PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: What elements and components of a resort city can and should be integrated into the fabric of our ordinary cities in order to increase their comfort?
Sergey Makhno: The first thing I immediately thought of was the embankments and access to the water. In post-industrial and industrial cities, this is often neglected. The second is open access to museums, parks, sculptures, and other art manifestations. We lack art that is integrated into the life of the city. In contrast to resort towns, in megacities there is an acute shortage of spacious pedestrian areas and natural landscaping. And also locations for recreation, areas for yoga and meditation. It is in our DNA to combine nature with architecture and logistics in such a way that nature and air have priority over buildings and transport.
For example, we would like what Elon Musk is doing now — building underground transport arteries. Or terrestrial, but inscribed in the natural landscape. The system of transport communications is built in such a way that the main areas remain more open to people, and cars and buildings play a secondary role. In my opinion, this is the prioritization we must come to.
PM: How specific is the "villa by the sea" architecture today? Is it possible and justified to move such an object, for example, to an ordinary suburban area, or even to the city center?
S. M.: It is, of course, possible to transfer it - vopros, rather, rhetorical. If the client wants a minimalist house with large panoramic windows, then my task as an architect is to integrate it into the texture and landscape where it will be built. Such a villa can be with a view of a lake, forest, mountains or a garden. Everything depends only on what exactly I want to admire, which for me is perspective and beauty.
Photo: Margarita Ivasenko
PM: Is there a place for a "city villa" in our post-industrial and post-covid cities?
S. M.: Yes, of course, as never before. After the lockdowns, people no longer want to live in apartments of 300 square meters. m, but they dream of houses, albeit smaller in area, but with a garden, a vegetable garden, with access to a river, so that you can have a picnic or play sports right in your own yard.
PM: Is it possible to create "resort" oases on the scale of a block or is this the prerogative of point projects from the resort category (hotels, spa centers, sports complexes)?
S. M.: It is possible and necessary. It is not a fact that the future is behind it. We certainly won't go far from the heights in the near future, but there is definitely a prospect in this direction and the demand is already there. But the question remains: can we, leaving the apartment to such oases in the middle of skyscrapers, feel completely and completely comfortable, realizing that at this moment 300 pairs of eyes of the residents of the neighboring high-rise buildings are looking at us? This is the nuance. So that such dissonances do not arise, long-term urban planning is very important.
In contrast to resort towns, in megacities there is an acute shortage of spacious pedestrian areas and natural landscaping.
PM: What should become an integral part of an oasis for escapists in a big city?
S. M.: We have a Makhno Village Resort concept project that welcomes all escapees from routine and stress. You can come here for the weekend, or you can stay for the rest of your life, because we have designed everything necessary for comfort. Clay eco-houses, a greenhouse, an observatory, restaurants, a spa complex, halls for spiritual practices, swimming pools and a lot of hiking trails — the infrastructure of the complex is built in such a way as to help its visitors relax, let go of burdensome thoughts, catch their breath and allow themselves the luxury of doing everything or do nothing. In my opinion, this should be the goal for architects who will develop a project for such an oasis.
Makhno Village Resort. Visual architectural concept. Architecture: Sergey Makhno, Bohdan Agafonov
Makhno Village Resort. Visual architectural concept. Architecture: Sergey Makhno, Bohdan Agafonov
PM: Often, "escape" means a radical change of environment. Is it possible to solve this problem with the help of design, or is no design capable of satisfying our "anxiety and desire to change places"?
S. M.: Capable It's all about the wabi-saba philosophy, greenery, nature, pacification, minimization of technologies. You can come to the village, go into an old house, light a candle there and sit like that, and then go to bed at 9 pm. And it may turn out that there is no need to run away. You just need to be alone with yourself. Try starting with this. They will listen to birdsong and gurgling water. And, by the way, all this can be done from the comfort of your apartment on the 20th floor.
PM: Is a hybrid between an industrial and a resort town possible?
S. M.: Everything is possible. As they say, if a student is ready, a teacher will be found. That is, the society would be ready - there would be proposals.
Interviewed by Iryna Isachenko
