"Interior of the year 2018"

This time, its team included multiple winners of the Grand Prix competition — architects Slava Balbek, Valery Kuznetsov, and Nikolay Gulyk, who joined them literally at the last minute, as well as the founder and director of the archimatika company Alexander Popov, co-founder and chief architect of the archimatika company Dmitry Vasiliev and architect and urban planner Hiroka Matsuura and executive director and chief architect of Zaha Hadid Architects Christos Passas are already familiar to many. And the jury of "Interior of the year 2018" was headed by the guru of modern design, eccentric, as they say about him, the Dutch Marcel Wanders.

8 members of the jury, 8 key nominations and about 800 entries - this is how the 2018th anniversary "Interior of the Year XNUMX" turned out

A large-scale exhibition of the contestants' works was opened on the lower floor of Parkovo, where everyone could see them. This year, a record number of projects were submitted to the competition - about 800 projects from all over Ukraine. Therefore, the members of the jury had to work hard and frankly not sleep enough to review and evaluate them all. The day before, they compiled a shortlist of finalists in each of the categories, and already on the day of the ceremony, they determined the winners through voting and heated discussions behind closed doors.

The main nominations are eight, including the Grand Prix. The "Audience Sympathy Prize", which went to designer Yana Lutskaya, and a number of special nominations from partners of "Interior of the Year" were presented separately. So, for example, the FunderMax company (official representative in Ukraine — LLC "Building Star") and the famous Dutch brand Eichholtz (exclusive representative in Ukraine — Tango company) chose their winners.

This year, a record number of applications were submitted to the competition - about 800 projects from all over Ukraine

In the nomination "Interior of public-administrative buildings" the first place was awarded to Viktoria Yakusha's Yakusha Design studio and the YA VSESVIT design space and lecture hall designed by her team. The victory in the category "Interior of retail premises and HoReCa facilities" went to the BreadWay cafe-bakery designed by Artem Trygubchak and Lera Brumina, who managed to conquer not only the space of social networks, but also foreign mass media with its interior in pink shades.

The award for "Interior of a smart apartment in a modern style (up to 50 square meters)" was presented to Yana Osypenko and her Siena project. In order not to repeat the situation when the jury could not determine the winner among the interiors of houses and apartments in the classical style due to the insufficient number of works, the organizers decided to combine them into one category "Interior of an object in a classical style". Dnieper architects Anna Pakhomova and Oleg Azovskiy (Azovskiy & Pahomova Architects) with the project 2 Level became the winners.

Victoria Shklyar and her colleagues and the young team of YØDEZEEN designers were the favorites of the evening. They repeatedly climbed the stage, receiving prizes in different categories. Victoria Shklyar and Olga Antontseva with the Holiday House project became the best in the nomination "Interior of a private house in a modern style", and YØDEZEEN and their project called "Strict Geometry" won the first place in the nomination "Interior of an apartment in a modern style".

For example, FunderMax and the famous Dutch brand Eichholtz chose their winners

The category "Item design" deserves special attention, in which items of furniture and lighting designed by Ukrainian authors were evaluated. A remarkable story is connected with it. During the acquaintance of the jury members with the stands of the partner companies occupying the second floor of the "Parkovy" KTC, Marcel Vanders saw in the exposition of the design platform Prostir 86, the founder of which is the architect Olga Bogdanova (Bogdanova Bureau), a huge wooden rocking horse of Inna Pedan and a chair Ztista from the FAINA brand collection by Victoria Yakusha. And then he announced that both these subjects must certainly participate in the competition. Later, Viktoria admits that she does not, in principle, exhibit FAINA items at competitions, although such attention to the collection and high appreciation from Marseille are nice to her. As a result, Inna Pedan's "Horse Bathing" received second place in this nomination, and a chair designed by Victoria Yakusha was awarded a special prize. The winner was Kateryna Sokolova and her series of Plane tables, also presented in the Prostir 86 exhibition.

The event ended with the presentation of the main prize of the competition. This time, the Grand Prix "Interior of the Year 2018" was won by the design studio YØDEZEEN for the Catch fish restaurant project. Here are the names of the lucky winners: Artem Zverev, Artur Sharf, Anna Tarabanova, Alexandra Popova, Kristina Galyuta and Denis Tereshin.

 

"Winners of the Interior of the Year 2018"

Grand Prix

• Fish restaurant Catch (Kyiv)

Authors of the project: Artem Zverev, Artur Scharf, Anna Tarabanova,

Alexandra Popova, Krystyna Galyuta, Denys Tereshin

The public-administrative interior is furnished

• Space Ya Vsesvit (Kyiv)

Authors of the project: Yakusha Design & Architecture Studio

Interior of retail premises and HoReCa facilities

• Breadway Bakery (Odessa)

Authors of the project: Artem Trygubchak, Lera Brumina

The interior of a private house in a modern style

• Holiday House project (Kyiv)

Authors of the project: Victoria Shklyar and Olga Antontseva, FORM bureau

The interior of the object is in a classic style

• Project 2 Level (Dnipro)

Authors of the project: Anna Pakhomova and Oleg Azovskiy, Azovskiy & Pahomova Architects

The interior of the apartment in a modern style

• "Strict geometry" project

Authors of the project: Artem Zverev, Artur Sharf, Anna Tarabanova, YØDEZEEN

The interior of a smart apartment in a modern style (up to 50 square meters)

• Siena project

Authors of the project: Yana Osypenko

Object design (items of furniture, lighting)

• Series of tables Plane

Authors of the project: Kateryna Sokolova

 

Marcel Wanders

Dutch designer, art director of Moooi company

Dream master plan

PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: As the chairman of the jury, what can you say about the level of competition works in general? Was there something that particularly impressed you?

