From 28 May to 3 June Strelka will host a workshop by the director of Rotterdam's Berlage Institute, Vedran Mimica, and architect Thomas Stellmach from the Berlin-based bureau Uberbau. They will look at the possible scenarios for the development of Red October and the intricacies of the balancing act between harsh zoning and free construction, between working space and living space, between efficient and creative, individual and collective, and between the social, political and personal investments in a given site.
1. КРАСНЫЙ ОКТЯБРЬ ОТКРЫТИЕ ОСТРОВА
THE RED OCTOBER DISCOVERY OF AN ISLAND
WORKSHOP 28 MAY - 6 JUNE 2010 MOSCOW
BERLAGE INSTITUTE at STRELKA INSTITUTE
2. КРАСНЫЙ ОКТЯБРЬ ОТКРЫТИЕ ОСТРОВА
THE RED OCTOBER DISCOVERY OF AN ISLAND
WORKSHOP 28 MAY - 6 JUNE 2010 MOSCOW
BERLAGE INSTITUTE at STRELKA INSTITUTE
3. CONTENTS
Strelka Institute
1 ВВЕДЕНИЕ >> INTRODUCTION >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 7
Berlage Institute 1.1 Foreword 9
1.2 Workshop Brief 15
Workshop
1.3 Paradigms Of The Luzkhov Era 19
The Red October: Discovery of
an Island
1.4 The creative city and its future 21
2 ОТКРЫТИЕ ОСТРОВА >> DISCOVERY OF AN ISLAND > 23
Tutors
Vedran Mimica 2.1 The Strelka Area 27
Thomas Stellmach 2.2 Chronology of the Site 29
Maria S. Giudici
Davide Sacconi 3 ГОЛОСА ОСТРОВА >> VOICES OF THE ISLAND >>>>>> 31
3.1 Alex Stolyarik, Eugene Glekel 32
Participants
3.2 Mikhail Kozyrev 34
Daria Bychkova, Olga
3.3 Stanislav Poshvikin 35
Khokhlova, Daria Klochkova,
Alexei Kolesov, Valeria
4 КОНКУРС ПЕРВЫХ ИДЕЙ >> VISION COMPETITION > 39
Krysenko, Alina Kvirkveliya,
Marko Mihic-Jeftic, Ana
4.1 Lifestyle Toolbox 41
Leshchinsky, Eric Oskey, 4.2 Green Island 51
Tatyana Pissareva, Pavel Rueda, 4.3 Creative Bridging 57
Anna Shevchenko, Alexandra
4.4 Inner City 67
Skitiova, Gleb Vitkov, Alexander
Zaltsman. 5 ПЕТР-I-ПЛАН КЛАУЗУРА >> PETER PLAN IMPROMPTU 77
Moscow June 2010 6 УЧАСТОК СТРЕЛКИ >> THE STRELKA SITE >>>>>>>> 91
6.1 Urban Context 93
Thanks to:
6.2 The Mystery of an Island 103
Ilya Oskolkov-Tsentsiper
Varvara Melnikova
7 СТРЕЛКА, ВПЕРЕД! >> FAST FORWARD STRELKA >>>>> 111
Katya Girshina
Sergey Golikov
7.1 Overall Scheme 113
Alina Makovetskaya 7.2 Towards a Mixed Use Program 123
7.2 Chocolate Square 129
7.3 Strelka Tip 137
7.4 East Bank 145
7.5 North Side 151
berlage institute 8 РУКОВОДИТЕЛИ >> TUTORS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 159
Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 5
5. Вступление - Илья Осколков-Ценципер
Foreword — Ilya Oskolkov-Tsentsiper
Ilya Oskolkov-Tsentsiper is the President of Strelka Institute for Media,
Architecture and Design.
The idea to create an institution like Strelka first hit us in the summer of amplified by the fact that those who work or frequent the place understand
2009, when we realized that Moscow cannot go on any longer in the same that this idyll is for a limited time, for clear economic and political reasons.
primitive state of understanding of architecture, urbanism and design
that it has been stuck in over the last few decades. We wanted to create The results of our research now stand before you, as the Strelka Institute
a place where the most promising specialists from Russia and abroad for Media, Architecture and Design.
could collaborate with the most brilliant architects, urban theorists and
intellectuals. It was essential for us to be able to offer an education at
Strelka free of tuition charges, which is critical for a country as uneven as
Russia.
We were fortunate to find a genuine ally in Rem Koolhaas and OMA/
AMO, who took over the task of developing the curriculum and inviting
esteemed mentors to participate in the program. Our correspondence
and communication throughout this process has been in and of itself an
education for me and my colleagues.
