The winners of HMMD’s latest architecture competition have been selected from over 120 submissions from architecture enthusiasts from around the world. The competition challenged participants to design a temporary pavilion for the education of social, political and religious tolerance, to be erected in Russia’s Red Square, Moscow.

The quality of the submissions was extremely high and the winners were chosen for the strength of their concept, originality, quality of their presentation and, most importantly, political and social influence of their design.

Our first place winners Space-Ing Walls, from Italy, were selected for their simple yet powerful concept. Moving away from the Square’s centre and attaching the pavilion to the Kremlin itself was a bold idea that speaks powerfully to an audience in a country that has known so much oppression in its past. 

“In the space created by this project, visitors are forced to confront the wall's darker past as they are educated about a tolerant future, thus creating a powerful dichotomy.” - HMMD Jury.

With our 3 winners hailing from different countries (Italy, Norway and France), this competition has shown how the subject of tolerance is an important political and social topic in countries all around the world; it also highlights how world-class design can be universal.

There have been some incredible projects submitted to this competition and the ideas from the future architects of the world gives us hope that tolerance is something that will be built-in to tomorrow’s landscape..

1st Prize Winners Presentation Images and Project-Kiana Jalali, Marco Merigo, Matteo Pagani and Alessandro Vitale

The contemporary society is whirled with potential energy and tangible and intangible aspects. Composed as many different contradictions, the communities lie between counterpoints in which lie the intangibles spheres of understanding and the exhilarating pulses of the city. A city seeking a symbol of learning and knowledge in its social sphere invests in community life and its people as the human capital, tapping this inherent potential as an opportunity to put forward the path of change and growth. 

The society with such aspirations focuses on an invisible separation that lies between the realm of architect and the public domain. A space that celebrates communal and collective values. A ‘container’ where urban functions collide with fluxes between history and contemporary generating an intelligent’ space acting as incubator for thinking individuals. An evolution reflecting change and an ever seeking pursuit for the eternal utopia of a ‘perfect society.’ 

A public space not enforced but that encourages participation. The Red square, a historic symbol of oppression, offer the opportunity to define a new starting point for the contemporary society, reverting the basic meaning of this public space. The architectural installation is tending to optimize the understanding of the fair and liberal point of view by mainly creating the same object of the past and of the history. “The wall,” from an dogmatic viewpoint. 

By not occupying directly the Square and moving towards the borders, the design tends to change the “generator” itself rather than dominating the heart of the content. The change and tolerance results in a wall that is no longer close neither rigid. A wall that seems a wall but “differs from ones own” by leaving a space between itself and the past; the space that has the hospitality to everyone and is the consequences of Space In[g] Walls. 

By the introvert character of the space between the walls and the composition of the new design wall, the spaces of the pavilion are defined. The main facade explicitly describes the function of the building: where the wall is more open the function public; on the other side where it closes the sense of privacy increases. The flexibility of the interior spaces and the entire building distribution comes from the concept of transparency in all the floors as well as the inside-outside free relationship both vertically and horizontally, which are the most significant aspects of this layout. 

In this vertical distribution (see Functions distribution diagram), the amount of groups and individual users are always in balance. Starting from the ground floor (reception, gallery, advise and support), a more dynamic space, that opens towards the square and its landmarks, is conceived while in the floors above (at 2nd floor conference room and at 3rd floor workshops) the density of users has a more static approach and is more open towards inside rather than outside. 

Reaching the top (cafeteria & open performance area) the space becomes flexible and able to adapt itself to various transformations. 

The architecture of this wall is designed to integrate the openness through people as well as the light and the air. Its transparency in both sides leaves the entrances achievable to all, while the levels and events are coherent from its al sides. 

A complexity resulting into different intricate spatial connections capable of generating favourable conditions and cultivating a culture of tolerance. 

The project proposal interprets the meaning of the open public space as a “forum” that represents a theatrical engine available to accommodate different functions that redefine a great “inside” of the red square and its potentiality. 

