A large-scale international event on the topic of architecture, design and urbanism "Architecture Seasons" was held at the Odessa National Scientific Library on Pastera 13.
The event brought together leading Ukrainian and European architects. The initiative of the event belongs to the chairman of the board of directors construction holding ZARS George Bochorishvili.
"We set ourselves the goal of making Odessa a center of cultural attraction for the whole country," noted Georgy Bochorishvili in his opening speech. — We plan to hold Architectural Seasons every hour for 3-5 days, during which the best speakers will speak, thematic exhibitions and meetings will be organized, and new ideas for cooperation and collaboration will appear among representatives of the professional community. We believe that this event will contribute to the emergence of new opportunities for the development of Odessa and other cities, as well as the popularization of the topic of good architecture and design in society."
The Chairman of the Odesa Regional State Administration, Sergey Hrynevetskyi, thanked the organizers of the event for choosing Odessa as a venue.
"The topic you are raising is eternal," noted Sergey Hrynevetskyi. — Architecture, urban planning — these issues are on the agenda. Speaking of urban planning, Odessa residents can choose 10-way easily. Parking lots, trash, bike lanes. But it is important to me that in the future there should be equal opportunities for all citizens. We need a comprehensive approach, and we cannot do without the state here. I am very glad that this event is taking place in Odessa."
"We all love Odessa. The voice of Odessa is Oistrakh, Richter. The glory of Odessa is the great artists who were born here, - the chairman of the board of Vostok Bank, Vadym Morokhovsky, is confident. — The beauty of Odessa is the architecture given by Bernardazzi, Minkus, and nowadays by Karkashadze. There will be no glory of Odessa without architecture. Without urbanism, there will be no development of the city. "Architectural seasons" is the most important event, because without modern architecture, the life of our city is impossible. It is possible and necessary to educate one's architects. Both business and the authorities will give an opportunity to create a new Odessa. Since today many buildings do not correspond to the style of the city, the most important task for us is to change this trend."
The Odessa National Scientific Library seriously prepared for the event and opened an exhibition of old publications with rare architectural illustrations.
"The books that we presented show how magnificent the legacy of the profession of an architect is," noted the general director of the library, Iryna Biryukova.
The main theme of the first "Seasons" was one of the most relevant issues for Ukraine - the architectural development of cities with history and the creation of projects that fit into the context, emphasizing the authenticity of the chosen place.
Leading Ukrainian and European architects spoke before the participants of the event, professors of Ukrainian and European universities, legislators of world-renowned modern urbanism became special guests.
Anatoly Eskarev, a well-known Odessa architect and head of the Descartes studio bureau, was the first to present his concept. The version of the reconstruction of the historical center, which "Dumskaya" wrote about, preserves the historical appearance of the facades and at the same time creates a modern and comfortable environment for living.
"There is no holistic picture of perception in Odessa," notes Eskarev. "The authorities are fighting with issues that pop up here and there as if in an amusement park."
Alexander Leonov, co-founder and co-owner of the LYK architectural group, raised the topic of facades as the face of the project and the fact that after many years they become a business card of both the architect and the entire city. As an example, the architect cited his works at the intersection of Osypov and Bolshaya Arnautskaya.
"In Odessa, every time we present modern images, we face a negative reaction from society," notes Leonov. - Many have the impression that modern materials are something cheap, but these are expensive high-tech materials that allow us to create, including neoclassical facades. Facade solutions create the world in which our children grow up. And this world can create harmonious people, so it is necessary to follow this background, the outer shell of the person."
Kyiv designer, architect, founder and head of the workshop Sergey Makhno Architects Sergey Makhno, promoting the symbiosis of modern architecture and Ukrainian national traditions, called to create simple things, thus excluding conflict with the already existing environment.
"Unfortunately, in modern Ukrainian architecture, there are a lot of fads - outright freaks," says Sergey Makhno. — They were built only because they gave money. I would like there to be fewer unscrupulous people without a bite."
The European vision of modern urbanism was presented by the chief architect of tconcept (Netherlands), Willem-Joost de Vries, who participated in the reconstruction of entire neighborhoods in the central part of London and Amsterdam. Willem-Jost de Vries is currently working on projects in 15 countries.
The Dutchman urged not to repeat the mistakes of the 1960s and 70s, when cities developed into an agreement of car owners.
"The space between the buildings is more important than the building itself," the architect is confident. — All efforts should be directed to creating a healthy garden. You have a lot of greenery in Odessa, and it must be preserved, and it is your big responsibility to make the garden more beautiful than it is now. In Europe, there were many mistakes when the city was transformed into a transport agreement, when landscaping and spaces for communication were sacrificed. Concrete, faceless boxes must be thrown away. Let's not repeat the mistakes."
In turn, his colleague, a Dutch urbanist of Japanese origin, professor at the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam, CEO of MADMA Urbanism + Landscape, Hiroka Matsuura, believes that the first thing to do is to think about what new design will add to the environment.
"We often talk about shape, material, color," says Hiroki Matsuura. - But, the most important thing is that the design will change or add to the environment. I will show a variety of projects in the field of urbanism, landscape design and architecture. Despite the diverse basis of the projects, they are united by one approach - strengthening the often hidden potential of the project context."
The architect demonstrated eight projects of different years, from a school campus, which includes a forest, to a rebuilt military enterprise in the center of Kyiv, with the preservation of the frames of hangars and a heating plant.
At the same time, Hiroki Matsuura is against stylization, when during the construction of a new building they pretend that it was built 100 years ago.
"With this, you are spitting on your history, as modernity must also remain in the historical stratum, in the development of architecture," the urbanist is confident.
The participants of the event had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the experience of Lviv and Kharkiv. The former chief architect of the city of Lviv, the author of the popular YouTube channel on urban planning Chaplinsky_VLOG Yulian Chaplinsky talked about his experience working with developers and compromises that benefit the city.
Oleg Drozdov, the founder and chief architect of Drozdov & Partners and the Kharkiv School of Architecture, encouraged the use of traditional materials familiar to the region.
"In one of the projects, I used an old brick from a demolished house to finish the facade of a new building," recalls the author of the Kyiv Podol Theater. — The best compliment was: "I didn't notice that something had changed." And this means that we fit perfectly into the environment."
The final event took place on the territory of the Odessa Art Museum.
"It feels like the projects we saw today are resonating with the audience," Georgy Bochorishvili, the founder of "Architectural Seasons", summed up the eventful day. — The ideas that we put into this event are already starting to be realized. This is a platform for discussions and exchange of experience between industry leaders. This networking will be useful both for the professional environment and for the entire Ukrainian society."
According to Georgy Bochorishvila, within the framework of the "seasons", which will become annual, it is planned to hold a competition of significant social and cultural projects in Odessa.
The best concept will receive 100 hryvnias as a grant and has every chance of being implemented.
