Archi.ru:
At what stage is the work on the HPP-2 project now?
Ekaterina Valkova
head of the group of architects:
- Active construction is underway: work is underway to strengthen existing structures, an underground part is being erected under the main building, parking, technical rooms.
And what else will be there?
- The museum will have a repository for exhibits, an auditorium, classrooms, a restaurant, workshops for artists. In contrast to the original concept, options are now being considered - how the exposition could penetrate the underground level of the parking so that one of its floors becomes part of the public program of the building. It will be a multifunctional space, but the specifics are still under discussion. All rooms, even technical and utility rooms, are treated with a unified approach as a very high-quality space. This is the position of the V-A-C Foundation and the Renzo Piano Building Workshop.
How is cooperation with RPBW?
- We interact very closely with the Renzo Piano bureau, we work in the same BIM model. All documentation that goes to the construction site is developed jointly, RPBW architects monitor each unit, regularly come to the construction site, and one representative of the bureau is constantly in Moscow, carrying out architectural supervision with us. The attention to every detail is very great, everything is monitored, right down to the individual bolt.
It is very important to understand that our cooperation is not a regular exchange of drawings or workshops, it takes place in real time in the format of a BIM model. It is technically difficult, but it allows you to keep your finger on the pulse throughout the entire project. This is a unique precedent for domestic practice - such close cooperation with foreign partners - up to the one-time work in the BIM model.
We have already touched on the changes from the original idea that took place on the underground level. What else has changed regarding the project that was presented to the public in 2015?
- There were no major changes regarding the initial concept, only new functions were added - the ability to hold concerts, use venues for performances and many new scenarios for using the museum's spaces. Workshops have appeared where young artists can work with materials, metal, wood, ceramics, and fabric. And people who will walk near HPP-2 will be able to observe their work. For the same reason, the bakery has emerged - as a way to engage pedestrians in an interactive creative process.
The project initially assumed the development of public space around, covering a significant part of the island. What exactly will be done?
- In front of the main building there will be a square, a piazza, which is connected with the embankment: it smoothly, through high windows, penetrates into the HPP-2. The main façade has high doors that can be opened in summer, and some of the functions will "spill out" from the building, creating the permeability characteristic of Renzo Piano's projects. There is also an inner square, a vestibule and a gallery, which "draw" the outer environment inward. On the other side of the facade we have a garden, a birch grove. Through the glass doors of the stained-glass windows of the northern façade, it will be possible to enter the garden, which supports the idea of a permeable space.
From the north, as I understand, the facade has been partially preserved?
- The preserved historical photographs show that the interior was supposed to have a lot of light and airiness. This is a very beautiful space. Now the building has been cleared of all sorts of layers, of all that is superfluous, of internal partitions and late additions. All its best qualities and advantages in this project will be emphasized. The stained glass windows will be replaced, but the overall spirit of the industrial façade will be preserved. Throughout the project, there is a great respect for the heritage, for the historic building itself.
A number of environmental components are also planned
- Yes, there will be electric wind generators at the top of the new pipes, there is a good metaphor for these pipes. What are pipes on an industrial building? Through them the air is polluted. And here we do an inversion: in our pipes, on the contrary, there will be an air intake for general ventilation of the building. That is, we take clean air from a height of 70 meters and distribute it inside the building. And instead of pollution, we, on the contrary, think about the cleanliness of the air.
Photovoltaic cells will be installed on the roof, and the collected rainwater will be used to water the garden.
And what percentage of the needs of HPP-2 will be covered by "green" energy sources?
- If we take it as a whole, it turns out to save a lot of resources. The birch grove irrigation system does not work at the expense of the city water supply system, but at the expense of a reservoir of "gray" water - in this case, collected and purified rainwater. Photovoltaic cells and wind turbines generate about 6% of the total energy consumed by the building.
For Russia, it is still important, given the rarity of using “green” components in our country
- We need to move in this direction, create a precedent for the use of "green" energy in order to popularize it. It is clear that we are a resource country, our electricity will always be cheaper than anywhere else in Scandinavia, and that the cost of photovoltaic cells is incomparable with the cost of electricity. But this is an object "about the future", about how we should develop. GES-2 is not even a museum, but a kind of visionary center. A lot of work is going on to attract specialists to work on it, who are able to predict development, and not fix what exists today.
So, this week we met with a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was involved by the V-A-C Foundation as a consultant to the HPP-2 project in terms of multimedia equipment.
With the aim of giving artists new means of expression?
- New means of expression, new technical and technological opportunities to tell the world about yourself. Who could have imagined Instagram and its impact on people ten years ago? HPP-2 sets the task for the entire project team - to imagine what will happen next. This project is also about romantic futurism. The design concerns all aspects of culture, which is much more than contemplating a picture or listening to music. Manual labor is also a culture. Therefore, we will have a metalworking workshop here, where the guys will learn forging, casting, and so on. DJ art, graffiti, video are also culture. And in GES-2 there will be just such an interdisciplinary fusion.
