As an implication of the dramatic changes in Russia’s society and economy over the last decades it has become evident that there is a lack of a critical mass for a “creative class” in Russia. This is due to a relatively inefficient education system and an absence of places where these (mostly young) creative people can grow and flourish. The client has a vision of a small urban settlement offering such a “space of cultivation” for new ideas, for new approaches in education, and for establishing an entrepreneurial atmosphere combined with a qualitative living and recreation.

Applying its design framework, theLivingCore developed a concept for an Enabling Space integrating start-up companies, investors, young families, schools, high quality residential areas, an entrepreneurial academy, and a public education center in a “Creative Settlement” near St. Petersburg. Being at the crossroads of this settlement the “Communication Plaza” turned out to be the central concept representing place for developing new ideas, exchange of knowledge, negotiate projects, meet in informal settings, etc. It is not an “extra place”, but at the intersection of sophisticatedly arranged knowledge processes and architectural elements.