По-русски

The Narkomfin commune-building on Novinsky boulevard will become a boutique-hotel.

It seems the epic of sadly famous house-commune of Narkomfin on Novinsky boulevard have come to its final: the building will not be demolished, but renewed and there will be a boutique-hotel. The joint project of the group of companies “MIAN”, the new owner of the building, and of Aleksey Ginzburg, the grandson of the famous architect-constructivist, together with the studio OOO “Ginzburg Architects”.

Natalia Koriakovskaia

Written by:
Natalia Koriakovskaia

19 March 2008
Object
mainImg

After many years of discussions over the vanishing constructivist great work of international level they have come to a compromise: the group of companies “MIAN” will realize the project of restoration of the building, and it will remain a residential building – it will become a boutique-hotel for 40 apartments, and it will recreate the initial idea to a smallest detail, like furniture, color of wall painting, plates and dishes and so on. Fortunately – said Vladimir Sedov, Doctor of Fine Arts – we know almost to one hundred percent how the house looked, so there will not be a place for fantasies. To attract society to such a significant event it was decided to make an exhibition in the Museum of architecture.

It was a long and hard way to the solution of reconstruction. For the city authorities the building has been an eyesore – foreigners have high interest in it, architects arrange excursions there – and they watch how it ruins, what a shame. Paradoxically, it have not been of any value for the city for a long time – it was not marked on the general layout of 1935 at all. Happily the change of stylistic course from avant-garde to Stalin classicism did not mean tragic end for the building, there was a period when the Ginzburg’s building was forgotten – it was not rebuilt and we have it now in its original look, and it have never been repaired, so it is very original (there remain fragments of 80-year-old facing, and very old.

In post-soviet period after the recovery of avant-garde started, there were talks about the building, but there was not preservation. Passive reflection over the picture of the building’s further destruction is partly because it was a problem to decide who would own it – various companies wanted it but had incompatible projects. The absurd situation considering that this is not the first year foreigners beat an alarm, and on application from the Moscow institute of heritage they placed the building of Narkomfin in the list of 100 main buildings of the world that can be ruined, and it has one of the first places.

Fortunately, “MIAN” emerged the time when the house can be still reconstructed – if wait another few years we would lost the monument forever – says Aleksey, the grandson of Moisey Ginzburg who, and this is symbolic, works over the restoration project of the building.

This transformation of the building into the private property is not a tragedy, assured David Sarkisyan, the director of MUAR, since “only having different ways of financing and property we are able today to save historical architectural objects”. Italians – noticed Sarkisyan – still live in Palladian villas and in countless palazzo, but none of them don’t even think to rebuilt something there in order to better their living conditions It is just important there remained a sense that one touches an original thing, original structure after the restoration – stressed Vladimir Sedov – and this is quite possible, there is an example from the Germans – they have renewed the Bauhaus up to a original material and door handles.

The main idea of the exhibition was a wittily noticed parallel between the icon of socialistic housing, which was Ginzburg’s aim, and at the same time a lifestyle of a modern person. From the first sight this is absurd but the mechanism of socialist life, which in 1920’s with difficulty was imposed by constructing buildings-communes with communal house and service block, today is a free choice of wealthy people. That was a genius idea that was even ahead of Le Corbusier. Trying to avoid extremes of forcing into a new lifestyle Moisei Ginzburg introduced these principles in his house quite carefully letting the dwellers make their own choice. By the way that time there were even rougher experiments, like buildings-communes by Nikolaev and Kuzmin, which were described in Ginzburg’s book “Zhilische” [dwelling place]. In those utopian projects, a man had days scheduled to a minute and had no right for any choices, waking up on voice from radio room and fall asleep through sleeping stuff in their “cell”, which was the only private place left. All the rest activities passed collectively – there were no kitchens, sanitary arrangements and other conveniences for individual use.

Nowadays even what did Ginzburg is considered absurdity by some people in terms of communal living, though his variant was very mild – the project was justly called “the house of intermediate type”. Anyway, it is the specifics of living conditions, established in the layout, and that have been the key issue for would-be reconstruction, because if there will be added individual sanitary arrangements and kitchens then there will be lost genuineness of the monument, if there will not be such – who will live there? But it is not right to compare the house to a large communal apartment, paradoxically, it is filled with all “capitalist ideas”: 2level apartments, narkom penthouse and a green house on the roof. And for this layout the best was a hotel which saves the residential function of the building i.e. it’s original function, noticed Alexey Ginzburg.

