Shaping the new image of historical territories: the "Architectural Hackathon" has started at the National Centre RUSSIA
The "Architectural Hackathon" — a large-scale event for young architects and architecture students from across Russia — has begun at the National Centre RUSSIA. The event is taking place from July 16 to 18 in cooperation with the Government of the Donetsk People's Republic.
The main goal of the hackathon is to involve young professionals in the development and creation of contemporary architectural solutions aimed at shaping the new appearance of historical territories.
Over the course of a three-day educational programme for aspiring architects, participants attend lectures on working with neural networks and small architectural forms, workshops on creating 3D models and lighting design for park environments, and a variety of other activities.
The theme of the hackathon is "The cultural code of historical regions through the lens of park environments." More than 80 students from architecture universities and faculties across Russia are developing park renewal projects and a concept of visual identity that reflects the spirit and atmosphere of each of the country's historical regions. Specific sites — Patriot Park (DPR), the city park of Molodogvardeysk (LPR), the Central Alley of Skadovsk (Kherson region), and the Maxim Gorky Park of Culture and Leisure in Melitopol (Zaporozhye region) — were selected by the project organisers together with the regional construction ministries.
On the first day, July 16, workshops began at the National Centre RUSSIA, where students are working on models of small architectural forms. The practical sessions are led by Alexander Kazachenko, a member of the Union of Architects of Russia and founder of the architectural studio DO buro..
"Most of our participants are from the new regions — the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. In addition, we invited students from other parts of the country so they could immerse themselves in the context and cultural code. Together, they will create projects based on the urban development plans of the territories. On the third day of the hackathon, we will open an exposition where graphic materials — visualisations, diagrams, hand-drawn sketches and models of proposed design solutions for the parks — will be presented," said Alexander Kazachenko.
Models of gazebos, pavilions, rotundas — all are being created by students from architecture universities.
The outcome of the hackathon will be four catalogues (one for each historical region — the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions), featuring landscape and visual analyses of the cities and building morphotypes, student proposals for small architectural forms based on the developed regional visual code, and specific park design projects created by the participants.
Lectures titled "Place identity. Analysing methods of identification using case studies from public space improvement projects in the Ivanovo region" and "Current trends in landscaping public spaces. Features of working in urban areas. The relationship between architectural planning solutions and the dendrological part of the project" will continue the "Architectural Hackathon" programme on July 17.
The key events of the business programme will be the panel discussions "Architectural and urban identity of Russia: the role of society, business and government in shaping the visual code," and "Russia of the future: visual identity and architectural legacy," which will be held on July 17 and 18 respectively. Heads of regions, representatives of relevant ministries, education, science and business sectors will discuss the future architectural image of Russia and summarise the outcomes of the hackathon.
Event photobank
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