Experimental site
The project of the farm, the first stage of which we have already written about, arose from the desire of the VDNKh management to revive one of the abandoned corners in the northeast of the exhibition area. In the past, platforms for demonstrating the achievements of Soviet agriculture were concentrated here, in addition to pavilions with eloquent names "Pig breeding", "Sheep breeding" and "Poultry breeding", next to the cascade of ponds there was an exposition dedicated to hunting and breeding fur animals. The local pavilion "Hunting and Animal Breeding" did not survive the transition period from VDNKh to VVTs, and then back to VDNKh. The entire territory fell into desolation.
But the preserved memory of the place prompted the architects of the Wowhaus bureau to make a rather daring experiment. They decided to create an educational platform where children and their parents could get acquainted with the flora and fauna, as well as master various skills related to subsistence farming. This is not a copy-paste from the format of western urban farms, but an original concept that combines family outdoor recreation, a mini-zoo, a circle of young naturalists and craft workshops.
For an unusual idea, the VDNKh leadership allocated a plot of about 3 hectares. A strong difference in the relief divided the territory into two unequal parts: the lower, large in area, with a pond, and the upper, stretching along the slope. The first, with a barn, a poultry house, an orchard, a vegetable garden and an inclusive playground, was completed very quickly and opened in 2015, becoming popular almost immediately. The construction of the second part, which included the construction of several pavilions designed for year-round practice in various crafts and agricultural activities, was postponed until the next 2016.
Upper world
The second stage of the farm, whose area is almost four times smaller, is located on an elevated part of the territory along the southern edge of the pond. Due to the peculiarities of the relief, it was possible to build there mainly on a narrow strip of flat land along the edge of the slope and on a wide area, which was previously occupied by the "Hunting" pavilion, and for the farm it was supposed to serve as an entrance ceremonial hall. Here guests of the farm are greeted by an entrance group with ticket booths and an information desk, which in a wide semicircle covers an area with flower beds and two statues of the "Hunter" and "Foxes" that have survived from former times. Inside the territory, literally a stone's throw from the entrance, in order to prevent possible complaints about the poorly developed service infrastructure, there is a farm cafe, which will host classes for a children's culinary school. Further, the walking route runs parallel to the slope of the hill. Two large pavilions of complex configuration are placed one after the other along the path. The first is used for various workshops: pottery, carpentry and others, and the second is used for greenhouses. At the far end of the second stage, the path curves smoothly and takes visitors through the bridge over the canal to the main square of the first stage with a barn and a bird pond.
The original solution provided for another meek passage from the cafe down to the ponds, but it was decided not to do it in the end - due to the steep relief and difficulties for young and elderly visitors.
Traditional Approach
The general plan of the farm took into account the results of a socio-economic study conducted by KB23 - the possible functionality of the future farm and the list of buildings required for their implementation were jointly determined. Some of the functions were designed to attract one-time guests from among ordinary visitors to VDNKh, and some - to the permanent public - residents of neighboring neighborhoods with children. Nine architects participated in the work on the project, each of whom received one or more objects belonging to different stages of construction. In order to create a single ensemble, they all worked within the framework of a common design code, which included the use of simple but expressive forms, natural materials and structures, primarily wood.
Anastasia Izmakova, the leading architect of the second stage of the Farm, comments on the main task set for the project team by the bureau heads: “We had to make pavilions in the spirit of the whole VDNKh. With literary associations and even symbolism. So that together they create a harmonious ensemble, but each of them is unique and inspired by its own function. It was necessary to find a modern paraphrase of the technique used by prominent Soviet architects throughout the 20th century. They tried to visualize the themes of the exhibition pavilions in the most graphic and pathetic way. The motives of folk architecture, the use of objects and economic entities as decorative elements, monumental art and stylizations of all stripes - created that amazing attraction of well-being and prosperity, into which Muscovites and guests of the capital loved to immerse themselves, fleeing depressive reality. It is hardly possible to repeat this technique literally in the 21st century, not only because of aesthetic and ethical reasons, but also because of economic reasons, but it is possible to comprehend and creatively rework it.
Colonnade, barn, hangar and pineapple
The entrance lobby that now meets the guests of the farm, like the entrance of the first stage, is structurally different, but quite accurately repeats the forms of the semicircular colonnade, which was widespread in the classical manor tradition. Only instead of "honest" columns with capitals and entablatures, wooden trusses are used here. An ordered system of posts, braces and beams forms an openwork semicircle, decorated with decorative vertical screens, with a lattice forming an ornament that resembles either ears or palm leaves. It is difficult to make a more clearly readable reference to the spirit of the former VDNKh.
