Portfolio
Galina LyubimovaPrefab Block Vernacular, or A Forest Village in the Middle of a Big Noisy City
Diploma Project, University of Cambridge, MAUD
The project proposes a methodology for renovating the Moscow Soviet-era prefabricated housing blocks as an alternative to the current demolition programmes in several post-Soviet cities. The design was motivated by the understanding of the importance of preserving and celebrating the Soviet microrayon typologies and its architecture, combined with mindful improvement of the existing architecture to suit the residents’ contemporary needs, such as greater living areas, better accessibility, and better thermal performance.
The design and structure of the proposal were inspired by the existing grassroots microrayon and dacha construction practices, such as the ubiquitous balcony extensions, the potential of which is currently being impeded by paternalistic and counterproductive regulations, bylaws, and state policies. Stopping the cycle of spatial alienation and re-connecting the residents to the place, consequently fostering political and civic engagement in the societal processes, has a potential for a radical change within the post-Soviet society, from authoritarianism-engendered infantilism to sovereignty and direct action.
Veranda
Diploma Project, University of Cambridge, MAUD
The structural principles of the proposal were inspired by the late Soviet phenomenon of kamikaze loggias. Simultaneously, the function of the extension was influenced by the concept of a dacha veranda, a transitory space in the Soviet countryside homes.
In the dacha typology, veranda separates the private living quarters of the house from the garden, which is more open to the neighbours. Verandas serve as a gathering place for family and guests, accommodating large celebratory meals, evening tea drinking with music and conversation, or lazy book reading or napping in the daytime. The proposed design recreates the atmosphere of the veranda for the urban condition, providing the close-knit community of residents with a place to gather, invite friends for food and drinks, watch a movie, study, read, and simply pass the time outside their flats without the need to leave the building.
ARCSOC Garden
Cambridge University Department of Architecture
The new project from ARCSOC was organised with support from Cambridge Zero. The main purpose of the Garden was to grow some food and beauty, right within the Department.
My personal contribution to the project was designing and building the gardening toolbox, as well as designing and helping build the vegetable beds. All of the materials for the project were sourced and recycled within the department.
The project proposes a design for an archive tower accompanied by a series of multi-purpose spaces, commissioned by the United Nations on a site adjacent to the organisation’s landmark New York headquarters. The design was developed by a team of architecture and engineering students, with the core aim of developing a proposal that structurally distinguishes and emphasises the various functions of the building, whilst simultaneously becoming a well-functioning and popular public space and a new landmark serving the local community.
The site is situated immediately to the South of the United Nations headquarters in New York and is bounded to the West by 1st Ave, and to the North by 42nd St, and to the South by 41st St. The project brief was for a ‘Library of the World’, containing a sizeable environmentally controlled archive to protect the literary treasures of the world, a public and research reading rooms, offices for the UN member states’ librarians, a lecture theatre and an exhibition space.
Group Study
Independent Study
Language Classrooms
Group Study
Informal Seating
Bookshelves
Tula Kremlin Competition, Year 3
The project is situated in Tula, Russia, within the city’s Medieval fortress walls. It was inspired by the recent redevelopment of the adjacent embankment of the river Upa, which has prompted an influx of tourists to the city and helped improve the local economy. With the increased number of visitors, it was concluded that the kremlin museum complex could benefit from a public miscellaneous use pavilion, which could also serve as a contemporary landmark for the city that would symbolise the resurgence of local culture.
The central design concept was to unite the city’s rich histories of the Middle Ages, Industrial and Soviet periods. The tiered tower in the middle plays with the concept of medieval fortifications and theories of ideal cities. The grid which envelops the tower stems from the avant-garde ideas of Tatlin, Rodchenko, El Lissitzky and other members of the VKhUTEMAS. From the different levels of the platforms, the public has access to picturesque views of the cityscape and the historical buildings on the fortress territory, which would be seen and perceived from a new perspective.
Various levels of the deck have different functions and purposes.
The cables in tension support the slope and serve as guard rails.
Oratory of San Carlo, San Gemini, Umbria
Facade Survey and Restoration
I have participated in the facade restoration of the Oratory of San Carlo, located in the San Gemini commune, Italy, under the supervision of the San Gemini Preservation Studies Programme, founded by The International Institute for Restoration and Preservation Studies (IIRPS), a member of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works.
The building dates back to the thirteenth century. Its facade was severely damaged as a result of low-quality restoration jobs done throughout the twentieth century. Preceding the actual works, the team surveyed the oratory and the town and sketched out local ecclesiastical artworks in order to compile a comprehensive report. The facade restoration entailed carefully taking out the cement applied in the sixties from between the stones, as it was damaging for a building of such age; it corrupted the historical facade both aesthetically and chemically. It was replaced with a more appropriate and safe lime mortar. As other steps of the process, the team cleaned the facade stones, reliefs, and interiors from environmental and anthropogenic pollution.