Marcel Wanders: In general, the quality of work is high. In some categories, there were indeed remarkable works at a good professional level. Others felt less soul, less creative work. Sometimes it was difficult to find the right approach. But in general I am pleasantly surprised.

PM: How was the discussion of the competition works in the jury? Is this a complicated process?

M.V.: It is always interesting to listen to what colleagues say. In some cases, you can even change your opinion, sometimes it is difficult to reach an agreement, but still there is a lively discussion. This is the whole point.

PM: Can Ukrainian designers count on the European market?

M.V.: The quality of design works is obviously growing. A few years ago, the level was much lower than it is now. He has grown up significantly - and that is the most important thing. And I saw many world-class works here.

The designer's job is to turn dreams into reality

PM: The topic of our volume is related to dreams and plans. In your opinion, how important is dreaming for an architect and designer?

M.V.: Dreams are a big topic that has many different aspects. I always liked when there was fantasy in the work, when I saw an idea. I love when things are simply beautiful, but also when there are some interesting thoughts behind them. This makes the object more significant. I think that everything starts with a dream — it's an idea that hasn't been realized yet. Then, if you are lucky, it becomes a reality. Of course, as part of our competition, we evaluate works that have already been implemented. They, too, were once ideas, and then became reality. This is what a designer's job is to make dreams come true.

PM: How important is it for a designer to see his work "in the flesh"?

M.V.: I repeat that as part of this competition, we evaluate the works that have been implemented. At least, it should be like that. In fact, when you see interior design in this format, it is not always clear whether it is a real project or not. I think that there is value in the design that is not embodied. Sometimes you don't need to see the implementation to fully enjoy the design. I myself have many really strong and valuable, in my opinion, works that are not implemented or exist only as prototypes.

PM: In that case, do you have any projects that you would not like to implement?

M.V.: This is an interesting question because, to be honest, to some extent the world inhibits designers. He simply does not want to move at the same speed as designers. And although it annoys and angers us, on the other hand, it is probably right. After all, we work for real people. Doing things that have nothing to do with the end consumer may be nice, but that's how we lose touch with the world. Therefore, if customers say "I don't like it, you shouldn't do it", I can be angry, but at the same time remain happy.

PM: Have you always dreamed of being a designer?

M.V.: There was a period in my life when I didn't even know that design existed. But one fine day - I was 17 years old then - I learned that there is such a thing as design. Then I thought: "This is what I want to do." Since then, I'm on the hook, as they say. And he never doubted his choice.

PM: What did you dream about before you learned about design?

M.V.: I didn't have a concrete idea of ​​what I should be. I wanted to do something fashionable, I wanted to create things. I like to do it. This, probably, was the dream of becoming an inventor of beautiful things.

PM: Do you have any unrealized dreams from your youth?

M.V.: No, I think I have already done them all (laughs).

PM: Name the three main things you are going to do next year.

M.V.: Professional?

PM: Both professional and personal.

M.V.: I will take a big vacation. Then, probably, one more. And one more. Three vacations (laughs).

PM: And what about professional?

M.V.: The year has yet to begin. I am working on several projects. For example, above the palace in Doha. This is a very interesting project. And also over a new hotel in Florida, which is also very exciting. In addition, we are working on a new presentation for Moooi in Milan. These are the three projects that I would like to mention and what I will be working on in the near future.

 

 

Christos Passas

Executive director and chief architect of Zaha Hadid Architects

PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: What can you say about the competition and the level of submitted works this year?

Christos Passas: I had great pleasure. There were many interesting, fresh works, many modern ideas. I think the competition went well. Much more interesting, in my opinion, than the Ukrainian Urban Awards this summer. I understood that Ukrainian designers and architects are well versed in the field of creating interiors. They deeply explore materiality, light, ideas of minimalism. In my opinion, there were some really good works that I enjoyed.

The role of the designer is to move things from the world of fantasy to the realm of reality

PM: Do you think Ukrainian designers are ready to conquer Europe?

K. P.: Let me ask you a counter question: do you think we are promoting British design or Zaha Hadid design?

PM: Probably Zaha Hadid.

K. P.: In other words, it is not so much about the nationality of the design as about the ego of the character. Do you understand? The question is not whether Ukrainian designers are ready to conquer Europe, but whether they want to take a step forward and start doing it. Then everything passes the same test: if people like your things, then you will conquer them. If not, it probably won't work. But I think that designers should ask themselves this question.

PM: But do you think Ukrainian designers are interesting to Europeans?

K. P.: Any good designer is interesting. Quality comes from the designer. If you're good at it, I see no reason why you can't work anywhere.

PM: Let's talk about plans and dreams. Is it important for an architect and designer to indulge in dreams?

K. P.: Of course. I think that this is the most important thing for an architect.

It is important that the projects that are implemented say something about you

PM: But at what point should dreams stop being just dreams and become plans?