At the very start of our quest for other collaborators in Europe, we were
introduced to the Berlage Institute, which has been another invaluable
experience. The dean of the institute, Vedran Mimica, has demonstrated
an unwavering generosity in his willingness to share his craft: the art of
producing true knowledge in a postgraduate education and of leading
a school grounded in research. It is thus no accident that when we
inaugurated our facilities with a celebratory debut of “Summer at Strelka,”
our program of public events, we invited the Berlage Institute as our first
guests. They conducted a workshop for Russian students on the topic of
developing creative spaces within the territories of former industrial zones.
The case study for this research was the potential future mixed-
use complex at Red October - the site of Strelka. Red October is a
unique ensemble of red-brick factory buildings from the 19th century,
positioned directly opposite the Kremlin. Right now it is host to what are
unquestionably the most interesting bars, galleries, and studios in Moscow.
The complex offers itself as a type of utopian commune; this feeling is only
8 Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 9
6. Вступление - Ведран Мимица
Foreword — Vedran Mimica
Vedran Mimica is Director of the Berlage Institute and responsible for
composing and implementing its research program.
The Berlage Institute’s collaboration with the Strelka Institute began when The workshop was offered to young designers, architects, and journalists.
we agreed to design a workshop brief for the strategic development of We worked with seventeen incredibly intelligent, dedicated, and creative
the former Red October Chocolate Factory site, situated on an island in people in an almost 24-hour-a-day schedule for nine intense days. From
the middle of Moscow. We organized the master class around some of the very first day, there was an extreme level of understanding the brief’s
the primary operational principles of the Berlage Institute, principally that conceptual frame and a certain commitment that demonstrated not only
every studio should have involved in its production all of the stakeholders. adept design skills but also a high level of critical thinking. The workshop
So it was important and interesting to see the presence of the Guta Group was incredibly positive for us, and after this experience we believe
developer, Russian intelligentsia, the Strelka staff, and the interested that the creation of the Strelka Institute for architecture and design will
public together in the debate for the development of the cultural cluster. By produce excellent architects and planners. The Strelka workshop showed
embracing reality, we tried to advance an alternative or, perhaps, advanced us that there is already a group of incredibly eager, young, and talented
model of planning. practitioners in Russia who are seeking different models of development to
the prevailing norms. In our exchange, we simply tried to frame the ways in
In this district, the developers wanted to introduce various creative which they could advance their arguments.
practices into the former factory and create a cultural cluster in the city
center of Moscow. At the moment, the development of this super luxurious This publication should perhaps be seen as an argument not only the
neighborhood had been frozen to some extent for five years. We embarked development of Strelka Island but also for the development of urban culture
on the premise that such projects or processes in other world cities have in the whole city of Moscow. Dynamic and different cultures, in a kind
frequently brought so-called “pioneers” onsite. The result has been that the of pixelized way, are already fermenting and have been achieved in the
pioneers leave after certain time and gentrifiers, with financial support from studios, courtyard, and bar at Strelka. We believe that Strelka or perhaps
developers, would create enclaves of monofunctionality and monoculture. the whole Red Chocolate Factory cultural cluster should be a sort of
The task of redirecting seemingly inevitable process of gentrification antenna that radiates its statements, messages, and designs to the whole of
was our immediate aspiration. We hoped to facilitate the possibility of Moscow and to all of Russia.
developing the island into a mix of housing and creative industry facilities.
Our brief anticipated that creativity is crucial to the economic development The advanced model of urban planning advocated in our workshop with
of the contemporary city. And so we ask if one can imagine places that Strelka anticipates and supports the importance of different stakeholders
foster creativity rather than simply offering facilities that would be driven by and the role they perform in the urban territory. The cultural cluster of the
a kind of normative masterplanning common in city building. In other words, island should be permanently open and thereby connect these stakeholders,
we asked if it is possible to construct environments or milieus that can working as a place of osmosis and exchange, rather than some mode of
host creativity without forcing it, without top-down, bureaucratic decision- gated community. After this experience, the Berlage Institute would really
making. We believe that precisely in the city of Moscow, with its incredible like to continue our relation with the Strelka Institute because we believe
potential for development, perhaps such hybrid conditions and an exchange in the very near future that the two institutes could acquire an even more
of different ways to develop the city could hypothetically be possible. That productive and meaningful association.
was our hypothesis.
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7.
8. Задание воркшопа
Workshop Brief
1. Red October: from industrial establish new examples of city making
production to creative industry practices as well.
The Red October area on Bolotny Tackling the Red October project means
Island, Moscow, has undergone in the necessarily discussing the possibility for
last few years a radical transformation such complexes to become performing
from confectionery factory to mixed environments and enhance the existing
use complex that aims at becoming conditions of their surroundings. What is
a hub for new activities. In European it, then, that will make the Red October
cities, industrial production has been transformation successful? What should
replaced by production of knowledge, the Red October offer to Moscow, and
and the case of Red October stands what kind of urbanity could it propose?
as paradigmatic example of a Ultimately, the issue of the
contemporary urban condition; the transformation of places such as the
ambition to turn the former factory into Red October is not as simple as it may
a hotspot for creativity should therefore seem: creativity represents today a key
offer the chance to cast a critical glance asset for the economic development
on the idea of cultural production and its of cities that revolve increasingly on
relationship with the city at large. knowledge-based activities.
