small scale – big impact

Information Center & Orientation Facilities for Sochi 2014

Sochi 2014 – Olympic Winter in a summer resort area at the Black Sea

The Southern Russian City of Sochi was selected by the International Olympic Committee to host the Olympic Winter games in 2014.

Thus, the city will be confronted with considerable economic, social, developmental, and organizational challenges while facing a tight schedule. Tackling these issues and coming to terms with a general framework for Sochi’s future development will form the thematic core of the Working Group on Sustainable Urban Development  (sochi2014.com).

Topic 2011

For such a huge event to be successful, many local and small interventions besides large projects are indeed necessary to assure claims of func­tion as well as long-term development perspectives. This applies to the urban context of the city Sochi it­self but also to the natural region of Krasnaya Polyana, where the sports competitions take place, and the “hub of infrastructure” in between: Adler. Because of this decentralized system of functions within the Greater SochiRegion, orientation, communication and mobility become a main challenge.

The objective of the international workshop 2011 in Villach, Carinthia, is therefore to develop an Information Center and Orientation Facilities for Sochi. The workshop’s task is to design elements for public space, which do not only provide facilities for an international audience but also function as a representation of the city by establishing identity for both locals and (Olympic) tourists during and after the games. The goal is to find sustainable and economic solutions, which meet the requirements for flexible use and function together with individual design.

Specific tasks

The goal of the track: “Sustainable Urban Development and Architecture” is to make a conceptual contribution on the basis of urban design to the sustainable development of this region. There are two design topics to choose from:

• Sochi Information Center

The definition of key locations together with the design of Information Center facilities will be a small intervention with a huge impact. Creative solutions of combined functions in addition to tourist information facilities to create a contemporary urban Information Center are required. The goal is, besides providing the necessary functions to create an “urban hot spot”, to create a meeting point for both locals and visitors.

• Orientation system

The goal is to develop attractive design solutions for publicly noticeable elements in Sochi’s urban area (public signage, kiosks, lighting systems, and seating areas) so that a better visual comprehension of the different parts of the city is achieved. Needless to say, the parameters for the design process are to be developed from an interpretation of the specific location and its characteristics.

Didactical concept

The didactical emphasis lies on grasping the connections between the objective of policy and planning, the urban development dimension, and  creative solutions. In short, the focus will be evenly placed on a results-based design process.

The participants of the workshop group Sochi2014 are expected to develop proposals for one of the two project tasks. Between two and three students will form project teams that continue to engage in a permanent discourse with the tutors. There will be close cooperation with of the track “Tourism and Destination Management” to enforce transdiciplinary working methods. The final result will be a poster presentation, a model and a public presentation on the last day of Summer University Carinthia.

Judith Lehner
lehner [at] summeruniversity.at

Christian Gigler
gigler [at] summeruniversity.at