K. P.: When the right time comes. I usually say this: the role of a designer is to move things from the world of fantasy to the realm of reality. We are all involved in this process to some extent. Both the quality of fantasies and the quality of execution are important here. I think that everyone should be able to do both of these things well.

PM: Do you have any project that is waiting for implementation?

K. P.: Yes, we have several of them. The fact is that not all good projects are implemented. Some - not instantly. Recently, we found out that we won the competition for the project of the Philharmonic in Yekaterinburg. There are problems with the location, some issues still need to be resolved. But this is one of the projects that I would like to implement, because it is special. There are others that I am waiting for: the technopark in Skolkovo, the Eleftheria square in Cyprus (Christos is a Cypriot by origin. — Editor's note), the Opus complex in Dubai.

I hope that in the end I will be able to look at my life and say that everything was exactly as it should have been

I can't say that I have one dream. There is an idea of ​​an ideal home, a dream city, there is an idea of ​​what a beautiful office building should look like. And this is not something that can be instantly brought to life. But that's why I like these ideas.

PM: Is it essential for an architect to see his works as completed?

K. P.: Not all. But some part - yes. I have a philosophical approach to this: when you design, you make a lot of sketches, fewer plans and, of course, even fewer completed ones. It is important that the projects that are implemented say something about you. And I think that's what happens. The design process is interactive, not one-way: the designer makes the design, and the design makes the designer. I personally hope that in the end I will be able to look at my life and say: "Oh, everything was exactly as it should have been."

PM: And finally, tell us about the three things you plan to do next year.

K. P.: First of all, I would like to spend more time with my daughters. They are growing up, but I don't give them enough time, I miss them very much. Secondly, I want to give myself a chance to look at our work and the people who surround me. And the third is that he will be able to close all open projects, and complete them in the best way so that people are satisfied with our work. If it happened, I would be happy.

 

Hiroki Matsuura

Chief designer, architect and director of the MADMA urbanism+landscape company

PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: You have been part of the competition jury for the past four years. Have you noticed how Ukrainian design has changed during this time?

Hiroki Matsuura: I remember that in 2015, the taste of designers was excessive, that is, too excessive and excessively colorful works. I would say weird. After four years, I see that the projects are becoming more mature, more sophisticated. Not "oversweetened", not "oversalted", not "overpeppered". In Ukraine, they began to "cook" very well. The level of design has undoubtedly increased.

You need to force yourself to support your dreams, otherwise you risk becoming a victim of circumstances

PM: Is this level enough to enter the foreign market?

Kh. M: Definitely. In general, Ukrainians are not deprived of self-confidence. I increasingly come across Ukrainian architects who are already performing their work at the international level. Not all are equally good, of course. But so in any country. Even, for example, in Italy or the Netherlands, there are not so many really cool designers. My perception is that design in Ukraine is already at a decent level. Of course, there is room to grow. But I don't see any serious shortcomings.

PM: With the improvement of the level of works at this competition, did it become more difficult or easier for you to judge him?

Kh. M: I become more critical. Because I know: the field of design in Ukraine is now rapidly developing. I don't want to choose a project that I'm not sure about. We should discuss only the best works. Sometimes it is difficult in the framework of the competition, since here we choose the winner. But we agreed with the other members of the jury that if we do not see a suitable project, we are not obliged to award prizes.

PM: Is it important for architects and designers to dream?

Kh. M: Of course. I think this is important not only for architects or designers, but also for all people. Don't you think so?

PM: Yes, but sometimes it is necessary to move from dreaming to planning.

Kh. M: To some extent it is so. All designers or architects are dealing with limitations — in terms of finances, time, and so on. Thus, if you do not make efforts, you will find yourself cornered and will solve only narrowly practical questions. You need to force yourself to support your dreams, otherwise you will become a victim of circumstances. Designers and architects must be very energetic.

Projects are becoming more mature, more sophisticated

PM: Do you have a project that you want to implement, but for some reason you are putting it off?

Kh. M: There is one special project - a large office complex in Prague. This is one of my favorite projects. From time to time I show my ego to my colleagues. And I really hope one day to find clients who will want to implement it. Because this building is very important to me. This is the quintessence of everything I'm thinking about at the moment. In addition, we are now working on a project in Kyiv, which I hope to implement.

PM: And the last question: what three things are you going to implement in 2019?

Kh. M: A difficult question. I have not yet built anything in Kyiv, but it is most likely that it will happen next year. I want to prove that the beautiful story I told everyone is not a lie. This is the first. Second, I just want to work in Kyiv. And thirdly, I want to exchange ideas with designers and architects in a local context.

I am becoming more critical. Because I know: the field of design in Ukraine is now rapidly developing

Part of working abroad is that you are always in contact with local designers. And I really like that at such moments a certain chemical reaction takes place. I throw something in, they throw something in, I react. This has happened to me several times already and this is exactly how it should be. I'm not one of those designers who say: it should be like this - and that's it. I like to collaborate with the client, other designers or the end user. It's much more exciting than trying to dominate everything.

 

Dmitry Vasilyev

Chief architect and co-founder of the archimatika company

PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: You judged this competition for the first time as a member of the jury. What can you say about the level of submitted works?