In the last decades a large number
of industrial complexes have been 2. Creativity and the city
redeveloped as centres of creative In a post-industrial condition,
production, mainly as a strategy to research and innovation become the
protect their architectural heritage; but basis for the economy of the city. No
the social and urban implications of this longer confined to the realm of the
dynamic have often been neglected, superfluous, creativity becomes the
shadowed as they are by smaller scale prerequisite for the development of
issues of preservation and reuse. And such an economy. Exchange of ideas
yet, the resemantisation of productive and multidisciplinarity cease to be the
plants into places where knowledge mantras of academia and intellectual
is created and exchanged is a crucial élite to become vital components of
transition point for our cities. Far from a diffused process of production of
being mere real estate investments, knowledge. Initiatives such as the
these operations have the potential Red October transformation can offer
to trigger larger scale processes and the ideal opportunity to generate the
14 Workshop Berlage Institute - Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 15
9. conditions for this kind of performance; or perhaps new spatial models should the Red October means then to rethink
but how is it possible to foster a creative emerge. We should therefore rethink what makes such a hub attractive,
growth, as the concept of creativity which features can turn a complex as and imagining what could both private
itself seems to be so elusive? And, the Red October into an attractor for and public players do to enhance the
indeed, is it possible at all to guide or creative practices: in short, what would development of this hub.
even encourage the development of a turn Red October into a new centre for The redevelopment of former industrial
so-called creative industry? the city. areas is often the excuse for large-scale
The post-industrial city is at the same real estate operations that offer very
time a factory, a school, a research 3. Spaces of urban intensity little to the city other than an increase
centre; as activities mix and overlap Both sides of the Iron Curtain, the in the land value of the newly gentrified
the rhetoric of total spatial flexibility factory had a symbolic presence in area. But the Red October ambition is
substitutes the traditional zoning of the city of the twentieth century; it to establish a mixed use centre that
the age of industry. The myth of fluidity represented the belief in the progress would encourage the growth of creative
seems to suggest that any kind of of industrial society. Nowadays, as industry, an ambition that has to be
control would only hamper the ‘natural’ production is more and more an abstract explored and supported with new ideas
development of life processes, and, matter and our conceptual references and strategies, as inserting new centres
therefore, of creativity as well. What are increasingly rarefied, it is easy to in an existing constellation is not a
kind of places can we then imagine for see the abandoned plants as romantic neutral act, or an easy one.
a working condition that has continuous ruins, remains of the lost ‘identity’ of The workshop will therefore try to
change as its hallmark? cities that are now undergoing major understand what qualities should a new
Cities struggle to come up with transformations. This identity has never centrality have to become an engine
suitable responses to this situation, as really been linked to specific places, for creative activities. The scenarios
production of knowledge is alternatively as the architecture of factories is for the Red October will explore what
labelled as either a corporate affair or largely international and generic in its kind of relationship we could establish
a grassroots dynamic; but the case of character, but it was indeed related to between flexibility and sense of place,
Red October investigates the possibility the common recognition of the meaning, living and working spaces, production
to establish places where cultural utility and purpose of industries from and creativity, individual initiatives and
exchange is hosted without necessarily both an economical and social point of general frameworks, public policies and
being controlled. These places are view. private investments.
crucial in the economic structure of a Contemporary creative industry, on What is it that triggers creativity in a
society based on ‘immaterial labour’ that the contrary, seems a very volatile certain environment, and what is it
produces services rather than goods. idea and struggles to be recognized, that triggers urban intensity in specific
The development of such experiments understood and represented. Starting places in the city? The question is
can be considered a test project from this core question, the possibility perhaps undecidable, but it might very
for modes of life and work that will of generating an urban centre around well open up a new field of possibilities
eventually become the standards of the a hub for cultural production seems an for Red October, Moscow and the post-
city of the next decades. extremely challenging one, as it touches industrial city itself.
Perhaps new policies are needed in at several levels the key issues of the
order for these experiments to succeed, city of today. Working on scenarios for
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10. Парадигма эпохи Лужкова
Paradigms of the Luzhkov Era
In early may 2010, a third version of the Genplan, business. But as the request for office space was
or General Plan for Moscow, was approved. gradually absorbed, the need for housing became
The Genplan tries to sketch the direction of the towards the late 1990s the most powerful engine
city development up to year 2025 and embodies of the construction industry.
the policies of the city administration led by This shift in urban politics was influenced by
Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. Many criticisms have arisen the demographic growth of the city. After a
regarding this plan, mostly on an infrastructural long phase of shrinking, Moscow started to
point of view. grow again around 1997; from the 8.5 million
Traffic in Moscow has steadily increased inhabitants of that year, it reached the current
since the early 1990s, and citizens perceive the figure of 10.4 million around 2004.
