Interviews with Dmitry Pozarenko

I was educated from 1986 to 1992 at the Ural State University of Architecture and Arts (USUAA), faculty of industrial design, department of industrial art. Since 1993 - specialist in architecture and interior design, implementation of residential and public use projects. Since 2008 - the lead architect of the Dmitry Pozarenko’s architectural bureau. From 2005 to the present, I am the lead architect and interior designer at the chain of perfumery supermarkets "Gold Apple".

I’ve been painting since I was ten years old, went to children’s art schools, therefore, choosing education, I chose profession in which my artistic skills were in demand.

After serving in the army, I entered the USUAA (Ural State University of Architecture and Art). My choice was influenced by two reasons. The first reason was that I drew well and wanted to use this advantage, and for admission to the university it was necessary to pass an exam in drawing. The second one was that the army formed new priorities for me - I firmly decided to get higher education.

Besides, I always wanted to impress. Fortunately, my profession is the most peaceful way to satisfy this desire.

The first thing I was asked to design was a drywall ceiling with an area of 50 square meters. It was necessary from the already existing space to continue the plastic line into the new space. And I took the job with enthusiasm.

Probably my style in design is architectonics. If I put the pipe upright, then I will definitely take care of what it stands on and what it comes into. Sometimes it seems to me that I have been creating support and beam structures all my life, only in design.

I pay attention to all aspects of design, but most of all - to the function. For me, everything should be justified by the function. Apparently, the long design period with a limited budget affects. Also I am very attentive to the nodes of structures and to the textures.

Now it is difficult to imagine a design without three-dimensional models. Autodesk 3ds Max and Revit are the main tools. However, a huge number of drawings are hand-executed - and this is a primary: you can build a volumetric model only when you know what and how you want to build.

The realization of a beautiful project is a sweet feeling. At such moments it is very strongly felt that thought is material.

But design is not just about the constant bursts of dopamine. It is also a frustration from rejected first-class solutions, apathy, when everything went wrong, the work of a whole working week is crossed out and it is necessary to start all over again...

The most valuable advice I could give today is to work at a good bureau. This experience is invaluable. And even if you outperform your teachers, remember, it was they who influenced your professional growth, created a special environment in which your brain learned to solve creative problems.

The first. Do not believe the pictures, check all the textures with your own hands. Second. Do not believe the small samples, in the mass everything will look different. Do not paint the meter, paint the wall. Third. Do not be afraid to remake - this is a much lesser evil than a mediocre result.

Great designers create objects that become the standard of excellence of thought and embodiment. It is these images that form the concept of a new subject world among contemporaries.

Piero Lissoni, Rodolfo Dordoni, Antonio Citterio… If you rise to the level of these designers, I will become your fan.

Grand Park Hotel Rovinj in Rovinj, Croatia, was made by Piero Lissoni. This is a very sensual minimalism, in which the master freely operates with a synthesis of space and texture.

Until you are a recognized designer, you are not entrusted with the execution of large projects. Awards help customers to believe in your competence. Awards are an indicator of design excellence. It helps convince clients because it is interpreted as a trusted, professional, independent, third-party signal of the design quality and design excellence. I feel great to be the Designer of the Day.

The industrial landscapes of the 1960-1970s inspired this project. The metal structures, open technical communications, rusty profiled sheet of old fences, shabby plaster and granite countertops add to the interior industrial chic of the sixties.

The hybrid design of the store embodies the image of the trading space of the post-consumerism era and disappointment in the myths of glamor.

It took seven months to create the concept and build it.

The search for a new expressive image.

Since this is a perfume supermarket project, the target audience is girls and women, who make up 85% of the customers.

The name Nostalgia speaks for itself. The project is a story about our recent industrial past, when faith in a bright future dawned on all of humanity. Therefore, the reconstruction of images of the 60-70s gives rise to a special atmosphere of warmth and community of people.

The project involved specialists in wood and steel processing.

The creative challenge of the project was to recreate the industrial atmosphere of the 60-70s of the 20th century. As a solution, various types of manual processing of steel were used in the manufacture of equipment. The special warmth of the space is added by old window frames, sawn and laid vertically on the wall. Together with the old profiled sheet, they allow the viewer to experience historical authenticity.

In April 2016, I had already won two awards in the A'design Award & Competition: gold for architecture and silver for interior design. It was a project of the private residence «Barn by a river». This year I found the current projects also worthy of participation in the competition.

The project was based on the image of a translucent winter forest. The lattices of the ceiling which are offset relative to each other create a structure like the crowns of larch covering the sky.

I needed to create a feeling in the viewer, but not draw a direct analogy.

It took seven months to create the concept and build it.

The search for a new expressive image.

Since this is a perfume supermarket project, the target audience is girls and women, who make up 85% of the customers.

Today it is the only project in the Gold Apple perfume supermarket chain that, thanks to the original concept, has gained such abundance of natural textures.

