Shtrikh kod

‘Shtrikh kod’ is barcode in Russian. This emblem of retail is frequently used in contemporary art & design. Vitruvius and Sons studio used it in the context of architecture. The centre is located in a soviet residential area on the bank of the Neva River. Placed in a vast nameless square by the Volodarsky Bridge, formed by grey housing blocks. Vitruvius and Sons liven up this space by introducing a splash of colour. At the same time they are playing with a post-modern symbolic; the elongated windows which create the impression of a barcode help to clarify the functional identity of the building (usually this role is played by the logos of those retailers renting the shop spaces), and at the same time they turn out a big portion of irony. A barcode (usually an arbitrary technical element) is now an eye-catcher in the city. In fact, this strange metal box painted in red with the dark vertical lines plays the role of a new monumental artwork that is open for all kinds interpretations.