FAR EASTERN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY CAMPUS IN RUSSKY ISLAND, VLADIVOSTOK

ESPAÑOL

The campus of the Federal University of the Far East (FEFU  in English or DVFU in Russian) is one of the most modern in Russia. Located on Russky Island is connected to the port-city of Vladivostok by the longest bridge in the world. Its construction symbolized the modernization of the city (which had been neglegted by the central goverment for decades), and a commitment to develop an integrated approach to landscape architecture.

BACKGROUND
Russky (97.6 km ²), an island larger than that of Hong Kong, is located at the southern tip of the peninsula Muraiov-Amurski, served as a military base for more than a century, but after the fall of the Soviet Union its numerous fortifications were abandoned. The island has various geographical features, including the small bay of Ajax which served as a perfect location for construction of the new campus of the university. The buildings were firstly used as headquarters of APEC, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in 2012.  

This event was an opportunity for Russia to focus its attention to the economies of the Pacific. It may be ironic but since the Soviet Revolution Vladivosttok, despite its strategic location, turned its back to the Pacific and related mainly to Moscow. During the Cold War the city was a military base and had limited access to the Russians themselves. As a result after the communist era there was a continuous decline in population due to lack of opportunities. Due to the European economic crisis and accelerated growth of neighbouring China, the development of Vladivostok and Russky Island became a priority for the Russian government.

Campus during its construction process

I have witnessed this rapid development. When I first came in 2009 the city lacked many services and infrastructure and it looked gloomy and backward. In March 2012 it was in the process of building,  working against time to complete the work for the mega-event. In October 2012, the city looked unrecognizable from that one that saw just three years ago, ravishing as a bride just after her wedding party. Some of the most important facilities that were built in the city were a new airport and highway, two new bridges, one waste treatment plant and the new campus for the FEFU.

During the APEC 2012, an event that brought together several countries of the Asia-Pacific

Russky Bridge (or Russian Bridge), the longest in the world

NEW CAMPUS
Perhaps the aspect I most value in the design of the campus is its respect for the site and topography, especially in contrast with the chaotic layout of various sectors of the city, which copied the template of residential units designed in Moscow or St. Petersburg regardless of the site, climate or  environment  of the territory  in which they were built. This circumstance makes daily life difficult, especially during heavy rains in summer or winter frost.

Floods happen every year in the city due to the design of the urban layout and lack of storm drain infrastructure. Both aspects have been taken into account in the design of the new university campus.

In contrast, the many buildings that make up the campus are arranged radially following a path parallel to the topography of the bay. The geographical conformation embraces the urban university setting, almost like a womb protecting a body inside.

The layout sits gently on the topography through three parallel and concentric roads . There are a few perpendicular sreets, but they are mainly connected by pedestrian walkways.

54 of the 120 acres that make up the campus are occupied by parks and green areas, which allow good environmental and visual quality, enables all buildings enjoy vistas of the sea and at the same time absorb the more rough areas of topographic relief. In the center of the radial composition is a large park that ends in a promenade in the border with the sea. Topographic differences are taken into account to generate waterfalls, forests or landscape compositions that enhance the strolling experience  through the  campus.

Details of the landscape design of the park

The buildings are grouped into 3 areas: the central administrative area,  to the east laboratories and classrooms are located and university residences are place to the north.

The main entrance is dominated by a 8 storey building containing multiple services, a bank, a library and the offices of rector. The main façade appears as a fragmented cube, to which glass edges overlap.

The back facade is dominated by an extensive curved glass screen. The building is crowned by a large parasol that gives unity to the composition of the volume.

The building wraps a large central hall to  which numerous terraces overlook. From inside, the visitor is received by spectacular views due to the wide glass wall .

On both sides of this building many administrative and management areas, auditoriums, cafeterias and office functions are located. The blocks containing, classrooms, laboratories, meeting rooms, etc. are arranged in different levels according to the topography.
At one end there is the pool and the gym, which is occassionaly used  for regional and international events.

Details of the gym and pool, which is also one of the buildings of the Faculty of Arts, Culture and Sports

An important detail is that these buildings are linked by bridges of steel and glass, which not only give the complex a futuristic image, but are particularly useful during the long six winter months where the temperature can reach 25C below zero.

A bridge connecting two buildings of the Faculty of Arts, Culture and Sports

 

 

Featuring an eclectic style, different from the glassy and metallic lines of the educational and administrative buildings, the dormitories (here called hotels) are  formed by  terraced volumes arranged in a U-shape open to the sea, also integrated to the the topographic relief. Their shape contrasts with the massive blocks that characterized the bedrooms of the old campus, examples of the dreary Soviet modern architecture. Besides the appartments for students and professors, these hotels include cantines, restaurants, services and convenience stores.

The library, on the right, is one of the buildings is still working in the old campus in downtown Vladivostok. In the background the old dormitory, in modern style as it was popular in the Soviet era.

The terracing of the residences evokes the slope of the topography of the island.

During the summer, the population makes use of the park and the beach

Other facilities include parkings and the bus terminal buses that serve campus, the medical center and the power plant, which although is located outside the campus, it provides heat and hot water to the entire population of 20,000 students living at the univbersity.

The new campus of the University FEFU has become a new symbol for the development of the city and in particular of the Russky Island. A few kilometers away, the new aquarium of the Primorye region is under construction and given the enormous potential of the island, there are ideas for the development of new metropolitan regional and international research centers and recreation facilities. However we expect that this would be also an opportunity to make the island an example of environmentally sustainable design.

