The Old Canteen is an iconic place for Barentsburg and it is even recognised by Norway as a cultural heritage property. The Old Canteen is located in the very center of the settlement, along the route from the port to the residential area and hotels. It was once an important social space for the local community - a place for meals, meetings and celebrations. Today, the building has lost its functions, but it still remains attractive for tourists due to its symbolic significance and convenient location.

Object name: The Old Canteen
Location: Barentsburg, Svalbard
Function: Multi-functional center
Number of floors: 3 floors
Building area: 2542 m2
Usable area: 2105 m2
Project Authors: Elina Vershinina, Mikhail Ilyin, Alina Pogoryanskaya,
Georgy Chernyshov

When interviewing local residents, the students discovered key local demands and requests for the building's new life. For instance responders complained about a lack of greenery, a lack of facilities for providing and receiving consumer services (due to the absence of public centers in Barentsburg, residents have to take clients at home), a demand for a warm, comfortable space for tourist activities and a desire to diversify food options, particularly by adding fresh desserts. In addition to this, the research highlighted potential for developing Russian domestic tourism in Barentsburg with local tourist destinations and entertainments as such industry has thrived in Norway for years.

The project authors assume that a new building function must consider the demands and requests discovered under the research, consolidating these functions under one roof could strengthen social ties, enhance the comfort of daily life, and become a new growth point for both the local community and tourism. This assumption served as a basis for the idea of a multifunctional center — a warm, green, open space that provides residents with comfortable public zone for informal communication and protection from the severe climate

The project aims at preserving the building in its historical appearance, following the principles of The Venice Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments: to preserve valuable elements, restore lost ones carefully and with respect to the original material.
Functional zoning:
– Ground floor — a reception area, recreation zones, places for meetings, a visitor center for tourists
– First floor — a restaurant with a dining room
– Second floor — a customer service zone, coworking and recreation space, hydroponic farm
The entire building is supposed to be managed by Grumant. The project proposes a compact, convenient and lively center where history and modernity coexist, northern severity and islands of warmth meet at one spot, local residents and guests can meet and interact