«130 Years of the Kursk Tram» is a project that invites us to take a fresh look at one of Russia’s oldest public transport systems, viewing it as a space for quiet contemplation and emotional engagement. The Kursk tram, which will celebrate its 130th anniversary in 2028, is traditionally perceived as a functional element of the city — a means of efficient travel around town. This project shifts that perception, transforming the tram into something slower, more intimate and almost contemplative.

The concept proposes a simple and almost aimless activity: travelling from one terminus to the other and back, without haste, without a destination, without the pressure of having to arrive. Within this framework, the tram ceases to be a means of necessity and becomes a means of perceiving the city. It transforms into a moving vantage point from which the familiar urban landscape begins to reveal itself in a different way — not as a route, but as a sequence of fleeting impressions.

The visual and emotional core of the project is built around light, specifically the warm, diffused light of the setting sun. These sunbeams become the key visual markers of the experience — ephemeral, fleeting, impossible to hold onto. They emphasise the fragility of the moment and the beauty of that which exists only for a fleeting instant.

Identity is based on warm brown and orange tones, reminiscent of twilight and fading daylight. These colours evoke a sense of calm, security and quiet nostalgia, transforming the tram’s interior into a soft space.

«130 Years of the Kursk Tram» is not a celebration in the traditional sense: it doesn’t rely on spectacle, noise or grand gestures. On the contrary, it focuses on the everyday and the unobtrusive. It invites the viewer to take a fresh look at the value of a simple journey, to experience time not as something to be optimised, but as something in which we can live.