Boris Ravvin

Vitaly Komar & Boris Ravvin

We all know the feeling of walking down the avenues of New York on a hot summer day: no tree shades to hide in, where masked cyclists remind us about the air we breath¼  The City is very much in need of thousands of trees to purify its "lungs" and comfort its pedestrians, but underground utility lines prohibit planting new trees on the sidewalks, and trees in concrete containers rarely survive their first year¼

We propose to combine the use of ivy, a most successful "city survivalist" - with artificial structures-trees. Each structure will have a soil container/planter to sustain its root system and a wire mesh/fishing net surface to climb on. Such ivies as Inglish Ivy (Hedera helix 'Baltica'), Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata), Japanese or Chinese Visteria (Visteria floribunda or sinensis) and Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomalia petiolaris) have a proven track record of surviving in the cities of the Northeast. Being a weed, ivy is virtually maintenance free, and when mature will require just occasional trimming. 

Vitaly Komar and Boris Ravvin / Artist Statement:          

In the past century, our art studio was located in the city of the Big Apple. This century, we are here, in DUMBO. We envision a flying Dumbo, the famous elephant, with a paintbrush in place of his magic feather as the perfect visual pop-symbol for DUMBO, the neighborhood.

Coney Island The Parachute Pavilion Competition. 

MERA's entry was elected for wall display at Van Allen Institute

in collaboration with DNJ Architects, MERA designed  a boutique ski hotel in the mountains of Bakuriani, Georgia. 

Inspired by geographic settings and cultural surroundings, the concept of a textured and mountainous building was introduced. Local materials and construction traditions were incorporated into modern building systems and technology

MERA's entry was selected for second tour of that prestigious esign competition in St.Petersburg, Russia, for the memorial of Nobel Prize laureate poet Joseph Brodsky.

onceptual design competition for temporary housing units in Lower East Side, NYC. 

MERA delivered an innovative et realistic solution to the tough problem of providing 65 s.f. of humane habitat on/under $5,000 budget per unit. 

PREFABPERSONAL™

“We propose not to re-invent the wheel yet again, but rather take advantage of what is already widely available, and concentrate our efforts on making the “prefabricated”… personal

Proposal to convert a dilapidated storage facility in Brooklyn into a Children’s Entertainment Club. Mixing scales of playground equipment, decorative and functional elements both in interior and exterior, the Club was designed to be a community urban indoor theme park.

Custom designed movable units on castors provide ample storage space for artwork and supplies, additional wall space and utmost layout flexibility for artist’s studio in DUMBO

Competition entry.

Selected for display in Queens Museum of Art

INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION

"We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity."

1993

in collaboration with Boris Reyt

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ALL-IN-A-WALL™ is a unique system designed specifically for small dwellings. While serving as a free-standing space divider between the living room and sleeping alcove, it packs a huge punch of functionality into one unit

International design competition, Third Prize Winner

The chance to design a hotel, located in the heart of the Russian capital on Pushkin Square, was the opportunity we didn't want to miss. The site conditions were extremely constrained, as well as Russian zoning and code regulations. In response, we introduced bold re-thinking and re-structuring of the basics of modern hospitality model. Both the Jury and the Owner apparently appreciated this.

SONY BUILDING'S WALL ART WORK DESIGN CONTEST

International competition for the design of the side wall (6.1 x 37.9 m) of Sony Building in Ginza "to fit the urban landscape of Ginza in the 21st century." 

Mini golf installation on Governors Island, NYC. 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.

Figment, the art-sponsoring non-profit organization, held a design competition for a mini golf course to be installed on Governors Island. MERA's entry Venus Flytrap was selected, designed and subsequently constructed by a team of dedicated friends-volunteers. 

Following the venue's overwhelming success, Figment has requested us to repeat the installation next year, and the year after... Venus Flytrap became the face of the venue and served several hundreds New York kids over four summers.

​MERA was the winner of NYCSCA (New York City School Construction Authority) Conceptual Design Competition "Classroom of the Future". Consequently, SCA has commissioned us the prototype of a new school desk, which became known as "PartA" 

The unique Parta™ was awarded ​U.S.Patent #5,927,835; received design award in Cantu, Italy and was exhibited at Milan Furniture Fair.

Parta™ is designed to move beyond the inflexible and dull furniture in our schools that is simply no longer adequate today. Instead, the compact and portable but flexible and feature-rich design will make it an indispensable tool in the classroom; and will transform the learning process into more exciting and therefore more effective experience from the very beginning of schooling – grades 1 to 4. (And the same characteristics make it great fit for a child’s room at home.)

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Job Captain at TAMS, 1996

TAMS provided services for a retail/entertainment program study at Rockefeller Center after it was acquired by Tishman Speyer Properties.

This project involved the preparation of composite CADD plans, sketches of potential retail opportunities, and several interactive architectural study models of the complex, indicating below-grade concourses and the office towers above. The design study entailed the expansion of retail opportunities, public spaces (including re-opening of Atrium and connections to the rooftop gardens), the addition of new theatrical spaces and improvements to transit connections.

Villa H4

​Villa H1

Villa H2

​Residence in Carpathian Mountains, West Ukraine.

Currently under construction

​A 15-foot wide house on a narrow (25') lot: it is bigger than it looks!

A live/work environment for a couple of professionals with children was created on a budget, utilizing bold colors in décor, unconventional materials like OSB and plywood for flooring, as well as innovative storage, lighting and art display solutions

An over-packed backyard in Brooklyn was transformed into a cozy oasis. One of the client's requirements was to store away a 11' long sailing boat while providing easy access to it; another was to salvage and re-use a vintage 16' long wooden canoe.

The owner of this place is a close friend with whom we share the passion for repairing broken gadgets and creative re-use and re-purpose of things; he is also an avid yachtsman. 

Apartment renovation in the The Normandy - one of the city's best Art Deco buildings, and the last of the great twin-towered apartment houses built by architect Emery Roth. Architectural interventions included opening up an originally 5' wide galley kitchen, bathroom reconfiguration, and addition of ample storage in the master bedroom; along with all new finishes and electrical/mechanical upgrade. At the same time, several original elements were preserved for authenticity and as a tribute to a bygone era.

APARTMENT RENOVATION

Architect: Kay Herdeg RA

Interior Design: McMillen Inc.

LIBRARY

MANHATTAN APARTMENT RENOVATION

Interior Design: McMillen Inc.

APARTMENT RENOVATION

PRIVATE ELEVATOR LOBBY

Interior design: McMillen Inc.