Project
Vittorio Grassi Architects
Client
Olonkholand Foundation
Period
2014 Design Competition Shortlist
2014 Design Competition Second Phase
2015 Preliminary Design
Result
1st prize
Gross Floor Area
183,600 sqm
Site Area
500,000 sqm
Engineering
Yakutagropromproekt OAO
Local Support
Mosdevelopment LLC
In 2005 UNESCO declared the epic of Olonkho, the hero of Jakuzia, a world heritage site. In 2014, in Jakutsk, East Siberia, the Ministry of Culture held an international competition to design a master plan for a cultural center and public park dedicated to this national hero, as well as mixed activities spread over a lot in the strategic heart of the city.
The main concept of our winning design is to place the Olonkho International Center in the northern part of the site, facing Saisar Lake, between Oyunskogo Street and the Tyoploe Canal.
The OIC would be the main iconic building in the master plan, with a maximum height of 60 m, but its mass would be balanced by the presence of the new park along the canal bank.
Lake embankments form a key element of the Olonkho International Center complex and become an integral part of it. Visitors will be guaranteed easy access to the lakefront from the park side.
The visitor route to the water will be both functional and cultural, a key attraction and node along the tourist route from the Olonkho International Center to the entire complex. The park forms the connective tissue between all new functions and buildings. It represents the continuation of the Olonkho narrative in outdoor spaces with symbols and elements of the jakuta tradition.
All other functions will be placed along Avtodorozhnaya Street, where the entire urban network is already located, following a new road setback designed as a taut arc.
