SAMITAUR CONSTRUCTS

Frederick and Laurie Samitaur Smith
Official Sponsor of the exposition in the Russian Pavilion

Greetings to the participants in the 8th International Architectural Exhibition in Venice - La Biennale di Venezia!

We at Samitaur Constructs are deeply honored that our project for the Mariinski Cultural Center in St. Petersburg has been chosen to be part of the Russian exposition in this most prestigious of all architectural events. Since we have been developing and funding this project over the last two years, its inclusion in the Biennale is extremely gratifying. This extraordinary opportunity is particularly meaningful to us because we have defined as one of our primary objectives in Russia the re-introduction of high quality modern architecture back into the country where it was born.

Russia gave birth to an architectural tradition that has enriched the whole world; but for many generations the linkage with this tradition has been lost on its own home ground. It is for this reason that the exhibition "Two Theatres", conceived by David Sarkisyan, Director of the Schusev State Museum of Architecture, is so vitally important - for it boldly puts forth the thesis that as far as architecture is concerned, Russia is at a crossroad: Will she hold on to her most recent past, or resurrect her antecedent history?

But if we view the exhibit from a global perspective, it becomes apparent that architecture itself is at a crossroad. Our desire to confront this issue on an international scale is the reason why Samitaur Constructs - although an American real estate development company - decided to support the Russian exhibit's insightful queries through our sponsorship.

However, as professional builders we will do more than talk; we made a commitment to the future of architecture when we began to develop this project, and we are proud that the Russian Federation has allowed us to enter into the discussion on their own soil - and in their beautiful Russian Pavilion. 
In developing the Mariinski Cultural Center - which includes the entire island of New Holland - we have also made a commitment to furthering Russian-American relationships in both the cultural and economic spheres. The success of a project of this magnitude will attract scores of new investors into Russia, and will pave the way for future developments.

This new century is a time of cataclysmic, yet beneficial change. But from the historical point of view, one can discover some surprising similarities with the past. For instance, there is a striking parallel between the current situation, and the year 1931...

In 1931 Russia announced its last international competition for architecture, to fulfill Stalin's ambitious dream to build a monumental "Palace of the Soviets" in Moscow. The greatest architects from all over the world participated - yet none of them won. And the building was never built...

In 1931 the political aspirations of the United States and Russia were similar. The Russian ideologues gathered behind a political strategy and the Americans behind an economic one that accomplished the same thing.

The end result was that a global recession was defeated, and a world war was fought and won - but when these hostile struggles were concluded, after the train had arrived at the station the baggage left over from these conflicts was that 14% of the people in the United States were employed by the government, and in Russia that number grew to 97%.

It was argued back and forth which one had the poorer populace and who had the best solutions to the problem, but in the final analysis each of them was relatively successful.

Both countries' self-effacing politics demanded the same rigorous individual sacrifice. 
In that vein they were uniquely similar, and because of that fact they are uniquely suited to join forces now. The only thing Russia lacked at the end of her struggles was a strong middle-class that could serve as an antidote for centralized government; and our middle-class is the United States' greatest achievement.

At Samitaur Constructs we can foment that blend of Communist idealism with Capitalistic compassion because the economic reality that our company forges in brick and mortar demands respect for an individual's civil liberties through the simple fact of job creation. 
Our project in St. Petersburg will employ and thus empower 25,000 people. We will help to create a middle-class in St. Petersburg, one that is vested, one that can fight for its economic and civil rights. 
Furthermore, we treat the Arts, Architecture and Technology with respect, as liquid assets, equal to if not greater than money; meaning, that we see people as building blocks on which to define and sustain communal values, not the reverse. We welcome a context of accountability that is both moral and financial and we do not denigrate either. We are builders. Urbanists.

At varying times during its relatively brief history, St. Petersburg has been the Capital of Culture. Today, as it has become more accessible to the outside world, St. Petersburg is once again emerging as such a place. The project we are proposing is the creation of a cultural center surrounding the Mariinski Theatre that will be part of that renaissance, and that will have an impact on the world at large.

Samitaur Constructs plans to achieve this dynamic through three key factors that are implicit in all our urban developments: Art, Architecture, and Technology - the universal languages of all people, that will lead to a common understanding among nations.

Without commercialization, we treat these arts as fungible equities. In modern financial terms, we collateralize them. We treat them as natural resources of great value, and we do this through urban design - including the construction of buildings that are an artistic contribution to our society. 
For modern Russians, even though emerging from a State-controlled environment, the separation of State and business is not anathema. On the contrary, it is a natural outgrowth, or evolution, of the idealistic objectives defined by Utopians at the beginning of the last century. Furthermore, in both the United States and Russia the thought that people can be managed towards an idealistic goal is still worthy of pursuit. However, the main disagreement we have with the absolute represented by Utopian idealists of the past is that when it comes to the means by which one arrives at the end of an ethical discussion, it is better that artists lead, rather than politicians.

How does one achieve that goal? How does one place art at the forefront of a cultural - or economic - initiative? How does one subjugate the politician, or corporate leader, or technocrat, to an artistic vision, rather than allowing him to pay for the experience, and therefore believe that he owns the artist, that the artist works for him? "My dollars, my rubles, my power makes me greater than the art before me!" How does one make individuals move beyond consciousness to self-consciousness, and therefore be motivated or even inspired by the artistic statement before them?

Samitaur Constructs achieves this through the amalgamation of Art, Architecture, and 
Technology utilizing unique financial strategies. In doing this we ensure the artistic freedom of innovators and visionaries through an economic base that creates jobs, which in turn gives people - including artists - the protocol for self-respect.

In 2001 a foreign real estate development firm entered a competition held by the Federal Government of Russia to develop a complex urban plan for a large cultural zone to surround the great Mariinski Theatre of St. Petersburg. This foreign company won the competition, and subsequently brought to Russia the designs of a foreign architect for the buildings on the historic site. 
For the first time since 1931, world-class contemporary architecture was proposed to house one of the most famous national symbols of Russia...