Tell us about the pavilion project. What is its main idea?
At the initiative of the curators of the Art Ovrag festival in late 2018 - early 2019, a closed competition was held, to which 5 teams were invited to participate. We were asked to develop a concept for a compact temporary pavilion with a long list of different functions. It was originally called the “Pavilion of Urban Initiatives”. According to the curators' idea, it was supposed to become a platform for the development of ideas for participatory design and a venue for seminars, lectures and public discussions of projects for the development of the urban environment. The second name of the pavilion, which has now become official, is the Pavilion of the Future. It was supposed to reflect the dreams of the future of the city and the idea of the ideal architecture of tomorrow. Both of these interpretations were extremely close to us and, in our opinion, logically complemented the functional and software part of the competition task.
We took a spiral as a basis, as a symbol of development, movement forward. It serves as a generatrix during the formation of the surface of a double helicoid bounded by a cylindrical outer perimeter. The shape of the cylinder, in our experience, always fits organically into the natural context. The absence of the main façade, or rather one main façade from all sides, makes it possible to turn the building into a compositional center for many visual axes.
As a result of the combination of a cylinder and a double helicoid, we have two interconnected and complementary spaces with a large range of functions. They are somewhat similar, but in some ways opposite, contrast is a distinctive feature of our project. One is open, the second is closed, isolated from the external environment. One is cold, the second is warm, where you can stay even in winter. One is completely public, the other is more private. The first one begins with a spacious hall, from which a spiral amphitheater staircase leads up to an exploited roof with a viewing platform oriented to the Lebedinka pond and the adjacent ravine. These are very important objects for the residents of Vyksa, and we tried to emphasize the visual connection with them. Through the bridge on the observation deck, we can go from one part to another, going down another spiral staircase, which also serves as an amphitheater, but this time for a summer cinema. The wall of the closed part of the pavilion serves as a screen. There is a room there that can be used as a lecture hall, workshops, and in general, in any way. You can also enter it from below. Next to the entrance, on the first level, there is a bathroom and a technical room, where furniture and other equipment for events will be stored.
In our conception, a futuristic idea is combined with versatility. It seems to me that thanks to this our project won the competition.
At first glance, it turns out to be a rather complex, even intricate structure. How did the locals react to the project when you presented it in Vyksa?
Yes, our pavilion is like a puzzle. People do not immediately understand how it works, but they are interested in understanding it. At the presentation of the project in the spring of 2019, the residents of Vyksa were intrigued and asked us many questions about the form, interpenetration of external and internal space. In the eyes of the audience there was an anticipation of something new and unusual in the city. A big plus is that it is not just a decorative, but an absolutely functional object that all citizens can use. During the construction process, we often had to tell what we were doing, how it would work. And now it seems very important to us that it should start working in full as soon as possible, so that people can go all the way we have built and test different scenarios for using the pavilion.
The original idea, for all its complexity, turned out to be viable and open to development. We were able to concentrate many different finds and useful options in a compact volume. The height of the constructed pavilion is 5.5 meters, and the diameter is 15.5 meters. It seems to us that it is especially interesting and promising that this concept is scalable both in size and by spiraling upward by any number of levels. It can grow, turning into a tower, or, conversely, be slightly reduced. This will expand or narrow its functionality, but the principles of construction are preserved.
How are the design and operational issues resolved? After all, this is a temporary architecture, not designed for year-round use?
This is definitely a temporary object. We tried to provide the necessary degree of comfort in the off-season and even the possibility of using it in the winter. The closed part is insulated, there are provided places for the installation of heaters, which in general, for the space that is obtained there, is quite enough for holding some small events.
It was possible to constructively implement the invented form in different ways. We were looking for the most reliable and economical solution and settled on using a metal frame around the perimeter with a supporting column in the center of rotation of the helicoid. From it to the perimeter there are metal trusses (maximum span of 11 meters), forming the steps of the amphitheaters. On top of the metal, a subsystem is installed for sheathing the structure with wood, more precisely with a larch board. The façade is also sewn up with a decorative wooden strip, which serves as a sun protection. Thus, the pavilion looks like a completely wooden structure, which is ideal considering the park environment. In fact, the pavilion is reliable and durable.
How were the interiors of the pavilion solved?
The interiors are also finished with light-colored wood. We deliberately did not include any additional techniques and design materials. Everything is extremely simple. And it's not so much about a small budget as about the desire to focus the viewer's attention on the quality and beauty of the space itself within our complex form. It is made up of horizontal levels that rise in steps and twist upward. Due to the openness, abundance of light, the use of natural lightened wood and the absence of the usual orthogonal spaces, everything looks more spacious, larger than its actual size. Spaces change, flow into one another, light glides along curved surfaces and steps, creating amazingly beautiful shadows.
The “Pavilion of the Future” in Vyksa is far from your first experience in the construction of temporary, pavilion architecture. Have you deliberately chosen this typology as one of the specializations of your office, as a niche in which you can experiment with forms and space, or is it difficult for a young architectural firm to find other orders on the market today?
I somehow did not think about it. It seems to me that everything takes place together. We have been working in this format from the very beginning - but not only in it, of course. With regard to temporary buildings, all those strict norms and requirements that exist for capital buildings do not apply, therefore, from the point of view of freedom of creativity, this format is much more interesting. And you can develop within it endlessly. Some new solutions and images are constantly appearing. In addition, only in this format you can see the implementation of your idea in six months, and this is extremely important for any bureau that wants to declare itself. So in each such project, we strive to show our capabilities, to reveal our potential, to realize ourselves as much as possible in solving this problem.
In the wake of a special interest in the improvement and development of public spaces, the format of pavilion architecture should be especially in demand. How do you assess the market potential for such projects? Is there a prospect for the development of the bureau, or will this typology remain a kind of architectural outlet for you, against the background of larger and more commercial projects?
I think there is a lot of potential here. In territorial development projects, the greatest economic and functional effect is provided by unique objects designed taking into account the needs and specifics of the place. And every year there are more customers making a choice in favor of author's projects, rather than cheap standard solutions. Moreover, due to a slight rise in price, you can get good architecture and a fundamentally different quality of space. The more objects such as the Pavilion of the Future in Vyksa appear, the more attention is paid to them, the better, and the more demand there will be for them. We are also engaged in projects for the integrated development of territories and use all the possibilities for installing unique objects in them: small architectural forms, pavilions, and so on. It is very important for us that the environment, the identity that develops at all levels of the project, is manifested and emphasized in the architecture.
To what extent are non-standard, experimental solutions in demand on the market now? Do you get the impression that the customer is now looking for something more traditional, tested and guaranteed to be successful?
Perhaps, on a general scale, such a tendency exists, but at the same time we see a request for cooperation with “young architects”, who are expected to just move away from boring, standard techniques. Perhaps customers need not so much radical ideas as alternative ideas that can make a project stand out in the market. Moreover, this is true for projects of any typology and scale. In any case, when we make a large architecture, we do not change our approaches and, just like in the projects of the pavilions, we strive to answer the problem as accurately as possible, to show both the identity and the specifics of the place. In general, we work as architects.
