Projection of the Quarter

“Garden Quarters” is a unique project, not only because it has created a unique residential space for Moscow, and not even because many popular urban planning ideas were first proposed there by Sergey Skuratov, very early on, still in 2006, and were implemented with such meticulousness, despite a number of challenges, that it stands as one of the rare examples for the nation’s capital. This project is also interesting as an example of the collaborative work of several architects – a method that later became “fashionable”, but was first introduced here, very early on in 2007, and was implemented as a collection of individual architectural statements: the developer divided the project among architects, not by facades or specializations, but by whole buildings and parts of the major-scale housing complex. Sergey Skuratov, like an enthusiastic conductor, “orchestrated” this concert for 15 years, not forgetting to maintain the overall melody and adding a few meaningful key accents of his own.

In the first quarter, there are two buildings designed by Maxim Kurenny and his company named “500”. The fourth quarter “holds” Efremova Street with Yuri Grigoryan’s (Meganom) “fortress towers” and surprises with Andrey Savin’s (A-B) “felt boot” building made of greenish copper and “springs”. Sergey Choban’s “folded” brick building stretches deep from Usacheva Street along the border of the third quarter.

The final touch was the second quarter, located on the side of 3rd Frunzenskaya Street.

zooming — “Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Facade layouts

Copyright: © Reserve Union

Along the pond stand the buildings designed by Sergey Skuratov, completed in 2021, while two “wings” extend outward towards the external perimeter – the northern building of light stone, designed by Alexander Skokan and Xenia Berdnikova (Ostozhenka), completed in 2022. The southern building, made of dark brown brick, was designed by Vladimir Plotkin and Reserve Union, and was finished in 2023.

This building became the final one in the “Garden Quarters” project, and although it adheres to the common design code, fitting organically into the complex, its architecture has many distinctive features. It acts like a “semicolon” standing on the border between the “Garden Quarters” and the city. What we are seeing is either a concluding passage or maybe even a “digression from the subject”.

Let’s examine it in more detail!

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union
“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union

To begin with, it’s worth noting that the key architects were named very early on, still in 2007, and the buildings were distributed among the architects at the same time; preliminary designs soon followed. However, the second quarter was revised in 2019 to increase its size – it was extended towards 3rd Frunzenskaya Street, which then became a pedestrian boulevard; now, this boulevard provides a convenient access to the café on the “urban balcony” with a view of the inner courtyard. In addition to the building itself and the interior of its lobby, Reserve Union was the general designer of the entire southwestern part of the quarter and worked on the courtyard landscaping project.

The courtyard here is arranged similarly to all the other quarters – with the signature curved bridges connecting the green hill in the center to the lobby entrances, starting at the second level.

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union
“Garden Quarters” residential complex. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union

In this case, however, there is one level of underground parking beneath the entire courtyard, but in the central part, 2.5 meters of soil has been added on top, allowing trees to grow.

The building is extensive, over 100 meters long and 20 meters wide; it has 5 sections, 3 volumes, and 2 units. In spatial terms, it is distributed through the uniform step of three levels: 14 floors closer to the pond, then 9 floors, and then 6. It is worth recalling that not too long ago, this proportion was considered classic, almost ideal. In fact, it still is: it combines three of the most well-known scales of urban development; right next to it, there is a nine-story building from the 1960s and 5-6-story buildings from the 1920s and 1930s. The tall volume “responds” directly to the “Garden Quarters”, so the building not only resonates with all three types of heights found nearby but also unifies them, breaking them down into a clear pattern of one-two-three.

The result is three large, measured steps, with a slight expansion at the end, which form a compact volume with well-balanced proportions when viewed from the city.