The both constructions and a passage between them, and also a parking zone will remain in the project. In the main, 8storey building, where Ginzburg planned apartments of different types for different types of families, there will be hotel rooms, reception, hall, a check-room, a store, a lobby-bar. The space of the 4storey communal building will include a meeting room, business-centre, conference-hall, lounge, a restaurant – all of modest sizes because the exclusive “avant-garde attraction” is not for large number of visitors.

There are still continuing the restoration researches, and for Russian restoration specialists the work with avant-garde is unusual so specialist from Germany will help them. “MIAN” will spend about 60 million dollars on the project. Aleksandr Senatorov, the chairman of MIAN’s board of directors, said, the fact is that the monuments of avant-garde can be restorated and make profit; this is a vacant niche, monuments are getting ruined – there is nothing in the world that can be compared to soviet houses-communes, noticed Vladimir Sedov. By 2011 the restoration will be finished so in a few years foreign admirers of avant-garde who used to come and see almost ruined building will have a chance to live and so to say experience all the socialist living conditions.



19 March 2008

Natalia Koriakovskaia

Written by:

Natalia Koriakovskaia
Headlines now
Architecture and Leisure Park
For the suburban hotel complex, which envisages various formats of leisure, the architectural company T+T Architects proposed several types of accommodation, ranging from the classic “standard” in a common building to a “cave in the hill” and a “house in a tree”. An additional challenge consisted in integrating a few classic-style residences already existing on this territory into the “architectural forest park”.
The U-House
The Jois complex combines height with terraces, bringing the most expensive apartments from penthouses down to the bottom floors. The powerful iconic image of the U-shaped building is the result of the creative search for a new standard of living in high-rise buildings by the architects of “Genpro”.
Black and White
In this article, we specifically discuss the interiors of the ATOM Pavilion at VDNKh. Interior design is a crucial component of the overall concept in this case, and precision and meticulous execution were highly important for the architects. Julia Tryaskina, head of UNK interiors, shares some of the developments.
The “Snake” Mountain
The competition project for the seaside resort complex “Serpentine” combines several typologies: apartments of different classes, villas, and hotel rooms. For each of these typologies, the KPLN architects employ one of the images that are drawn from the natural environment – a serpentine road, a mountain stream, and rolling waves.
Opal from Anna Mons’ Ring
The project of a small business center located near Tupolev Plaza and Radio Street proclaims the necessity of modern architecture in a specific area of Moscow commonly known as “Nemetskaya Sloboda” or “German settlement”. It substantiates its thesis with the thoroughness of details, a multitude of proposed and rejected form variants, and even a detailed description of the surrounding area. The project is interesting indeed, and it is even more interesting to see what will come of it.
Feed ’Em All
A “House of Russian Cuisine” was designed and built by KROST Group at VDNKh for the “Rossiya” exhibition in record-breaking time. The pavilion is masterfully constructed in terms of the standards of modern public catering industry multiplied by the bustling cultural program of the exhibition, and it interprets the stylistically diverse character of VDNKh just as successfully. At the same time, much of its interior design can be traced back to the prototypes of the 1960s – so much so that even scenes from iconic Soviet movies of those years persistently come to mind.
The Ensemble at the Mosque
OSA prepared a master plan for a district in the southern part of Derbent. The main task of the master plan is to initiate the formation of a modern comfortable environment in this city. The organization of residential areas is subordinated to the city’s spiritual center: depending on the location relative to the cathedral mosque, the houses are distinguished by façade and plastique solutions. The program also includes a “hospitality center”, administrative buildings, an educational cluster, and even an air bridge.
Pargolovo Protestantism
A Protestant church is being built in St. Petersburg by the project of SLOI architects. One of the main features of the building is a wooden roof with 25-meter spans, which, among other things, forms the interior of the prayer hall. Also, there are other interesting details – we are telling you more about them.
The Shape of the Inconceivable
The ATOM Pavilion at VDNKh brings to mind a famous maxim of all architects and critics: “You’ve come up with it? Now build it!” You rarely see such a selfless immersion in implementation of the project, and the formidable structural and engineering tasks set by UNK architects to themselves are presented here as an integral and important part of the architectural idea. The challenge matches the obliging status of the place – after all, it is an “exhibition of achievements”, and the pavilion is dedicated to the nuclear energy industry. Let’s take a closer look: from the outside, from the inside, and from the underside too.
