Y-Generation Culture Center

The architects of Wowhaus have finished the construction of the Innovation and Culture Center in the city of Kaluga. In spite of the fact that in the course of the design process the functional program of the building kept changing as fast as innovations grow obsolete these days, the architects were still able to cope with the situation turning the project into a closely-knit hub of various cultural and sports scenarios with a flexible set of features.

Written by:
Julia Tarabarina, Natalya Muradova, Elena Petukhova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

29 June 2017

Object

Architect:

Firm:

WOWHAUS http://wowhaus.ru/

The recent narrative of creating innovation centers in Russia looks pretty controversial. Initially, they were called DNK (standing for “dom novoy kultury”, translated as “house of new culture”) and were supposed to become part of a single network with the central hub in Skolkovo in order to expose regional youth to modern technology and art of today. Then the program was curtailed down to three centers: in Kaluga, Pervouralsk, and Vladivostok. And then, in 2015, the deputies of the State Duma proposed to turn these centers into patriotic ones that would foster patriotic feelings without any obscure “innovations”.

The afore-mentioned political metamorphoses were taking place when Wowhaus already got down to designing the center. However, the architects were still able to design a building that had a diverse set of functions and was easily transformable. From one end, it starts with a modern dance hall followed by a foyer, a lecture and a conference hall, and laboratories, while at the other end it ends in a muffle furnace. In other words, the very structure of the center inadvertently repeats the trajectory of the development of the idea of Innovation and Culture Centers over the last few years.

The land site on which the Innovation and Culture center is situated adjoins the Tsiolkovsky Park – the territory of the Museum of the History of Cosmonautics, a landmark built in the 1960’s by the architect Boris Barkhin; in 1961, Yuri Gagarin, the world’s first cosmonaut, laid a five-kopeck coin into its foundation stone at the construction inauguration ceremony. Built by the architects of Wowhaus, the culture center adjoins the southwest border of the “lawn” square in front of the Cosmonautics Museum but its land site is situated lower in terms of terrain and is partially obscured from the museum by the slope.

The west slope of the center’s land site that descends down to the Yachenskoe Reservoir turned out to be potentially dangerous with landslides. The authors of the project opted out of fortifying it but solved the problem by relocating the construction load: closer to the slope, the terrain holds single-story volumes of the education part of the building. The potentially eventful parts of the building – the multifunctional hall, the rehearsal halls, and the exhibition hall – were designed in the southeast part of the territory that faces the city. The space between the light northwest wing and the large southeast one includes the avenue of lime trees that the architects decided to keep – it made an excellent green courtyard opened in the direction of the Oka River.

“The architectural idea of the building consisted in creating a knot of two intertwined space “bands”. One of them would include the educational functions, the other – the public ones. Between the bands, we inserted the outdoor areas – a yard with an amphitheater and an inner green courtyard” – says Anastasia Rychkova.

Different functions and different motion routes are indeed gathered in one “knot”. The architects designed two accesses to the building that lead to this place from two public transportation stops at the Oktyabrskaya Street. From one of them, one needs to walk diagonally through the Tsiolkovsky Park. The park is connected to the building by a ramp that is then morphed into a light concrete bridge – walking over this bridge, we find ourselves at the level of the second floor of the complex. On the right, there is a sightseeing platform that commands a “postcard” view of the Cosmonautics Museum. Further on, the yard is graced by a large wooden amphitheater. Up ahead, there is an entrance to the second level of the complex and an entrance to a cafe. On the left, there is an exhibition hall; behind it, there are ziggurat-like sloping steps of elongated stained glass windows that lighten up the foyer – a peculiar kind of saw-tooth skylights. The glass cantilever of the cafe practically hovers above the ground resting solely on a V-shaped support.

This part of the building is a public space that can be used in many ways. The Wowhaus architects are really expert at creating interesting public territories, and in this specific case they literally surrounded the entire complex with them. In addition to the major amphitheater, the architects designed three minor ones: one is inscribed into the slope left of the ramp, another separates the center from a spacious children’s playground on the city side, and still another, the smallest one, only two steps high, is situated inside the foyer with a view of the yard – it can be used as a co-working space. In addition, still lower on the slope, on the side of the Oka River, the architects organized a 200-square meter parkour spot – the only one in Russia of such kind. Thus, the territory around the building is designed for various emotional responses and kinds of activities: parkour, recreation, contemplation, and open-air theater performances. One’s impressions are constantly changing as one moves around the building.

The second access to the building is routed from the city and down the alley – the architects are planning to turn it into a new city axis. It is straight, “disciplined”, and leads to a square in front of the large parallelepiped with a wooden pylonnade “drawn” on the dark-gray façade. Here, the architects placed a multifunctional theater hall – a modern transformable theater area. It was required to this rather tall, stating at the same time, within the height restrictions – so, for this hall, which us the central nucleus of the Center, the architects chose the territory lying in the lower part of the terrain.