Dmitry Vasiliev: I must start with the fact that, unfortunately, the categories "House interior in a classic style" and "Apartment interior in a classic style" failed - not enough works were collected, or they were of a low level or simply imitated a certain style, for example, Japanese or Chinese , which would be more logical, say, at a competition of restorers-reconstructors. Therefore, the organizers had to unite them. The members of the jury even had a joke that all the customers who preferred the classic style left the country back in 2014.

In our reality, an architect wants to implement a project without a customer

As for work in general, then, in principle, as in life: 30% is good work, another 30% is normal, and about another 30% is frankly weak. In some categories, of course, the ratios are different. Yes, mostly apartments were represented, unlike, say, public sector facilities. In this, the lag is felt. On the other hand, the top works that were selected from the 180 projects presented in the category "Interior of an apartment in a modern style" demonstrate a good quality level of copying Western solutions: this would be done everywhere, such an apartment could be anywhere - in New York , in Copenhagen, in Paris. What I personally lacked was the desire to be unique. Many works are based on the principle "I saw it somewhere, I liked it, I did the same and it turned out for me." There is a percentage of truly unique works based on the principle "I have never seen anything like this anywhere", but it is extremely small. Architects whose projects you can recognize by their handwriting are few. I think this is the next stage of evolution, when we will move from the stage of imitating the masters to creating something of our own, something new. I would like the next 10 years in architecture to be dedicated to this.

PM: Tell us how the evaluation of the works went.

D.V.: Everything came down to the fact that there is a chairman of the jury and he decides everything. But if he does not have clear evaluation criteria, ambiguous situations arise. For example, he proposed to include the 50 sq.m. m. We insisted not to do this. Otherwise, in the case of her victory, how to explain it to those who submitted their interiors, strictly adhering to the regulations? Such nuances leave the impression of a random assessment. An accurate scheme, clearly developed methodology is needed here.

The next point is that all works are submitted openly with the names of the authors. Perhaps it is worth submitting them under numbers or codes, as is usually done in other competitions. In addition, there is no clear regulation of what the submitted materials should be. These are mostly photographs, but they do not help to assess, say, how competently the space is designed. The organizers should demand from the participants, for example, plans of the facilities: not everyone has them. It would be a cool topic if they would show some history of the project, its creation, some ego life, and not just 4-10 photos of the implementation.

Well, the last thing is the deadlines for submission of works, which are interrupted every time, which is why the start of the assessment is shifted to the beginning of the competition. This time, more than 700 works were submitted, and only two days for their evaluation is difficult.

You should always reconsider: are you going where you want to go? And departs from the line "that's how everyone does it"

PM: Did you argue about something between yourselves? Were there discussions?

D.V.: What really worked well for the jury was its timing: four hours were allotted for the assessment, and the jury finished its work in literally seven minutes. There were important things when, let's say, a work that is a render gets into the shortlist. According to the conditions of the competition, only realized objects can participate. Accordingly, some of the architects violated the conditions. And then a whole discussion arose: can we include this work in the shortlist, and if so, under what conditions? Should we find out whether this project is implemented or not, will we be shown real photos and how different they will be from the declared rendering? And so on. As a result, they convinced the chairman of the jury not to make any exclusions. Discussions raised such questions, and there were no heated disputes directly regarding the evaluation of the works.

PM: How did you work in such an international team?

D.V.: Even during the preliminary selection, it was noticeable that Ukrainian and foreign colleagues vote differently. Ours chose well-maintained, simple, strict solutions, weeding out frank kitsch and "overloaded" projects, while foreigners - on the contrary. Apparently, the emasculation got a little tired, and they more often turned to bright, flashy projects. In general, this allowed me not to fall into any extremes, although if I were to set priorities, I would do it differently, say, from the point of view of the works included in the top five. For example, in the category "Interior of public-administrative buildings", in my opinion, most of the best projects were still eliminated. Although when it comes to the interiors of apartments or HoReCa facilities, here our opinions practically coincided. Our cultural base is still different, and so is reality, so we (Ukrainians) evaluate aesthetics somewhat differently.

PM: Do you have a project that you have wanted to implement for a long time, but for some reason you are postponing it?

D.V.: It seems to me that in our conditions, in our reality, an architect wants to implement a project without a customer. Independently. Be in the role of the customer and answer the questions that he faces every day in his work. To the maximum, offer what he considers correct, and implement it, bypassing the customer's "filter", independently operating the budget. Therefore, if he talks about what I would like to realize — to make a project and build it myself, I have combined the roles of architect and developer in one person. And look, test your own theories, ideas you like in this way. Many things that the architect considers correct are eliminated by the customer, modified or simply not accepted. I don't know how it is in the West, but here it is customary to interfere in the work of an architect, motivating it by the fact that everything is decided by the one who pays. On the other hand, not everything that an architect considers correct is correct. And this would also be an argument in favor of such an experiment, a reason to look at the result and make sure that some of your decisions are correct or incorrect. It is not possible to check this yet.

This time, more than 700 works were submitted, and only two days for their evaluation is difficult.

Everyone in our company has been dreaming for a long time that archimatika would start building independently. I hope it will happen - maybe not next year, but definitely.

PM: Do you think it is important for an architect to dream?

