Reprogramming space: old buildings in new conditions

How to turn buildings created in other historical epochs into modern, actual for the city space ones? How to work with existing buildings and at the same time to experiment?

In Russian cities, there are many office buildings of Soviet modernism. Everyone knows those large-scale multi-storey boxes, which often are considered like unpromising for investors and less interesting regarding the possibilities of their architectural reconstruction. However, in fact, some of them do have the potential, the identification of which can become an exciting design task and a start of a profitable investment project.

Famous Dutch developer, campus director of the Cambridge Innovation Center in Rotterdam Markus Fernhout and architect, founder of the first Russian-Dutch architectural bureau SVESMI Alexander Sverdlov invite participants of different professions to work on the most urgent problem of modern cities at one intensive day – adapting existing buildings to modern needs. With their double leadership participants will develop the concept of spatial reorganization and functional reprogramming of a large, but not too impressive office building in one of Moscow’s central districts.

Participants will work in small groups on the methodology of speculative design, and by the end of the day, they will present not only proposals for new functions but also draft plans for the possible financing of such an architectural resuscitation.

At the final presentation the workshop participants will show:

• Step-by-step work plan for resuscitation of the building

• Draft of the functional content project

• Ideas for financing the resuscitation project

During the process participants:

• Will try to apply conceptual, critical, innovative thinking

• Will practice to apply an integrated approach to designing

• Together with the moderators will look for ideas for possible funding

Markus Fernhout is the founder of CIC Rotterdam and executive director of CIC International (Cambridge Innovation Center). Today Marcus is engaged in helping creative startups in the organization of work and office space. He personally developed 9 creative clusters with a total area of more than 36,000 square meters, among them there are Schieblock Rotterdam and A Lab Amsterdam. Alexander Sverdlov is one of the founders of the Russian-Dutch bureau SVESMI with offices in Rotterdam and Moscow; he led projects in Neutelings Riedijk, West 8, Architecten Cie and OMA. Alexander Sverdlov was engaged in the reorganization of Moscow libraries, he works with the Pushkin and Polytechnic museums, in Holland, he is known for the reconstruction project of an office building for experimental private housing in the city of Meppel.

Architects, designers, and developers with interest in developing conceptual schemes are invited to participate.

Requirements for participants:

• Fluent English

• Personal computer with installed software packages

• Age of 20+

For architects and designers:

• Ability to work in Photoshop quickly and make presentations in standard presentation programs

The workshop will be held in English without translation. Applications are accepted until June 11 inclusive.

Not only residents of Moscow are welcome, but also participants from other regions. The Embassy of Kingdom of the Netherlands gives a grant – 25,000 rubles – for covering travel, accommodation and participation costs for 7 participants from St. Petersburg, Murmansk, Yaroslavl, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg, Tomsk, Omsk, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod or Kemerovo.

The number of participants is limited. The selection takes place on the competitive basis. The Institute producer will contact each candidate during two days after receiving the application.

The workshop is supported by the Embassy of Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The workshop is a part of the ‘The Next Habitat’ program (curators of SVESMI). The program’s events unite representatives of different disciplines to discuss strategic changes occurring daily life of a modern city simultaneously from the positions of researchers and practitioners who solve different tasks in one area.