The project "Standard of Quality", the manifesto of which can be found here, was conceived primarily as an exhibition. Its purpose was to reveal the theme of the XXV Zodchestvo festival - “Quality now. Space and Environment ". With all the breadth of interpretations, such topics are difficult for subject visualization and require separate analysis and elaboration in order to bring abstract categories to information-rich material form.
So, a group of architects of different ages and professional preferences was asked in the format of video interviews to answer a number of questions regarding the criteria for assessing the quality of architecture, own and foreign, modern and historical, and on the other hand, to find a unique image that would embody in material form the main of these ideas. In the form of an original installation, an art object or an existing artifact, this image of the unimaginable was supposed to appear at the exhibition as a personal “standard of quality”, accompanied by a short commentary by the author explaining the associative train of thought.
Curator of the project: Elena Petukhova
Exhibition architect: Olga Kudrina
Visualizations: Daria Karmazina
Video interview, filming and editing: Sergey Kuzmin
Photos: Evgeniya Yarovaya
Photo retouching: Vadim Seleznev
Lighting equipment provided by the company IntiLED
Wall and floor images: typography "O2O"
The design of the exposition is directly dictated by the idea and name of the project. Large cubes of 2x2x2 meters from a chrome-plated metal frame acted as a kind of repositories of "high-quality standards" (by analogy with glass bells, under which real standards are kept in museums of measures and weights), large cubes of 2x2x2 meters made of a chrome-plated metal frame were used - limiting the space around the exhibit, but not preventing the viewer from approaching and examining it in all the details. Inside the cube, as if in the depths of the architect's consciousness, there is an object that serves as a measure of the quality of architecture, and the cube itself thus appears as a symbolic embodiment of the "architect's head". It was assumed that the objects would be placed inside cubes on stretchers (like “crystal boxes” from Russian fairy tales) or stands, but the specific presentation method was left to the authors' discretion, which they did not hesitate to use, inventing several original ways of object presentation.
For the project "Standard of Quality", the curators of "Zodchestvo" have allocated an extended area along the outer perimeter of the walls of the general exhibition exposition. It was painted in a picturesque manner, filled with cubes and their wall variations intended for the installation of flat or small objects. Metal structures have become a common denominator, compensating for the diversity and variety of "reference" installations. And the opportunity to get closer and study the objects gave visitors a certain element of complicity in the project and the opportunity to try it on themselves or rather look inside themselves in order to compare their understanding of the criteria for the quality of architecture assessment with the points of view and feelings of the project participants.
Thanks to the detailed photo reportage from the exposition, readers of Archi.ru have a similar opportunity. Look at the photos, read the descriptions of the installations and leave your comments on how, in your opinion, the criteria for the quality of architecture or the very approach to its assessment with the help of art objects could be expressed. ***
BALL. Perfect form
A gift from architect Andrey Savin to architect Vladimir Plotkin.
Material: polished Carrara marble.
“An ideal high-quality product is determined by completely simple, even elementary parameters: ideal shape, ideal proportions and volume, in which there is nothing superfluous. Such a product is sufficient by itself."
Form of movement
Authors: Anton Nadtochy, Vera Butko, Roman Khorev, ATRIUM bureau
“The task of the installation is to show the ambiguity of reading the form.
When looking at the cube from the front, we see an oval with an off-center and a pattern of dynamic lines. However, if you change the angle of view, the contents of the cube appear in the form of a complex spatial composition, the perception of which changes as the viewer moves around, and in the process of movement the essence of the sculpture is revealed."
Palace of Youth "Zhastar"
Authors: N. I. Yavein, D. A. Gordin, V. I. Lemekhov, V. A. Romantsev, A. A. Rudenko, G. S. Snezhkin, M. S. Spivak, U. V. Sulimova. "Studio 44"
“Volumes of various shapes and sizes shine through the transparent edges of the cubic building of the Youth Palace with a side of 65 meters, each of which contains one functional block and is distinguished by an individual color and texture of finishing materials. The space is organized in such a way as to facilitate communication between people with different interests. And the ultra-modern shell with a diagonal metal lattice resembles a kerege - the folding walls of a traditional Kazakh yurt."
Model: Model workshop "New Aspect" (supervisor - Ya. S. Itsikson)
Quality now
Authors: Asadov Architectural Bureau
On the left - a brick of the dismantled wing of the Stroganov School (Moscow, Rozhdestvenka, 11), until 1917. On the right is a brick of the building under construction of the Moscow Architectural Institute (Moscow, Rozhdestvenka, 11), 2017.
“Faced with awful quality bricks. Now there is a lot of excitement for bricks, since factories not only raise prices almost every week, but also the quality of bricks does not stand up to criticism. Moreover, when you call with a complaint about the plant, they are rude in response, they say: “This is an ordinary brick, it should be like that” or “If you don’t want it, don’t take it, we have people like you in the queue”. (from the discussion on the construction forum)
Winged barn
Authors: Natalia Voinova, Ilya Mukosey.