Genplan as a weak solution for this pressing The growth is largely due to internal immigration
problem. Moreover, the previous versions of and it fuels a real estate sector that is already
the Genplan allowed the substitution of mid-XX booming thanks to the improved economical
century housing complexes with new, taller conditions of the long-term residents.
buildings that achieve higher densities, further In the previous version of the Genplan, by 2020
complicating the circulation in the city centre. 42% of the area of Moscow would be used in
These choices correspond to a precise strategy a different capacity- that is to say, density will
aimed at the strengthening of the character increase everywhere in the city.
of Moscow as head of the Commonwealth of Nowhere is this condition more visible, than in
Independent States. As the ties between the the case of the former industrial areas that await
former Soviet Republics become more and more reconversion.
loose, the capital needs to reinforce its role in a Beside Luzhkov, two key characters are able to
changing and uncertain geopolitical situation. influence the general policies about such areas:
It comes as no surprise, in such a larger Alexander Kuzmin, Chief Architect since 1996,
scale scenario, that the city administration and the head of Mosproject 2 Mikhail Posokhin.
focused its efforts in encouraging the real Mosproject, the former state design office, is
estate sector, densifiying the consolidated still the biggest reality in terms of architectural
centre and expanding through new residential development in the city.
neighborhoods. But after twenty years, new Commercial developers thus deal with a complex
infrastructural policies are needed in order to administrative situation in which their projects
solve a circulation system that fails to support the have to fit within the larger canvas of the latest
need of the population. Genplan; in turn, the Genplan is shaped by the
This condition of hypertrophic real estate pressure of the need for new housing, and the
development unparalleled by infrastructural political pressure to strengthen the preeminence
growth can be considered the hallmark of the last of Moscow.
decades. On the political point of view, this period As the Genplan is a regulative tool, and not a
has been dominated by Yuri Luzhkov, mayor of prescriptive one, the direct relationship between
the city since 1992. investors and politicians is crucial; the plan thus
During the first years he was in office, Luzhkov becomes an object of negotiation and discussion
believed that the centre of Moscow should rather than the embodiment of a clear intention.
develop mostly as a centre of trade, services and
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11. “Creative City” и его будущее
The Creative City and its Future
Recent theory has established the creative critical voices such as David Harvey and Matteo
city as paradigm of the post-industrial urban Pasquinelli have pointed out that the creatives
reality. Today, the production of knowledge often play the part of the bait in complex real
has become as important as the production estate operations that ultimately aim at the
of goods. Therefore, all activities linked to substitution of the creative ‘pioneers’ with
research and development, communication, and bourgeois ‘gentrifiers’.
innovation take the foreground in the economic This process is generally described precisely as
development of contemporary cities. Cities, so to gentrification: the original inhabitants are pushed
speak, cannot afford not to be creative –or else, out in order to make space for target clients
they will lose the race to more competitive, more that buy housing units at expensive prices.
creative cities. Gentrification takes place in derelict areas that
Authors such as Richard Florida argue that such offer some key asset (position, identity of old
a performance can only be fostered by truly industrial structures) but are poorly served and
diverse, vibrant urban environments. Through thus perceived as unsafe. Usually, the creatives
quantitative analysis, Florida demonstrates that are the first layer of society that is attracted by
neighborhoods that host more artists, more such places because of the reasons we already
gay people, more citizens of different ethnic discussed –good economic conditions for large
background, do ultimately perform better on an spaces. Nevertheless, their joy is short lived, as
economic point of view. Plainly said, there is they are usually forced to move out when the
business in the production of knowledge, and a prices stop to be affordable.
contemporary urban centre should encourage In the meantime, they will have served their
social mixity in order to maximize the generation purpose: by establishing their practices on site,
of original ideas that can eventually bring they create a sense of trust, the impression that
revenue to the city itself. the neighborhood is lively, young, and on its way
Nevertheless, cases such as the Strelka area to something better.
raise the question of how to encourage and As we have seen, in the Strelka area the informal
maintain a vibrant urban environment in an art initiatives have played precisely such a
unstable economic reality such as the one of part. How long will they be able to resist in a
today. The traditional industrial production has territory that is bound to become one of the most
left the place, and art and intellectual production expensive locations in Moscow?
tentatively colonize the existing premises. Design It is then necessary to reconsider what is the
institutes, TV studios, art practices have moved future of these initiatives and whether we could
to Strelka thanks to the relatively affordable rent, imagine spatial strategies able to keep some
large spaces and prime position. pioneers in the area even after it has achieved its
It is easy to see how the lack of efficient goal as real estate operation.
infrastructural connections has contributed to If it is really true that knowledge creates
keeping the rent prices low. As this condition economy, it might prove more beneficial to
improves, the value of the land increases, actually encourage some creatives to stay in the
eventually pushing out the so-called creative area, rather than only seeing the short term profit
class. derived from substituting their studios with high-
In fact, this dynamic is not at all unheard of; end housing.