After the multifunctional hall, the second imposing indoor space is the foyer, part of which is occupied by a system of black metal staircases lit by steps of the saw-tooth skylights – the kind that visually continue the steps of the main amphitheater on the outside. According to the architects, the structures of the skylights are as thin as can be: the authors were able to diminish their usual half-meter thickness down to 30 centimeters. Besides the staircase, yet another thing that draws one’s attention is the oval “cocoon” of the cloakroom, clad in wooden panels.

It is easy to see that the building of the Kaluga Innovation and Culture center is by no means iconic. At some places it even gets dissolved in nature, not to mention the fact that it is quite unobtrusive of the local terrain; it looks as if it flows over the landscape. It is obvious that its newness consists in lightness, subtlety, transparency, and maybe even the already mentioned unobtrusiveness with which the building’s scenarios lead the visitor along the suggested route. This kind of newness is hard to formalize because of the absence of any definite outer shell but it is full of interesting adaptive scenarios and possibilities of changing the backdrop of the action, probably resonant with the Generation Z’s mosaic thinking or Generation Y’s desire for communication. There is little struggle and impulse about this whole idea – but lots of ways for moving and staying.

zooming — Innovation and Culture Center in Kaluga. Photograph © Ilia Ivanov

Architect:

Firm:

WOWHAUS http://wowhaus.ru/

29 June 2017

Headlines now

Object

The Secret Briton

The house is called “Little France”. Its composition follows the classical St. Petersburg style, with a palace-like courtyard. The decor is on the brink of Egyptian lotuses, neo-Greek acroteria, and classic 1930s “gears”; the recessed piers are Gothic, while the silhouette of the central part of the house is British. It’s quite interesting to examine all these details, attempting to understand which architectural direction they belong to. At the same time, however, the house fits like a glove in the context of the 20th line of St. Petersburg’s Vasilievsky Island; its elongated wings hold up the façade quite well.

The Wrap-Up

The competition project proposed by Treivas for the first 2021 competition for the Russian pavilion at EXPO 2025 concludes our series of publications on pavilion projects that will not be implemented. This particular proposal stands out for its detailed explanations and the idea of ecological responsibility: both the facades and the exhibition inside were intended to utilize recycled materials.

Birds and Streams

For the competition to design the Omsk airport, DNK ag formed a consortium, inviting VOX architects and Sila Sveta. Their project focuses on intersections, journeys, and flights – both of people and birds – as Omsk is known as a “transfer point” for bird migrations. The educational component is also carefully considered, and the building itself is filled with light, which seems to deconstruct the copper circle of the central entrance portal, spreading it into fantastic hyper-spatial “slices”.

Faraday Grid

The project of the Omsk airport by ASADOV Architects is another concept among the 14 finalists of a recent competition. It is called “The Bridge” and is inspired by both the West Siberian Exhibition of 1911 and the Trans-Siberian Railway bridge over the Irtysh River, built in 1896. On one hand, it carries a steampunk vibe, while on the other, there’s almost a sense of nostalgia for the heyday of 1913. However, the concept offers two variants, the second one devoid of nostalgia but featuring a parabola.

Review

Midway upon the Journey of Our Life

Recently, Tatlin Publishing House released a book entitled “Architect Sergey Oreshkin. Selected Projects”. This book is not just a traditional book of the architectural company’s achievements, but rather a monograph of a more personal nature. The book includes 43 buildings as well as a section with architectural drawings. In this article, we reflect on the book as a way to take stock of an architect’s accomplishments.

Inverted Fortress

This year, there has been no shortage of intriguing architectural ideas around the Omsk airport. The project developed by the architectural company KPLN appeals to Omsk’s history as a wooden fortress that it was back in the day, but transforms the concept of a fortress beyond recognition: it “shaves off” the conical ends of “wooden logs”, then enlarges them, and then flips them over. The result is a hypostyle – a forest of conical columns on point supports, with skylights on top.

send.project

Transformation of Annenkirche

For Annenkirche (St. Anna Lutheran Church in St. Petersburg), Sergey Kuznetsov and the Kamen bureau have prepared a project that relies on the principles of the Venice Charter: the building is not restored to a specific date, historical layers are preserved, and modern elements do not mimic the authentic ones. Let’s delve into the details of these solutions.

