The Third Russian Youth Architecture Biennale

2 June – 23 October 2021
Innopolis, Republic of Tatarstan

The Third Russian Youth Architecture Biennale was established with the aim of creating a "golden reserve" of architects for the whole of Russia and providing the young generation with a real opportunity to be noticed and heard in the profession. The founders of the Biennale are the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation, and the organizing committee is the “Institute for the Cities of the Republic of Tatarstan” Foundation.

Irek FaizullinMinister of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation

The urban development potential of the projects already existing in Russia covers over 200 million sq. m. All this requires modern design solutions. The young people who participate in this project should understand that they are in demand for the implementation of projects throughout the whole country.

The theme of the Third Russian Youth Biennale will be work on the design of universal office spaces that are adaptable to any situation and challenge. The finalists of the 2021 competition will be challenged with the ambitious task of developing a new philosophy of the workspace, including the architectural concept, design solutions and user scenarios of the new workplace, the need to rethink which arose during the pandemic.

Covid-19 has significantly changed the way a modern office should be built. Among the new values are safety, psycho-emotional and physical health of employees, the return of offices instead of deep open spaces, an increase in demand for coworking spaces, coliving spaces, mixed and flexible spaces, etc. All these trends in the transformation of the office world will be the subject of research by the finalists of the Third Russian Youth Biennale.

Biennale hypotheses:

  • Office, housing - a place of recovery, and not the cause of illness from the negative impact of the environment and well-established daily practices;
  • The workplace at home is the norm today;
  • An economically viable ecological project for environmentally friendly buildings and structures is not the future, but a reality.

The main criteria of the projects will be: the applied nature of the results and competition objects, versatility, transportability, efficiency and environmental friendliness, climate neutrality. In addition, the emphasis will be placed on the fact that the development of the project should not remain at the level of the concept, but should include fundamental decisions, their detailing. argumentation, calculations, choice of materials and technologies: both innovative and traditional in modern rethinking, helping to solve this problem.

And another very important aspect for this year's jury is the durability of the projected building. The finalists must convincingly prove in their works why, 20-30 years after implementation, their building can and should be preserved and used further? How to come up with the meaning, shell and content of the project so that it would be a full-fledged "player" of the city theater for decades?

The result of the biennale will be a project of living, working and public space that would give a modern person the opportunity to work in the most healthy environment, be effective and feel satisfaction from what you are doing.

International jury

  • Natalia Fishman-BekmambetovaNatalia Fishman-BekmambetovaDirector of the Biennale, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Tatarstan
  • Sergey ChobanSergey ChobanCurator and Chairman of the Jury, Head of Bureau SPICH and Tchoban Voss Architekten
  • Masha Kosmacheva-WiichMasha Kosmacheva-WiichViennese architect, founder of the Veech X Veech architectural bureau
  • Christoph LanghoffChristoph LanghoffБерлинский архитектор, управляющий партнер LANGHOF GmbH
  • Asif KhanAsif KhanBritish Architect Cannes Lions Grand Prix
  • Gold and silver medalists of the Second Russian Youth Biennale
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