20 Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 21
14. Территория Стрелки
The Strelka Area
We are not the first who think about the The area, which by now had been dubbed as
Strelka area, which occupies Bolotny Island the “Golden Island” in virtue of its development
from the western tip (‘Strelka’) to the Bolshoi potential continued to be ina state of uncertainty
Moskvoretsky bridge. The area can potentially due to the 2008 financial crisis and unanswered
become a prime real estate development, at the questions on the role of the site within the urban
same time it is a sensitive spot in Moscow due to context, phasing and program.
its strategic position in the centre of the city. Strelka has become the focal point of interest
of various actors, among them the public
Since 2002, various investors have been involved administration. The goals of the development
in the conversion of the former industrial area. company and the administration do not always
Throughout the last decade different proposals coincide. In September 2009, Chief Architect
have been presented, but no coherent plan Alexander Kuzmin said: ‘This zone should rather
was ever adopted. Up to 2009 most industrial be public. There will be practically no offices on
buildings were still in function, among them the Bolotny Island. There will be hotels, apartments
historical Red October candy factory, a landmark there. A financial center? Definitely no. It’s
of the Moskva river scenography. Recently art impossible to have it there, the transportation
studios and independent creative practices have system doesn’t allow it. Imagine thousand of cars
colonized the spaces that became available after in the rush hours. We have already issued the
2009. This condition is generally interpreted as necessary papers which forbid the construction
a transition phase — a state of hibernation until of office centres in the city centre’1.
commercial proposals take off at last. This take on the matter has been criticized by
From 2003 to 2005 KRT-Megapolis - a subsidiary representatives of the Corporation of Territory
of the Corporation of Territory Developers Developers, but there seems to be a general
managed the property. These two years were agreement that Strelka shall become a residential
too short to reach an agreement between neighborhood.
the agendas of all stakeholders, and to the Public Opinion does not agree. The area is
dismay of Mayor Luzhkov no conclusions were perceived as very central and as such as a place
reached. As the city is a major stakeholder in that holds an identity that needs to be public,
this operation, Luzhkov decided to change the accessible, preserved and strengthened. The
management company. opening of creative practices such as the Strelka
From 2005 to 2007 developer Moskapstroi Institute brings forward many questions about
(principal city construction company since 1967) the potential of the area:
was responsible for the development of the site.
Moskapstroi mostly worked at an infrastructural Can Strelka be more than another housing
level, providing lighting on the Patriarshy Bridge project? Can it be public and compete with Paris
and improving public space in limited areas. Ile de la Cite or London’s Modern Tate Area?
Since 2007, the responsibility passed to Guta Will improved accessibility weaken Strelka’s
Group. The Group had been involved in the identity? Can the Creative Industries help
project from the beginning, but only took the lead to develop a sustainable program with this
after the previous attempts failed to kickstart the complex situation?
development.
1 http://www.gzt.ru/topnews/realty/262244.htm
26 Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 27
15. Хронология участка
Chronology of the Site
2002....................................... The Russian company Guta-group acquires the chocolate factory “Red October” and
the territory around it. 25% of the shares go to the Moscow City Government.
2003....................................... Guta-group and the Moscow City Government announce the start of an elite
development project called “Golden Island”. The project is aimed at the construction
of high-end housing on Balchug Island.
October, 2004 ....................... no development has started yet. Some local artists rent abandoned factory garages
from Guta-group and establish the artistic community “Art-Strelka”.
End of 2004 ........................... Moscow authorities launch a programme aimed at removing industries from the
city centre. The “Red October” stops being productive and its activities are moved
to other premises. Meanwhile, Guta-group finances a new pedestrian bridge that
connects the Island and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
2005....................................... The empty spaces of the former factory “Red October” are offered for rent at high
prices in an attempt to re-brand the Strelka area as “Golden Island”. The first leased
property is converted into an elite night club called “Paradise”.
May, 2008.............................. For the first time the former factory hosts events such as exhibitions of
contemporary art and the presentation of the glossy magazine “Black Square”.
August, 2008 ......................... The economic crisis slows the construction industry; Guta-group freezes the “Golden
Island” project.
September 2008 .................... The chocolate shop of “Red October” factory hosts an international exhibition of
modern art organized in collaboration with New York gallerist Larry Gagosian.