The Paradox of the Temporary

The concept of the Russian pavilion for EXPO 2025 in Osaka, proposed by the Wowhaus architects, is the last of the six projects we gathered from the 2022 competition. It is again worth noting that the results of this competition were not finalized due to the cancellation of Russia’s participation in World Expo 2025. It should be mentioned that Wowhaus created three versions for this competition, but only one is being presented, and it can’t be said that this version is thoroughly developed – rather, it is done in the spirit of a “student assignment”. Nevertheless, the project is interesting in its paradoxical nature: the architects emphasized the temporary character of the pavilion, and in its bubble-like forms sought to reflect the paradoxes of space and time.

The Forum of Time

The competition project for the Russian Pavilion at EXPO 2025 in Osaka designed by Aleksey Orlov and Arena Project Institute consists of cones and conical funnels connected into a non-trivial composition, where one can feel the hand of architects who have worked extensively with stadiums and other sports facilities. It’s very interesting to delve into its logic, structurally built on the theme of clocks, hourglasses and even sundials. Additionally, the architects have turned the exhibition pavilion into a series of interconnected amphitheaters, which is also highly relevant for world exhibitions. We are reminding you that the competition results were never announced.

Mirrors Everywhere

The project by Sergey Nebotov, Anastasia Gritskova, and the architectural company “Novoe” was created for the Russian pavilion at EXPO 2025, but within the framework of another competition, which, as we learned, took place even earlier, in 2021. At that time, the competition theme was “digital twins”, and there was minimal time for work, so the project, according to the architect himself, was more of a “student assignment”. Nevertheless, this project is interesting for its plan bordering on similarity with Baroque projects and the emblem of the exhibition, as well as its diverse and comprehensive reflectiveness.

Report

The Steppe Is Full of Beauty and Freedom

The goal of the exhibition “Dikoe Pole” (“Wild Field”) at the State Historical Museum was to move away from the archaeological listing of valuable items and to create an image of the steppe and nomads that was multidirectional and emotional – in other words, artistic. To achieve this goal, it was important to include works of contemporary art. One such work is the scenography of the exhibition space developed by CHART studio.

The Snowstorm Fish

The next project from the unfinished competition for the Russian Pavilion at EXPO 2025, which will be held in Osaka, Japan, is by Dashi Namdakov and Parsec Architects. The pavilion describes itself as an “architectural/sculptural” one, with its shape clearly reminiscent of abstract sculpture of the 1970s. It complements its program with a meditative hall named “Mendeleev’s Dreams”, and offers its visitors to slide from its roof at the end of the tour.

The Mirror of Your Soul

We continue to publish projects from the competition for the design of the Russian Pavilion at EXPO in Osaka 2025. We are reminding you that the results of the competition have not been announced, and hardly will ever be. The pavilion designed by ASADOV Architects combines a forest log cabin, the image of a hyper transition, and sculptures made of glowing threads – it focuses primarily on the scenography of the exhibition, which the pavilion builds sequentially like a string of impressions, dedicating it to the paradoxes of the Russian soul.

Part of the Ideal

In 2025, another World Expo will take place in Osaka, Japan, in which Russia will not participate. However, a competition for the Russian pavilion was indeed held, with six projects participating. The results were never announced as Russia’s participation was canceled; the competition has no winners. Nevertheless, Expo pavilion projects are typically designed for a bold and interesting architectural statement, so we’ve gathered all the six projects and will be publishing articles about them in random order. The first one is the project by Vladimir Plotkin and Reserve Union, which is distinguished by the clarity of its stereometric shape, the boldness of its structure, and the multiplicity of possible interpretations.

Object

The Fortress by the River

ASADOV Architects have developed a concept for a new residential district in the center of Kemerovo. To combat the harsh climate and monotonous everyday life, the architects proposed a block type of development with dominant towers, good insolation, facades detailed at eye level, and event programming.

Object

In the Rhombus Grid

Construction has begun on the building of the OMK (United Metallurgical Company) Corporate University in Nizhny Novgorod’s town of Vyksa, designed by Ostozhenka Architects. The most interesting aspect of the project is how the architects immersed it in the context: “extracting” a diagonal motif from the planning grid of Vyksa, they aligned the building, the square, and the park to match it. A truly masterful work with urban planning context on several different levels of perception has long since become the signature technique of Ostozhenka.

Object

Generational Connection

Another modern estate, designed by Roman Leonidov, is located in the Moscow region and brings together three generations of one family under one roof. To fit on a narrow plot without depriving anyone of personal space, the architects opted for a zigzag plan. The main volume in the house structure is accentuated by mezzanines with a reverse-sloped roof and ceilings featuring exposed beams.

