Julia Burdova and Olga Aleksakova in Conversation with Christine Giorgio

Christine Giorgio, a third year M.Arch student, speaks with Julia Burdova and Olga Aleksakova of Buromoscow in advance of their lecture at the school on January 28, 2019. Buromoscow is based in Moscow, and was founded in 2004. The duo is also teaching advanced studio VI at GSAPP during the Spring 2019 semester. Buromoscow’s work reflects urban change in post-soviet Russia, and is known for changing the face of prefabricated mass housing. “[In Russia], people have a very abstract idea about home and building...When people look for a place to live, there is no image of how it can be different. They buy sheer square meters and not a dream...it’s very mechanical. For architects, this is very attractive...the chance to work with a system, something mechanical, something that can be reproduced. It’s a challenge and we totally embraced it.” - Olga Aleksakova