The intersection of a fold and a cut, acceptance and the break, is very fragile as well as the dot of intersection in the façade. From the large scale-folding opening, all the movements in the dynamic floor of exhibition are seen while in the smaller scale cut on the rooftop, the performance can be watched from the square. That is how the architectural installation tries to break the concept of a closed space.
 

2nd Prize Winners Presentation Images and Project-Mesi Koponen,Ida Sandvik

Tolerance:A Fair, objective and permissive attitude towards opinions and practices that differ from one’s own. 

Mapping Tolerance 

How to transform something as abstract as tolerance into a physical object? Setting out to capture the essence of tolerance, we came to the conclusion that tolerance often has to do with being informed. Informed about the fact that the world is a kaleidoscope of values and beliefs, informed about the mechanisms of fear out mind falls back on when facing the unknown. Intolerance goes hand in hand with having little contact with, or knowledge of, cultures or groups of a different background. It is easy to avoid questioning one’s set assumptions of the world, and to keep repeating old patterns of thought. 

We see the tolerance pavilion as a way of informing the public, and a way of inviting people to take a moment to think about their attitudes. Tolerance transforms from a mental barrier into a physical one that pushes for self-reflection. The pavilion is placed axially in the middle across Red Square, taking a powerful stand between Lenin’s tomb and the department store GUM; monuments of socialism and capitalism. The pavilion is split into six separate entities, their outlines following the lines painted on the pavement of the Res Square. Walking from one side of the square to the other, one inevitably comes into contact with the pavilion. 

Confronting Prejudice 

Through the transparent end walls of the pavilion boxes, passers-by get a glimpse of changing art exhibitions and happenings inside. The largest gap between the pavilion boxes serves as an outdoor performance space. Connected to this little plaza, there is a library, open to anyone wanting to expand his or her knowledge in the field of tolerance. 

Entering the pavilion the visitor’s expectation and prejudices are confronted – the inside of the pavilion boxes differs dramatically from their outside form. Appearing to the comprised of simple boxes at a first glance, inside the pavilion transforms into a cave like structure, with irregular protruding walls bathed in coloured light. This gives an indication of how easy it is to judge a book by its cover. Most often matters are more complex than they first appear to be. 

New Perspective 

Inside the pavilion the transparent, colourful acrylic plates of differing lengths allow for an unusual perspective of the surrounding square. What you see is a distorted reality. People’s perception of the world around them is coloured by their personal experiences. We give the visitors new colours and angles to challenge their rooted views of the world. 

Seen through the translucent walls of the pavilion people become silhouettes. All information pointing to a person’s race, religion, sexual orientation or financial status is removed. In our core, we are all human and equal.

3rd Prize Winners Presentation Images and Project-Nicolas Souchko

Concept: From a moral point of view, tolerance is the virtue that makes one respect what it would not spontaneously accept or sometimes what one would consider being against its own convictions. More commonly it is about accepting each others difference, be they religious, sexual, ethical, etc. By metaphor, the tolerance topic is illustrated by five galleries tied to various religions and meet in one common space: “tolerance.” 

Laid out in spirals, these galleries merge into one single space this creating an architectural language inspired by the geometry of Cathedral Saint Basil’s bulbs. The work is set on two stories. On the ground floor, the reception lobby, workshops, advice and support office as well as a conference room. By two soft slopes, disable access-friendly, we reach the higher storey, the bar and the performance area. Although the latter are located within the pavilion, they are designed to be open air. Ground floor spaces can independently be closed, only the galleries have to remain open to the public and lead to the bar and performance area. 

Facade: The project is made out of two independent structures. The first one, the inside parts of the program, is based on a simple metal structure. The walls are a forest of poles that ensures the stability of the work. The second one, gathering the curved galleries, is composed of metallic elements covered with an ETFE membrane thus bringing an ideal diffuse lighting for art exhibitions. The galleries are only partially leaning on the ground and are articulated on a structure that is embedded at the centre of the spiral. In order to appreciate all the exhibitions, the visitors will have to go through every single gallery, always leading back to the “tolerance” space. We want this project to be sensed as an experience within which each community aspires to be ,a life together

All images courtesy of Homemade Dessert

Please see all interviews of winners from the website

> via hmmd.org