Mission Anadyr

2024 Author: David Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 02:26

Let's start with the fact that Anadyr is the capital of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and the easternmost city of Russia, further to the Bering Strait there are only a couple of villages. There are still two hundred kilometers to the Arctic Circle, the sun rises not at midnight, but at two o'clock in the morning, but winter comes somewhere right after September. Although the climate softens the proximity of the sea - the city is located in the bay of the Anadyr Bay.

Agency "Center" began work in Anadyr at the invitation of the local administration in February this year. The goal is to transform the unused building of the former garage on the territory of Chukotkommunkhoz, located in the middle of the industrial zone on the edge of the city, but almost on the bank of the estuary, into a modern and innovative public space called ANGAR. The Center's experts came to Anadyr several times, met with the city authorities and, what is more important, with the local youth, clarified their needs, tastes and preferences, held face-to-face meetings and questionnaires, as well as a comparative analysis of different city locations that are most suitable for the project … The project now has groups on Instagram, telegram, vk.

The study showed, on the one hand, the obvious things: the city is difficult to access, even planes are often canceled there, but it is endowed with a management function as the capital of the district, in addition, the mining industry is developing in it, salaries are relatively high, young people are growing and even the center is quite compact and low-rise, then there is, at least in scale, the ideals of modern urbanism. By the way, we look at the photos in Yandex - the city looks good, the facades of panel houses, mostly up to five floors high, are sanitized, though not always very beautiful, but neat, the streets are clean, the only hotel seems to be small, but looks decent and even modern; the city cathedral is wooden, which also adds restraint and charm to it.

photos by Maria Sedletskaya:

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1/3 Former garage, future youth community center ANGAR in Anadyr, current situation Photo © Maria Sedletskaya
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2/3 Former garage, future youth community center ANGAR in Anadyr, current status. The plate will be used as an element of identity for the future complex Photo © Maria Sedletskaya
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3/3 Former garage, future youth community center ANGAR in Anadyr, current situation Photo © Maria Sedletskaya

On the other hand, during the research, important details became apparent - firstly, people come to the western outskirts of the city to admire the sunsets, that is, it is already loved by the romantic part of the population. Secondly, despite the fact that the city as a whole is provided with youth centers, let's say, there is an official plan in the spirit of pioneer palaces, there are no informal places under a warm roof.

The hangar is located near Otke Street - it begins in the center, near the city administration, and encircles the entire northern part of the city - and there is a separate passage and passage to it, but in the context of the industrial zone it must be distinguished by contrast, while maintaining, however, the identity and references to the industrial past … The center should be all-season, warm and comfortable, with the ability to go outside in summer. A lot of other details were noticed - for example, in winter, snow accumulates around the building on the southern corner, probably because the wind blows from the water.

It is fortunate that the project of an informal center for youth culture is supported by the administration of the Chukotka Okrug. According to his government, the ANGAR project has become part of the new socio-economic policy of the Far East.

Roman Kopin

Governor of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug:

“At meetings with residents, active youth of the region, I have repeatedly heard a request for such a space. The youth of Chukotka have many creative ideas, but today there is no platform for their implementation. We have serious work ahead of us to implement this project. We plan to show the concept in several forums and discuss the future project with the federal authorities. It will be a youth leisure center of a new format, providing open opportunities for self-development and organization of leisure activities for the youth of the district."

So, the specialists of the Agency "Center" have collected and analyzed both global information - about the socio-economic characteristics of the city, and point information about the requests of future project participants and about the object.

Maria Sedletskaya

expert, leading analyst of the Agency for Strategic Development "CENTER":

“Anadyr is a city with a specific character. It can be considered the most remote not only because it is the easternmost city of the Russian Federation, located at a distance of thousands of kilometers from the largest cities of the European part of the country, but also because of its remoteness from the large agglomeration centers of the Far Eastern Federal District and small towns of the ChAO.

The peculiarities of the lifestyle in Anadyr are the lack of infrastructure and leisure activities for young people of 14–35 years old, invented outside of cultural programs and outside the walls of municipal institutions. The informational disunity and spatial isolation of Anadyr amid global competition between cities further exacerbates the shortage of “their own” informal spaces.

Unlike many other cities of the Far North, the central residential part of the city of Anadyr has a fairly compact layout, on a human scale. Among the features of spatial development is a large fund of industrial and warehouse buildings that have lost their purpose, a significant part of which is not used. The Angara building (former garage) is located on the territory, its reconstruction has great potential, as it allows transforming the free space for any requests of potential users."

Sergey Georgievsky

General Director of the Agency for Strategic Development "CENTER"

“We defined the mission of the created public space as“creating conditions for the socialization of young people, their integration into the processes taking place outside the geographical space of the city, and the formation of social responsibility”. Thus, "ANGAR" must create an environment that will allow young people not only to satisfy various leisure needs, but also to realize themselves in those types of activities that will be in demand in the future. At the same time, the Mission of the place is broadcast to an external audience and serves as the basis for the gradual scaling of the role of the Youth Center - from the level of the urban district and the ChAO, to the Far Eastern and international scale.

The most interesting area, from the point of view of future redevelopment, is an industrial zone in the western part of the city, surrounded by residential buildings and a coastal area with a descent to the Anadyr estuary - a local youth location for meeting sunsets and outdoor recreation. The inclusion of this territory in the life of the city will develop new types of services, increase the sense of security and comfort, and allow more efficient use of the territory, especially if there is an engineering infrastructure and transport links with the city center."

