Tactile Understanding

Curators of the exhibition “Touch+See+Hear=Feel”, the architects of Mezonproject bureau, have proposed a new, advanced method of communication with the sculptures of Anna Golubkina.

Written by:
Alla Pavlikova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

08 December 2015

Report

Architect:

Firm:

Mezonproekt http://www.mezon.pro

Museum of Anna Semyonovna Golubkina – a part of the Tretyakov Gallery – is located on Lyovshinsky lane, not far from Old Arbat. The entrance is in the yard, behind a massive door – the atmosphere of an art studio of the Silver Age; in the hall, you can see shots chronicle with Moscow and Paris of the 20th century and Auguste Rodin – Golubkina’s teacher. The guests receive an amusing guidebook based on the letter of Golubkina to her friend, mentioning her places of interest – there, we learn where Rodin’s workshop is (now a museum as well), and also that Anna Semyonovna would not recommend visiting zoological gardens.

The exhibit that sums up the most famous and expressive works of the sculptor takes up two floors. The first floor reminds of a more traditional exhibition area: two spacious halls, soft light, evenly distributed sculptures that one can observe all around, even museum attendants, cautiously watching over maintenance of order and silence are the same as everywhere. But, unlike a standard exhibition where you are expressly prohibited to touch the exhibit-items, here the guests have a unique opportunity of getting a tactile notion of the art works and technique of the sculptor. For this purpose, two Golubkina’s works have been reproduced with the modern technology of 3D-printing.

Next to the vase “Mist” – one of the most famous works – there is a tactile panel with exact replicas of the sculpture’s fragments. As envisioned by the author of the idea and a co-curator of the exhibition, head of Mezonproject architectural bureau, Ilya Mashkov, by touching the fragments one can get a deeper understanding of how the artists worked, what he thought about while creating the works. The second tactile panel is placed by the portrait sculpture of the writer Alexey Remizov, and demonstrates the sculptor’s technique. It was not that easy to come around and touch each of them on the day of the openning: inspired by the idea, the visitors stood in lines, touched the fragments, reflected for a while, went away, and came back again.

zooming — Fragmanet of "Mist" vase. Sculpture by Anna Golubkina. Photo by Alla Pavlikova

The second floor of the museum is a workshop with a huge floor-to-ceiling window and a small memorial room where the organizers of the exhibition tried to recreate the exact atmosphere of that time. This room is very quiet and is the only place with almost no sculptures. The main action takes place in the workshop. Despite its modest sizes, the room itself creates a magical impression – the darkened wall-paper, high ceiling covered in cracks with age and with a square roof monitor, and all around are the sculptor’s works. Executed in different techniques, made of stone, marmor, wood, they are everywhere on the shelves, and tables by the walls, on the window-sill, chairs, emerging in the center of the room leaving narrow labirynth for the visitors to move around.

The special illumination helps the visitors not to feel at a loss or miss something important. The spotlights installed under the ceiling direct bright light beams successively onto different sculptures drawing the visitor’s attention to them. This develops another aspect of the project – “See”. The visitors get completely immersed and engaged in the creative process (which is exactly what the exhibit organizers aimed for) thanks to the elucidative audio surrounding: the guests hear extracts from Anna Golubkina’s letters, her dialogs with colleagues and friends, read by the historian-medievalist, lecturer Nataliya Ivanovna Basovskaya. In this manner, the “See” and “Hear” aspects of the project are revealed.

On the day of the exhibit openning, we had an interview with its curator, head of Mezonproject workshop – Ilya Mashkov:

“It all started with our participation in the exhibition “ARCH Moscow-2015” where our workshop presented an unusual stand: we offered to the visitors to experience architecture with all the sense organs. We made something absolutely intangible – a creative idea – possible to touch, hear and see at the same time. The guests enjoyed our stand very much then and gladly participated in the experiment. Our work drew the attention of the workers of Anna Golubkina’s museum who invited me together with Tatyana Galina to be curators a special project “Touch + See + Hear = Feel”.

