New Holland Island II

The designs for the New Holland Island public space were inspired by the overall aim to lead the island in discovering its full potential as a site of pleasure in the city: a potential pleasure garden for St Petersburg. After heavy bombing during the Second World War the site lay in disuse for a number of years, however since 2010 the island had been open to the public. Summer activities on the site had also helped to lead to a shift in the identity of the space, from a deserted industrial zone to a place of relaxation and delight.

The brief was to design temporary structures that would highlight the space as a public area for use between 2012-2014, thus DKA proposed interventions that would foreground use over appearance. The pavilions were light, both literally and metaphoricaly, clearly articulating their provisional nature, however they were at the same time bold in design, making a characterful contribution to the site.

The design of the pavilions as interventions to the site referred specifically to public rituals and celebratory events, such as street markets and fairs. This increased the sense of time, re-iterating that the site was to be enjoyed in the here-and-now.