In the design code of the “Garden Quarters”, the façade material held a significant place: natural stone and brick. Here, we have dark, small-format brick, almost black, although in the 2019 design, the facade tone was more burgundy. There are also some inclusions of stone, bright white, which stand out well against the more traditional light beige limestone facades of the neighboring buildings designed by Sergey Skuratov and Ostozhenka respectively. The color here is so white that it makes you wonder whether it’s stone at all. We went ahead and checked – yes, it is indeed stone. There is not much of stone here, though: just a bit in the recessed cutout under the cantilever on the side of the main square and there are also some inclusions in the protrusions that form finely drawn and fairly rare figures reminiscent of the letter “T” – some upright, some inverted, and some just a strip, like a casual fragmentary cornice.

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union
“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union

Between the 14-story and 9-story volumes, there is a deep recess two stories high. It separates the two units, enhancing the caesura and the stepped silhouette – this is undoubtedly an artistic technique to organize the form. As a result, a pair of two-bedroom apartments on the 7th floor and a few smaller apartments in the middle of the building, received open terraces, enclosed on two sides by walls, resembling patios. Here, the white stone horizontals are extended, hinting at pergolas, and seem to “stitch” the two separated volumes together.

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union
“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union

Vladimir Plotkin shares that in the original concept, there were not “T-shapes” but crosses or plus signs – in that case, the “stitching” theme would have been more obvious. Nevertheless, the cross-like pattern remains: the strict “checkered” grid, made up of identical vertical and horizontal piers, is enlivened by a few “glass spots” – rectangles composed of four windows with thinner-than-standard piers between them. Initially, all these rectangles were supposed to be outlined with white lines. Later, one “arm” was removed from each intersection, but the essence of the composition – a strict “grid” within which a few spots are asymmetrically scattered – remained unchanged. It goes without saying that this is a “signature” technique of the architect, though here it is presented in a restrained, almost imperceptible manner. It’s interesting and characteristic that the side facades are identical, with the “spots” and “T-shapes” placed directly opposite each other – a fact that can only be understood by studying the drawings or by examining the building very, very closely. However, the carefully calculated measure of variety, as well as the economy and discipline in the expression, is clearly evident in this feature.

“Garden Quarters” residential complex.

Copyright: © Reserve Union
“Garden Quarters” residential complex. Northwest, courtyard, facade layout

Copyright: © Reserve Union

Nevertheless, the few white stone strokes unambiguously take on the role of decorative elements. It’s clear that they are meant to break up and enliven the volume, especially in its central part.

And this is despite the minimal decoration. By and large, the building looks very austere.

In addition to the T-shaped inserts, the primary decorative element is the windows themselves. Each horizontally oriented opening is divided into two parts: the larger part is designed as a frame, protruding forward beyond the brick plane of the façade, a kind of mini-bay window. The smaller, narrow, and vertical part is, on the contrary, a mini-balcony or rather a macro-vent – a recessed, openable sash with a glass barrier.

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union
“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union

It almost goes without saying that somewhere in the proportions of the “window unit” used here, the “Golden Ratio” can be detected. Plus, there’s a checkerboard alternation of the sashes: left and right. And that about wraps it up for decoration here.

On the end volume, the pattern becomes more complex and engages in a dialogue with the smaller units of “Ostozhenka”.

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union
“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union

The laconic solution is enlivened by ledges and recesses. The upper gap echoes the “slit” of the lobby entrance – both, in turn, correspond to similar recesses in the building standing across from Vladimir Plotkin’s house.

Entrance to the lobby and stairs leading to it on the 2nd tier. “Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union
View from a “cut-through” in the next block. “Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union

The aforementioned “patio” terrace between the tall and medium volumes is echoed by several other terraces. However, it cannot be said that they significantly impact the plasticity; rather, they accentuate the mass, forming a cantilever here and there.

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union
“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union

The interior details are even more intriguing. The top two floors of the 14-story volume are primarily occupied by three apartments with full-fledged two-story layouts, each one of them featuring an internal staircase and its own terrace on the upper floor. Meanwhile, a three-room apartment on the end of the 8th floor has a terrace on the 9th floor, small but private, with access via a staircase. On the 6th floor, the end apartment of the middle volume has a terrace at its level, with another terrace on the 5th floor apartment nearby, also accessible by a staircase.