Architectural studio PlanAR.
“To use Robert Venturi's terminology, almost every architect dreams of building a duck, but in practice most Russian architects have to design sheds. And this is understandable - the shed is more practical, economical, versatile, mobile.
A reference, ideal shed, like any reference, should be free from flaws, light, simple and at the same time filled with deep meaning. Technology, as well as history, mythology, and, most importantly, poetry, which generalizes or even replaces all of the above, helps to get closer to the ideal. The poeticization of the barn is the main trend of modern Russian architectural thought, and the winged barn is an obvious metaphor illustrating this trend."
Untitled
Authors: Sergey Skuratov architects
IN OVUM VERITAS (lat. "Truth in the egg)
Author: Nikolay Shumakov
“In order to make a high-quality architecture, you need to deliver a high-quality product at all stages of work: from the idea to the last drawing. And a high-quality project should be at the head of the entire pyramid, so that the quality of construction does not interfere with the quality of the final product. Give an idea, simple and capacious, reliable and lively, like an egg, and it will take everything."
Manufacturer: ARTFORM company
Pantheon of Quality
Authors: Evgeny Gerasimov, Ilya Priporov, Marfa Khromova-Borisova;
Evgeny Gerasimov & Partners, St. Petersburg, 2017
Wood, glass, ceramics.
“The Roman Pantheon is 2000 years of flawless operation without major repairs. The Roman Pantheon is the standard of quality in architecture; it is the embodiment of Vitruvius' triad "benefit, strength, beauty".
Layout: "Gradmaket".
BREATH
Authors: Levon Airapetov, Valeria Preobrazhenskaya, Andrey Gulyaev, Dmitry Smirnov. TOTEMENT / PAPER
“We affirm that the quality that distinguishes ARCHITECTURE is intangible and has no visual expression, it is a treasure obtained from space, a witness of winged horses and fire-breathing dragons, which gives rise to surprise, fear, admiration in you”.
PROTOFORM
Authors: Timur Bashkaev, Vera Iordanova, Oleg Shishov, Kirill Koblov, Vasily Patov, Ivan Ratushny. ABTB
“Form underlies so many concepts and meanings. The relationship of form and meaning, form and content - these are gigantic depths of self-awareness and the fundamental principle of human perception of the surrounding world. The birth of a form corresponding to the task at hand, integrating all meanings, reworking them and transmitting them outside is a miracle"
Layout: Workshop ML8.
Centricity. Free Livinglab
Authors: Sergey Choban, Andrey Perlich. SPEECH Architectural Bureau
Lebbeus Woods, 1986-87, Pencil, cardboard, 607x584 mm.
Tchoban Foundation. Museum of Architectural Drawing.
“The standard of quality is the fusion of a bright architectural idea and its unique embodiment. The original work by architects and artist Lebbeus Woods is proof of this."
Untitled
Authors: Totan Kuzembaev, Olzhas Kuzembaev
“The most important thing is a quality idea. This is a rarity, not because there are few ideas, but few means for their implementation. Few people understand that ideas cost a lot of money and do not always lead to a positive result. Not everyone is ready to take this risk.
Money is the devil. I don't know how to defeat him. It all comes down to money. And then the choice is mine …”.
Dawn LOFT * STUDIO
Authors: DNK ag
Model of the club complex in Stolyarny lane, Moscow. Developer KR Properties.
Engraved clinker brick.
“Accuracy, relevance, originality are the main characteristics of our work, which are the key to quality architecture. We explore each site, collecting, as a collection, impressions, images and associations that lead us to find the answer to the task."
Space of quality
Authors: architectural bureau UNK project
“Quality is the harmony of time and space, structure and form, function and matter, light and darkness, society and individual. Finding the perfect balance is the task of a true creator."
The exposition of the "Standard of Quality" project turned out to be very diverse. As expected, different architects have found their own, individual way to present their vision of the criteria for assessing the quality of architecture and their absolute expression. Someone took the path of in-depth research of the subject of discussion, abandoning the material form, someone made a choice in favor of an ironic and even sarcastic statement, some used common subjects, whose routine only emphasized the importance of reasoning about the global problems of the industry, many found an answer to the set task in your own portfolio. Installations belonging to the latter group should not be taken as evidence of overestimated self-esteem. Rather, they confirm the initial tenet of the entire project - architects throughout their professional lives, from students to mature works, form their own criteria for assessing architecture and in each of their projects they strive to fully implement them. But it is not always possible to achieve this ideal. And only those projects in which key criteria are combined and become for their authors real "quality standards" of architecture.