The next object in the direction of travel - a spacious cafe, does not evoke associations either with the empire of the last century, or with the brutal modernism of the space age. This is a stylish and laconic building, more likely inspired by northern, Scandinavian architecture - like a large barn, during the construction of which they thought more about spaciousness and functionality than design, and the result was a harmonious building. And if we talk about traditions, then only about the traditions of the Wowhaus bureau. The café is distinguished by its characteristic elegance in working with wood and in its combination with glass.
No matter how much one would like to linger in a cozy cafe, the opening view of the workshop complex calls to move forward - one of the brightest and most spectacular structures in the City Farm ensemble, which is impossible not to enter. And first of all - because of the unusual parabolic shape of the roofs of three large compartments that extend from the main distribution block with service rooms.
“The first thing I imagined when I started thinking about the task at hand was to design workshops - a typical industrial facility - a huge hangar made of metal profile sheets. - says the author of the workshops project Anastasia Izmakova. “And I tried to find designs that would resemble this image, but would create a completely different atmosphere and mood, more suitable for a place where children are engaged in different crafts.” The solution was found in the form of bent wooden arches, on top of which a larch shingle roof was laid. Also - for the first time in practice - Wowhaus architects used the technology of wood preservation by firing. This is not only an interesting decorative solution widely used in traditional Japanese architecture, it has a number of quite practical advantages: protection against fungi and mold, low thermal conductivity.
The maximum height of the parabola of each craft compartment is more than 6 meters, so mezzanines were made in two of them, which increased the usable area. One compartment was left without an intermediate floor, and while in it one can appreciate the beauty and dynamics of the edges of the laminated wood with their almost Gothic tension and lightness. It was not easy to implement this decision: not every manufacturer was able to produce wooden structures with the required quality and in the required quantity on time, but as a result, the pavilion became one of the favorite objects of both the authors themselves and the guests of the farm.
Gothic allusions are not limited to brutal pastoral workshops. The next pavilion - the greenhouse - can easily compete with them in terms of dynamics. A broken chain of several blocks, each of which is intended for its own type of artificial cultivation of plants: in one there are racks for hydroponic cultivation of vegetables and greenery, in the other - flowers grow in the ground, and in the third - exotic plants in tubs; the pavilion is covered with a translucent gable roof made of cellular polycarbonate. A similar form is historically used in the construction of greenhouses: at royal country palaces or at dachas near Moscow.
The front facades of the blocks are decorated with intricate binding of stained-glass windows. Vertical and oblique imposts form a pattern that resembles an ear (white bindings) or even pineapple (white bindings, superimposed on the black joints between the glass units of the stained-glass window).
Flora and fauna
The complex, multi-part configuration of the workshops and greenhouse is explained not only by their function, but also by the concern for the preservation of the trees growing on the territory of the farm. The pavilion blocks fit into the space between the trunks, and where the supporting structures threatened the root system of the trees, the architects used a cantilever structure to support the flooring. This solution does not interfere with the access of water to the roots and preserves the original landscape.
Already at the second stage of the construction of the farm, a couple of small structures were added to the project - an open-air cage for alpacas and a house for raccoons. The mini-zoo on the farm was so popular that the management of the farm decided to expand the range of animals presented.
World of joy
The epic of the creation of a city farm in Moscow at VDNKh has ended. To some, it might seem long - after all, the construction of several pavilions and ponds took two years. Someone very short, again because of only two years of construction, it took to radically change the territory of 3 hectares. But no matter how much time passes, the farm becomes more and more popular and interesting for many people. The idea and its implementation are so imbued with love for nature, animals and people that it is amazing how it was able to be realized in our pragmatic and purely profit-oriented time. The experiment of the VDNKh directorate and the creative searches of the Wowhaus architects were crowned with unconditional success. Now the previously unknown Kamensky ponds have appeared and every day awaits visitors "World of joy". Moreover, joy is not only for children and adults who have not yet got rid of childish spontaneity and love for a variety of animals, even those who are able to butt you under the knee, pinch your trouser leg or bite on the finger awkwardly placed along with the carrot, but also for lovers of high-quality modern architecture, for whom the urban farm ensemble has become a worthy exhibition of architectural achievements. Among other things, the project of the City Farm at VDNKh confirmed the status of the Wowhaus bureau as the discoverer of new formats of recreational spaces.