I think that our method of engaging all sense organs is very well suited for such expressive works of art. It is very hard to translate their expression to a large mass of people in some other way. The visitors come but not always fully relate to what they see and leave too soon, before they could get filled with the genious of Golubkina’s art that has no analogues in the world. She is Rodin’s pupil but at the same time: completely different, unlike anybody else. Her work was incredible and she expressed everything what she felt inside through clay. It was her emotional experience – as feelings of a creator, genious, a person of her era and a big artist – that we tried to show at the museum exhibit. It was very challenging because Anna Semyonovna was an unusual person – very alive and energetic, straight-forward and original. She only worked with the images that were really interesting to her. For example, she was delighted to sculpt Andrey Bely, but flatly refused to work with the figure of Sergei Yesenin. She saw and felt the world and people around her in her own way. This was the aspect that was so hard to explore within such a small space of her workshop. As an architect, I had a task to create the impression of extension of space despite the large amount of sculptures, and make sure that no item would get lost amid the others.

The most emotional works are presented inside the exposition. For example, the portrait sculpture of Remizov. Looking at it you realize that he has absolutely true skin, real maustache and his coat is almost tangibly soft. You walk around it and you think – how was it possible to animate a lifeless material by means of sculpture? So that you could answer this question, we installed a tactile panel by the sculpture and chose the most interesting fragments touching which you start to understand how it was done. It includes Remizov’s ear made with a single movement of three fingers. Golubkina simply took the clay, pressed on it with three fingers – and you see an ear, brushed with her hand across the neck – and a collar turns around it, made a few skilled movements – and the writer’s face is alive. It is impossible to understand it without touching it. That is why, coming to the exhibition it is absolutely necessary to touch the fragments with your hands and concentrate on your feelings trying to image yourself in place of the sculptor, understand how the visible effect was actually achieved. The aspect of touching opens a new additional way of perception of art.

Furthermore, we tried to accent each sculpture with light, getting the audience to turn their focus from one item to another. Besides the light, we also use sound. Nataliya Basovskaya agreed to voice Golubkina’s letters. And I think that it was a success. I listened to many actors, men’s and women’s voices but I could not find the right one. There was an incredible depth in the voice of Anna Semyonovna. I heard such depth in the voice of Nataliya Ivanovna who read all Golubkina’s lines practically in one breath. The recorded voice is aired non-stop. We intentionally added an indicator of Golubkina’s age so that whenever the guests came in – they would understand the context right away and listen to all the audios to the end. You can also compare your own feelings and perceptions in different ages with the reflections shared by Golubkina. For example, when she is 40 years old she admires marblers and dreams to learn something from them. In her 30s, she does not want to listen to her teachers and insists on working in her own manner. When she is 60, she is preoccupied with the sculpture of Lev Tolstoy that does not come out well because the writer has the eyes of a “coursed wolf”. She does not change with age and remains a very active and energetic person.

I think that with the simplest technical means we have managed to expand the space of the small workshop and achieve full involvement of the audience”.

The exhibition is open up to January 31. The building of the museum is planned to be completely renovated by 2017, so the exposition is also a chance to see the workshop of this amazing sculptor practically in pristine condition.

Architect:

Firm:

Mezonproekt http://www.mezon.pro

08 December 2015

Headlines now

Object

St. Petersburg vs Rome

The center of St. Petersburg is, as we know, sacred – but few people can say with certainty where this “sacred place” actually begins and ends. It’s not about the formal boundaries, “from the Obvodny Canal to the Bolshaya Nevka”, but about the vibe that feels true to the city center. With the Nevskaya Ratusha complex – built to a design that won an international competition – Evgeny Gerasimov and Sergei Tchoban created an “image of the center” within its territory. And not so much the image of St. Petersburg itself, as that of a global metropolis. This is something new, something that hasn’t appeared in the city for a long time. In this article, we study the atmosphere, recall precedents, and even reflect on who and when first called St. Petersburg the “new Rome”. Clearly, the idea is alive for a reason.

Object

On the Wave

The project of transforming the river port and embankment in the city of Cheboksary, developed by the ATRIUM Architects, involves one of the city’s key areas. The Volga embankment is to be turned into a riverside boulevard – a multifunctional, comfortable, and expressive space for work and leisure activities. The authors propose creating a new link with the city’s main Krasnaya (“Red”) Square, as well as erecting several residential towers inspired by the shape of the traditional national women’s headdress – these towers are likely to become striking accents on the Volga panorama.

