The Babylon project

Project development: Russia

TIArch Studio Students

TIArch is an educational Studio of conceptual design, based on the authentic methodology of teaching architectural disciplines by Ilnar Akhtiamov. Since 2009, it has been operating on the basis of Kazan State University of Architecture and Engineering. As part of these research fields, the Studio develops topics, related to urban space perception, city structure, urban communities, implementation of modern technologies and bio-technologies in architecture, and much more.

All research topics, deal with today’s context and have vision for the future, including the one presented here.
"We are responsible for what our predecessors built."
There are countless abandoned, vacant, decaying buildings all over the world, inherited from previous generations. In tangible or intangible form, such architecture, being a parasite on the body of the city, creates a “toxic” field around itself. It marginalizes neighborhoods, creates problems or complements existing ones. Today, this legacy forms a serious challenge for architects and requires a special constructed optics to solve the accumulated problems.

What if we use these locations in the city as an opportunity to experiment? The objects are already deteriorated in their own way - this gives us freedom of action, the lack of fear of making things worse leads to bold and radical solutions. As a result, objects can change a lot, change function, scale, and sometimes even users. But most importantly, the facilities are given the opportunity to change and work for the benefit of the individual.

We are heirs to the modernist solutions of demiurgic architects, whose first step (for future mistakes) was to tear down the past. Within the framework of the proposed solutions, we leave the demolition of the building as the worst possible development of the object, the actions performed on it. And not because the object ceases to exist, but because something more monstrous and destructive can arise in its place. Our approach is based on other methods - local and subtle solutions to work with the existing architecture without demolishing the object, no matter how malignant it may seem to the city. When working on a building, we use exploratory and unrefined solutions that are not a demonstration of the architect’s ambitions, but become a saving manipulation for the object.

The time for inaction is over — the moment has come to see the abandoned and forgotten corners of our cities not as burdens, but as spaces of possibility, experimentation, and new forms of life. The Babylon Project calls not only on architects and urbanists, but above all on local communities, artists, activists, and all those who feel responsible for the future of their cities to step beyond conventional solutions and stop waiting for change to come from above. It is through courage, grassroots engagement, and collective action that we can breathe new life into what once seemed lost.

«We are responsible for what our successors inherit»

Participate in the program of debates, workshops and associated activities!

TODAY (10.10)

2:30 pm – table Risk-Free Periphery in the Context of Climate Change

4pm – table Knowing to Transform: Community Climate Risk Reduction and Adaptation Plans

6:30 pm – table Inclusive Adaptation: Nature-Based Solutions in the Peripheries

9am – Drawing Workshop: Oscar Niemeyer's Architecture in Ibirapuera Park and the Climate Challenge

IN THE NEXT DAYS (11 to 14.10)

ATTENTION the table Palmas: For 36 years, the ecological capital of Tocantins which would be held on 10/11 | 7pm was canceled.

11.10 and 12.10 | 9am – workshop Inventa(rio) Fronteiras: Playing for Multispecies Cities

11.10 | 10am – workshop Elémenterre teaching bag

11.10 | 11am – table Learning to inhabit the Anthropocene: the crisis of architecture

11.10 | 2pm – table Architecture for Learning and Civic Use

11.10 | 3pm – table Culture and Public Architecture

11.10 – 15h – workshop Elémenterre teaching bag

11.10 | 4pm – table Reconnecting with Nature & Circular Design

11.10 | 5pm – table Architecture of Belonging: Interpreting Heritage Through Place

12.10 | 10am – table Experience: Climate Refuges and Naturalized Public Spaces, with Eco-Neighborhood

12.10 | 10:30 am – table Childhoods and Climate: Climate Justice in Vulnerable Territories

12.10 | 10:30 am – Windsock Workshop with the Floating Collective

12.10 | 3pm – table Doing a lot with a little: architectures for a planet in transition with Esteban Benavides from Al Borde office

12.10 | 4:30 pm – table Earth – building a sustainable and democratic future

12.10 | 5:45 pm – table French presence at the Biennale and screening of the film AJAP – Albums of Young Architects and Landscape Architects

13.10 – activity Pantanal Action at IABsp

10/14 | 10am – table Urgent Panorama! Space as an act of permanence

14.10 | 6pm – Launch of the “Nature-Based Education” Guide

JOIN! IT'S ALL FREE!

And there's much more until October 19th!

NOTE OF CONDOLENCE

With deep sorrow, the Brazilian Institute of Architects – São Paulo Department (IABsp) mourns the passing of architect and landscape architect Kongjian Yu, a global leader in ecological urbanism, and the members of his team who accompanied him, tragically killed during the filming of a documentary. The institute is honored to have had him as a participant in the 14th São Paulo International Architecture Biennial, where his transformative vision strengthened the dialogue between global challenges and local realities. IABsp emphasizes that Yu's contribution, which transcends borders, will remain an inspiration for generations and expresses its condolences to China, to the families of all the deceased, to his friends, and to all those impacted by his genius and dedication. Read the full note here.

TIArch Studio, Kazan State University of Architecture and Engineering