From the outset of this competition the design perimeter for the Pushkinsky cinema has not only been to change the face of the cinema only but to
re-evaluate its present site condition. The prominent location it was given Fifty years ago has been compromised by the increase of motorized traffic around the Pushkin Square. This has placed the cinema complex on a traffic island and has become less access friendly as it was intended Fifty years ago. To attempt to restore the concept of a grant entrance to the cinema, changes at urban level have to be made that will lift the complex from its island and allow better accessibility to the cinema at first floor level which will also help the retail at ground floor.
The Urban fabric around the Pushkinsky cinema has a strong framework which compromises the flexibility of pedestrians and places a high demand on car park facilities which are not present in the needed capacity. As a response to these conditions, a raised square is proposed at the same level as the cinema entry, bridging over the 8 lane ring road.
The raised square creates a bridge between the north and south part of the ring road which will make it easier for people from all parts of Moscow to approach the cinema. With added facilities such as an open air theatre will provide more opportunities to make this an even bigger focus destination as it already is. The raised square can be used as a spill out space for the cinema and offers other opportunities for retail to take place to support the cinema, like ice-creams, snacks, drinks, etc.
The raised square will reconnect the existing green urban ring and will be a fully pedestrianized safe area, providing all the comforts and facilities a square has to offer, making it the new, improved meeting place for people. Below the raised square a covered car park, directly accessible from the main roads, will provide the parking capacity that is needed to support the cinema and the local retail preventing to overload the present infrastructure. This will relieve the existing roads from cars parked on the road side, which will create the opportunity to make further urban improvements. From the car park, lifts and stairs will elevate visitors to the raised square and provides a levelled entrance to the cinema.
To bring the cinema back to a similar condition as its original glory and to reconnect with the historic city environment of Pushkin Square, the design approached has been to create not only a landmark building but even more importantly, to create an iconic building. The simple shape of the proposed exterior envelope will establish the reconnection with the historic city environment by striking the right volumetric balance between the iconic shape and the existing surrounding buildings on the Square. The technical execution of the design will relate to the building design of the historical buildings by pushing the technical ability and selection of material to the most advance level available today.
The main concept of the design is to create a building within a building inspired by the Matryoshka Nesting Dolls. This creates a building with various levels of layering of different characteristics materials which, at different positions in the exterior façade envelope, are selected to respond towards the climate conditions throughout the whole year. Having a building within a building creates an air volume between them that canbe used as a buffer space, containing air that can be used to condition the building when required.
To the North side of the cinema is an existing building which is used as a placeholder for the new exterior. The new exterior is made up out of an outer skin, place on the perimeter of the site and an inner skin, which is in line with the existing exterior.
The outer skin forms the outer building and is constructed out of steel composed members set out on a 6 meter diagonal grid. The outer skin structure is designed with 4 diagonal directions set out on the outside dome, together form a stable dome construction. On the outside of the construction DuPont™ SentryGlas® ionoplast is placed to provide the first protection layer to the outside. Clear glass is selected to allow as much sunlight enter the building as possible. Inside the glass cavity a system using liquid crystals is used working on the principle that the chains of crystal molecules can be reconfigured electrically to allow the transmission of light. This system can be used during the summer months to reduce the amount of heat gain into the buffer zone and can also be used as a projector screen to advertise upcoming movies etc. At the top and bottom of the outer skin ventilation openings are allowing air flow through the buffer zone to be able to extract hot build-up air to escape the buffer zone during the summer months and contain the air during the winter months. The buffer zone is designed as a spit out area for the cinema and local mechanical equipment will provide the optimum climate on ground floor level.
The inner skin forms the inner building and is constructed on the principal of a Trombe wall, a massive wall separated from the outdoors by glazing and an air space, which absorbs solar energy and releases it selectively towards the interior at night and day.
Insulating glass to retain more of the stored solar heat, and high and low — sometimes operable — vents to allow convective heat transfer to the indoors. Trombe walls have vents added to the top and bottom of the interior wall, to allow heated air to flow via convection into the building interior. The vents have one-way flaps which prevent convection at night, thereby making heat flow strongly directional. The inner skin becomes an indirect passive thermal collector. By moving the heat away from the collection surface, it greatly reduces thermal losses at night and improves net heat gain. Generally, the vents to the interior are closed in summer months when heat gain is not wanted. During the period of the year, the wall works in a reverse way as it does in the winter. The wall is cooled down during the night allowing cold air to flow via convection into the interior of the building. During the day the warm air is absorbed back into the wall through the insulated louvers on the outside of the inner skin, reducing a temperature rise inside the interior.
Inside the inner skin a water circulation system is integrated that will transfer the energy collected on one side of the wall to the opposite side of the wall allowing an even spread of energy throughout the whole construction. The water circulation is driven by pumps which are supplied with electricity collected from solar collectors on top of the outer skin.
The solar collectors will also provide the energy to drive the mechanical air fans needed to support the natural ventilation when needed.
Competition
Moskow - Russia