Interview

Valery Kanyashin: “We Were Given a Free Hand”

The Headliner residential complex, the main part of which was recently completed just across from Moscow City, is a kind of neighbor to the MIBC that doesn’t “play along” with it. On the contrary, the new complex is entirely built on contrast: like a city of differently scaled buildings that seems to have emerged naturally over the past 20 years – which is a hugely popular trend nowadays! And yet here – perhaps only here – such a project has been realized to its full potential. Yes, high-rises dominate, but all these slender, delicate profiles, all these exciting perspectives! And most importantly – how everything is mixed and composed together... We spoke with the project’s leader Valery Kanyashin.

Object

Champions’ Cup

At first glance, the Bell skyscraper on 1st Yamskogo Polya Street, 12, appears strict and laconic – though by no means modest. Its economical stereometry is built on a form close to an oval, one of UNK architects’ favorite themes. The streamlined surface of the main volume, clad in metal louvers, is sliced twice with glass incisions that graphically reveal the essence of the original shape: both its simplicity and its complexity. At the same time, dozens of highly complex engineering puzzles have been solved here.

Object

History never ends

The old railway station in Kapan, a city in southern Armenia, has been given new life by the Paris-based design firm Normal Studio. Today, it serves as a TUMO center.

Object

A Deep, Crystal Shine

A new luxury residential development by ADM architects is set to rise in the Patriarch’s Ponds district, not far from Novopushkinsky Square. It will replace three buildings erected in the early 1990s. The project authors, Andrey Romanov and Ekaterina Kuznetsova, have placed their bets on the variety among the three volumes, modern design solutions, and attention to detail: one of the buildings will feature smoothly curved balconies with a ceramic sheen on their undersides, while another will be accented by glass “sculpture” columns.

Overview

A Roadside Picnic of Urban Planning Theorists

Marina Egorova, head of Empate Architectural Bureau, brought together urban planning theorists – the successors of Alexey Gutnov and Vyacheslav Glazychev – to revive the substance and depth of professional discourse. At the first meeting, much ground was covered: the participants revisited the theoretical foundations, aligned their values, examined a cutting-edge case of the Kazan agglomeration, and concluded with the unfathomable intricacies of Russian land demarcation. Below, we present key takeaways from all the presentations.

Object

Perspective View

CNTR Architects has designed a business center for a new district in Yekaterinburg, aiming to reduce the need for commuting and make the residential environment more diverse. The architectural solutions are equally focused on creating spatial flexibility, comfortable working conditions, and a memorable image that could allow the building to become a spatial landmark of the district.

Object

Malevich and Bathhouses, Nature and High-Tech

The Malevich Bathhouse complex is scheduled to open in the fall of 2025 on the Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Highway. The project, designed by DBA-GROUP under the leadership of Vladislav Andreev, is an example of an unconventional approach to the image of a spa in general and of a bathhouse in particular. Deliberately avoiding any kind of allusion, the architects opted for streamlined forms with characteristic rounded corners, a combination of wood with bent glass, and restrained contemporary shapes – both inside and out. Let’s take a closer look at the project.

Object

Rather, a Tablecloth and a Glass!

After many years, the long-abandoned Horse Guards Department building in St. Petersburg has finally received the attention it deserves: according to a design by Studio 44, the first restoration and adaptation works are scheduled to begin this year. Both the intended function and the general scope of works imply minimal alteration to the complex, which has preserved traces of its three-century history. All solutions are reversible and aimed, above all, at opening the monument to the city and immersing it in a lively social scene – hence the choice of a cultural center scenario with a strong gastronomic component.

Object

Materialization of Airflows

The Nikolai Kamov International Airport in Tomsk opened at the end of August last year. We have already written about the project – now we are taking a look at the completed building. Its functionality is reinforced by symbolic undertones: the architects at ASADOV sought to reflect local identity in the architecture as fully as possible.

