gutarqs proposes vital park for coziness valley challenge in murmansk, russia

gutarqs’s proposal was born from the challenge of defining a huge public space ‘coziness valley’ (23 hectares) above the limit of the arctic circle in murmansk, russia. the competition organized by the murmansk region government and the ‘murmansk region urban development center’, asked for a concept for the transformation of the public area into a vital public space adapted to polar climate while identifying the main vectors for the integral development and improvement of the region.all images courtesy of gutarqs

gutarqs‘s proposal is supported by a vast investigation that goes from the study of the particular culture of a city that moves with the rhythm of the intermittence of sunlight and hostile winter climates. its strategic importance within the complicated activity in this part of the northern hemisphere makes it outline itself as a paradigm of human colonization. coziness valley comprises natural and coexistence values in search of comprehensive communication at different levels and a continuous interaction based on the multiplicity of activities being developed in this place.

this proposal searches for the creation of a field of urban intensity that emphasizes the preexisting properties, preserving its identity and strengthening the sense of community as a basic preference of the public space. appropriation begins while walking and discovering the site in experience of emotions, movement, and collectivity. furthermore, activities break up and generate tension, bringing together the developed program by promoting receptive and permeable interaction with the environment. the relationship between the atmospheres is nuanced through dynamic interfaces, adaptable to a dual condition responsible for the skin that covers up, and the natural crust of the land that embraces enormous possibilities of activity, gathering places which generate attraction, and favor life and moving social fabric.

the coziness valley wants to be a meeting point, a sports-culture- and leisure urban diffuser, a warm exchange, a courageous mixture of local activities; vital magnetism continuously inviting to adoption and use. this proposal is in search of solving all these visions not only logically and systematically, but flexibly and organically as well. the main objective of this intervention is to redefine the habitability of the public area in the so-known arctic world complex reality.

the architects focused on actively using the resources to favor users and the site itself, connecting the city in multiple scales, compromising the place scale for making it more friendly. a place to go and from which visitors can always leave to rediscover the city, a place for everyone, open, accessible, a unique experience that revitalizes the coziness valley essence and its beat inside murmansk.

project info:

name: challenging arctic public space coziness valley: a park for murmansk

architects: gutarqs

design team: martín l. gutiérrez guzmán, martín gutiérrez córdoba, natalia gonzález martínez, jorge andreas hernández, sergio alcocer lira, juan clavel, javier ribé (structural engineering), ambiente arquitectos (landscape architecture), saad acústica (acustic design), víctor fuentes (bioclimatic architecture), gustavo avilés (illumination design), marissa meljem (sustentability), patricia durán, héctor martínez

location: murmansk, russia

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edited by: christina petridou | designboom