D.V.: I wouldn't call it the word "dream". Rather, it is necessary to ask the question: "How would I like it to be?". It is important to think, not based on the existing reality, but to visualize where this reality should be brought, where it will break and how it should look in your understanding, and starting from this position - to do. And from this it follows: you must not be afraid to do as no one has done before you. If you are not satisfied with something now, then by taking the same steps as your predecessors, you are unlikely to be able to correct the situation in the future. You should always reconsider: are you going where you want to go? And the line "that's how they do everything" goes.

 

Alexander Popov

Director and co-founder of the company archimatika

PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: For the first time, you were part of the "Interior of the Year 2018" jury. Share your impression of the competition and the level of submitted works.

Alexander Popov: Great work! I was pleasantly surprised by the number of worthy works and enjoyed studying them. It was not easy to choose whom to give preference to.

Of course, the influence of trends is felt. Take, for example, the ratio of the number of presented works in the nominations of modern and classic design — 180 and 25, respectively. It seems that almost everyone is headed in one direction, and since the majority always goes astray in creativity, perhaps it is time to start exploring the diametrically opposite direction.

The atmosphere was wonderful and absolutely democratic: on every question, the decision was made by the majority

PM: Tell us how the evaluation of the works went.

A.P.: It was a real stress and several sleepless nights, when in two days we had to review more than seven hundred works submitted to the competition. I cannot help but note that with such a rhythm, it is impossible to rule out that some project was simply not noticed: you just flip through the pages, since in a situation of "flashing" of projects before your eyes, you begin to react to the brightest decisions, without focusing on nuanced ones, but perhaps more subtle works.

In my opinion, with such a volume of submitted projects, it is worth spreading the time of the 1st and 2nd rounds of the competition for at least a few months, as, for example, it was done at WAF, and also give the finalists the opportunity to personally present their works to the members of the jury , and to the audience: I'm sure, authors' stories about their design projects, answers to the jury's questions — this is the best master class for a professional audience.

It was not easy to choose whom to give preference to

PM: Did you personally have favorites?

A.P.: Yes, and alas, not all of them were supported by colleagues in the jury. It so happened that during the selection of prize troikas (in each of the categories of the competition, the jury determines the three best works that occupy the third, second, and first places, respectively. — Editor's note) I had a master class, I left a list of my favorites and went to perform, and when he returned to the jury room, all that remained was to arrange the prize-winners selected in each nomination in their places. Perhaps, if I hadn't been away at that moment, I would have convinced my colleagues to take a closer look at my favorites. And maybe not, so the master class allowed me to argue once more.

PM: How did you work in such an international composition of the jury?

A.P.: The atmosphere was wonderful and absolutely democratic: on every question, the decision was made by the majority, and although each of us sometimes found ourselves in the minority, which, I admit, was annoying, respect for the competence of colleagues and their choice was decisive.

PM: Were there heated discussions between the jury members?

A.P.: Constantly But exclusively in a professional plane and absolutely correct.

PM: What caused criticism from your side?

A.P.: At some point, some members of the jury were ready to show excessive creativity in expanding the originally defined criteria for nominations, which would create a negative precedent: the victory is awarded to a work that goes beyond the qualification framework of the nomination, and the authors of projects that exactly correspond to the stated criteria would be offended . However, I am glad that my colleagues listened to my arguments and this did not happen.

It was a real stress and several sleepless nights, when in two days we had to review more than seven hundred works submitted to the competition

PM: Let's talk about the topic of our issue, dedicated to the dreams and plans of architects. Do you think it is important for an architect to dream?

A.P.: Probably, in the same way as any person breathes or drinks water.

PM: Do you have a project that you have wanted to implement for a long time, but for some reason you are postponing it?

A.P.: The secret (laughs).

PM: Who did you want to be when you were a child?

A.P.: Space architect! And yet I do not give up hope of realizing a childhood dream.

PM: And the last question: what three things are you going to implement in 2019?

A.P.: It weighs on average no more than 90 kg per year.

They will start building outside of Ukraine what (so far) cannot be built within its borders.

He spends as much time with his children and wife as we want!

 

Slava Balbek

Architect, co-founder of the 2B.group studio

PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: What was your general impression of the competition and the level of submitted works?

Slava Balbek: Their level is actually higher than last year. As before, I consider the category related to the interior in a classic style to be a failure. It seems to me that it is necessary to introduce a new one - something like "Individual interior", because the contemporary direction is very well represented, but the classical one is, alas... There are works that are difficult to attribute to a certain category, for example, there was a project in the Japanese style , in some Turkish. Is it possible to say that this is a modern direction? No. Classic? No. The judges came to this, and if the organizers of the contest support it, it would be good. In general, strong work, cool.

It is absolutely important to implement what is planned. Otherwise, it's just wishful thinking

PM: Did you have favorites?

SB: Yes, of course, but I will not name them. It cost me a lot of work to overcome all this vkusovshchyna. I choose mainly according to the style that is closer to me. It is not so easy to find some middle ground between what kind of thing is closer, and how difficult it is to make, what function it performs. In fact, it is a challenge to choose works based not only on aesthetics, but also on some other parameters.

PM: Were there heated discussions between the jury members?

