IND architects plan to transform a water tower in Shcherbinka into a cultural center
According to the project of the Moscow architectural studio IND Architects, a water tower in the city district of Shcherbinka in Novaya Moskva will be transformed into a cutting-edge cultural center.
The project by IND architects was selected as a result of an open competition organized by the S.D. Erzia International Arts Foundation with the support of the Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning of Moscow and the Directorate of Zaryadye Park.
The transformed water tower will host exhibitions, lectures, and workshops. The tower will become a messenger of art, a place for communication and networking. The project is designed to define the new cultural code of the developing area. Social and cultural functions will become the focus of the transformed facility, and in order to transform a utility structure into a museum, the project by IND architects will involve a number of changes. The second floor of the tower was supplemented with a multifunctional complex. A bright, spacious volume does not contrast the shape of the tower, it does not make the general image heavier, it complements it. IND architects elevated the hall by one floor to make the space permeable, to emphasize the contrast of the building with the surrounding buildings.
"We integrate a historical object into the life of a contemporary city filling it with new functions. The authentic image of the utility structure will be fully preserved and supplemented with new elements. We emphasized the advantages of the building by contrast with modern elements. The focus of the complex is the strict and harmonious volume of the tower rising high above. The area of the complex will be expanded, which is necessary new building functions, however this extension is made as little impact on the tower as possible. The floating space preserves the proportions of the tower and opens the view of its base. This space is transformed for various purposes, for example, here you can have lectures and workshops, conferences and presentations, master classes, drawing classes, and dancing. One can have a coworking or a small cinema here," - said Amir Idiatulin, CEO of the architectural studio IND Architects.
The opaque surface of profiles glass used for lining the space, allows you to see silhouettes from the street, movement, it attracts passers-by and new visitors, so the building had a dialogue with the environment. The hall will be an ideal space for exhibiting artwork, because thanks to the diffused light, colors will not fade.
The main exposition will be located in the body of the tower. IND architects installed an elevator in the complex and since there had been too little space inside, a decision was made to put it outside. Inside the tower there is an architectural semicircular staircase. To view the permanent exposition, a group of people will go up riding the elevator, and go down using the stairs, seeing the exposition level by level. On the first floor of the tower there will be a small café.
The height of the tower was slightly increased due to an additional level that will be glass-profiled like the floating volume on the second floor. This solution balances the proportions of the complex and makes its architectural image complete. Metaphorically, this small space reflects the new direction of the tower, resembling a lighthouse, a landmark in the artistic and cultural life of Shcherbinka.
"We thought through not only the architectural part of the project, but also its cultural content in order to fill the tower with life and various activities. We believe that after the era of remote communication, we will rediscover the value of real-life communication in a living, real world with real people. The community spirit, the common interests and the hobbies - these are the values architecture should revive," said the architect Amir Idiatulin.
