Reshaping Visaginas

This book is an attempt to reinvent the visual shape of Visaginas.
It was built as a satellite town of Ignalina NPP and
designed according to a strict government plan. Initially the
aerial view of the town was supposed to resemble a butterfly
but the project was never completed and only one wing is
now left. Still the image of Visaginas as a “butterfly-shaped
town” remains in the consciousness of its citizens. However,
after the power plant has been shut down in 2009 it is
unreasonable for the town to hold on to the previous values
and symbols. Modern Visaginas needs to be reshaped and to
continue on its way as a renewed entity.
Maps presented here were gathered through a series of short
interviews where people were asked to explore a map of Visaginas
on Google Maps for two minutes and then to replicate
the information they have gathered in that small amount of
time by drawing on a piece of paper.
The result of this experiment was a collection of hand-drawn
maps that could suggest a future graphic and symbolic vision
for the town in the period after that top-down view that produced
it has disappeared. It is also worth noting that maps
have been collected from both people who have visited Visaginas
and those who have not. As was suspected, a large part
of drawings by people who are familiar with the town resemble
the said butterfly, while the drawings of the unfamiliar
rarely take that shape and suggest new forms and concepts.
All maps are open to interpretations.
Drawing is allowed.
Hanna Dymava, Kseniya Zhegalo