Object

Three Dimensions of the City

We began to delve into the project by Sergey Skuratov, the residential complex “Depo” in Minsk, located at Victory Square, and it fascinated us completely. The project has at least several dimensions to it: historical – at some point, the developer decided to discontinue further collaboration with Sergey Skuratov Architects, but the concept was approved, and its implementation continues, mostly in accordance with the proposed ideas. The spatial and urban planning dimension – the architects both argue with the city and play along with it, deciphering nuances, and finding axes. And, finally, the tactile dimension – the constructed buildings also have their own intriguing features. Thus, this article also has two parts: it dwells on what has been built and what was conceived

Object

New “Flight”

Architects from “Mezonproject” have developed a project for the reconstruction of the regional youth center “Polyot”(“Flight”) in the city of Oryol. The summer youth center, built back in the late 1970s, will now become year-round and acquire many additional functions.

Object

The Yauza Towers

In Moscow, there aren’t that many buildings or projects designed by Nikita Yavein and Studio 44. In this article, we present to you the concept of a large multifunctional complex on the Yauza River, located between two parks, featuring a promenade, a crossroads of two pedestrian streets, a highly developed public space, and an original architectural solution. This solution combines a sophisticated, asymmetric façade grid, reminiscent of a game of fifteen puzzle, and bold protrusions of the upper parts of the buildings, completely masking the technical floors and sculpting the complex’s silhouette.

News

Arch, Pearl, Wing, Wind

In the social media of the governor of the Omsk region, voting was conducted for the best project for the city’s new airport. We asked the finalists to send over their projects and are now showcasing them. The projects are quite interesting: the client requested that the building be visually permeable throughout, and the images that the architects are working with include arches, wings, gusts of wind, and even the “Pearl” painting by Vrubel, who was actually born in Omsk.

Object

Architecture and Leisure Park

For the suburban hotel complex, which envisages various formats of leisure, the architectural company T+T Architects proposed several types of accommodation, ranging from the classic “standard” in a common building to a “cave in the hill” and a “house in a tree”. An additional challenge consisted in integrating a few classic-style residences already existing on this territory into the “architectural forest park”.

Overview

The U-House

The Jois complex combines height with terraces, bringing the most expensive apartments from penthouses down to the bottom floors. The powerful iconic image of the U-shaped building is the result of the creative search for a new standard of living in high-rise buildings by the architects of “Genpro”.

Object

Black and White

In this article, we specifically discuss the interiors of the ATOM Pavilion at VDNKh. Interior design is a crucial component of the overall concept in this case, and precision and meticulous execution were highly important for the architects. Julia Tryaskina, head of UNK interiors, shares some of the developments.

send.project

The “Snake” Mountain

The competition project for the seaside resort complex “Serpentine” combines several typologies: apartments of different classes, villas, and hotel rooms. For each of these typologies, the KPLN architects employ one of the images that are drawn from the natural environment – a serpentine road, a mountain stream, and rolling waves.

send.project

Opal from Anna Mons’ Ring

The project of a small business center located near Tupolev Plaza and Radio Street proclaims the necessity of modern architecture in a specific area of Moscow commonly known as “Nemetskaya Sloboda” or “German settlement”. It substantiates its thesis with the thoroughness of details, a multitude of proposed and rejected form variants, and even a detailed description of the surrounding area. The project is interesting indeed, and it is even more interesting to see what will come of it.

Object

Feed ’Em All

A “House of Russian Cuisine” was designed and built by KROST Group at VDNKh for the “Rossiya” exhibition in record-breaking time. The pavilion is masterfully constructed in terms of the standards of modern public catering industry multiplied by the bustling cultural program of the exhibition, and it interprets the stylistically diverse character of VDNKh just as successfully. At the same time, much of its interior design can be traced back to the prototypes of the 1960s – so much so that even scenes from iconic Soviet movies of those years persistently come to mind.

Object

The Ensemble at the Mosque

OSA prepared a master plan for a district in the southern part of Derbent. The main task of the master plan is to initiate the formation of a modern comfortable environment in this city. The organization of residential areas is subordinated to the city’s spiritual center: depending on the location relative to the cathedral mosque, the houses are distinguished by façade and plastique solutions. The program also includes a “hospitality center”, administrative buildings, an educational cluster, and even an air bridge.

send.project

Pargolovo Protestantism

A Protestant church is being built in St. Petersburg by the project of SLOI architects. One of the main features of the building is a wooden roof with 25-meter spans, which, among other things, forms the interior of the prayer hall. Also, there are other interesting details – we are telling you more about them.

Object

The Shape of the Inconceivable

The ATOM Pavilion at VDNKh brings to mind a famous maxim of all architects and critics: “You’ve come up with it? Now build it!” You rarely see such a selfless immersion in implementation of the project, and the formidable structural and engineering tasks set by UNK architects to themselves are presented here as an integral and important part of the architectural idea. The challenge matches the obliging status of the place – after all, it is an “exhibition of achievements”, and the pavilion is dedicated to the nuclear energy industry. Let’s take a closer look: from the outside, from the inside, and from the underside too.