1 / 6

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Plan of the 13 floor. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: © Reserve Union
2 / 6

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Plan of the 12 floor. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: © Reserve Union
3 / 6

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Plan of the 9 floor. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: © Reserve Union
4 / 6

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Plan of the 7 floor. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: © Reserve Union
5 / 6

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. Plan of the 5 floor. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: © Reserve Union
6 / 6

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Plan of the 6 floor. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: © Reserve Union

All the lobbies in the “Garden Quarters” buildings are high, multi-height spaces; this, by the way, is another modern trend that has fully manifested itself here.

In our case, the lobby is almost invisible from the outside, though it can be partially seen through the “city balcony”. Its space is entirely white, with transparent railings, minimalist in design. Here, you understand why the cutout under the corner cantilever reveals a white surface: it unveils the essence of the building’s interior. This technique is well-known and almost elementary, but it is rarely found in such a pure and concise execution.

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union
“Garden Quarters” residential complex. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union

The visual “rib of rigidity” is the wall of Spanish brickwork made of the same dark brick, aligned with another brick wall. Needless to say, these are intersected by a white inter-floor slab, reminiscent of the façade’s strokes.

This building completes the “Garden Quarters” and forms one of the entry-exit points to the territory of the complex. The second quarter neighbors the fourth, with one of the widest openings to the city in between, occupied by three nine-story buildings from the 1960s and abundant greenery. Therefore, the building interacts more with its urban neighbors than with Andrey Savin’s “felt boot” building. These buildings do not act as propylea – they rather turn away from each other. In contrast, the building forms a rhythmic pair with the building designed by Ostozhenka, which is both predictable and inevitable, as they are two wings of the same quarter, echoing each other in both the stepped contour and length, as well as the aforementioned vertical cutouts at the top and bottom. And, of course, they make a logic pair as light (almost white but nonetheless beige) versus dark (almost black but nonetheless brown).

The other difference is even more important. The architecture of the “Garden Quarters” as a whole is more sculptural – voluminous and material, in the truest sense of the word “material”. The sculptural nature is emphasized by the window slopes, a technique that seems to have become “mainstream” here, along with rounded corners and molded glass. All these elements treat the wall as mass and the building as form. Sergey Choban’s “folding” building fits into this paradigm, while the building designed by “A-B” appears as the apotheosis of sculpturalism, pushing deeply into the realm of art.

The sculptural quality is further supported by the texture of the materials: beige limestone, terracotta brick, natural and patinated copper, and weathered steel. The entire complex is beige and terracotta with a single turquoise accent.

In such a context, Vladimir Plotkin’s building stands out for its flatness. There are no slopes or rounded edges here. The approach to mass is defined by its relationship to flatness: part of the window slightly protrudes “out”, part slightly recedes “in”, and the facade oscillates between several conceptual parallel layers, structured by a smooth grid of windows.

Interestingly, this is the only building within the complex where the primary proportional direction is horizontal rather than vertical.

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union
“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union

However, the horizontal orientation is subtle, avoiding a direct “school notebook” grid pattern.

As for the main plane itself, it is formed, according to the design code, with brick, but it is one of the most “dematerialized” types of brick I have ever seen. Brick can be red with emphasized mortar joints, or rough, textured, chipped, and multicolored; both highlight its qualities as an “authentic”, ancient, handcrafted material with texture. Here, what we are seeing is quite the opposite: the brick is flat, with barely visible joints.

The brick is also so dark that it appears almost black, though it was originally intended to be burgundy, hinting at some sort of intrigue. When I suggested that the building is black, the author vehemently disagreed – “No! Not black! Dark brown!”

