Simon Vasilevich Rastorguev (; born 1981 in Yaroslavl) is a Russian architect specialising in reconstruction-restoration.
Biography Rastorguev studied architecture at Yaroslavl State Technical University and later finished a postgraduate course in cultural studies and journalism. He has worked with the Moscow-based firm Project Meganom and is the editor-in-chief of Chaos Research Center, a blog about conceptual architecture. As of 2017, he led the Simon Rastorguev Design Group. As an organiser of the Social Revolution festival, he held an architectural competition focused on social housing in 2012; the PARKing competition in 2013; and a design competition for an architectural work underneath a bridge in 2014; among others. He also spoke on the grotesque at the 2013 rendition of the festival.
Throughout his career, Rastorguev has created digital renderings of cities, business centers, and buildings, including as part of the millennium celebration of Yaroslavl; a futuristic multifunctional complex in Burabay, Kazakhstan called the Borovoye-Biocity; a self-sustaining cottage resembling a hedgehog; and a reconstruction of Volkov Square in Yaroslavl. He oversaw a large-scale project in 2022-2024 that showed around one hundred planned but unrealised buildings in Moscow between 1920-1970.
Rastorguev exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2004, 2008, and 2014: Laguna Proun, a settlement that minimally disturbs the laguna ecosystem (2004); Bornhouse at San Stae (2008); and City of Money (2014). His work was featured at the Moscow Biennale in 2007 and 2008 (Persimfance). Among his other exhibitions are BioCity, 2002 (Berlin); City of the Young, 2002—2004 (TSSI "ARS-Forum"); BIRDS, 2003; Cottage village "Ogorodnik sleep," 2005 (Barcelona);; Grass City, 2010 (St. Petersburg); and Guilty Money, 2011 (Moscow).
He participated in the Arch Moscow international exhibitions held by Architecture and Design between 2007 and 2013; in the Dom-Avtonom competitions for self-sustaining houses between 2007 and 2009; and in the architectural festival Golden chapiter in Novosibirsk in 2009. An image of Rastorguev's work appeared on the cover of the September-October 2002 issue of Build architecture magazine. In 2011, a documentary in the "30-year-old..." series about young talent covered his career.
His realised projects include: 2005 - Tsargrad hotel and restaurant (Yaroslavl) 2016 - Parametric Residence (Uspenskoe, Odintsovo), private resident 2017 - Bitrix 24 office (Moscow) 2019 - North Park apartment (Moscow), private resident
Awards Year Award Awarding Body Project Notes Refs 2002 Atlas on Architecture of the Future International Union of Architects Organic City With Mikhail Kudryashov 2004 First place Workshop Russia, Venice Biennale Yaroslavl-Millennium 2005 Five Facades of Private Architecture Cottage village "Ogorodnik sleep" All-Russian competition Advanced Architecture Contest 2008 Dom-Avtonom World Architecture Community Self-sustaining houses project 2009 Green Oasis 2014 Long-listed for exhibition competition Jacques Rougerie Foundation Stream City
Select publications
External links Archilovers, World Architecture and edilportale profiles A short documentary about Rastorguev's work from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation CV on the Center for Chaos Research webpage
References