Object

The City as a Narrative

Sergey Skuratov’s approach to large urban plots could best be described as a “total design code”. The architect pays equal attention to the overall composition and the smallest of details, striving to ensure that every aspect is thoroughly thought out and subordinated to the original vision. It’s a Renaissance-like approach, really – a titanic effort demanding remarkable willpower and perseverance. The results are likewise grand – architecture that makes a statement. This article looks at the revived concept for the central section of the Seventh Heaven residential district in Kazan, a composition so thoroughly considered that even the “gradient of visual emphasis” (sic!) across the facades has been carefully worked out. It also touches on the narrative idea behind the project – and even the architect’s own doubts about it.

A Garden of Hope for Freedom

In October, at the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery in Suzdal, the Prison Yard Garden opened on the site that had served as a prison from the 18th century until the Khrushchev Thaw. The architectural concept was developed by NOῨD Short Film, and the landscape design by the MOX landscape bureau. In fact, there are two gardens here – very different ones. We try to understand whether they evoke the right emotions in visitors, while also showing the beauty of June’s ruderal plants in bloom.

Object

A Laconic Image of Time

The Time Square residential complex, built on the northern edge of St. Petersburg, appears more concise and efficient than its neighbor and predecessor, the New Time complex. Nevertheless, the architect’s hand is clearly felt: themes of “black and white”, “inside and outside”, and most notably, the “lamellar” quality of the facades that seems to visibly “eat away” at the buildings’ mass – everything is played out like a well-written score. One is reminded of both classical modernism and the so-called “post-constructivism”.

Object

The Flower of the Lake

The prototype for the building of the Kamal Theater in Kazan is an ice flower: a rare and fragile natural phenomenon of Lake Kaban “froze” in the large, soaring outlines of the glass screens enclosing the main volume, shaping its silhouette and shielding the stained-glass windows from the sun. The project, led by the Wowhaus consortium and including global architecture “star” Kengo Kuma, won the 2021/2022 competition and was realized close to the original concept in a short – very short – period of time. The theater opened in early 2025. It was Kengo Kuma who proposed the image of an ice flower and the contraposition of cold on the outside and warmth on the inside. Between 2022 and 2024, Wowhaus did everything possible to bring this vision to life, practically living on-site. Now we are taking a closer look at this landmark building and its captivating story.

Object

Peaceful Integration on Mira Avenue

The MIRA residential complex (the word mir means “peace” in Russian), perched above the steep banks of the Yauza River and Mira Avenue, lives up to its name not only technically, but also visually and conceptually. Sleek, high-rise, and glass-clad, it responds both to Zholtovsky’s classicism and to the modernism of the nearby “House on Stilts”. Drawing on features from its neighbors, it reconciles them within a shared architectural language rooted in contemporary façade design. Let’s take a closer look at how this is done.

Object

An Interior for a New Format of Education

The design of the new building for Tyumen State University (TyumSU) was initially developed before the pandemic but later revised to meet new educational requirements. The university has adopted a “2+2+2” system, which eliminates traditional divisions into groups and academic streams in favor of individualized study programs. These changes were implemented swiftly – right at the start of construction. Now that the building is complete, we are taking a closer look.

Object

New Aeroflot Office: Lightness, Play, Comfort

Even if you have no plans to fly with Aeroflot anytime soon, their new office at 2A 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street is still worth a visit for its interior design alone.

Object

Penthouses and Kokoshniks

A new residential complex designed by ASADOV Architects for the Krasnaya Roza business district responds to its proximity to 17th-century landmarks – the chambers of the Hamovny Dvor and St. Nicholas Church – as well as to the need to preserve valuable façades of a historic rental house built in the Russian Revival style. The architects proposed a set of buildings of varying heights, whose façades reference ecclesiastical architecture. But we were also able to detect other associations.

Object

Centipede Town

The new school campus designed by ATRIUM Architects, located on the shores of a protected lake in the Imeretian Lowland Ornithological Reserve, represents an important and ambitious undertaking for the team: this is not just a school, but a Presidential Lyceum for the comprehensive development of gifted children – 2,500 students from age 3 through high school. At the same time, it is also envisioned as a new civic hub for the entire Sirius territory. In this article, we unpack the structure and architecture of this “lyceum town”.

Object

Warm Black and White

The second phase of “Quarter 31”, designed by KPLN and built in the Moscow suburb town of Pushkino, reveals a multifaceted character. At first glance, the complex appears to be defined by geometry and a monochrome palette. But a closer look reveals a number of “irregular” details: a gradient of glazing and flared window frames, a hierarchy of façades, volumetric brickwork, and even architectural references to natural phenomena. We explore all the rules – and exceptions – that we were able to discover here.