November, 2008 ................... Guta-group lowers rent prices to $250-450 for a square meter per year. Heiress
Maria Baibakova rents 3000 square meters and engages in a series of expensive
artistic projects, inviting renowned protagonists of the London art scene to Moscow.
After a year Baibakova decides to end the experiment.
May, 2009.............................. “Art-Strelka”, which paid a symbolic rent of $150 per year, is pressed to move out.
Guta-group plans to open a restaurant in the former garages of the factory, but
Russian entrepreneur Alexander Mamut rents the space and establishes the Strelka
Institute for architecture, media, and design. The Strelka Institutes ideally continues
the legacy of the “Art-Strelka” artistic community.
September, 2009 ................... The shops of the former “Red October” factory are used as one of the main
exhibition spaces of the Third Moscow Biennal.
2009—2010 ......................... More than 60 leasers have moved into the former factory renovating the premises
at their own expense. Among the current leasers are restaurants, cafes, ateliers,
photo-studios, art galleries and services such as gyms and beauty salons.
28 Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 29
17. Are developers AS Public space doesn’t bring money. Unless there is a reason to make a
Интервью: Алекс Столярик,Евгений Глекель encouraged to provide public space for a business centre or a residential area, in which case it will
public space for the bring money.
Interview: Alex Stolyarik, Eugene Glekel city?
EG There are very strict regulations about public spaces and green areas in
Alex Stolyarik is the General Manager of “AFI Rus”, the managing particular.
company of “AFI Development”
What kind of program AS Basically the most profitable kind of development at the moment is the
sells best in this residential sector. Lofts in particular. There is already an overabundance
moment in Moscow? of office space in the city. You cannot convert the existing factory into
residential space without legally changing its zoning, but there is a trick
to overcome this obstacle. And the trick is that you do not change the
intended use, you just call the development ‘apartments’ and convert it into
Eugene Glekel is the Director of “Group Systems Architects” residential lofts without really changing its formal use. Lofts are not that
popular yet in Moscow, but I think the future is in this kind of conversions.
There is a huge market for residential space and lofts.
Another profitable typology is the hotel. It’s very similar to residential. You
can easily convert a factory into hotels. If former factories are located near
the metro or close to a good area where there are interesting urban hot
spots and that sorts of things, then a conversion can be really successful.
Mixed use… It definitely works. For the transformation of a former industrial
What do you think area I would definitely choose a mixed use development.
about mixed use If you only do offices, they are empty at night. Actually, they are empty after
developments? 7 in the evening, which is not good for the development. For the economic
How does the public AS There are definitely some restrictions. There is a zoning, a definite land
performance of the area, it is better if people are present at night. They can
administration use. There are clear restrictions in terms of height, insulation, infrastructural
go to a café, they can go to a theatre.
influence the issues. Not all of them fit to the economy of the project. And developers
decisions of are always looking for a better economic performance. But each developer
There are definitely a lot of new developments during the latest years. New
developers? stands for himself. Developers are not city planners. They look at their
How did Moscow projects.
properties and think: “How I can make the most out of this?” And they
change in the last 10
start pushing the limits with the city administration. And if you are well
years? EG There has been an intense construction activity outside the city. The city
connected, if you have good relationship with the city administration, it can
has expanded a lot. Suburbs have grown a lot.
help with the change of zoning. Sometimes.
What contributes EG What creates good relationships? If you grew up together, if you were
to creating good together at school, if you go to the sauna together.
relationships? The discussion with Stolyarik and Glekel shed light on the relationship
AS It’s a tricky question, what creates good relationship. I mean, you’ve between developers and city authorities. When it comes to large-scale
got to do good work, create more jobs, and do whatever is good for the interventions, negotiation between private and public interests is a key
economy of this city. Any construction is good if it relates correctly with factor. The so-called Genplan (masterplan of Moscow) offers a canvas for
the infrastructure of the city. In these cases the city helps you with the this negotiation rather than acting as projective tool.
development. The more you invest in the city the more you get from the city. In such a condition, architects should do more than simply designing good
That’s actually one way to go about it. environments: they have to first construct a grammar to communicate with
There is a masterplan for Moscow. It’s difficult to change it but dealing with the clients. Finding a common ground between the economic performance
issues area by area is reasonable I think. It’s like a give and take game. and a need for improved urban conditions becomes then the prerequisite for
any architectural project. Nevertheless, the interview also underlines how
sometimes social and economic reasons can dovetail, supporting mixed use
developments and conversion of industrial areas.
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18. Интервью: Михаил Козырев Интервью: Станислав Пошвыкин
Interview: Mikhail Kozyrev Interview: Stanislav Poshvikin
Mikahil Kozyrev is a showman and works for Rain TV, a channel that Stanislav Poshvikin is an architect of Studio 8 of “Mosproekt-2”and the
broadcasts live from the Red October. author the Masterplan for the development of the territory of Red October
factory.
