Megabudka with “Russian Character”

The results of the “Russian Character” international architectural competition announced by Morton Group to develop the concept of a Russian Culture & Education Center for the Butovo Park residential district have been made known. The winner of the contest is Megabudka studio.

Like many new microdistricts, Butovo Park does not actually have its own identity and architectural refinements: it’s formed of panel series and monolithic skyscrapers that make up a total of over 1.5 million square meters of housing. But the distinguishing feature of the project is that about 80% of the territory is given for public areas and only 20% for development.

The cultural and educational center, according to the developer, should have a striking architectural image and become a marker of the district and a magnet for locals: being removed from metropolitan cultural institutions, here they will be able to find a variety of functions.

Planned facilities include — three multipurpose rooms, exhibition space, media library, cafe, classrooms, gymnasium and a museum.

However, contestants could add to this list, introducing new types of pastimes and adapting space for them. Recommended budget for design and construction was about 45-55 thousand rubles for 1 square meter of the total area of the building.

The international competition was launched in February 2014. It was in two-stages and for the first time used a system for receiving projects from encrypted e-mail accounts.

In the first stage applications for participation were accepted from everyone, and in March the advisory council formed a shortlist of 15 teams.

The composition of the finalists was very mixed — in it appeared such seasoned studios of Sergei Skuratov, Anton Mosin, Totan Kuzembaev and Pole-Design, as well as up-and-coming bureaus.

The list also includes Megabudka which distinguished itself in the past year with its alternative project for developing Triumfalnaya Square, and MEL Studio which came in second place in the international competition for the new building of the NCCA. There were very unexpected participants as well — like Arch Group, authors of the first project of the Orthodox cultural center in Paris, — as well as bureaus from Slovenia, Finland and Switzerland. All projects of the finalists could be seen at the recent ARCH Moscow 2014.

According to the design specifications, the contestants were “to search for elements, shapes and symbols that reflect the „Russian character„ of contemporary architecture, but not representing a reminiscence of historic styles.“

This formal search — itself an intriguing task, since lately a decidedly successful set of ideas of Russian architecture has yet to emerge, but rather that which has appeared has taken the form of kitsch. Especially interesting was to see „Russian“ in the context of a residential environment, formed by the principles of modernist developments.

In the Swiss proposal, for example, the traditional form of a Russian gable was transformed into triangles forming the facades; TAF Studio built its project on the archetype of sheds — „as an example of Russian straightforwardness“ — and the Palace in Kolomenskoye, symbolizing „Russian spontaneity.“

Pole-Design gave the facades of the Center a traditional „onion“ shape, while the studio of Alexey Kozyr turned it into a botanical garden with glowing exotic palm trees and art objects by contemporary artists.

On May 27 at the pavilion „School“ a meeting of the jury was held and the winner was chosen — the bureau of Megabudka. Their project is called „Dacha in a Dvor“: the authors considered the Russian dacha in particular as one of the defining architectural and topological structures and part of the collective image of Russia today.

Megabudka’s design is a sort of local theme park, composed of a reinterpretation with a modern twist of traditional suburban elements: gazebos, sheds, terraces, ovens, apiaries, and baths. All of them can be reconfigured and finished building in turn.

The chief architect of Moscow and a member of the jury, Sergey Kuznetsov, noted that he himself voted for Megabudka’s project. He liked the project because it was hand drawn; that, in changing the plan, it remains recognizable, regardless of the form of the plot on which it is placed; finally, that it is flexible, making phased implementation possible. Other favorites of the jury were the projects of Totan Kuzembaev’s studio — with the central „red“ area for fairs — and MEL studio’s, in which the center is a flexible and mobile platform of several volumes.

As noted by Sergey Kuznetsov, this competition is a relatively rare case when a private investor initiates cultural programs, and perhaps even the first such combination on a cultural and social place.

In addition, the formal search by contestants, in his opinion, produced very interesting solutions on the topic of the disappearing typology of cultural centers, a new form of which has yet to be invented.

According to the president of Morton Group, Alexander Ruchev, the design is planned to be replicated in other regions as well, but in Moscow it will be implemented within a year.