© Sergei Leontiev

Strelka Institute offers a free postgraduate programme taught in English. The education strategy is based on cross-disciplinary research of urban problems. We are convinced that in order to be able to improve urban landscape, one should not only be familiar with structural mechanics and descriptive geometry, but also understand urban psychology, sociological models and economic trends. That’s why the educational programme is aimed at all kinds of young professionals — architects, sociologists, designers, managers, economists, and others, the main prerequisite being the desire to change urban environment for the better. 

The year is divided into two terms. For nine months, Students immerse themselves into creative (rather than purely academic) research, maintaining a constant dialogue with the best professionals in various fields of knowledge. This helps them broaden horizons and get acquainted with ideas that they have probably never been familiar with before, but which are necessary for their future work.

The first term consists of intensive lectures, discussions and seminars. The students get acquainted with the research themes of the year. At the end of the first term, all students go on a field trip. In 2011 it was Tokyo, Hong Kong the year before that. On their return to Moscow, students choose one research theme for their second-term personal project. They are also free to choose the format of the project: it can be an installation, or a book, or a video game, etc.

The second term is devoted to individual research projects that students work on under their professors’ supervision. Developing communication skills is another key aspect of the second term. Students learn not only how to gather, organise and analyse data, but also how to present their conclusions to the public. In late June, students’ projects are presented to the professors, media, and the public. 

Please download the syllabus here.

This summer, Strelka is launching a new project, Agents of Change. The theme of the project is the transformation of urban life. Its heroes are citizens. The site is Moscow. The purpose of the project is to share change, understand what it is and investigate and celebrate how it happens. 

Who are the Agents of Change? They are people who change the world about them through the force of their ideas, knowledge and experience and share them in new, creative and imaginative ways. They are professionals who design and deliver urban development projects and transform the places in which we work, live and play. They may design new buildings, publish a new local newspaper, organise new ways in which waste is managed in cities, develop master-plans, re-imagine public transport systems or create new routes to bicycle around Moscow. But all of the professionals have one thing in common: they seek to transform urban living for the better.

It is people who create the excitement, dynamism and pleasure of spaces and places in cities. Authorities may be responsible for the management of public places but those places only come alive when people feel that the city belongs to them and they play a part in its change. Do it right and cities don’t just look good and work better but their social life transforms. The recipe for success often involves people coming together and associating in different ways, in support of different interests – social, political, environmental or local. From coming together to create a place for people to sit in a park to making more comfortable and healthy office space, from creating cities that are friendly to forming new, complex networks of people and places, the heroes of our summer programme invite you to join them and share their knowledge and experience of urban change. 

Agents of Change 2012 will feature well-known international experts, such as Eduardo Souto de Moura (winner of Pritzker Prize 2011), Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron (Pritzker Prize 2001 winners), Scott Nazarian (Frog, USA), Giancarlo Mazzanti (architect, Colombia), Perry Chen (artist, co-founder of Kick-Starter), as well as new local heroes, such as Yegor Korobeynikov (founder of UrbanUrban.ru), Alexei Mityayev (initiator of a bicycle lane project in Moscow), Anton Polsky (founder of Partizaning), and many others. During the workshops, university professors from Central Saint Martins, Hyper Island and Parsons School of Design, together with young professionals, citizens and representatives from local governments will design and deliver changes and improvements to various districts of the city, including Mitino, Tagansky and Otradnoye. Urban transformation and the projects created this summer will be open for one and all.

Katya Girshina, summer programme curator

© Sergei Leontiev

Bar Strelka is a project of Strelka Institute and a comfortable urban space.

The eclectic interior comprises elements of art deco, and Italian and Scandinavian designs of the 1960’s and 70’s.

The guests are offered an extensive cocktail list and an international menu created by the chefs Nathan Dallimore and Natalie Horsting.

At weekends, one can listen to DJs or jazz music played on an antique J. Becker piano. In summertime, there is a rooftop terrace with a unique view of the Moscow River and Christ the Saviour Cathedral.

All the profits of the bar go to support Strelka Institute.

From Monday till Friday the bar is open from 9 a.m, at weekends—from 12 p.m. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays we close at midnight, while on Fridays and Saturdays the parties go on until 5 a.m. the next day.