​Rays of the Desert
A school for 1750 students is going to be built in Dubai, designed by IND Architects. The architects took into account the local specifics, and proposed a radial layout and spaces, in which the children will be comfortable throughout the day.
The Dairy Theme
The concept of an office of a cheese-making company, designed for the enclosed area of a dairy factory, at least partially refers to industrial architecture. Perhaps that is why this concept is very simple, which seems the appropriate thing to do here. The building is enlivened by literally a couple of “master strokes”: the turning of the corner accentuates the entrance, and the shade of glass responds to the theme of “milk rivers” from Russian fairy tales.
The Road to the Temple
Under a grant from the Small Towns Competition, the main street and temple area of the village of Nikolo-Berezovka near Neftekamsk has been improved. A consortium of APRELarchitects and Novaya Zemlya is turning the village into an open-air museum and integrating ruined buildings into public life.
​Towers Leaning Towards the Sun
The three towers of the residential complex “Novodanilovskaya 8” are new and the tallest neighbors of the Danilovsky Manufactory, “Fort”, and “Plaza”, complementing a whole cluster of modern buildings designed by renowned masters. At the same time, the towers are unique for this setting – they are residential, they are the tallest ones here, and they are located on a challenging site. In this article, we explore how architects Andrey Romanov and Ekaterina Kuznetsova tackled this far-from-trivial task.
In the spirit of ROSTA posters
The new Rostselmash tractor factory, conceptualized by ASADOV Architects, is currently being completed in Rostov-on-Don. References to the Soviet architecture of the 1920’s and 1960’s resonate with the mission and strategic importance of the enterprise, and are also in line with the client’s wish: to pay homage to Rostov’s constructivism.
The Northern Thebaid
The central part of Ferapontovo village, adjacent to the famous monastery with frescoes by Dionisy, has been improved according to the project by APRELarchitects. Now the place offers basic services for tourists, as well as a place for the villagers’ leisure.
Brilliant Production
The architects from London-based MOST Architecture have designed the space for the high-tech production of Charge Cars, a high-performance production facility for high-speed electric cars that are assembled in the shell of legendary Ford Mustangs. The founders of both the company and the car assembly startup are Russians who were educated in their home country.
Three-Part Task: St. Petersburg’s Mytny Dvor
The so-called “Mytny Dvor” area lying just behind Moscow Railway Station – the market rows with a complex history – will be transformed into a premium residential complex by Studio 44. The project consists of three parts: the restoration of historical buildings, the reconstruction of the lost part of the historical contour, and new houses. All of them are harmonized with each other and with the city; axes and “beams of light” were found, cozy corners and scenic viewpoints were carefully thought out. We had a chat with the authors of the historical buildings’ restoration project, and we are telling you about all the different tasks that have been solved here.
The Color of the City, or Reflections on the Slope of an Urban Settlement
In 2022, Ostozhenka Architects won a competition, and in 2023, they developed and received all the necessary approvals for a master plan for the development of Chernigovskaya Street for the developer GloraX. The project takes into account a 10-year history of previous developments; it was done in collaboration with architects from Nizhny Novgorod, and it continues to evolve now. We carefully examined it, talked to everyone, and learned a lot of interesting things.
A Single-Industry Town
Kola MMC and Nornickel are building a residential neighborhood in Monchegorsk for their future employees. It is based on a project by an international team that won the 2021 competition. The project offers a number of solutions meant to combat the main “demons” of any northern city: wind, grayness and boredom.
A New Age Portico
At the beginning of the year, Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport opened Terminal C. The large-scale and transparent entrance hall with luminous columns inside successfully combines laconism with a bright and photogenic WOW-effect. The terminal is both the new façade of the whole complex and the starting point of the planned reconstruction, upon completion of which Tolmachevo will become the largest regional airport in Russia. In this article, we are examining the building in the context of modernist prototypes of both Novosibirsk and Leningrad: like puzzle pieces, they come together to form their individual history, not devoid of curious nuances and details.
A New Starting Point
