Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin, directors of the studio "Rethinking gravity":
“In the master's program at MARSH, there is traditionally a studio dedicated to rethinking the fundamental themes of architecture: this year students were thinking about gravity (and in the past - about materiality, editor's note). Participants were interested in all levels and forms of the relationship between architecture and gravity - from cosmogonic theories to nanotechnology, from monumental gravity to levitation, from real objects to symbolic narratives.
Of all human activities, construction and architecture are most associated with gravity. Gravity is both the curse of architecture and a constant challenge. It is a force that threatens to destroy, bend and overturn everything built. But at the same time, it is gravity that ensures the stability of buildings: only thanks to the force of gravity, buildings stand on the ground, and columns and walls, arches and domes can exist.
Gravity and its various manifestations were considered from the point of view of physics and other exact sciences, including statics of structures, resistance of materials, theoretical mechanics, structural physics, and geology. At the same time, special attention was paid to the poetics of gravity, the glorification of gravity and its overcoming.
The studio began its work with field studies in Pskov, the architecture of which is distinguished by a special attitude towards gravity. The students then completed a series of design exercises on gravity in a variety of genres, both architectural and performative.
After an architectural analysis of outstanding buildings, as well as analytical and design experiences, each of the students compiled an author's Manifesto concerning the relationship between architecture and gravity. Based on the provisions of the Manifesto, the students identified the theme and area of the project, which they then consistently developed. ***
Nuclear Testing Museum in Semipalatinsk
Alexander Kazachenko
Alexander Kazachenko chose a nuclear test site for his project, located 130 km from Semipalatinsk on the banks of the Irtysh River. About 500 nuclear explosions were carried out at the test site, including the first Soviet atomic bomb tested, experiments were carried out. In order to preserve the memory of the wounds of the earth and sky left by the test site, Alexander decided to create the Museum of Nuclear Tests.
The museum turned out to be linear and long - one and a half kilometers. It is at this distance from the epicenter of the explosion that a person has a chance to survive if he is in a safe shelter. The path through the exposition takes about an hour, during which time the visitor learns the explosion "from the inside".
The scenario changes approximately every three minutes: behind complete darkness there is a flash of light, after an alarming silence - a hum, which gradually intensifies to an alarming siren, the next moment the senses are captured by a strong air flow and a shock sound wave, then forced ventilation is started step by step. After such effects, a room with steppe tulips - their number is equal to the number of victims of the first trials - can lead to catharsis. The end of the route is a vantage point over the nuclear crater: the radiation background is still high there, and there is no other way to get here. A person sees a crater and scorched earth through thick glass.
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zooming 1/8 Museum of nuclear tests in Semipalatinsk. The author of the work: Alexander Kazachenko. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 2/8 Museum of nuclear tests in Semipalatinsk. The author of the work: Alexander Kazachenko. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 3/8 Museum of nuclear tests in Semipalatinsk. The author of the work: Alexander Kazachenko. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 4/8 Museum of nuclear tests in Semipalatinsk. The author of the work: Alexander Kazachenko. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin.© MARSH
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zooming 5/8 Museum of nuclear tests in Semipalatinsk. The author of the work: Alexander Kazachenko. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 6/8 Museum of nuclear tests in Semipalatinsk. The author of the work: Alexander Kazachenko. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 7/8 Museum of nuclear tests in Semipalatinsk. The author of the work: Alexander Kazachenko. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 8/8 Museum of nuclear tests in Semipalatinsk. The author of the work: Alexander Kazachenko. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
The visitor returns to the top floor. Before his eyes - the endless steppe, and in his head - thoughts about the path traveled. ***
Fisherman's house in Vladivostok
Nikolay Yugay
Nikolai Yugai chose his native Vladivostok for the project, firmly deciding that he would not penetrate the land part of the compact city, but would not go beyond its limits. Combining this intention with fishing, which is a favorite of the townspeople, I realized that he would design the Fisherman's House on the Water: a place for "Russian meditation", a small public space for those who need it. The house has an oven, dining and kitchen areas and a smokehouse.
Given that the open Sea of Japan is unpredictable, the author decided to take the side of the calm Rosset Bay in the Amur Bay. The bay is located near the center of Vladivostok, in the Egersheld area and the lighthouse, it is not difficult to reach it.
Wood as a material led the author to the idea of medieval ships: this image significantly influenced the appearance of the Fisherman's House. For his object, Nikolai used pine and oak.