SB: Yes, we had a discussion about whether or not to accept visualizations, since only realized objects participate in the competition. Marcel Wanders had an interesting opinion on this matter. The work was submitted to the competition in the form of renderings, and the author himself said: "This is a visual. But we finished the work. You just haven't seen beautiful photos. But we did it. Just take my word for it." And all the members of the jury responded: "No, no, no, no way!" And Marcel says: "Even on the basis of photographs, you do not understand whether what you see is true, because it is possible to photoshop it so that you will not recognize it. Человек put up a visualization. This is a good design. Do we have a photography contest or a design contest?".

From the point of view of fairness in relation to the other contestants, what you sent, even if it is first-class, but the renderings are unfair. But from the point of view of depth of thought, it's cool. And I thought. Before that, he fiercely defended the position that it is impossible to judge works that have not been realized, because the picture before realization is an abyss, a colossal amount of work. But I was interested to hear such an opinion. It's true, we can't appreciate the photos, because now many architects are "reading" - for example, painting air conditioner units.

You can dream about the distant, but very carefully

PM: A few questions on the topic of this volume of PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA. Do you think it is important to dream for a designer, architect?

SB: I think it is necessary to dream. But you still need to stay within the framework of reality. A dream can take you very far, you just break away and fly away like a balloon. But if you want to move, it is possible only in the earth plane. There are few chances that you will dream-dream-dream and in the end dream of something concrete. I have a more realistic approach. You are here and now, with today's problems. You can dream about the distant, but very carefully.

PM: Are there any projects that you have been dreaming up for a long time, but still cannot implement?

SB: We have practically no projects frozen for reasons other than our own. There are projects such as a house made of containers, which simply stands and waits for its client, assembled as a semi-finished product. It's like a premature baby. But in general, we always end them or terminate all relations with the client. But these are definitely isolated cases. Yes, there are also projects waiting for their turn. They are like an overbitten pie: you can't eat them until they are thrown away. But basically our process goes like this: concept — path to realization — realization. All. No one likes procrastination.

PM: How important is it to you that everything planned is realized?

SB: Absolutely. Otherwise, it's just wishful thinking. There is a concept of "money on the wind", so for me, thoughts on the wind are even worse. We never sold visualizations, never made a picture to sell as a picture. Artists can do this. I do not underestimate the importance of artists - they have a completely different goal. Selling visualization is not our format. This is one of the ways of making money, there are a couple of workshops that work like this. But in my understanding, if you sell part of the creative component, it should be done. Otherwise we would become artists.

In fact, it is a challenge to choose works based not only on aesthetics, but also on some other parameters

PM: What three important things have you planned for yourself in the next hour?

SB: The first is to be yourself. The second - I have such a point of a purely sports career - Iron man. I go to him. And the third - I would like to reduce the number of people in the team, because now it is very large, and I want to make it smaller, to move from quantity to quality. Moreover, he will not just fire half of the people, but let the people themselves say whether they want to move on with us or not.

 

Valery Kuznetsov

Architect, designer, founder of decorkuznetsov design studio

PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: Last year, your project — the CUBA BUBA educational game module for children — received the Grand Prix of the competition. And how do you feel as a member of the jury?

Valery Kuznetsov: This is my third time in this role. There is experience in both participation in the competition and membership in the jury. It turned out to be very easy to work with the chairman of the current team - last time, for example, everything was also excellent, but there were some nuances. Now we solved everything quite quickly, consolidated, everything went smoothly. The winner was literally unanimously agreed upon.

I see that there is a change of generations. I see a change in our consciousness, the consciousness of customers, architects, and the environment as a whole

PM: How do you estimate the overall level of works submitted to the competition?

V.K.: If we talk about works, it is generally noticeable that this year the enthusiasm of our architects and designers began to dry up. And this is natural: it is impossible to work at such a height all the time. I see that there is a change of generations. I see a change in our consciousness, the consciousness of customers, architects, and the environment as a whole. This is clearly visible on the example of the competition: it has become a kind of fixer, a mirror that reflects what is happening in our heads. For example, look at how the attitude towards classic interiors has changed: very few of them have been presented now. I don't know if this is a good trend or not, but it happens.

I will also say that today's understanding of comfort is aimed at asceticism, especially among young people. Now they rarely turn to flashy luxury. On the contrary, people are re-examining their life, their views, their foundations and are increasingly wondering if they need another car, apartment, or house. The worldview is changing. We are changing. I am no longer the same as I was, let's say, two years ago.

Our design is going through a phase of rapid growth, gaining momentum

PM: What would you say about the place of Ukrainian object design in the world design arena?

V.K.: The quality of the design, the thoroughness of the projects themselves are immediately visible. Year after year, all this invariably grows. I am talking now not only about subject matter, but also about interior design. Perhaps, somewhere in something, the atmosphere has been lost, perhaps we are trying too hard to imitate Western counterparts. Nevertheless, our design is original, noticeable and occupies a special niche, even though I have not yet introduced it to everyone. The popularity of Ukrainian design in the world is also growing. For more than a year, you can see the most powerful expositions of our designers as part of the Paris and Dutch Design Weeks. Now we have processes that would be the envy of any country: design is going through a phase of rapid growth, gaining momentum, which I am very happy about. Today, especially for young authors, a lot of opportunities open up: if you have knowledge of a foreign language and the ability to work hard, then you are a citizen of the world and you can find yourself in any place, in any city, in any country.