Object

Skylights and Staircase

Photos from March show the nearly completed headquarters of FSK Group on Shenogina Street. The building’s exterior is calm and minimalist; the interior is engaging and multi-layered. The conical skylights of the executive office, cast in raw concrete, and the sweeping spiral staircase leading to it, are particularly striking. In fact, there’s more than one spiral staircase here, and the first two floors effectively form a small shopping center. More below.

Object

The Whale of Future Identity

Or is it a veil? Or a snow-covered plain? Vera Butko, Anton Nadtochy, and the architects of ATRIUM faced a complex and momentous task: to propose a design for the “Russia” National Center. It had to be contemporary, yet firmly rooted in cultural codes. Unique, and yet subtly reminiscent of many things at once. It must be said – the task found the right authors. Let’s explore in detail the image they envisioned.

Object

Greater Altai: A Systemic Development Plan

The master plan for tourism development in Greater Altai encompasses three regions: Kuzbass, the Altai Republic, and Altai Krai. It is one of twelve projects developed as part of the large-scale state program bearing the simple name of “Tourism Development”. The project’s slogan reads: “Greater Altai – a place of strength, health, and spirit in the very heart of Siberia”. What are the proposed growth points, and how will the plan help increase the flow of both domestic and international tourists? Read on to find out.

Object

The Colorful City

While working on a large-scale project in Moscow’s Kuntsevo district – one that has yet to be given a name – Kleinewelt Architekten proposed not only a diverse array of tower silhouettes in “Empire-style” hues and a thoughtful mix of building heights, creating a six-story “neo-urbanist” city with a block-based layout at ground level, but also rooted their design in historical and contextual reasoning. The project includes the reconstruction of several Stalin-era residential buildings that remain from the postwar town of Kuntsevo, as well as the reconstruction of a 1953 railway station that was demolished in 2017.

Object

In Orbit of Moscow City

The Orbital business center is both simple and complex. Simple in its minimalist form and optimal office layout solution: a central core, a light-filled façade, plenty of glass; and from the unusual side – a technical floor cleverly placed at the building’s side ends. Complex – well, if only because it resembles a celestial body hovering on metallic legs near Magistralnaya Street. Why this specific shape, what it consists of, and what makes this “boutique” office building (purchased immediately after its completion) so unique – all of this and more is covered in our story.

Object

The Altai Ornament

The architectural company Empate has developed the concept for an eco-settlement located on a remote site in Altai. The master plan, which resembles a traditional ornament or even a utopian city, forms a clear system of public and private spaces. The architects also designed six types of houses for the settlement, drawing inspiration from the region’s culture, folklore, and vernacular building practices.

Object

Pro Forma

Photos have emerged of the newly completed whisky distillery in Chernyakhovsk, designed by TOTEMENT / PAPER – a continuation of their earlier work on the nearby Cognac Museum. From what is, in essence, a merely technical and utilitarian volume and space, the architects have created a fully-fledged theatre of impressions. Let’s take a closer look. We highly recommend a visit to what may look like a factory, but is in fact an experiment in theatricalizing the process of strong spirit production – and not only that, but also of “pure art”, capable of evolving anywhere.

Object

The Arch and the Triangle

The new Stone Mnevniki business center by Kleinewelt Architekten – designed for the same client as their projects in Khodynka – bears certain similarities to those earlier developments, but not entirely. In Mnevniki, there are more angular elements, and the architects themselves describe the project as being built on contrast. Indeed, while the first phase contains subtle references to classical architecture – light touches like arches, both upright and inverted, evoking the spirit of the 1980s – the second phase draws more distantly on the modernism of the 1970s. What unites them is a boldly expressive public space design, a kaleidoscope of rays and triangles.

Object

Health Factory

While working on a wellness and tourist complex on the banks of the Yenisei River, the architects at Vissarionov Studio set out to create healing spaces that would amplify the benefits of nature and medical treatments for both body and soul. The spatial solutions are designed to encourage interaction between the guests and the landscape, as well as each other.