По-русски

​Carousel. Tree. Tower.

The premier of “The Magic Flute” (Die Zauberflöte) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the scenery designed by Sergey Kuznetsov and Agnia Sterligova (Planet 9) in “Helikon-Opera” is a pure delight for adults and children alike (the opera is staged in two versions). The stage design is the core, upon which is strung the wild narrative about the controversy between the feminine and masculine.

Lara Kopylova

Written by:
Lara Kopylova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

19 November 2018
News
mainImg

This opera includes everything one can possibly think of: a quest and a Christmas show for children, ancient symbols and myths seen through the prism of psychoanalysis, picaresque romance and masonic themes, the subtleties of gender relations, and, of course, the celestial Mozart choirs that sound just short of the whole audience joining in, like you would expect at a rock concert. The loving couple goes through a terrible ordeal only to be together, and once they are together at last, they go through more ordeals, just as terrible. Everyone loves everyone, everybody saves everybody, lots of them want to kill one another or themselves but finally everybody ends up loving everybody all the same.

For the Chief Architect of Moscow, Sergey Kuznetsov, this is his second project that he did in the capacity of a production designer (the first was the premier of “Helikon-Opera” after it was reconstructed in 2015). His coauthor, Agnia Sterligova (Planet 9) already has some experience in stage design. At the press conference before the premiere of “The Flute” that took place November 12, the authors of the performance shared their impressions.

Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov
Premier of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


According to Sergey Kuznetsov, he and Agnia Sterligova proceeded not so much from the music as from the stage design tradition, watched a lot of material, and did not want to repeat something that already was done before them. “This is a show that teeters on the verge of pop art and kitsch yet does not overstep the mark; a show that will leave nobody indifferent. Mozart would have been pleased – recapped the chief architect – This is a meditation on the conflict between man’s and woman’s worlds and about how they are attracted to each other, which affects all of us. Any living creature can associate itself with this or that gender. Well, those who definitely can, they will surely find this interesting, and as for the others, well, maybe they will stop to think for a second and will finally make up their minds. We believe that after this performance everyone will be absolutely certain on this issue”.

Agnia Sterligova was more specific about the idea: “In the dialogue with the production director, Ilia Iliyn, we came up with the image of a Luna Park, the kind that they had in the beginning of the ХХ century in New York’s Coney Island. This choice was motivated by the pop art inflatable costumes designed by Alexandra Sharova. The controversy between man’s and woman’s world was shown against the backdrop of a grand-scale spinning carousel, this carousel also being the Temple of Wisdom”. And the producer of “Helikon-Opera”, Dmitry Bertman, made an important speech about the role of architecture. He said: “We have been friends with Sergey Kuznetsov for years; he designed the exposition for the opening ceremony of our theater, and we were thinking about producing “The Flute” for quite a while. In spite of his high status, Sergei Kuznetsov is not a “government official” at all, he is quite the reverse, and he is a true artist. Modern theater is essentially symbolic – the age of imitation is over, and it’s not about a “painted veil” anymore. Today, it’s the architects who come out on stage, we see this in theaters all around the world”.

The curtain of “The Magic Flute” with a watercolor painting by Sergey Kuznetsov. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


In spite of my musical background, I could never not so much as make sense of but even remember the storyline of “The Magic Flute”, and focused solely on the music. Why does the wizard Sarastro (a reference to the fire worshipper Zarathustra, I presume) summon the Egyptian Isis and Osiris? They seem to be from different pages of history, do they not? The masonic librettist Schikaneder (he is also the first performer of Papageno) hints at some secret knowledge of the Ancient Greece that was passed on to the Freemasonry – but what does Persia have to do with it? Why did the Persian sage steal the princess? As it turned out, to teach her wisdom, not to marry her. If this is to be the case, then why does he leave her guarded by the blackamoor who literally harasses her (or is this the narrative of the beauty and the beast that somehow popped up along the way?)

Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Before the beginning of the performance, we see the curtain demonstrating a water color painting by Sergey Kuznetsov that shows a carousel that also looks like a chandelier that starts to beautifully give off smoke, its colors starting to run, during the overture. Then the curtain goes up, and we find ourselves in the Luna Park, where anything can happen: terrible danger and breathtaking adventures are on the way. In the first act, there is a rollercoaster on stage, upon which a train tears back and forth – but, instead of a train, this turns out to be the serpent chasing Prince Tamino. The serpent almost got him but at the very last moment the prince was saved by three infernal-looking ladies dressed in black and red – the fairies or the “attendants” of the Queen of the Night.

Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


In Luna Park, we are in for both market square performances and quests that we have to take a part in. And it is not accidental that the Queen of the Night crawls out from a popcorn cup, while the snakes upon which she rests (not really scary-looking because they are inflatables) minimize the fanfare of the world’s most difficult aria, which includes an F-note of the third octave. (The aria, incidentally, did sound really beautiful, just as Tamino’s tenor part and the Grandfather’s bass part did). Generally, they sing with finesse, easily tackling Mozart’s “instrumental” barely singable tunes, the orchestra plays tastefully, and it’s a rare treat for one’s ears… but I digress.

Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


The stage design of “The Magic Flute” is centered around some universal tree that shows different colors: it crackles in flames when the heroes have to go through the fire, it turns blue and starts bubbling when they go through the water, and it shines pure gold in the temple of Sarastro (I only learned about the fact that this is a “carousel” after I wrote the review but the associations with the biblical tree of knowledge of good and evil only make it more beautiful because it comes to knowing the depths of human nature and enlightenment thereof). The shape and the metallic structures of the tree look like the bell of the Shukhov Tower, something you might call a “constructivist church bell” of sorts (and, getting ahead of myself, I will say that later on it will be surrounded by little constructivist bells growing around it). This tower tightly holds the composition together, it is always in the center, it is always prevailing, it helps to arrange the choreography, rotating on a turntable during the change of scenery. The media screen in the left part of the stage comments on the things that are going on.

Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


The colors play an immensely important role in the stage design, interacting with the bright pop art of the costumes. Being symbolic, the colors go a long way to help unravel a mysterious narrative. The loving couple – Prince Tamino and Princess Pamia – also have their proprietary colors. The princess is dressed in pink, and Tamino is wearing a blue business suit, he is something like the alter ego of the audience, and only in the end of the play he turns into a steel warrior. Unlike the loving couple of two children, there is also an older generation – Mother Night and Sage Sarastro, she embodying the dark side of femininity (black color, black fairies, snakes and monkeys), he embodying the reasonable and sunny masculinity (golden armor, golden warriors and a golden lurex pullover). Queen of the Night and Sarastro are engaged in a complicated kind of Freudian relationship between themselves and the younger generation. They argue over the Princess, he stole her, the bitchy mother is jealous of her daughter for Sarastro (or of Sarastro for her daughter?), and even wants to kill him. But then the elders made peace with each other and set out on a trip with a suitcase – it is not for nothing that Queen ofg the Night sings her second aria riding an inflatable pink swan, one should think she fell in love (again, Nabokov’s German seams come to mind). The entire stage design and choreography constantly works with black and golden colors, including in mass scenes. Sarastro’s warriors are also designed in a really cool way, as golden men a-la Star Wars. He is also served by women, not black, but of the “lunar” enlightened kind, dressed in white spacesuits.

Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


If we are to ultimately assign gender symbolics to the colors, we will see that, out of all the characters, Papageno is the only one who is wearing the colors of the rainbow with violet and orange prevailing. He is also the most “inflatable” one, whatever that means for you. Just as rainbow-like is his bride Papagena, who wears a skirt of toy balloons. Generally speaking, Papageno is a typical valet from picaresque romance, he is related to the prince very much like Leporello is to Don Giovanni or Sancho Panza is to Don Quixote. He does a lot of drinking, a lot of lying, is scared of everything but still it was him who saved the princess from the blackamoor. What Mozart wrote was Singspiel, a vaudeville with musical numbers and conversational cues for an unassuming theater. The lyrics of the famous aria of the bird-catcher (“Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja”) are rather frivolous but somehow it is not felt here. In this context, the bird-catcher is a childish character, and at the same time a picaroon who mitigates the seriousness of the central couple of the prince and the princess. The lovers have to go through the trials by fire, water, and deadly silence. The most terrible thing for a woman is when her man won’t speak to her (and in “Orpheus” he could not so much as look at her, let alone speak, remember?), and she cannot understand why he doesn’t, and sings such a truly heart-wrenching aria. Close to the point of suicide, the Princess holds a sword above herself. Papageno at once offers a travesty version of suicide and hangs himself on a toy balloon.

In the last scene where the lovers are finally reunited, the stage designers place them in the most pompous place one could think of: on top of the structure of the “tree” tower; the lovers kiss each other standing on top of the tower, mimickinga Hollywood happy ending.

Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


And what is the “Magic Flute” that helped the lovers overcome all the difficulties? I think that the flute is art itself, it serves to quiet the fears and to light up the darkest sides that both the adults and even the princess has in them (the black bull of the blackamoor who periodically tortures here is one archetype of passion). Still another variation of the flute is the bells of Papageno. Their meaning is simpler but if you “turn them on” at the right moment and duplicate on the media screen, everyone, including the villains, start dancing, some sort of a dancing uniting finale that removes the hostility between the characters. At the same time, the bells also look like a logic cube, a talisman from a blockbuster movie. And in the last scene we can see the inversion of them: the constructivist metallic bells have grown around the “Shukhov Tower”. The iron tree got “kids” of its own.

Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


One must also mention here the figure of three. There are three chords sounding in the opera overture. Three “heavenly boys” – little white clouds, out of which stick little children’s heads, form beautiful “white” pictures. The boys help the Prince. Their antagonists are the three corrupt fairies of the Queen of the Night. But then again, incidentally, the fairies also helped the prince (if you have read this far but lost the plot, I will remind you that they saved him from the “train” serpent). When the Queen of the Night sped away with Sarastro, the black women, demonstrating the great powers of the stage machinery, fall down to hell – what was their sin, may I ask? Or does this mean that the Queen finally got rid of her dark sides? Or is it just an allusion to the final scene of Mozart’s Don Giovanni? There is still a slight hint of gender discrimination here. Take the boys – they are white, take the girls – they are black and ultimately go straight to hell. Feminists would be unhappy with that.

Stage design of “The Magic Flute” in “Helikon-Opera”. Production designers: Sergey Kuznetsov, Agnia Sterligova. Photograph © Sergey Krotov


As Sergey Kuznetsov said, the most beautiful thing about “The Magic Flute” is its multiple meanings. It has a countless number of interpretations because it is all based on fairytales, myths, initiations and archetypes, merry and deep at the same time, and this is why “The Magic Flute” is always so contemporary and gives offer such a great scope for imagination. And the stage design goes a long way to develop all of these symbolic and mystic layers and lay them before the audience in the palatable form of a theatrical show.

19 November 2018

Lara Kopylova

Written by:

Lara Kopylova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov
Headlines now
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.
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.
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”.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
​Rays of the Desert
A school for 1750 students is going to be built in Dubai, designed by IND Architects. The architects took into account the local specifics, and proposed a radial layout and spaces, in which the children will be comfortable throughout the day.
The Dairy Theme
The concept of an office of a cheese-making company, designed for the enclosed area of a dairy factory, at least partially refers to industrial architecture. Perhaps that is why this concept is very simple, which seems the appropriate thing to do here. The building is enlivened by literally a couple of “master strokes”: the turning of the corner accentuates the entrance, and the shade of glass responds to the theme of “milk rivers” from Russian fairy tales.
The Road to the Temple
Under a grant from the Small Towns Competition, the main street and temple area of the village of Nikolo-Berezovka near Neftekamsk has been improved. A consortium of APRELarchitects and Novaya Zemlya is turning the village into an open-air museum and integrating ruined buildings into public life.
​Towers Leaning Towards the Sun
The three towers of the residential complex “Novodanilovskaya 8” are new and the tallest neighbors of the Danilovsky Manufactory, “Fort”, and “Plaza”, complementing a whole cluster of modern buildings designed by renowned masters. At the same time, the towers are unique for this setting – they are residential, they are the tallest ones here, and they are located on a challenging site. In this article, we explore how architects Andrey Romanov and Ekaterina Kuznetsova tackled this far-from-trivial task.
In the spirit of ROSTA posters
The new Rostselmash tractor factory, conceptualized by ASADOV Architects, is currently being completed in Rostov-on-Don. References to the Soviet architecture of the 1920’s and 1960’s resonate with the mission and strategic importance of the enterprise, and are also in line with the client’s wish: to pay homage to Rostov’s constructivism.
The Northern Thebaid
The central part of Ferapontovo village, adjacent to the famous monastery with frescoes by Dionisy, has been improved according to the project by APRELarchitects. Now the place offers basic services for tourists, as well as a place for the villagers’ leisure.
Brilliant Production
The architects from London-based MOST Architecture have designed the space for the high-tech production of Charge Cars, a high-performance production facility for high-speed electric cars that are assembled in the shell of legendary Ford Mustangs. The founders of both the company and the car assembly startup are Russians who were educated in their home country.
Three-Part Task: St. Petersburg’s Mytny Dvor
The so-called “Mytny Dvor” area lying just behind Moscow Railway Station – the market rows with a complex history – will be transformed into a premium residential complex by Studio 44. The project consists of three parts: the restoration of historical buildings, the reconstruction of the lost part of the historical contour, and new houses. All of them are harmonized with each other and with the city; axes and “beams of light” were found, cozy corners and scenic viewpoints were carefully thought out. We had a chat with the authors of the historical buildings’ restoration project, and we are telling you about all the different tasks that have been solved here.
The Color of the City, or Reflections on the Slope of an Urban Settlement
In 2022, Ostozhenka Architects won a competition, and in 2023, they developed and received all the necessary approvals for a master plan for the development of Chernigovskaya Street for the developer GloraX. The project takes into account a 10-year history of previous developments; it was done in collaboration with architects from Nizhny Novgorod, and it continues to evolve now. We carefully examined it, talked to everyone, and learned a lot of interesting things.
A Single-Industry Town
Kola MMC and Nornickel are building a residential neighborhood in Monchegorsk for their future employees. It is based on a project by an international team that won the 2021 competition. The project offers a number of solutions meant to combat the main “demons” of any northern city: wind, grayness and boredom.
A New Age Portico
At the beginning of the year, Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport opened Terminal C. The large-scale and transparent entrance hall with luminous columns inside successfully combines laconism with a bright and photogenic WOW-effect. The terminal is both the new façade of the whole complex and the starting point of the planned reconstruction, upon completion of which Tolmachevo will become the largest regional airport in Russia. In this article, we are examining the building in the context of modernist prototypes of both Novosibirsk and Leningrad: like puzzle pieces, they come together to form their individual history, not devoid of curious nuances and details.
A New Starting Point
We’ve been wanting to examine the RuArts Foundation space, designed by ATRIUM for quite a long time, and we finally got round to it. This building looks appropriate and impressive; it amazingly combines tradition – represented in our case by galleries – and innovation. In this article, we delve into details and study the building’s historical background as well.
Molding Perspectives
Stepan Liphart introduces “schematic Art Deco” on the outskirts of Kazan – his houses are executed in green color, with a glassy “iced” finish on the facades. The main merits of the project lie in his meticulous arrangement of viewing angles – the architect is striving to create in a challenging environment the embryo of a city not only in terms of pedestrian accessibility but also in a sculptural sense. He works with silhouettes, proposing intriguing triangular terraces. The entire project is structured like a crystal, following two grids, orthogonal and diagonal. In this article, we are examining what worked, and what eventually didn’t.
An Educational Experiment for the North
City-Arch continues to work on the projects that can be termed as “experimental public preschools”: private kindergartens and schools can envy such facilities in many respects. This time around, the project is done for the city of Gubkinsky, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. A diverse educational and play environment, including a winter garden, awaits future students, while the teachers will have abundant opportunities to implement new practices.
Alexandra Kuzmina: “Working is easy when the rules are the same for everyone”
The subject matter of Moscow Region’s booth and presentations at Zodchestvo Festival was the concept of “Integrated Land Development”, and for a good reason: this task is very challenging, very relevant, and Moscow Region has already accumulated quite a formidable experience in this regard. In this article, we are speaking to the main architect of the region: about master plans and who makes them, about where you obtain resources for creating a comfortable environment, about her favorite projects, about why there are so few good architects, and what we should do with the bad ones.
The Cemetery: Inside and Outside
The workshop organized by the Genplan Institute of Moscow scored one of the two first places at the “Open City” festival. Its subject is reorganization of municipal cemeteries. Two action plans were proposed, diametrically opposite: one for the downtown and one for the suburbs.
Our Everything
Who is Alexey Shchusev? In the last couple of weeks, since the architect’s 150th birthday, different individuals have answered this question differently. The most detailed, illustrated, and elegantly presented response is an exhibition held in two buildings of the Museum of Architecture on Vozdvizhenka. Four curators, a year and a half of work performed by the entire museum, and exhibition design by Sergey Tchoban and Alexandra Sheiner – in this article, we take you on a tour of the exhibition and show what’s what in it.
For Mental Reboot
At the architectural competition held in 2023 in Novosibirsk, the project by GORA Architects – a pedestrian bridge leading to the town of Bor – was awarded the “Golden Capital” prize. In this country, more than a hundred pedestrian bridges are constructed each year. What makes the Bor bridge different?
Gold Embroidery
A five-story housing complex designed by Stepan Liphart in Kazan, responds to the stylistically diverse context with its form, both integral and agile, and as for the vicinity of the “Ekiyat” movie theater, the complex responds to it with a semblance of theater curtain folds, and active plastique of its balconies, that bear some resemblance to theater boxes. Even if excessively pompous a little bit, the complex does look fresh and modern. One will have a hard time finding Art Deco elements in it, even though the spirit of the 1930s, run through the filter of neo-modernism, is still clearly felt, just as a twist of the Occident.