Measuring the Invisible
Portfolio presentation · HSE University, School of Design · Environmental and Interior design · 2026
Every place has a layer you cannot see. I can show you what cities hide.
Evelina Kalugina · Environmental designer and urban analyst in training
A portfolio for the MSc Smart Cities and Urban Analytics, CASA, UCL, UPenn
one landmark → one site → one town → a town within a national network
I am a spatial designer who has begun to map the city. I can already make urban data visible, and I want to learn at ___ to model it. Four projects follow, each larger in scale and more grounded in evidence than the last—from one landmark on the shore to a network of 264 towns.
I am a spatial designer who has begun measuring the city. I can already make urban data visible, and I want to learn at ___ to model it. Four projects follow, each larger in scale and more evidence-based than the last: from one landmark on the shore to a network of 264 towns.
Act I · Seeing
Act II · Measuring
Act III · Mapping
Act IV · Testing the System
Act I · Seeing
Theatre of Sunsets. Scale: one landmark
Theme park on the waterfront · Peterhof, St. Petersburg · 2025 · Individual project · 3ds Max, Corona, Unreal Engine, Photoshop
How can a radar lighthouse on the Peterhof shore become a destination when its material is light and the time of day, rather than concrete?
Hidden → Revealed (sun path)
The site features a single dominant element: a radar lighthouse, visible from both the shore and the water. Surrounding it is the open water and the horizon over the Gulf of Finland, where the sun sets. I read these two givens—by eye, on site—and established them as the sole fixed points of the design.
The plan unfolds in concentric rings extending from the lighthouse, similar to ripples on water. Four zones follow the visitor’s journey: an entrance to introduce the site, a water stage, a walking spit, and on-water glamping. The stage is open for sunsets and closes for concerts. Spectators watch from rafts and boats, not from fixed seating. Walkways are supported on pilings to ensure the ecosystem remains undisturbed.
I can take a single condition of a place and develop it into a complete spatial concept, allowing people to perceive it.
I designed with light by feeling it.
Could I measure it?
Act II · Measuring
Light and Shade. Scale: one site
Park in a residential neighborhood · Paradny Ansambl, St. Petersburg · 2026 · Team of 3, competition by Setl Group · 3dsMax, Photoshop, SketchUp
Problem
What did my analysis reveal?
Hidden → Revealed
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