Libraries in the Leningrad region can be modernized based on the ideas of third-year students of the SPbGASU Department of Architectural Environment Design. Representatives of regional authorities announced this at the award ceremony following the results of the second competition of design projects for libraries in the Leningrad region. In addition, it was noted that as part of the competition, students received good experience in designing real facilities, which potential employers will certainly appreciate.

The award ceremony took place on 4 June at the Central City Public Library named after V.V. Mayakovsky in St Petersburg. The location was not chosen by chance: as Elena Akhti, Deputy Director for Library Development, explained, the modernized institution has acquired a modern look and demonstrates a new approach to library services.

“We implemented several ideas. The main one is that the reader can do everything himself. Without contacting a librarian, he selects the necessary literature and returns what he has read, works on the computer, attends events, reads, and can even buy coffee. As traffic numbers show, readers appreciate it. The competition projects promote precisely these current ideas, which is why they are wonderful. In addition, they blur the line between the level of rural and urban libraries and give residents of small villages the opportunity to come to a comfortable, modern cultural space,” says Elena Akhti.

Dean of the SPbGASU Faculty of Architecture Ekaterina Vozniak advised students to take a close look at the project of the library named after V.V. Mayakovsky in order to learn valuable experience in the design of such culture institutions.

“It is you, the future architects, who will have to change everything dilapidated to modern, and this is exactly what you study at the university. It is also worth learning from the winners of the competition, because when evaluating works, we do not look for shortcomings, but try to find the best, which distinguishes the project from others. That’s why participation in the competition, regardless of the results, provides invaluable experience,” noted Ekaterina Vozniak.

The fact that SPbGASU is a progressive university is clearly manifested in its active cooperation with professional competitions, emphasized Pavel Chernyakov, chairman of the organizing committee of the Golden Trezzini competition. According to him, the library design competition would also not have taken place without the support of the university. “Be sure to include in your resume participation in this event and the exhibition of the best design projects organized in the library. An employer will certainly appreciate such experience,” he advised the students.

As noted by Maria Granstrem, head of the SPbGASU Department of Architectural Environment Design, “for third-year students, this technical task was not easy: firstly, the guys do not yet have the skill of interior design, and secondly, the library involves complex technology that needs experiencing. The heads of the workshops helped with this, closely supervising student work.”

The competition was held in several categories. Students examined existing libraries in the Leningrad region that needed modernization and proposed their ideas for their development. Anna Krayukhina and Vladislav Vazhenin became winners in the category “Project of the Kirov Children's Library”.

“For us, the project became a “task with an asterisk,” because we understood how an adult sees space, but how a child perceives it had to be studied. We took into account all the nuances of both the physical characteristics of children and their psycho-emotional development. As a result, one of the main concepts of our project was the creation of a space that a child can transform to suit himself,” explained Vladislav Vazhenin.

Anna Krayukhina added that this nomination was of interest primarily because it was necessary to create a space that would allow children develop their own world in it and give free rein to their imagination.

“Therefore, we decided to design a multifunctional transformable space, which today will be, for example, a cinema, and tomorrow will become an area for creative activities,” summed up Anna Krayukhina.

The winners also included Anastasia Ilyushnikova and Adel Akhmetzyanov (project for the Kirov Central Library); Valery Nazarov and Aleksandr Timofeev (project “Red Line” for the Pustomerzh Rural Library).

The People's Choice Award based on the results of an open popular vote and a diploma from the organizing committee of the International Architectural and Design Award "Golden Trezzini" was awarded to the project "Apple Tree of Knowledge" for the Pustomerz Rural Library (authors Amina Garayeva, Ekaterina Yudina and Daria Kulikova).

As noted by Olga Melnikova, first deputy chairman of the Committee on Culture and Tourism of the Leningrad Region, this competition meets two national objectives: firstly, we are talking about the development of cultural objects, the creation of model libraries (these are modern, well-equipped spaces with the most modern equipment - there you can not only take a book, but also work on the computer or even attend a master class). Secondly, this is the development of a creative economy.

“Currently, a law on creative industries is being developed, and I firmly believe that modern architecture and design will find its application here. So far, only 30 out of 300 libraries in the Leningrad region correspond to the status of model libraries. There is a lot of work ahead, but there is also something to be proud of: there are a number of libraries whose modernization experience has been adopted by other regions. Together with our colleagues from federal authorities, we will try to ensure that the national project “Culture” is extended and that the volume of investment in it does not decrease. We will also consider the possibility of financing the creation of model libraries within the framework of the cultural development program of the Leningrad region, that is, at the expense of the regional budget. These measures will increase the chances of implementing competitive projects,” said Olga Melnikova.

The head of the administration of the Pustomerzh rural settlement, Dmitry Bobretsov, believes that the students completed projects that can be used as a basis for modernization. “Despite the complex facility requiring major repairs, the competition participants found interesting and practical solutions for both the internal layout and landscaping of the territory of our library,” he emphasized.

The uniqueness and value of architectural and design solutions were noted by the chief cultural specialist of the Administration of the Kirov municipality Denis Balin and the director of the Central State Public Library named after V. V. Mayakovsky Zoya Chalova.

The chief architect of the projects of the architectural workshop of M. A. Mamoshin, Arseny Mamoshin, argued for the great importance of this competition by the fact that today libraries are becoming not only institutions for working with readers, but also a place that often attracts people simply passing by, a public space. “And this trend is clearly manifested in competitive projects, which is great. The guys gained valuable experience that will be useful to them in their future professional activities,” he concluded.

The head of the Pustomerz Library, Svetlana Klimenko, admitted that she had seen many interesting projects and hopes that the best of them will be implemented.

“The competition participants taught us, librarians, to dream big without looking away from reality, since the presented projects are practical and show a professional design approach,” explained the librarian.