It’s worth recalling the color of the rubber for which the factory, once located on the site of the “Garden Quarters” was named. Rubber, in its natural state, is whitish and colorless. However, in my childhood memories, industrial rubber was always black. The Soviet-era factory buildings, like many of their kind, had horizontal ribbon windows. While the building is not explicitly designed to evoke memories of the factory, there is still a subtle connection, clearly visible to a keen observer. The primary color pattern and proportional structure of most buildings in the “Garden Quarters” can be definitely traced back to the 1915 factory administration building designed by Roman Klein, blending terracotta and light beige with vertical proportions, as if “leaping over” most of the 20th century. Only the horizontal orientation and dark tone of Vladimir Plotkin’s building hint – just hint, mind! – at the less-than-glamorous part of the site’s history.

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union
“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union

Nevertheless, to me, one of the things that the building resembles most is… carbon paper. Imagine an old, worn piece of carbon paper, mostly matte but with occasional shiny spots. Similarly, here, the glass and black metal inserts gleam in places. The T-shaped inserts could be compared to the lines left on carbon paper after particularly forceful drawing, though they more closely resemble elements made of paper – thin and delicate. The white stone here, just like the brick, about which I wrote earlier, doesn’t look entirely material, focusing more on the “white” than the “stone” component. The building itself, especially when viewed from certain angles, emphasizes the flatness of its structure – long and thin: 100 by 20 meters. As a result, most apartments, with few exceptions, face both sides of the building.

1 / 6

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union
2 / 6

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. 2nd quarter. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union
3 / 6

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union
4 / 6

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. Buildings 2,5-2,6

Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / provided by Reserve Union
5 / 6

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. Location plan.

Copyright: © Reserve Union
6 / 6

“Garden Quarters” residential complex. The master plan and transport diagram

Copyright: © Reserve Union

It’s not that the building entirely lacks materiality; it is, in fact, quite large. But in organizing its volume, it operates with slightly different parameters than its neighbors do – not with plasticity, curves, or slopes, but with silhouette, rhythm, and proportions. It contains more grid and more mathematics, than matter and volume – like the shadow or projection of the whole quarter.

This is what makes this house different, even though otherwise it’s quite in line with the other buildings.

15 August 2024

Written by:
Julia Tarabarina
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

Headlines now

Object

The Copper Mirror

The varied-toned sheen of “unsealed” copper, painterly streaks and fingerprints, exposed concrete, and the unusual proportions – when you study the ZILART Museum building by Sergei Tchoban and SPEECH architects, there is plenty to talk about. However, it seems to us that the most interesting thing is how the museum’s composition responds to the realities of the district itself. The residential district has been realized as an open-air exhibition of façade statements by contemporary architects – but without public access to the inner courtyards of the blocks. This building – that is, the museum – is exactly the opposite: on the outside, it is deliberately restrained, while inside it shines spectacularly, creating its own sunbeams in any weather.

View

“Strangers” in the City

We asked Alexander Skokan for a comment on the results of 2025 – and he sent us a whole article, moreover one devoted to the discussion we recently began on the “appropriateness of high-rises” – or, more broadly speaking, “contrasting insertions into the urban fabric”. The result is a text that is essentially a question: why here? Why like this?

Interview

Dmitry Ostroumov: “To use the language of alchemy, we are involved in the process of “transmutation...

What we ended up having was an extremely unusual conversation with Dmitry Ostroumov. Why? At the very least, because he is not just an architect specializing in the construction of Orthodox churches. And not just – which is an extreme rarity – a proponent of developing contemporary stylistics within this still highly conservative field. Dmitry Ostroumov is a Master of Theology. So in addition to the history and specifics of the company, we speak about the very concept of the temple, about canon and tradition, about the living and the eternal, and even about the Russian Logos.

Interview

MB-PROJECT: “Every new project is a challenge”

In this issue, we speak with Dmitry and Oleg Shurygin, founders of the company MV-PROJECT, which has extensive experience in designing theater and entertainment buildings as well as working with cultural heritage sites.