What is special about Everybody in this country knows the chocolate factory “Red October”. Do you believe the To my point of view it is not correct to call the future high-end development
this island? People often ask me “Does it still smell of chocolate in your office?”, area is going to just accommodation. Lofts on “Red October” will not be the main residence
because this smell was really a legend, you could smell it everywhere be merely market- of their owners; I see them rather as collector pieces belonging to people
around the factory when it functioned. Today, it doesn’t smell. But when we driven residential who also own apartments in London, on Cyprus, anywhere you can imagine.
came here last autumn there were still puddles of chocolate on the floor. accommodation? So by building those lofts the developer Anton Kuznetsov of Guta-group will
Then more and more renters began to come in. And now every week I see realize his dream to create art objects; ultimately, this operation will support
new people putting on new plates of cafes, design studios, photo studios other art projects on the island.
and so on. It’s a real boom.
What if a bridge next I do not see the construction of a new pedestrian bridge near the monument
What kind of facility I would like if there will be a small hotel here. I think people who work here to Peter the Great’s as a problem. The visitors who will come to the island will not disturb the
do you think is would also like to live here. statue would open residents. Everything depends on how the movement along the embankment
missing? up Strelka to more is handled. We proposed to the Mayor to rebuild the embankment in order
Do you think an easier I think that improving the car accessibility would not help, because as soon pedestrian visitors? to reestablish a contact with the water and provide a pedestrian quay. It
car accessibility as you drive out of the island you get stuck in the traffic anyway. If you want would not be too expensive to do that. I believe it is a good idea and the
would improve the to travel home comfortably you should not leave the place until 3.00 a.m. City Government should support it. This reconstruction could also support
area? Mayor Luzhkov’s idea of an “Art Path” which will extend from the Museum
What if a bridge next The construction of a bridge near the monument of Peter the Great would of Modern Art on Krimsky Val to the Balchug-Kempinsky Hotel. If we think
to Peter the Great’s change our life for the better. If more people will visit the area, the better about city islands such as the ones in the River Seine, we can see that
statue would open the area will perform. And business follows people. The entrepreneurs who they are lively environments not because of what happens in or around
up Strelka to more look for space to settle will surely be attracted to the area if they see that it the buildings that stand along the banks, but due to the embankments. All
pedestrian visitors? is lively and vibrant. sorts of people spend time there: students, artists, middle class workers,
vagabonds, owners of vessels, sailors. Nevertheless, I also think that there
should be a path dedicated to residents within the island itself. In that case,
Do you think the I don’t know how many of the people who work today in the “Red October” the residents could use sheltered routs that would be independent from the
identity of the former like chocolate but I think everybody should eat 5 chocolates a day to save fluxes of external visitors.
chocolate factory the local chocolate shop from bankruptcy. As you might know, the local
can still contribute to factory shop is still open although the productive activities have been Do you envision It will be interesting if every new resident brings in his or her own designer.
the character of the transferred to another place. Moreover, if each of us eats 5 chocolates a the development as Then we will have a mosaic of façade decorations which will reveal the
place? day we’ll be happy, and the Balchug Island will be an Island of Happiness. one ensemble, or characters of the owners.
as a collection of
architectural objects?
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19. Art is today the key Artistic life on “Red October”, low rent prices for artists, are a spontaneous
identity factor of marketing trick which nobody designed. That’s a paradox. The only reason
the area. Do you art life exists here is that the owners of this territory are young sociable
believe artists will be people. I mean Aleksandr Mamut, Anton Chernov and Artyom Kuznetsov.
pushed out if the real They are not art people but they are open-minded and easy-going and are
estate development not going to let such an area in the centre of Moscow become lifeless.
succeeds?
How do you imagine Nobody knows what will happen on “Red October” in 10, 20, 50 years.
the Strelka area in 10, Luzhkov can come here someday, look at the site from the bridge and say:
20, 50 years? “What a dump is this? Demolish all!”. And the next day bulldozers will be
here. But I want to live until I see a reconstructed embankment where
people will walk, kiss, put their feet in the water, even if I don’t think that
living on the island will be affordable to most of them.
Stanislav Poshvikin is possibly the person who knows best the Red October
complex; he worked on the area for more than a decade and is currently
responsible for the architectural project that Guta-group will implement.
Two main issues were brought to our interest after talking to him: first of all,
the importance of the developers’ role, and secondly, the potential of the
open air public space along the quays.
As Poshvikin works with Guta-group, he has a clear vision of what kind of
commercial operation will be carried on the island. It is going to be a high-
end residential development targeted at wealthy clients. But if the market-
driven choices are adamantly geared at an elite subject, Poshvikin points
out that the shared public spaces should be open and attractive for visitors
of every kind. He believes that a careful reconstruction of the embankments
would be a key element in providing a vibrant environment.