The new aquarium, which should be completed next year

SEE ALSO:

- EDUCATION.

• Performing Arts Center. Abu Dhabi, UAE. Zaha Hadid (2007-)

With a group of students from the university

TOYO ITO: TAMA ART UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

Photo courtesy of Iwa Baan

ESPAÑOL

The first time I saw a photograph of the Tama University of Art library, a recent work by Toyo Ito in the outskirts of Tokyo, I was surprised by the seemingly eclectic proposal. It was a series of arches of various sizes, reminiscent of the Romanesque buildings of the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa , rather than one of the innovative works that made this Japanese architect so famous. What are these arches doing in Japan?

However, a very different experience is perceived during the visit, where it is possible to see that the proposal is actually much richer and more complex than it appears externally, and that there is no historicist reminiscent of European architecture, but the tectonic representation of a cave.

Indeed, Ito wanted to use this set of arches to symbolize a cavernous space, where stalactites make an order not associated with any apparent pattern or geometry. His initial proposal was to create the library buried underground, to actually have an experience more like a cave. The building would just show a single level, which would have been a meeting place for students and an open exhibition area.

"The first impetus for our design was to question how an institution as specialised as a library could provide an open commonality for all. Our first idea was for a wide open gallery on the ground level that would serve as an active thoroughfare for people crossing the campus, even without intending to go to the library. "

An exhibition of works by students of architecture.

However, the limited university budget problems prevented the completion of a costly underground excavation. Ito then reversed his proposal: he took his library, originally in the ground, and placed it on the second floor.

To stress this idea, the architect opted for a simple, exposed concrete structure, with glass windows and metal frames.

The arches, whose widths vary from 16 to 1.8 m, expose the building so frankly that at some points it was decided to use curtains. The facade of the building is curved in two of its sides, keeping a right angle at the corner with less traffic. The glass panels are mounted on aluminum frames and were previously cut and folded 4 mm to maintain the curvature of the facade.


But while the façade is striking, definitely the interior spatial treatment is the greatest achievement of the building, where arches occur in an apparent chaos, simulating stalactites and creating multiple and varied effects of perspective. However, this apparent arbitrariness corresponds to a structural frame formed by the junction of curved arches.

Images courtesy of Toyo Ito Architects

To construct this grid a steel structure covered with concrete was built, creating 20 cm plates that intersect each other. Note that the intersection of the arcs forms a cross, which aside of stressing the directionality of the geometry, has an anti-seismic effect on the structure.


On the first floor, which follows the relief of the street to integrate itself to the context, is the area of ​​public exhibition, with art galleries. In a more private area, is the reading and resting area for the students, wherein the furniture designed by Kazuko Fujie stands out.

I tried to sit in the ball-seats... they are not so very comfortable, I would prefer something with a back, especially if I'll be reading or working on the computer for a while. Also, I do not know why I got the impression they were going to start chasing me like critters .

What a good nap! Is there any better proof that this furniture works?

The second level is the library itself, where the shelves of books have been designed according to a modulated spatial grid.

Bookshelves. Photography is prohibited on the second level, so these pics were taken secretly. Photos courtesy of Iwa Baan

Another notable factor is the use of light, since a visitor goes from the effect of semi darkness of the "cave" in the first level and passes to the brightness of the library. I suspect that could be a metaphor for the process of learning and enlightenment, a common concept in Buddhism .

Probably the fact of putting the library on the second floor, with ample natural light and magnificent views, was eventually better than accommodating it on a basement, as was the original idea of ​​the architect, which would have required costly artificial lighting for reading.

This frank relationship between exterior and interior evokes a similar gesture of Ito in his Sendai Mediatheque, although in that case the spatial relationship between the different levels is much more integrated than in the case of the Tama University library. The use of glass in the reading tables allows external reflection, reinforcing the idea that the building is immersed in the surrounding vegetation.

Photo courtesy of Iwa Baan

"The new library is a place where everyone can discover their style of “interacting” with books and film media as if they were walking through a forest or in a cave; a new place of arcade-like spaces where soft mutual relations form by simply passing through; a focal centre where a new sense of creativity begins to spread throughout the art university’s campus."

Photo courtesy of Iwa Baan

Despite the formal differences, the Tama University Library, completed in 2007, shared with the Sendai Mediatheque innovative concepts such as the structural design and the transparency of their activities. The curved shape of the plant's proposal reminds me of Herzog & De Meuron for Laban Dance Centre. Talking sbout comparisons, who better than architect Martin Lisnovsky, a master of the Architectural Totally looks like, who made ​​a visual parallel between this building and the Mosque of Cordoba , in his always interesting architecture + history .

Rear view of the ladder

SEE ALSO
- OTHER WORKS BY TOYO ITO

• Egg of the Winds. (1991)
• Mikimoto Ginza 2, Tokyo, Japan. (2005)
• Sendai Mediatheque, Sendai, Japan. (2001)
• Shinonome Canal Court, Tokyo, Japan. With Kengo Kuma and others (2004)
• Tod's Omotesando, Tokyo, Japan
• Tower of the Winds. (1986)
• Za Koenji Theater, Tokyo, Japan. (2009)

- LIBRARIES

• Sendai Mediatheque, Japan (Toyo Ito)