DuPont together with Union of Architects of Russia, YEM, RIBA and Architizer announced the winners of “Changing the Face – Moscow 2011,” a competition for ideas to redesign the façade of the famous Pushkinsky Cinema, located in Pushkin Square, Moscow. The architects who participated were asked to imagine a new facade for the Pushkinsky cinema, incorporating modern architectural solutions into the original location. The only condition set by the organizers was the use of at least one DuPont material.

The first prize went to the proposal designed by Juan Andres Diaz Parra from Columbia. “Frozen in Time” takes its inspiration from the poem “Winter Morning” by Alexander Pushkin which celebrates the way the bracing Russian winter can transfigure the landscape and create possibilities. The façade elements disperse water which in the summer becomes a cooling mist and in winter freezes to a new façade of ice surrounding the building. In this way the deep cold, which so often isolates people, actually creates a space for social interaction and a new landmark.

“Moving Light Palace” by Adrian Reinboth, Jenny Grossmann, Franziska Böttcher won second place. The electroluminescent wires surround the theater and reach out into the park and the square. Through day and night these strands change to suit the environment, during the day they appear translucent and reflective like shaded glass, and at night, when the theater is filled with patrons, they are illuminated making the theater a beacon within the square.

The third prize was won by Joseph Sung from South Korea for his design-“The Pushkinsky Jewel”. The visual link between the Pushkinsky Cinema and the Pushkin Square is achieved through the glass curtain walls/ceiling. By enclosing the balcony space currently exposed, visitors can enjoy a breathtaking view of the square, of its historic surrounding mini-park and monument in any kind of weather.

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