Vassilissa
Semouchkina
Designer
Saint Petersburg, RF ︎︎︎ State College, PA ︎︎︎ Ann Arbor, MI ︎︎︎ Hougnton, MI ︎︎︎ Seattle, WA ︎︎︎
Vassilissa is currently working as an adjunct lecturer for the Division of Design and Human Computer Interaction + Design Department for the University of Washington.
Info
requiem
an architecture of autonomy
an architecture of autonomy
This project was created to honor the life of Raoul Wallenberg, centering around the concept of ‘refuge’. Requiem focused on the small Ukrainian factory town of Henichesk, during the period of the 2016 conflict between Ukraine and Russia over Crimea. Henichesk was close to the central area of conflict and possessed a population of mostly older individuals. As the conflict escalated, Russia would often close natural gas pipelines going into Ukraine from Crimea. Border cities, which had previously relied on Russian natural gas, were suddenly found without electricity of heating in the middle of winter. This project proposes an architectural intervention of remote, neo-animalistic housing pods. These pods would exist, dormant, atop underground natural gas pipelines. Upon sensing a halt in the flow of natural gas, pods would activate and move towards Henichesk town center and other popular areas, offering a heated, micro-capsule space for residents to seek shelter.
Advisor: Dawn Gilpin
Advisor: Dawn Gilpin