 

Olga Bogdanova

architect, founder of the Bogdanova Bureau architectural bureau and co-founder of the Prostir 86 design platform

PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: Share your impressions of the X Jubilee "Interior of the Year 2018" contest. Why is participation in it important for Prostir 86?

Olga Bogdanova: For the first time, we were invited to organize a subject design area as part of the competition 3 years ago. Then this nomination appeared for the first time. Our team created a huge black cube consisting of 64 elements - a kind of "Rubik's cube" measuring 4 x 4 x 4 m, which we deliberately "collapsed" and presented objects on it. Everyone liked this solution, and the following hour we were invited again. Then the organization of this zone became somewhat of a tradition.

I am always happy for my own.

I am interested in how and to what extent my inner feeling will coincide with the opinion of the jury

I am very sensitive to the selection of objects, and my task is to present the best, not allowing everything in a row, to preserve the purity and integrity of the exposition. I do not fully understand why I am doing this, and I rather consider this activity to be my own mission - to present designers and their items in the best possible way not only for our, but also for the European public. We really want to be recognized as part of the world design community.

PM: The works of Inna Pedan and Kateryna Sokolova, presented in the space of your design platform, became winners in the "Subject Design" nomination. What do you feel about this?

O. B.: I am always happy for my own. I am interested in how and to what extent my inner feeling will coincide with the opinion of the jury.

We really want to be recognized as part of the world design community

PM: What is the story with Marcel Wanders, the Ztista chair designed by Victoria Yakusha and the rocking horse of Inna Pedan?

O. B.: Early in the morning on the day of the competition, I called Vike and said: "We need to show you your Toptun chair!". She miraculously appeared in the office at 9 in the morning, and I personally came to pick him up. There I saw the new Ztista chair and offered to show it to you. It has not even been officially presented yet.

Furniture molded from a fairly dense and light composite mixture looked very unusual. When the members of the jury got acquainted with our exhibition, Marcel, seeing this chair, was literally fired up with the idea of ​​his participation in the competition and even insisted on it. Unfortunately, the object was not declared, and therefore he was given a special prize - "Marcel Wanders' Choice". It is difficult to come up with a new design for a chair, but this particular object was created according to a completely different principle, as if it was literally molded from dough.

In our space, Marcel drew attention to Inna Pedan's rocking horse, which, by the way, took second place at the competition in the "Subject Design" category. He really liked this item, and he even said that he would like to have one at home.

 

Alexander Gerasimova

Editor-in-Chief of the All-Ukrainian Annual Architectural Competition "Interior of the Year"

PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: You are working on the organization of this competition for the first time. What impressions did you have?

Alexander Gerasimova: The organization of the competition, like any other event, is a complex and time-consuming process involving a large number of people. I was engaged in something similar, for example, I worked with the Interior Mebel exhibition, then I roughly imagined the scale. It is clear that competitions have their own specifics. This is a definite result of the work of interior designers and architects, some of them have been achieved. The structure of the event is somewhat similar to exhibitions, only the goals are different. In other words, the "Interior of the Year 2018" organization was not completely new to me, but I had to learn and master some things already in the process.

PM: What was the biggest difficulty?

A. G.: In the human factor. Promotion, advertising of the competition and work with the participants are planned throughout the year. However, the majority for some reason prefer to submit their work at the last moment. The organizing committee was faced with the fact that in the last three days, even after the originally announced deadline, about 300 works were received, and they would have received more, but we were forced to stop the reception.

The jury had to review about 800 works almost overnight

We have a new website, and any person from anywhere in Ukraine, and the world, as a matter of fact, can submit works to the competition. It happens quite easily and quickly. Initially, they are accepted by the site's admin panel, but, unfortunately, despite the file size restrictions (no more than 1 MB), they can upload anything to it, from posters with anti-government slogans to, relatively speaking, pornography; there are such jokers. Therefore, of course, all content posted on the contest site is subject to mandatory moderation. But it is carried out by people, and when 300 works arrive at the last moment, it is physically impossible to process them qualitatively. There is no way to view all the photos and study everything in detail. At the same time, our audience wants an instant answer: people immediately start calling their mobile phones, writing in messengers even at night with questions about whether their project has passed. It was a discovery for me. Jury members faced similar difficulties: they had to review about 800 works practically at night. This happens every hour, and no matter how hard you try, it still happens at the last moment.

PM: Tell me more about how the contestants' works are evaluated.

A. G.: It is conducted by a jury. The competition is an open platform where Ukrainian designers and architects can present their works. First, there is a preliminary selection of projects. But I will say that Ukraine is very heterogeneous and not as design-oriented as, say, Holland. Naturally, the understanding of design in different parts of the country, even in the professional community, differs. I have been working in this field for many years, but for the first time I encountered such a wide circle. I realize that the country is big and people need to be given the opportunity to show their work. You can roughly imagine who will be shortlisted and fight for the first place, but many more people submit works. For them, this is a certain opportunity to assert themselves in a professional party, since it simply does not exist outside of the cities of millionaires. We tried to approach everyone as individually as possible, as far as time and opportunities allowed. There have also been professional dramas, perhaps due to unrealistic expectations and creative ambitions: everyone wants their work to be seen and appreciated, but they have to explain the reasons for the refusal, and, of course, they will always be dissatisfied. On the other hand, the professional environment of Kyiv and other large cities is dissatisfied with the fact that the works of little-known authors are generally accepted, and we are criticized for the "popsiness" of the competition. This is such a dilemma that the organizers have yet to solve. We are indeed an all-Ukrainian competition and we are creating this expert platform, so it is important for us that people from other regions also join us, grow professionally and come to such events. For architects and designers, this is one of the few events during the year where they can simply come, exhibit their works or look at the projects of their colleagues. The most difficult thing is to maintain this balance.

