Aestheticization of the park environment around utilitarian objects of university campuses (by the example of the design concept of reconstruction of the park parking area of the FEFU campus)

Fedorovskaya Natalia Aleksandrovna ORCID: 0000-0002-8789-7994 Doctor of Art History Director of the Department of Arts and Design, Far Eastern Federal University 690078, Russia, Primorskii krai, g. Vladivostok, ostrov Russkii, kampus DVFU, korp. F, kab. 406 fedorovskaya_na@dvfu.ru Other publications by this author     Kravchenko Inna Anatolievna Senior Lecturer, the Department of Art and Design, Far Eastern Federal University 690078, Russia, Primorsky Krai, Vladivostok, Russian Island, FEFU campus,, building F, room 406 kravchenko.ia@dvfu.ru

Chernova Anna Viktorovna PhD in Art History Associate Professor, the department of Art and Design, Far Eastern Federal University 690078, Russia, Primorskii krai, g. Vladivostok, ul. Ayaks, 10 av_chernova@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction. In recent decades, many higher educational institutions in Russia have been forming a special space around themselves, which is designated by the university campus. The campus environment includes not only academic buildings, but also dormitories, sports and recreation areas, convention and exhibition centers, canteens, cafeterias, shops and other service structures necessary for successful work and study at the university. Examples of Russian university campuses are the oldest domestic campus of Moscow State University, campuses of Siberian Federal University, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Northeastern Federal University named after M.K. Ammosov, Far Eastern Federal University. Student campuses are formed to one degree or another in almost all universities in Russia.

The campus environment becomes an object of research not only from the point of view of architecture and design, as for example in the works of M. G. Zobova and Z. F. Nizamutdinova ^{[1, 2]}, but also the socio-cultural environment and infrastructure (works of T. A. Popova, Y. V. Podoprigor, E. V. Ufimtseva, A.M. Eliseev, T. V. Zakharova et al.) ^{[3, 4]}, thereby emphasizing the social significance of this phenomenon, which requires understanding through interaction with the urban environment and society. An important place in the concept of development of campus territories is occupied by park zones of various lengths, which create a favorable atmosphere necessary for successful educational, scientific and creative activities. Campus parks have long been perceived not only as part of a particular university, but also as part of the urban environment, fitting into the overall ecological green map of the territory. In this regard, E. S. Paley, A.M. Zaripova, E. A. Vazhnikova, D. Kroza, O. V. Ustyuzhantseva, V. S. Goloshubin, V. A. Pavlova, G. E. Ignatov and others. Researchers, relying on foreign and Russian experience, raise the problems of innovative forms of landscaping of these public spaces ^{[5, 6, 7]}, the creation of so-called "ecocampuses" ^[8] and "nature-equivalent campuses" ^[9], the improvement of specific university territories designed to organically integrate into the urban space ^{[10, 11]}.

Problem statement. The campus of the Far Eastern Federal University (hereinafter FEFU), built in 2012 on Russky Island, occupies an area including an extensive park area, which has become an environmentally friendly recreation place for citizens, an attractive tourist route, as well as a venue for landmark All-Russian and international events, such as the Eastern Economic Forum, Media Summit, etc. Due to the active public exploitation of the campus and its ever-increasing social significance, it becomes obvious that many elements of the environment need to be revised and redesigned. In particular, there is an objective need to rethink the park areas around multi-tiered parking lots (there are three such parking lots on campus), which, although they fit into the overall architectural style of the campus, but require landscaping around them to give a more aesthetic appearance and merge with the natural environment.

The subject of the study was the possibility of aestheticizing park areas located around utilitarian objects of university campuses (parking lots, boiler rooms, technical warehouses, etc. objects). The aim of the study was to develop a design concept for the aestheticization of the park space bordering the parking area in the northern part of the FEFU campus (symbol GR-1), aimed at changing the visual dominant and switching the attention of students, staff and guests of the campus from utilitarian campus structures to aesthetic significant objects of the environment.

The research is based on the approaches presented in the works of M. G. Zobova ^[1], E. S. Paley ^{[5, 12]} and other researchers studying the principles of architectural and landscape design of university campuses, visual and dimensional surveys of the territory under consideration conducted by the authors of the study, as well as comparison of the data obtained with the existing General Plan of the campus, which allowed create an objective view of the reconstruction area. The involvement of the approaches used in design design contributed to the development of the design concept and the creation of the visualization of the project.

Pre-project analysis of the territory. Three multi-tiered parking lots located on the FEFU campus are created in the same style and differ only in the number of tiers and parking spaces for which they are designed. Standard standard structures, with pronounced functionality, correspond to the urban style of the campus (Fig 1-2). Please note that the parking areas are located at the entrance to the campus, they are clearly visible not only from the University Avenue O. Russian (from the outside of FEFU), but also from the inner campus area, becoming one of the visual dominants that students, staff and guests of the campus involuntarily pay attention to. During the initial design of the garden and park areas around the parking areas, clearly insufficient attention was paid to the aesthetic appearance and design of these utilitarian objects.

Let's consider the current situation on the example of the territory around the parking lot GR-1 (Fig. 1-3). The presented photos were taken in the summer of 2021 and demonstrate both the appearance of the parking lot and part of the park area adjacent to it. During the initial design, taking into account the functional fullness of the territory and the uneven terrain, several geometric sectors of different sizes were formed (see Fig. 4, sectors 1-3), which were planned for landscaping in accordance with the existing landscaping plan for this territory at that time.