Indeed, it becomes clear that investing in the common spaces can become
the most effective tool to preserve a certain degree of publicness on the
island.
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22. BOAT CARS AND PEDESTRIAN ACCESS TRAM
COVERING AN ISLAND
CITY ROLE
River Transport System Car and Pedestrian Accessibility Metro Transport System Tram Transport System
The Island as City Hub Lifestyles: Global, Local, Discovery Section: Public and Private Space Relationships
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23. 44 Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 45
24. 46 Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 47
25. 48 Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 Workshop Berlage Institute at Strelka Institute Moscow June 2010 49
27. Accessibility Flows Flows and Heritage Buildings Section Scheme: Program and Accessibility
Building Mass Studies Flows and Public Ground Landscape Section
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28. Public Space
Working Space
Living Space
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30. Adding
Bridging
Existing Footprint CREATIVECLUSTE
CREATIVECLUSTER
Digging
CREATIVECLUSTE
Elevating
CREATIVECLUSTE
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31. Masterplan Toolbox
Mass Studies: Old and New Buildings
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32. Commercial Housing
Working Leisure
Education Overview
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33. OWNERS
RESIDENTS STUDENTS
CITIZENS
TOURISTS
VISITORS STUDENTS
FREE - LANCERS
WORKERS FREE - LANCERS
STUFF
Users Flows
CREATIVECLUSTER
RESIDENTS VISITORS WORKERS
CREATIVECLUSTER
LEISURE
CO - WORKING
EDUCATION
HOUSING
COMMERCIAL
Program
CREATIVECLUSTER
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CREATIVECLUSTER
35. Not a Set... Not a Stack... But a Tangle
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36. Programmatic Areas Pixel Programme
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37. Housing
Structure, Landscape and Chocolate Factory
Public
Creative
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40. Monolithic Peter
Marko Mihic-Jeftic
>> Winning project
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41. Peter ArtFestival Red Wedge
Olga Khokhlova Alexei Kolesov
Honourable mention Honourable mention
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42. Sinking Peter Globbing Peter
Alina Kvirkvelyia Alexander Zaltsman
Honourable mention
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43. Christmas Mirror Peter
Alexandra Skitiova
Pevtree
Daria Klochkova
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44. Peter Rocket Invite Bernaskoni
Valeria Krysenko
Gleb Vitkov
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45. Peter-go-round Goodbye Peter
Anna Shevchenko
Pavel Rueda
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48. Moscow Today Москва 2025
Москва сегодня Moscow 2025
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49. Контекст города
Urban Context
The Project Area is embedded within Moscow’s most The Project Area and Major Green Areas in Moscow’s
prominent public spaces. Centre.
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50. The Network of Radial and Concentric Roads is disrupted Car Access to the site is characterised by cul-de-sac’s
at it’s very core, Bolotny Island. The site is central and and one-way-streets. Only the initiated can access
remote at once. Bolotny Island.
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51. While several Metro Lines cross the island, there is no Two Bus lines access the Island, distances to the stations
actual stop on Bolotny Island. A potential extension of the are generally too large.
yellow line might change that.
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58. The general masterplan The footprint plan of
for the Strelka island is the project shows the
divided in four different relationship between the
areas each one with a new development and
different mix of functions the city, and the open
and a different lifestyle. relationship with the
water.
Public Transport Access
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59. The general masterplan The general plan shows
has been conceived to be how the project is
realized in five phases of conceived as one coherent
development. development but with
different environments
defined by a unique
relationship between
buildings and public
spaces.
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60. The entire area has The private car
been conceived as accessibility is possible
mainly pedestrian, with through a system of
a restricted accessibility underground parking that
for delivery services, will fully cover the parking
safety vehicles, public requirements for residents
transportation and and visitors.
residents with permission.
Section: programs and circulation
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61. The diagram shows the All the different areas
accessibility system with of the island are
the articulated system equally supplied with
of pedestrian paths and green spaces, with a
squares, starting from the predominance of green in
main bridge toward the tip the residential waterfront
of the island and the north along the east bank.
side.
Section: pedestrian circulation
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62. В направлении к программе
смешанного использования
Towards a Mixed Use Program
Above: Projected Buildings. Below: Overall Surfaces by Program in Square Metres.
5 966
30 104 22 581
education
culture
creative studios & offices
24347 work/life
residential
retail & leisure
41 763
11976
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63. While the distribution of the program avoids any strict
zoning, functions are clustered according to existing
building substance, orientation and accessibility. The soft
clustering of the functions activate them and create a
lively mix in the public spaces which connect them.
Commercial Residential
Working Managed Apartments & Hotels
Creativity Overview
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