SPbGASU summed up the results of the International Summer School "Arch.Summer 2024: Contemporary Architecture in The Historical Context". It was attended by students from the Siberian Federal University (Krasnoyarsk), Brest State Technical University (Republic of Belarus) and SPbGASU. They developed conceptual proposals for the development of the territory of Petrovskaya Embankment and Anninsky fortifications in Vyborg.
Igor Ivanov
To recall, the international summer school ran from 8 to 19 July. The students were divided into three teams. They were mentored by teachers of the SPbGASU Department of Architectural Design Igor Ivanov, Elena Voitsekhovskaya and Daria Boytsova. First, the teams examined the design areas: they took photographs, marked important landmarks and historical and cultural heritage sites, identified the main pedestrian routes, recreational areas and compiled a list of problems that had to be solved during the conceptual design.
"During the study, the guys discovered a number of shortcomings. For example, there is no connection between the Petrovskaya Embankment section and the northern part of the territory, the current state of the Anninsky fortifications is very poor, the water space and the embankment front are used irrationally, there are no infrastructure facilities despite the high tourist potential. A preliminary analysis of the design area and the historical context of Vyborg allowed the teams to form a holistic picture, which served as a starting point for developing concepts," explained Daria Boytsova.
In order to help the participants delve deeper into the topic of creation and development of modern urban public spaces, as well as integration of tourist infrastructure objects into the historical context, a lecture day was organized. Students, having listened to a series of lectures by PhD of Architecture, Associate Professor Fedor Perov and Associate Professor Igor Ivanov, determined the vector of formation of future team concepts.
As part of the international summer school, the students also met with the Deputy Chairman of Urban Development Policy, Chief Architect of the Leningrad Region Sergey Lutchenko. He spoke about the major support centers of tourism in the Leningrad Region. The lecture included extensive information about the current state and prospective development of Vyborg as an important tourist center, which the students used to support the justification of their conceptual proposals.
Sergey Lutchenko meeting the students
The following days of the summer school were devoted to intensive work on project proposals. Together with their mentors, the students prepared a mock-up of the design territory, reflecting the existing terrain and development, using laser cutting technology. This approach allowed them to clearly see the disadvantages and advantages of the site and take landscape features into account when designing. The students analyzed regulatory documents and conducted a pre-project analysis, which included identifying the social portrait of a tourist, the climatic features of Vyborg, and the problems of the pedestrian, transport, and water-green framework of the territory.
18 July saw the presentations of the projects. The students shared their vision of the development of the territory, presented detailed graphic materials illustrating the environmental approach to the creation of tourist infrastructure. The chief architect of the Vyborg district of the Leningrad region Grigory Svetnik and the assistant to the head of the administration of the Vyborg district of the Leningrad region Oleg Likhovidov acted as experts. They noted the colossal amount of work done by the teams in a short period of time, emphasized interesting proposals for functional zoning, improvement, infrastructure facilities, and the delicate use of historical and cultural heritage sites in tourism. In addition, the experts gave important comments on significant urban planning restrictions that apply in this territory.
Summing up the work of the school, Sergey Lutchenko emphasized the importance of including government representatives in the process of variable student design and noted the need for further interaction in the selection of sites for the formation of conceptual proposals.
Participants were presented with personalized certificates confirming completion of the international summer school program “Arch.Summer 2024: Contemporary Architecture in The Historical Context” and memorable gifts.
In the SPbGASU History Information Center
As the school participants said, these days will be remembered not only for their passionate work and meetings with professionals, but also for interesting events. They visited many of Vyborg's attractions, visited the cultural and entertainment space "New Holland", the Museum of Russian Railways. They also went on a tour of our university with a visit to the SPbGASU model workshop and the History Information Center.
