SPbGASU stand

From 13 to 17 September, the annual festival “Architecton” was held at the Manege Central Exhibition Hall in St Petersburg. At the festival SPbGASU spoke about its architectural school.

Ekaterina Vozniak

“Architecton” was founded by the St Petersburg Union of Architects in 2001. In 2023, the festival has changed its format and included a review competition, a discussion platform, presentations of St Petersburg architectural schools, laboratories, and master classes. The partners of the festival are the St Petersburg Government, the Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture of St Petersburg, leading architectural bureaus, large companies and organizations. On 13 September, the dean of the SPbGASU Faculty of Architecture, Ekaterina Vozniak, spoke about the prospects and opportunities opening up for young architects at our university.

Gratitude letters for the great personal contribution to the popularization of the names and heritage of outstanding architects of Leningrad - St Petersburg in the social networks of the St Petersburg Union of Architects, creativity and initiative, were presented to Oleg Fedorov, Deputy Dean for career guidance counceling of the Faculty of Architecture, and Veronika Bril, a fifth-year bachelor student of the Faculty of Architecture. As Oleg Fedorov said, last year he and Veronika created part of the content for the VKontakte group of the Union of Architects of St Petersburg. The posts were dedicated to the history of the Faculty of Architecture - the main forge of architectural personnel in the Northern capital, as well as to outstanding teachers and graduates of the university, many of whom were members of this public organization.

From left to right: Anton Golovin, vice-president of the Union of Architects of St Petersburg; Oleg Romanov, honorary president, adviser to the president of the Union of Architects of St Petersburg; Veronika Bril, SPbGASU student

At the festival, the work "Walls and Bridge" received first place in the “Student Project” category of the award for young architects and designers “LOCUS’23”. Its authors are fifth-year bachelor's students of the Faculty of Architecture Yulia Koba, Anna Aleksandrova and Polina Pisetskaya. In the past academic year, students completed the course work under the supervision of Fedor Perov, associate professor at the Department of Architectural Design, Maurizio Meriggi, professor at the Milan Polytechnic University, and Daria Boytsova, senior lecturer at the Department of Architectural Design. The authors set their goal to improve pedestrian connections between the iconic historical monuments of Pisa: the Square of Miracles and the territory of the former citadel on the Arno River.

Walls and Bridge. Pedestrian bridge.

Walls and Bridge. Observation tower.

Walls and Bridge. Route along the fortress wall.

Walls and Bridge project. Pedestrian bridge. Open in high resolution.

Walls and Bridge project. Observation tower. Open in high resolution.

Walls and Bridge project. Route along the fortress wall. Open in high resolution.

Awarding the winners of the competition "LOCUS'23"

“In our work, we adhered to three key principles: maximum preservation of historical heritage, minimal invasiveness of architectural forms and the paramount importance of the pedestrian as an urban user,” said Yulia. According to the student, when working with medieval architecture, the task was not so much to improve the environment, but to frame it. The building material must interact harmoniously with urban textures. Therefore, the choice was made in favor of Corten steel. Beautifully maturing and aging, it in no way overshadows the texture of the walls, in the masonry of which all stages of construction can be traced.

The exhibition of SPbGASU was prepared by a team of students of the Faculty of Architecture under the guidance of senior lecturer at the Department of Architectural and Urban-Planning Heritage Maria Shapchenko. One could visit the exhibition on any day of the festival. It revealed the development of the university over time and the formation of a person at the university; introduced the viewer to the events of the past, demonstrated how SPbGASU lives now, and invited to reflect on the future. SPbGASU students master architectural skills by completing projects that are significant for the city, participating and winning prestigious competitions. Next to each diploma, project, and layout there was a QR code leading to a platform with more detailed information.

"Future zone"

In the “future zone”, guests could try themselves in the role of city planners and architects: create a city layout from geometric shapes and individual elements, come up with their own image of a sea facade.

“We sought to tell as fully as possible about our university, the peculiarity of which is the great practical potential of student works. Because of the thoughtful, meaningful design and high detail, most of them can be implemented. As one of our teachers said: “While others are thinking about what a rocket should look like and coming up with rocket concepts, at SPbGASU we are building rockets and sending them into space,” shared Denis Lysyuk, a second-year master’s student.

“Architecture has become a real challenge for us. For me, as an urban planner who thinks in hectares, working with the chamber pavilion was a most interesting experience! Thanks to the creative team of students, our leader Maria Andreevna Shapchenko and coordinated work, we got an interesting pavilion in which we tried to fit all the SPbGASU strengths,” said Daria Parfenova, a fourth-year undergraduate student who also took part in the workshop on developing a museum of architecture and other festival events.

“We have a laconic but informative exhibition. In our section, guests can learn in a convenient and visual format about the history and current activities of the university, the organization of the educational process, and student leisure. There is a decorative element - a portico, which attracts guests. The mirror allows you to feel like you are part of the university team and take a photo,” said Nikita Eremeev, a second-year master’s student at the Faculty of Architecture.

We wish future architects further success on their professional path!