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zooming 1/10 Fisherman's house in Vladivostok. Author of the work: Nikolay Yugay. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 2/10 Fisherman's house in Vladivostok. Author of the work: Nikolay Yugay. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 3/10 Fisherman's house in Vladivostok. Author of the work: Nikolay Yugay. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 4/10 Fisherman's house in Vladivostok. Author of the work: Nikolay Yugay. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 5/10 Fisherman's house in Vladivostok. Author of the work: Nikolay Yugay. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 6/10 Fisherman's house in Vladivostok. Author of the work: Nikolay Yugay. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 7/10 Fisherman's house in Vladivostok. Author of the work: Nikolay Yugay. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 8/10 Fisherman's house in Vladivostok. Author of the work: Nikolay Yugay. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 9/10 Fisherman's house in Vladivostok. Author of the work: Nikolay Yugay. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 10/10 Fisherman's house in Vladivostok. Author of the work: Nikolay Yugay. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
The main task was to connect the object with a planetary scale, to manifest the Fisherman's House on the border of two matters - external (air) and internal (water). The body of the Fisherman's House is a random fragment "hovering" in the Euclidean geometry coordinate system, which is inscribed in a cell with an equal step. The body in watery matter is fixed by three anchors, which creates the feeling that it is trying to break away, then plunge to the bottom. ***
Cemetery in Kakheti
Veronica Davitashvili
Veronica Davitashvili came to the conclusion that life is overcoming gravity, and death is submission to it: as soon as the body stops resisting, it goes underground. The subject of the project was the subordination of gravity.
The author views the cemetery as a living organism that expands and grows as needed. The project is the backbone that can and should be developed and completed down the slope. It consists of several terraces connected by ramps, the location of which is subordinate to the relief. There are also chapels, parting halls, burial places, bio-crematoria (resomators) and columbariums, family crypts. The buildings are built of tuff blocks and have austere interiors with stone furnishings. The cemetery is oriented to the cardinal points: the main axis of movement is located on the north-south sides, and the apse of the chapel is turned to the east.
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zooming 1/8 Cemetery in Kakheti. Author of the work: Veronika Davitashvili. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 2/8 Cemetery in Kakheti. Author of the work: Veronika Davitashvili. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 3/8 Cemetery in Kakheti. Author of the work: Veronika Davitashvili. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 4/8 Cemetery in Kakheti. Author of the work: Veronika Davitashvili. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 5/8 Cemetery in Kakheti. Author of the work: Veronika Davitashvili. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 6/8 Cemetery in Kakheti. Author of the work: Veronika Davitashvili. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 7/8 Cemetery in Kakheti. Author of the work: Veronika Davitashvili. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 8/8 Cemetery in Kakheti. Author of the work: Veronika Davitashvili. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
Thanks to a small hole in the chapel - a key parting place - there is a constant play of light and shadow: in the morning, the incident ray forms a small projection of the cross on the pedestal, and in the afternoon, a narrow disappearing ray passes through the hole. ***
City laboratory
Julia Belozertseva
Obninsk is the first science city in Russia. It received this status in 1956, and before that it existed as a settlement that arose on the site of several noble estates. Two axes remind of these periods: landscape (natural) - the axis of inaccuracies and shifts, and urban - the axis of rational decisions and planning.
During the thaw period, Obninsk was actively built up by research institutes and housing, and after the collapse of the USSR, it turned into a city with a diminishing function. The old signs of the era of scientific discoveries and experiments have faded - the city has lost touch with its past.
In the project, a new vector of development is set by the City Interdisciplinary Laboratory. In contrast to the closed laboratories of the Soviet period, it is becoming an open cultural center. An active exchange of knowledge between specialists takes place here, and the townspeople are also involved: they can come to learn news from the world of science, participate in workshops, and observe the work of scientists.
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zooming 1/9 City laboratory. Author of the work: Yulia Belozertseva. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 2/9 City laboratory. Author of the work: Yulia Belozertseva. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 3/9 City laboratory. Author of the work: Yulia Belozertseva. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 4/9 City laboratory. Author of the work: Yulia Belozertseva. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 5/9 City laboratory. Author of the work: Yulia Belozertseva. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 6/9 City laboratory. Author of the work: Yulia Belozertseva. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 7/9 City laboratory. Author of the work: Yulia Belozertseva. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 8/9 City laboratory. Author of the work: Yulia Belozertseva. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
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zooming 9/9 City laboratory. Author of the work: Yulia Belozertseva. Teachers: Evgeny Ass, Gleb Sobolev, Igor Chirkin. © MARSH
The laboratory is growing on the foundations of an unfinished shopping center, at the intersection of the city's past and future. Due to the nearby streams and ponds, the building cannot maintain its familiar modernist form, which ignores its surroundings. Guided by these considerations, the author developed a grid with "offsets", which defined the character of the building. Landscape and architecture are becoming equal. ***