Years later, it became obvious that not all of the original plantings survived. During the operation of the campus, problems related to the peculiarities of the microclimate in this part of the FEFU campus were revealed. The proximity of the water area of the Ajax Bay of the Sea of Japan, strong northern winds, especially in winter, led to partial loss of plantings and critical disruption of the lawn layer (breaking off branches and tree trunks, freezing of plants, etc.). The situation is complicated by communications running under the lawn, which additionally dry clay soil (Fig. 1-3).

Given the impossibility of changing external climatic factors, it is necessary to search for solutions to rethink and arrange this space. It is obvious that the natural park, which was conceived at the beginning, will not be aesthetically attractive here. The current situation cannot harmonize the urban parking space in any way. Its appearance with the adjacent territory is clearly visible from the side of the hotel buildings of the campus and the inner road (Fig. 3).

Design concept. As a result of the research, the project team proposed a design concept for the reconstruction of the park parking area of the FEFU campus, which may later become part of the project of a large landscape park that covers the campus from the entrance to the FEFU campus through the "Northern Gate" and parking GR-1 to the central buildings of the University along its outer perimeter. The design concept is based on the creation of a single park space instead of the existing individual sectors, the decorative elements of which will create visual dominants in this area and switch attention from parking to more aesthetically attractive objects. The key decorative elements are not traditional green spaces for park areas, but small architectural forms, walking paths made of natural stone, as well as lawns made of crushed stone and stone, which will be able to bring an element of aestheticization to this difficult place for landscaping.

One of the most important conceptual tasks of the park is to create a relatively open space, with an emphasis on small architectural forms, with a circular view of the plants and objects located on it, as well as infrastructure that allows visitors to move around its territory. The park should organically fit into the existing natural environment on the campus, at the same time stand out with ideological integrity. The park located along the inner road should partially block the view of the parking area from the hotel buildings and form aesthetically attractive visual dominants.

Project proposals. 1. Among other proposals, to unite the disparate space, there is the possibility of creating an alley effect with the help of small architectural forms, through several dissected sectors. It should be noted that the idea of the alley was announced by the customers due to the popularity of this phenomenon in Russia. The authors decided to abandon the "linear" understanding of this term. "Alleyness" here acts as a principle, the space is filled with elements designed to create a similar effect. It is known that an alley in the general sense is a road formed by an ordinary planting of trees or shrubs with a compact crown. When forming an alley, botanical species that are long-lived and resistant to adverse factors are selected, mono-plantings are often used to give integrity to the space. The alley can be a travel and pedestrian. Along with straight alleys, curved alleys are used in landscape parks. In our case, due to the significant difference in the heights of the area under consideration, the pedestrian path-alley, along with the curved configuration, will include small ascents, descents and even staircases. Therefore, it is impossible to talk about the alley in the traditional sense here, only as a principle that will give unity to the territory.

On the territory of the park, it is planned to form a single space on the territory currently divided by passages. In the photos presented, you can see a significant number of paved roads and trampled transition paths on the lawns, used to reduce the distance and ease of movement (see Fig. 1-3). Figure 4 shows a fragment of the Master Plan, where the parking buildings of GR 1 are designated, the hotel building No. 6 bordering them, the numbers 1-3 indicate the originally designed park sectors located between them. The main path-alley passing under the arches, laid through the sectors and illuminated at night, will give the integrity of the composition.

2. In order to give aesthetic appeal and integrity to the alley, it is planned to construct art objects in the form of unique arches at the high points of each sector. The arches are planned to be created in a uniform style with sufficient height so that they can be seen from many viewing points, including from the roadway of the campus. The developed options for the location of the main alley with additional paths and arches are shown in Fig. 5 and 6. In the first case, the arches are located in the center of the sectors, in the second — more freely on the entrance areas and blocking the currently existing paths.

This technique has proven itself well in landscape architecture in Russia and abroad. Arches in the entrance areas, as well as on the alleys themselves, are actively used to give integrity to the space, zoning, decoration, etc. As a vivid example, we will point out the famous alleys formed by arches in Sokolniki Park (Moscow), Gorky Central Park of Culture and Recreation (Moscow), P. P. Belousov Central Park of Culture and Recreation (Tula), Alley of Love (Yaroslavl), etc.

Concrete /metal /wood can serve as a material for portals, lighting is planned to be removed on the structure, as well as the planting of lianas and other climbing endemics or introducents for vertical gardening. It should be noted that the use of vertical types of landscaping is becoming a popular form of landscaping on university campuses ^[6], the possibility of adapting vertical forms of landscaping to the conditions of the Russian Far East was also considered by the authors of this article ^{[13, 14]}. The arches will create a visual dominant, form a single subject-spatial composition that allows you to conceptually designate the territory.

3. Taking into account the relief and climatic features, it is proposed to use stone and concrete as a decorative element. So, paving stones, stone, decorative concrete can be used as the basis of the main alley. A number of additional stone-paved paths to recreation areas and group plantings are also planned on the territory of the park. An important decorative detail is the introduction of artistic compositions made of decorative stones with gravel, sand and marble chips to replace the lost lawn layer, in areas where plants do not take root well or burn down in the summer. This method solves the problem of aesthetically unattractive lawn spaces and gives the territory a well-groomed appearance.

Conclusions. Thus, the proposed design concept for the aestheticization of the park space affects the territory around the objects that performs a utilitarian function. The park with the alley principle will partially block the view of the parking lot from the hotel buildings and the inner part of the campus, which will allow you to switch attention from this utilitarian object. In combination with green spaces, art objects in the form of arches will create the necessary visual dominants, which can be supplemented with decorative lighting, weaving endemics. The use of natural stone in the creation of paths and lawn areas will solve the problem of non-aesthetic appearance associated with the climatic and soil characteristics of this territory. The proposed concept of aestheticizing utilitarian spaces can be adapted to other university campuses, as well as any garden and park area with similar problems.