The name of the project fully reveals the essence of the concept. The “Sense of Forest” creates many subtle connotations in the viewer that immerse him in the stream of plastic and visual impressions of the signs of nature

The project involved specialists in wood and steel processing.

Every new design of the shop’s interior faces a huge number of technical problems. Each of which needs a solution that doesn’t ruin your design. In this project, the suspended ceiling was complicated and made of a square aluminum tube covered with natural ash veneer. Thanks to this design, all low-current networks were carried out in it.

In April 2016, I had already won two awards in the A'design Award & Competition: gold for architecture and silver for interior design. It was a project of the private residence «Barn by a river». This year I found the current projects also worthy of participation in the competition.

Each new work enriches with new techniques, experience and interactions. Sometimes you make a few samples and you reject all of them, and then you use one of them in another work. In the Sense of Forest project, for the first time, I made a suspended ceiling of such complexity and gained new experience.

After serving in the army, I entered the USUAA (Ural State University of Architecture and Art). My choice was influenced by two reasons. The first reason was that I drew well and wanted to use this advantage, and for admission to the university it was necessary to pass an exam in drawing. The second one was that the army formed new priorities for me - I firmly decided to get higher education.

Designing is the job that I do best. And we love to do what we can do. In turn, a huge number of hours of work reinforces this skill. This vicious circle is the main motivator.

Rather, my choice to become a designer was independent. As a child, I myself came to draw in a children's art school, and then I myself chose the University and the Department of Design.

Today I design a lot of shops and at the same time one private residence. I would love to take on the design of a couple more residences.

Young designers will have to work hard. “To learn to row, you need to row” is a very accurate expression. Quantity always goes into quality.

Great designers create objects that become the standard of excellence of thought and embodiment. It is these images that form the concept of a new subject world among contemporaries.

It’s easier for me to answer this question with an example of architecture. Frank Gehry's famous building

in Bilbao created a new image for this town. A tourist flow has formed there. People go to see the building. Now imagine that there are several such objects in the city. Even one building changed the cultural environment in a small city, several - are able to completely change its life.

Good design can create a special cultural environment and can certainly affect your life. How? through your thinking. Every day and hour, good design shows your brain how complex our world is. In addition, good design creates a good environment for the consumer, being a special marketing tool. Without design, you will not get a storm of positive emotions from the consumer, and this will lead to the fact that you lose the consumer.

I am very attentive to the nodes of structures and to the textures.

Piero Lissoni, Rodolfo Dordoni, Antonio Citterio… If you rise to the level of these designers, I will become your fan.

Grand Park Hotel Rovinj in Rovinj, Croatia, by Piero Lissoni. This is a very sensual minimalism, in which the master freely operates with a synthesis of space and texture.

The best project is ahead.

I improve myself only through work.

My secret love is architecture.

I always wanted to impress. Fortunately, my profession is the most peaceful way to satisfy this desire.

Until you are a recognized designer, you are not entrusted with the execution of large projects.

The presentation of the work should be similar to participating in a design and architecture competition with accompanying texts and images of very high quality 3ds Max.

Now I am designing a private residence. I hope it turns out beautifully.

That each subsequent work will surpass the previous one.

Design creates a better environment, and the environment affects every member of society. The environment is able to carry the ideas of humanism, enlightenment and innovation - so we get better!

The project “Sense of the Forest” is good because you can look at it for a long time and find new details, like on a canvas of a fascinating picture.

We are waiting for an era of new design, when programs will do most of the work. And then, specialized artificial intelligence will do all the design work in full. What role will be assigned to a person is a big question.

Depending on the scale of the project - from four months to a year.

I start designing with a plan.

Architecture is 25 thousand compromises that are supposed to create a thing of beauty.

Design sets trends based on technology and ideological models, which it builds by itself to create a new image.

Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Revit

It often happens that in the interior the material and its color are the design, and the space does the rest.

A great project like a great book makes you think by demonstrating thousands of solved tasks.

Clients. They are the ones who, in their desires, can push you to wonderful decisions.

Designers and architects in Russia are people who are not spoiled by public attention. Awards help customers to believe in your competence.

I love the color of the sea. Rather, an infinite number of colors of the sea. The place is the headwaters of the Vizhay River in the Ural mountain taiga depths. I love Ziggy Chen's clothes.

When I go to work, I tell myself that today I will finish the plan, and as a result a new facility will be launched, or I will design equipment for a new department or brand. I keep summing up little things… It helps me.

When I was a kid, I was incredibly upsetting my father with my lack of organization and unwillingness to obey. He couldn’t believe in me for a long time, thinking my head is always in the clouds. And then I gave him Lexus.

The human brain has very modest capabilities. Artificial intelligence has no limitations. After 1000 years of the development of artificial intelligence, I can’t imagine why he would need us.

