Below, we are reviewing the project by the bachelors of the “Prom” department, developed during the lockdown, presented in the spring of 2020, and selected, according to our tradition, by the students’ architectural advisers. The curators of the group were Vsevolod Medvedev, Mikhail Kanunnikov, and Elizaveta Medvedeva.

Vsevolod Medvedev, 4izmerenie

This year, a group of bachelors graduated from Moscow Institute of Architecture. For the first time in history, a large part of the design process and the presentations took place remotely. This was quite a challenge, both for us and for our students. Unfortunately, the institute was unable to organize videoconferences for the defense of thesis projects, and all works were accepted virtually without any authors’ comments. I cannot quite get what it has to do with – maybe, our obsolete technical base or the conservative policy of our management. Moscow Institute of Architecture, just like many other creative higher educational institutions in this country, turned out to be unable to tackle such a challenge as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite the lack of live meetings and discussions, the projects have a high level of elaboration and are in no way inferior to the works of their predecessors.

The choice of the topic of the project is not limited to a single concept. The students chose the direction independently, based on their personal interests and issues that they wanted to address. The scope of topics was quite diverse: from small-scale projects amidst dense city construction to grand-scale planning solutions on the territories of Russia, Europe, and the USA.

We tried not to impose our opinion, but to support and help develop individual innovative ideas. It was important to create a meaningful architectural design based on preliminary research and solving the identified problems. Most of the students’ time, however, was still devoted to developing architectural and imagery solutions. Interesting research became an excellent basis for further creativity, which eventually led to non-standard approaches, and this is the most important thing.

Creative ideas, individuality, and the ability to think out of the box is something that we have been trying to foster in our students for years. As always, we are happy with the result. The whole group is characterized by a unique architectural vision, the ability to defend their point of view and a serious attitude to the profession.

• Integration of cutting-edge technologies into modern art and media entertainment;
• Accessibility of informational and technical resources for creative activities thanks to specially equipped studios for doing various kinds of art and graphic design
• Creating a “point of attraction” due to landscaping and creating an interactive space for recreation in the river’s estuary.

• Zone 1 – the zone of architecture and design (fully visual perception, and even tactile) – is situated in the very beginning of the park if we are to proceed from the management office building, which marks the compositional beginning of moving around the park.
• Zone 2 is the zone of graphic art (visual perception with almost no tactile).
• Zone 3 is the zone of filmmaking, theater, and photography (both visual and aural perception).
• Zone 4 is the zone of literature and dramaturgy (which can be expressed both in images and words, yet words are used to describe an image, and this still refers to visual perception).
• Zone 5 is the zone of choreography and acrobatics (visual and aural perception).
• Zone 6 – the last and the main one, occupying the central location directly at the intersection of the two design axes – is the zone of music.

• The first type of spaces is meant for individual work on yourself and perfecting your skills, whatever they are. These spaces correspond to a square shape because, basically, what you need for studying or working is an adequately equipped square room with orthogonal walls, a floor, and a ceiling.
• The second type of spaces is meant for communication / master classes / exhibitions / concerts. These spaces visually correspond to a circular shape because shows, lectures, or exhibitions lend themselves to more complex auditoriums: a circular exhibition, a round square, hemispheric arenas, and so on.