Winners have been selected for Bee Breeders architecture competition to design a temporary pavilion for the education of tolerance — social, political and religious — in Moscow’s Red Square. The site fronts the Kremlin and other major Russian landmarks, was the seat of the 20th century Soviet government. Military parades and other demonstrations in the square that have transformed it into a symbol of Russian political power and more recently, state repression.
The committee received over 120 submissions from around the world, but the three winning designs came from teams based in Italy, Norway and France respectively, showing that tolerance and world-class design is universal. The judges focused on each project’s concept and its ability to manifest the idea of tolerance and to impact this politically charged site. The winners won $3000, second place received $1500, and third place got $500.
First Place Winner Space-ing Walls. Image courtesy Bee Breeders.
First Place Winner Space-ing Walls. Image courtesy Bee Breeders.
First Place Winner Space-ing Walls. Image courtesy Bee Breeders.
The fist place winner is Space-ing Walls by Kiana Jalali, Marco Merigo, Matteo Pagani, and Alessandro Vitale. They chose to move the pavilion to the edge of the square, right up against the wall of the Kremlin. Visitors are confronted with the Kremlin’s past as they are forced up against it physically, but they are also confronted with images and a message of tolerance; the white façade of the pavilion contrasts with the red of the building, creating another dichotomy. Moreover, the pavilion would leave a mark on the building when it is removed, reminding us of the ongoing struggle for tolerance.
Second Place Winner Red Prism. Image courtesy Bee Breeders.
Second Place Winner Red Prism. Image courtesy Bee Breeders.
In second place is Red Prism by Mesi Koponen and Ida Sandvik. Here, the architects have positioned the pavilion across the length of the square, engaging all passersby. It also metaphorically blocks the marching patterns in the pavement. Visitors to the square cannot help but be implicated in its message of tolerance, because the layered glass abstracts and obscures the other, alluding to our prejudices and how we can see all people as equal.
Third Place Winner by Nicolas Souchko. Image courtesy Bee Breeders.
Third Place Winner by Nicolas Souchko. Image courtesy Bee Breeders.
Third Place Winner by Nicolas Souchko. Image courtesy Bee Breeders.
Third Place Winner by Nicolas Souchko. Image courtesy Bee Breeders.
Nicolas Souchko took third place for his pavilion. It is a more straightforward architectural solution that weaves a series of bent planes together, symbolizing the melding of cultures. The program includes an upward ascent, toward enlightenment. The planes each contain a gallery, which meet in the middle. The contrast of the shiny, flower-like, layered pavilion and the hulking, monolithic Kremlin is a subtle provocation of the square’s history.