I’ve been painting since I was ten years old, went to children’s art schools, therefore, choosing education, I chose professions in which my artistic skills were in demand. When I entered the USUAA (Ural State Architectural and Artistic University), I chose the direction of Design.

Design for me is a prism through which I look at the world. It can also be compared to a movie - you watch a movie and you either believe in the naturalness of the events and it carries you away, or you don’t believe it and you think it’s a fake. Design is the point of application of my strength, that is where I can be effective.

I like to do what I’m good at. I make beautiful shops and private residences.

I love product design. The equipment of the stores that I designed is also made by me. The interior of the residences I designed is also filled with objects executed according to my drawings.

I have been working for the same company for a long time. The first thing I was asked to design was a drywall ceiling with an area of 50 square meters. It was necessary from the already existing space to continue the plastic line into the new space. And I took the job with enthusiasm.

Now it is difficult to imagine a design without three-dimensional models. Autodesk 3ds Max and Revit are the main tools. However, a huge number of drawings are hand-executed - and this is a primary: you can build a volumetric model only when you know what and how you want to build.

When I got enough sleep. And when I’m pinned down. Not necessarily by timing, but also by circumstances. For example, suddenly during the design process it turns out that a huge plume of communications passes through the whole space and it’s impossible to remove it - and this is where the time comes for some amazing ideas.

I pay attention to all aspects of design, but most of all - to the function. For me, everything should be justified by the function. Apparently, the long design period with a limited budget affects.

Design is not just about the constant bursts of dopamine. It is also a frustration from rejected first-class solutions, apathy, when everything went wrong, the work of a whole working week is crossed out and it is necessary to start all over again ...

The realization of a beautiful project is a sweet feeling. At such moments it is very strongly felt that thought is material.

When I’m designing, I always try to tell a story. It’s like in a movie: there is a time and a place for narration, and it’s better not to stray from the genre. Eclecticism requires extra effort and resources, and therefore is given to a few.

The first criterion is whether an attractive image has been created. If so, by what means. What was the idea, how was it developed in the course of the project.

Design and architecture are experiencing a quiet, but very tangible, technological evolution. Volumetric modeling will grow by leaps and bounds. Programs will become smarter and more powerful, and soon, after five clicks on different pictures, any consumer will be able to get a visual concept to his taste. In other words, I think that living designers have a “golden decade”. "Golden" - because the inhabitants of the planet are becoming richer and their demands in the field of design are growing steadily. In the end, only well-known and eminent bureaus will remain, since all super-expensive projects will need exclusivity, in addition, investors of such projects will be interested in the supercompetence of performers. All low-budget projects will be executed by programs.

Inspiration is “given” by customers. They say, “I want it like that!” And then you go around and think: "Lord ... How to do this in such a way that it also becomes beautiful..."

Probably my style in design is architectonics. If I put the pipe upright, then I will definitely take care of what it stands on and what it comes into. Sometimes it seems to me that I have been creating support and beam structures all my life, only in design.

I live in Yekaterinburg. This is the third city in Russia in terms of financial flows. The place of life certainly leaves its mark on the design. When I design a house, I strive to make it «local». But the technology influences the design even more, I mean the ability to manufacture something on the spot. Fortunately, metalworking is not bad in Yekaterinburg. With regard to cultural heritage, one of the two projects submitted to the A’Design Award in 2020 is dedicated to this - its name Nostalgia speaks for itself. The project is a story about our recent industrial past, when faith in a bright future dawned on all of humanity. Therefore, the reconstruction of images of the 60-70s gives rise to a special atmosphere of warmth and community of people.

A company should realize that its competencies are very far from design and architecture. I would choose specialists or bureaus awarded in the most prestigious competitions, a and then review their work and mark the favored ones. At the junction of these two criteria “designs - awards”, I would make my choice.

The most valuable advice I could give today is to work at a good bureau. This experience is invaluable. And even if you outperform your teachers, remember, it was they who influenced your professional growth, created a special environment in which your brain learned to solve creative problems.

The plus is obvious - you enjoy a beautifully executed project, it’s even more pleasure to drink tea in a fully implemented project. Minus - you will never become rich ... I mean - really rich. There are no designers or architects on the Forbes list. At best, you will earn very well.

The first. Do not believe the pictures, check all the textures with your own hands. Second. Do not believe the small samples, in the mass everything will look different. Do not paint the meter, paint the wall. Third. Do not be afraid to remake - this is a much lesser evil than a mediocre result.

Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Revit. Nothing spurs inspiration more than the need to turn in work on time.

Timing helps! The best system for me is an hour and a half of work and a twenty-minute break.

Why is it so expensive?! And I have to explain that such a detail has never existed up to that point… I had to take a sheet of steel, cut the strips with water, then weld them, then sand them, and then cover them with a tint varnish to create the desired effect.