We’ve been wanting to examine the RuArts Foundation space, designed by ATRIUM for quite a long time, and we finally got round to it. This building looks appropriate and impressive; it amazingly combines tradition – represented in our case by galleries – and innovation. In this article, we delve into details and study the building’s historical background as well.
Molding Perspectives
Stepan Liphart introduces “schematic Art Deco” on the outskirts of Kazan – his houses are executed in green color, with a glassy “iced” finish on the facades. The main merits of the project lie in his meticulous arrangement of viewing angles – the architect is striving to create in a challenging environment the embryo of a city not only in terms of pedestrian accessibility but also in a sculptural sense. He works with silhouettes, proposing intriguing triangular terraces. The entire project is structured like a crystal, following two grids, orthogonal and diagonal. In this article, we are examining what worked, and what eventually didn’t.
An Educational Experiment for the North
City-Arch continues to work on the projects that can be termed as “experimental public preschools”: private kindergartens and schools can envy such facilities in many respects. This time around, the project is done for the city of Gubkinsky, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. A diverse educational and play environment, including a winter garden, awaits future students, while the teachers will have abundant opportunities to implement new practices.
Alexandra Kuzmina: “Working is easy when the rules are the same for everyone”
The subject matter of Moscow Region’s booth and presentations at Zodchestvo Festival was the concept of “Integrated Land Development”, and for a good reason: this task is very challenging, very relevant, and Moscow Region has already accumulated quite a formidable experience in this regard. In this article, we are speaking to the main architect of the region: about master plans and who makes them, about where you obtain resources for creating a comfortable environment, about her favorite projects, about why there are so few good architects, and what we should do with the bad ones.
The Cemetery: Inside and Outside
The workshop organized by the Genplan Institute of Moscow scored one of the two first places at the “Open City” festival. Its subject is reorganization of municipal cemeteries. Two action plans were proposed, diametrically opposite: one for the downtown and one for the suburbs.
Our Everything
Who is Alexey Shchusev? In the last couple of weeks, since the architect’s 150th birthday, different individuals have answered this question differently. The most detailed, illustrated, and elegantly presented response is an exhibition held in two buildings of the Museum of Architecture on Vozdvizhenka. Four curators, a year and a half of work performed by the entire museum, and exhibition design by Sergey Tchoban and Alexandra Sheiner – in this article, we take you on a tour of the exhibition and show what’s what in it.
For Mental Reboot
At the architectural competition held in 2023 in Novosibirsk, the project by GORA Architects – a pedestrian bridge leading to the town of Bor – was awarded the “Golden Capital” prize. In this country, more than a hundred pedestrian bridges are constructed each year. What makes the Bor bridge different?
Gold Embroidery
A five-story housing complex designed by Stepan Liphart in Kazan, responds to the stylistically diverse context with its form, both integral and agile, and as for the vicinity of the “Ekiyat” movie theater, the complex responds to it with a semblance of theater curtain folds, and active plastique of its balconies, that bear some resemblance to theater boxes. Even if excessively pompous a little bit, the complex does look fresh and modern. One will have a hard time finding Art Deco elements in it, even though the spirit of the 1930s, run through the filter of neo-modernism, is still clearly felt, just as a twist of the Occident.
Reconciliation
The restoration of the Salt Warehouse for the Zvenigorod Museum, on the one hand, was quite accurately implemented according to the design of the People’s Architect, and, on the other hand, it was not without some extra research and adjustments, which, in this case, was quite beneficial for the project. The architects discovered the original paint color, details of the facades, and studied the history of rebuilds of this building. As a result, the imposing character of the empire building, the oldest one in the city, and the differences of later additions were accurately revealed. Most importantly, however, the city got a new cultural and public space, which is already “working” in full swing.
From Moscow to Khabarovsk
This year, the works submitted by the students of the Genplan Institute of Moscow included a proposal for revitalizing Moscow’s “Pravda” complex with its structures designed by Ilia Golosov, landscaping an East Siberian town, located a 12-hour drive away from the nearest big city, and three versions of turning a derelict “pioneer camp” into an educational hub, similar to “Sirius”. Two sites out of three have an interested client, so chances are that the students’ works will be ultimately implemented.