The understanding of design is different in different parts of the country. The competition showed me that Ukraine is like a patchwork quilt

We have a new system for submitting work, and apparently not everyone understood it at once. For example, it does not allow you to correct something, say, the order of already uploaded photos, or limits the description of the object to 500 characters, otherwise it simply slows down the site. There is a unique voting form for each member of the jury, which he fills out after viewing all the works. Before the final, everything is summarized and a shortlist is formed, and already on the day of the final, the international jury, through discussion and voting, determines three finalists in each category and the winner of the grand prize. This time, for example, Hiroki Matsuura did not choose a single work in one of the nominations of the competition, he did not see anything worthy. That is, it does not mean that you need to choose any three projects from those submitted. If any of the jury members does not consider it necessary to choose someone, then there will be no one. It is important that participants understand this.

There was a question why the two nominations were combined ("Interior of a house in a classical style" and "Interior of an apartment in a classical style" became one category - "Interior of an object in a classical style". - Editor's Note). It could not be at all: an extremely small number of works were submitted, and they did not meet the criteria established by the jury. During the discussion, a compromise and correct, in my opinion, decision was adopted.

PM: What about the results? Were they expected?

A. G.: Probably, we expect that such strong studios, architects and designers as Viktoria Shklyar, YØDEZEEN, Viktoria Yakusha receive first places and grand prix. And I haven't named all of them yet. Really high level of work and professionalism. I repeat: it is not us who evaluate, but the members of the jury. We are satisfied not so much with the fact that these are certain personalities, but with the fact that the judging is open, transparent, honest and any member of the jury can explain his position.

PM: How did the work of such an international team look from the outside? Were there arguments?

A. G.: For me, it was a unique experience — to spend five hours with such highly professional people in our industry. It was interesting to watch the decision-making process. Europeans, for example, work like surgeons: they make decisions very quickly, are responsible for it, and can always explain their position. For me, this is the height of professionalism, and it's a great honor to see how such people work, because you don't come across something like that every day.

PM: What, in your opinion, should be changed in the competition? What do you dream about in the perspective of the upcoming competition seasons?

A. G.: There are a number of technical points that can and should be improved. This became obvious in the process of preparation and implementation. But these are nuances. The competition showed me that Ukraine is like a patchwork quilt. In general, all professionals understand what design is, but if we talk about how difficult it is to integrate very different views and opinions in a country that is now in its formation, then I think this applies to any industry . For example, we were sent a job - a paramedic center in the village. From the point of view of design, there was nothing special about it. Yes, good quality repair. But this building itself was built from scratch and it includes all the necessary aspects for the provision of first aid. And while we were thinking about what to do with it, whether to accept the job or not, the author of the project has already sent us a sketch of the tablet. And this is the moment when you need to make a decision and take responsibility. Here's how to explain what kind of design it is? Yes, if you take, say, Holland, their wonderful experience of the same Eindhoven, the Dutch design week, then this is design for people. They, for example, are already creating such things as a device that synchronizes the heartbeat of a mother and a baby. It is relevant for their society, it would be the same for ours, but we are still solving some other issues and problems.

There is a certain top group of architects and designers who work in the international arena, and they, based on their experience, communicate with their colleagues in a completely European manner

From this point of view, I thought that the paramedic center embodies this same "design for people". This is a project of great social significance. He is located in a village in the Kyiv region, where, perhaps, for three or four settlements or the entire district, this is the only place where they receive professional medical care. And at the same time, this is the first encounter with the design of local residents, who have not seen a better design in principle. And they are also citizens of Ukraine! In other words, it is enough to drive only 150 km from Kyiv — and you will meet a lot of people who do not know what design is. And this is also our reality. It is difficult to integrate all this. Because there is a certain top group of architects and designers who regularly go to exhibitions, participate in competitions, work in the international arena, and from the position of their experience, they communicate with their colleagues in a completely European manner, say, in English or other languages, for them there is no special barriers. There may be problems, but there are no barriers. At the same time, there are quite a lot of their colleagues working within our market, and they are influenced by the tastes and preferences of customers. It should not be forgotten that the interiors submitted to the competition are not only the professionalism and level of the architect himself, but also the possibilities and tastes of his clients. And this, in turn, is a reflection of the reality in which we exist. From this point of view, the competition is honest: it is not an accomplished exhibition that can be taken, say, to Paris or somewhere else, to show the best and confirm that design also exists in Ukraine. His second mission is to be an accessible, open platform for sharing experience. The last 4 years, Ukraine is going exactly this way - not stratification, but openness, and here I am not talking about design in particular, but about the development of society as a whole.

 

Photo: Yury Ferendovych