The first expedition of the Environmental Design Laboratory "Design of the Northern Territories" has come to an end.

The environmental design laboratory "Design of the Northern Territories" continues its design and research work within the framework of the Presidential grant, with the support of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives. Since November 2022, the Laboratory’s activities have begun the stage of field research - four expeditions are planned across the territories included in the Russian Arctic.

The first expedition took place from November 10 to 15, the Laboratory team visited the capital of the Russian Arctic - the city of Murmansk, the participants got acquainted with the main sights of the city, and then made a trip to Nikel and Zapolyarny.

As part of the trip, a visit was made to the Center for Social Projects of the Pechenga District “Second School” and a meeting with the director of the Center, Andrey Vladimirovich Fomenko. In the visitor center of the Pasvik Reserve, the participants of the Laboratory met with the Director of the Reserve, Natalya Vladimirovna Polikarpova.

Accompanied by the Deputy Director of the Second School, Vladimir Evgenyevich Chizhov, the team visited the Spiel 555 tourist route and the abandoned territory of the Kola Superdeep Well.  After that, the team continued on their way to the Teriberka village and further, to the Arctic Ocean, to the Teriberka Nature Park.

Having completed their work on inspecting the territories, the expedition members returned to Murmansk, where a meeting was held with the Chairman of the Committee for Tourism of the Murmansk Region Alexander Vasilyevich Eliseev, the head of the sector of State regulation and development of tourism activities Dmitry Vasilyevich Kolotov, representatives of the Ministry of the Urban Development and the Corporation for the Development of the Murmansk Region.

An agreement was reached on cooperation between the tourism Committee and the Cooperation for the Development of the Murmansk Region with the Stieglitz Academy and The Environmental Design Laboratory under the Grant program of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives.

The team has three more expeditions ahead: to North Karelia, to the cities and protected areas of the Arctic, as well as inspections of territories, meetings with representatives of the administration. Despite the difficult weather conditions, the team completed the main tasks of the first expedition, which helped to see their own eyes the diversity of the Kola Peninsula, the beautiful and majestic nature of the Arctic region.

The first expedition was attended by: Head of the Environmental Design Laboratory "Design of the Northern Territories", Head of the Department of Environmental Design, Professor Oleg Veselitsky, Head of the design areas of the Laboratory and the Project Group "Territory North", Associate Professor of the Department of Environmental Design Natalya Vladimirovna Baburova, art director of the workshop  "AR DECO" and the Project Group "Territory North" Dmitry Viktorovich Kotov, Project Manager of the Laboratory, specialist in technical support, senior lecturer of the Department of Environmental Design Nikolai Mikhailovich Maksimov, designers of the Laboratory, masters of the Department of Environmental Design Nikita Alexandrovich Antipov and Valeria Evgenievna Ovsyannikova, project participant Laboratories, fourth-year student Alexander Vyacheslavovich Kryuchkov, 2nd year undergraduate Sindun Tian.

The team of the Environmental Design Laboratory, the Department of Environmental Design and the administration of the Stieglitz Academy thank the leadership of the Murmansk Region for their assistance in carrying out design and research work under the Grant of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives.