Among the winners of the 2025 medal and diploma competition of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences (RAACS) are teachers and graduates of the SPbGASU Faculty of Architecture.
Best Implemented Architectural Project Award
The main prize in the field of architecture – the Gold Medal of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences for the best implemented architectural project – was awarded to the team of the Romanov Architectural Studio (AMR LLC) for the design of the Museum of the World Ocean "Planet Ocean" in Kaliningrad. The team includes Professor at the SPbGASU Department of Architectural Design Oleg Romanov (team leader), Associate Professor at the SPbGASU Department of Architectural Design Oleg Fedorov, Dmitry Potaralov (SPbGASU graduate), and Zoya Frolova.
The Museum of the World Ocean in Kaliningrad
The key concept behind the project was the image of an ocean wave and the shape of our planet, as water covers 71% of the Earth's surface. The building is a 42-meter-tall glass sphere, which has become the city's dominant architectural feature, with a complex glass and metal structure symbolizing a wave hanging over the embankment.
The building houses a large aquarium block, with a total floor area of 10,000 square meters. The main hall is designed as a multi-level space to accommodate large exhibits. The museum boasts aquariums with a capacity of over 1,100 cubic meters, including a shark tunnel. A floodlight system creates a mysterious blue-green glow at night.
The new Museum of the World Ocean complex has become a key element and landmark in Kaliningrad's urban landscape. With its laconic form, it has given the city a new symbol and a meaningful completion of the museum environment on the Peter the Great Embankment.
Best Edition Award
The RAACS Diploma in the nomination "For the Best Educational Publication" was awarded to a team of authors from SPbGASU for the study guide "SPbGASU School of Architecture: Architectural Design."
Study guide "SPbGASU School of Architecture: Architectural Design"
The publication is recognized as the best textbook in the field of architecture and urban planning.
This study guide reveals the principles and traditions of training architects at the unique architectural and construction school of St Petersburg, which dates back to 1832, from the School of Civil Engineers (SCE) to today's SPbGASU.
This publication is based on previously unpublished archival materials: curricula, methodological guidelines, documents, and graduate memoirs. It contributes to the development of architectural pedagogy and aims to improve the modern educational process by offering a scientific and methodological basis for the development of future architecture curricula.
Graduate Award
For winning the 2025 competition of final qualifying works, the I. G. Lezhava Medal was awarded to Daria Chernyshova, a graduate of the Department of Urban Planning, for her work “Ecoparks as elements of the urban-ecological framework of the Volga River Delta” (supervised by Marina Monastyrskaya, Associate Professor at the Department of Urban Planning, and Elena Bobrova, Senior Lecturer at the department).
Ksenia Gnevasheva, a graduate of the Department of Architectural and Urban-Planning Heritage, was awarded the O. S. Pod'yapolsky Medal for her work "Restoration and adaptation of estate development in the Vyborg District of the Leningrad Region" (supervised by Lyudmila Kaloshina, Associate Professor at the Department of Architectural and Urban-Planning Heritage).
The awards highlight the high professionalism of our university's staff, their contributions as leading specialists in the architectural and urban planning field to design and educational activities in Russia, and to the development of architectural science and practice. Congratulations to our fellow laureates!
