EMA
EMA is a project of revitalization of an ex-industrial territory in the center of Moscow. In the last decade, the industry (factory of Electrical Medical Apparates) was relocated and the territory became abandoned. Project create an iconic and surreal space by utilising cheap and temporary materials. EMA consists of several interventions : Silver Background, the Infrastructural Sky, the Disc and the Sign.
EMA.
EMA is a project of revitalization of an ex-industrial territory in the center of Moscow. In the last decade, the industry (factory of Electrical Medical Apparates) was relocated and the territory became abandoned.
EMA renovation project reveals and leverages the hidden infrastructure of the city, which plays a substantial role in everyday life, but remains hidden and mute. Both physical and digital elements are brought back to light in order to create a new reality. Electrical cables, sprinklers, light fixtures, reflectors, insulation materials, retail signages - all of those elements, excluded by default from aesthetic perception or labeled as junk are restored in their power and revealed visually. EMA shifts the meaning of banal infrastructural objects creating new aesthetics and manipulating sensory experiences of its visitors. Immense shining of foil reflections, theatrical scaleless geometries, video projections and unique light ambiances - is a #fulloffoil environment, which extends into digital space, generates buzz and gains recognition through circulation, transforming EMA space into a new cultural hub in Moscow.
EMA project consists of several interventions of different type: Silver Background, the Infrastructural Sky, the Disc and the Sign.
Silver Background.
The main intervention was amalgamation of different structures on the site by one silver facade system. It creates refined contrast background for new activities of the cluster. The silver foil material is a utilitarian insulation material used for wrapping MEP, ducts and pipes. The new silver façades serve both a functional and aesthetical purpose: they secure the ruined walls and at the same time create a new ambiance of the space: shiny and metallic, continous and reflective.
Infrastructural Sky.
The suspended Infrastructural “Sky”, consisting of constellations of light fixtures, sound speakers and water sprinklers, covers the main courtyard of EMA.
It is a is unique engineering system, which creates and changes the space without walls or built objects: by adjusting the level and location of devices, it transforms the space for different events, which take place in the courtyard: crowded concerts, small workshops, lectures or children events.
The Sky is inspired by the hidden infrastructure of ceilings, by the sprinkler and duct systems, by the transport network electrical cables.
The Disc/The Moon.
The icon of the space is The Disc. It is 9m high, painted with traffic stripping paint containing reflective particles. The Disc brings theatrical, slightly absurd, out-of-scale effect. Its surface is used for projections of movies and video art. Besides that, the Disc is designed to be a social media icon, a background for endless photographs, selfies, and digital memories.
The Sign.
A classical bilboard with the original Soviet logo of EMA was installed on the roof of the main building to mark the territory in the urban context. Neon light of the Sign reminds of the electrical past of the site.
Social media.
The project creates not only architecture and physical space but also a social media effect, branding of space events and new atmosphere.
The project was supported by a social media campaign, including promotional video, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7qfaCSfteQ ) designing special accessories, hashtags (#fulloffoil, #ЭМА), party dress code, style etc. During the opening party the so-called Space blankets were distributed, and later hundreds of images of people in golden and silver costumes with a white disc as a background flooded the feeds of social networks.
“ This image in the feed will follow you since now…” – stated “Journal AFISHA”, Moscow timeout and cultural magazine.
KOSMOS Architects (k-s-m-s.com) is a virtual office, which collaborates from different continents and brings together 4 partners who are currently based in New York, Moscow and Switrzerland.
