and fun - after all, we did it for children! The task was not only to renovate the dilapidated buildings, but also to bring the spirit of change to Artek, to give the camp an up-to-date style. We tried to reflect modern design trends, used the best building and finishing materials: such a landmark complex as Artek must meet the most modern aesthetic and functional standards!"
Technologies
The first thing that attracts attention in the renewed interior of the Krug dining room is the bright and unusual ceiling panels. Among them, the free-hanging elements in the shape of a circle in white are Ecophon Solo Circle ceilings, which serve a double function in the room: on the one hand, they are a decorative element, and on the other, they improve the acoustics of the dining room. The use of Ecophon Solo Circle has allowed the architects to create an acoustically comfortable space in a complex space such as a dining room, while also finding an interesting design solution.
Technical problems that arose during the renovation and restoration of buildings would have been impossible to solve in a timely manner, observing high quality standards, without the most modern building and finishing materials. Such as, for example, Gyproc products that allow architects to quickly and reliably bring ideas to life. Gyproc gypsum board is an environmentally friendly material for interior decoration, contributing to the creation of a comfortable and aesthetic space. A wide selection of Gyproc drywall with different properties - moisture- and fire-resistant, soundproof, especially durable, designer, for finishing with various materials - allows you to create an environment that meets the architects' idea, and increased (after all, this is a room for children) requirements for safety and comfort …
"Solar" future
1500 places - the capacity of the new camp "Solnechny".
In addition to the reconstruction of old buildings, construction of new camps will begin in Artek, where children can relax and study. So, for example, in 2017 the camp complex "Solnechny" will be built with 2 dormitories with 500 places in each, a dining room and an educational campus for 1,500 places, designed for students from other camps.
The Solnechny campus is an innovative school of the future, in which the main emphasis will be on self-education and communication of children. In addition to the usual classrooms, the campus will have workshops for a variety of types of creativity, a lot of space is allocated for sports, and there will be its own pool. A unique feature of the campus will be a theater with 1,500 seats - with full stage mechanization, with its own recording studio and rooms for music circles.
According to Alexei Orlov, one of the most serious problems of reconstruction and construction of buildings was the fact that all this is located on a difficult terrain. The site is mountainous, rocky, with difficult approaches and narrow roads. Difficult relief is a problem not only in architecture, but also in decoration. However, unlike mountainous terrain, unnecessary irregularities, for example, the floor can be smoothed out.
During the reconstruction of Artek, special WEBER materials were used for this: the brand's assortment includes a wide variety of self-leveling floors - for complex substrates, quick-hardening, reinforced, etc. The use of WEBER levelers and floors allows in the shortest possible time to create a solid and load-resistant base for any further finishing or to create a floor that does not need finishing and at the same time will be resistant to wear and high stress. Indeed, judging by the planned number of tourists in Artek - up to 40 thousand by 2020 - the structures in the children's camp should really be reliable!