But let's talk about the project. Having collected all the information and wishes, to develop the architectural concept, the Agency "Center" invited MAParchitects, which were required to turn a typical hangar from large reinforced concrete panels into a warm, cozy and modern building, noticeable from a distance and attractive, suitable for the development of modern youth culture, multifunctional and transformable, and also not devoid of signs of its former life, which has become an indispensable part of the approaches of our time to the reconstruction of industrial buildings. They should become comfortable, but not "emasculated", not lose their "face".

Alexander Poroshkin

head of the architectural bureau MAParchitects:

“When working on the project of an all-season youth center, it was extremely important for us to preserve the authenticity of the object, its technical“past”, making the so-called“third place”for the residents of Chukotka - a platform where you can come to have fun with friends, listen to a lecture, develop your communication skills, realize creative plans and significantly diversify your leisure time. The future center "ANGAR", in addition to its main function, additionally acts as an event space that accumulates the energy and enthusiasm of young people in useful initiatives."

Архитектурная концепция молодежного центра АНГАР, 2019 © MAParchitects / исследование Агентства «Центр»

The two most notable techniques, therefore, are subordinated to the search for an aesthetic sonorous image and pragmatic wall insulation. Sandwich panels filled with mineral wool are responsible for the heat; a layer of such panels will cover the concrete walls of the hangar, while from the outside they will be covered by a grid of punched metal panels capable of taking on part of the wind load and at the same time not devoid of decorative meaning. The brightness provides a contrast between the snowy white walls with the warm red of the entrance and small volumes. In general, the ANGAR should ultimately look like a rectangular block carved out of snow with an entrance similar to a conventional fireplace, warm and attractive, like any dwelling in cold latitudes - a kind of archetype of the area.

In addition, the architects are expanding the entrance, offering to disassemble the old gate - the entrance group will receive an additional glass opening, which will be opened in the summer, letting in more light and expanding the connection between the external and internal space, and closed in winter with metal movable shutters for warmth. The terracotta-red deepening of the entrance takes on the role of a kind of modernist portico, it is quite long, but not devoid of industrial allusions - the pylon supports are interpreted as large I-beams.

On the other hand, the white metal mesh recedes far enough from the walls and grows above the roof, clearly indicating that the building is enclosed in a kind of dense mesh, subject to the rhythm of vertical joints. Translucency creates a second layer, aka the layer of meanings: in winter it will allow illumination similar to the northern lights (although, probably, the light can be adjusted as you like, and dynamically too). In summer, the facades will be able to resonate with the haze of white nights.

The main advantage of the space inside is that it is unsupported and quite high, 5.8 m from the floor to the trusses, plus another 3 m are occupied by the actual metal trusses. They are planned to be preserved, as well as a number of elements, plates and concrete textures, reminiscent of an old, industrial garage. The plates can become part of the trash art exposition, the authors explain, or they can simply be included in the interior as permanent residents. A group of pipes with valves-taps, left over from an industrial garage, will also become a decoration.

One of the main elements of the space is the open space of the lower tier, a platform for events: concerts, lectures, fairs and others. Two wooden amphitheaters, a media screen, and a café appear here; the transformable space is flexible and capable of accepting different functions, even a small skate area. Smaller spaces of the workshops are located on the mezzanine along the perimeter, stairs lead here, and from the galleries you can watch what is happening in the openspace.

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1/4 General plan. Architectural concept of the youth center ANGAR, 2019 © MAParchitects / research of the Agency "Center"
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2/4 Distribution of functions. Architectural concept of the youth center ANGAR, 2019 © MAParchitects / research of the Agency "Center"
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3/4 Plans of 1 and 2 tiers with a mezzanine. Architectural concept of the youth center ANGAR, 2019 © MAParchitects / research of the Agency "Center"
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4/4 Section. Architectural concept of the youth center ANGAR, 2019 © MAParchitects / research of the Agency "Center"

The planned functions are very diverse, moreover, according to analysts, the youth center is aimed at the future and is able to change. The Instagram group is replete with calls for the city's youth to make proposals and develop the composition of the complex. But it has already conceived a chill-out, a city farm, a meeting-room, photo and video studios, greenhouses and places for e-sports competitions.

Maria Sedletskaya

expert, leading analyst of the Agency for Strategic Development "CENTER"

“The most important feature of the new site is the development of event content and architectural solutions for zoning the hangar space based on the needs of future users, because it is the“youth asset of Chukotka”that is today the basis for the development of creative potential. These were ideas for creating an open transformable space, specialized spaces for a printing house, a media center with an interactive map of Russia, a recording studio, photo and video studios, conducting e-sports competitions, arranging mobile greenhouses (growbox); holding a graffiti festival, etc.

Branded events form a calendar grid depending on the season while simultaneously loading the weekly schedule. Interaction with a multitude of actors will allow for meaningful activities, lifelong learning, social communication, intellectual relaxation, collective use and exchange of ideas.

One of the significant events implies the development of the already existing Golden Raven Film Festival, which gathers full houses and attracts participants from North America, Scandinavia, and the northern regions of Russia. The category of international and interregional events includes precisely trendy and modern formats of events based on local identity, for example, the Youth Arctic "Bering-Fest". Large-scale outdoor events are planned mainly in the summer - a street exhibition of trash art, a video art competition, etc."

The project is planned to be completed by the end of 2019 or the beginning of 2020.