Object

A Glazed Figurine

In searching for an image for a residential building near the Novodevichy Convent, GAFA architects turned to their own perception of the place: it evoked associations with antiquity, plein-air painting, and vintage artifacts. The two towers will be entirely clad in volumetric glazed ceramic – at present, there are no other buildings like this in Russia. The complex will also stand out thanks to its metabolic bay-window cells, streamlined surfaces, a ceremonial “hotel-style” driveway, and a lobby overlooking a lush garden.

Report

A Knight’s Move via the Cour d’Honneur

Intercolumnium Architects presented to the City Planning Council a residential complex project that is set to replace the Aquatoria business center on Vyborgskaya Embankment. Experts praised the overall quality of the work, but expressed reservations about the three cour d’honneurs and suggested softening the contrast between the facades facing the embankment and the Kantemirovsky Bridge.

Object

A Small Country

Mezonproekt is developing a long-term master plan for the MEPhI campus in Obninsk. Over the next ten years, an enclave territory of about 100 hectares, located in a forest on the northern edge of the city, is set to transform into a modern center for the development of the nuclear energy sector. The plan envisions attracting international students and specialists, as well as comprehensive territorial development: both through the contemporary realization of “frozen” plans from the 1980s and through the introduction of new trends – public spaces, an aquapark, a food court, a school, and even a nuclear medicine center. Public and sports facilities are intended to be accessible to city residents as well, and the campus is to be physically and functionally connected to Obninsk.

Object

Pearl Divers

GAFA has designed an apartment complex for Derbent intended to switch people from a work mode to a resort mindset – and to give the surrounding area a much-needed jolt. The building offers two distinct faces: restrained and laconic on the city side, and a lushly ornate façade facing the sea. At the heart of the complex, a hidden pearl lies – an open-air pool with an arch, offering views of a starry sky, and providing direct access to the beach.

Object

A Satellite Island

The Genplan Institute of Moscow has prepared a master plan for the development of the Sarpinsky and Golodny island system, located within the administrative boundaries of Volgograd and considered among the largest river islands in Russia. By 2045, the plan envisions the implementation of 15 large-scale investment projects, including sports and educational clusters, a congress center with a “Volgonarium”, a film production cluster, and twenty-one theme parks. We explain which engineering, environmental, and transportation challenges must be addressed to turn this vision into reality. The master plan solutions have already been approved and incorporated into the city’s general development plan.

Object

The Amber Gate

The Amber City residential complex is one of the redevelopment projects in the former industrial area located beyond Moscow’s Third Ring Road near Begovaya metro station. Alexey Ilyin’s studio proposed an original master plan that transformed two clusters of towers into ceremonial propylaea, gave the complex a recognizable silhouette, and established visual connections with new high-rise developments on both right and left – thus integrating it into the scale of the growing metropolis. It is also marked by its own futuristic stylistic language, based on a reinterpreted streamline aesthetic.

Object

A Theater Triangle

The architectural company “Chetvertoe Izmerenie” (“Fourth Dimension”) has developed the design for a new stage of the Magnitogorsk Musical Theater, rethinking not only theater architecture but also the role of the theater in the contemporary city.

Interview

Aleksei Ilyin: “I approach every task with genuine interest”

Aleksei Ilyin has been working on major urban projects for more than 30 years. He has all the necessary skills for high-rise construction in Moscow – yet he believes it’s essential to maintain variety in the typologies and scales represented in his portfolio. He is passionate about drawing – but only from life, and also in the process of working on a project. We talk about the structure and optimal size of an office, about his past and current projects, large and small tasks, and about creative priorities.

Interview

Sergey Tchoban: “My ideal model for shaping a museum space is the Uffizi Gallery. In the...

Yesterday, the ZILART Museum opened on the ZILART grounds with three exhibitions curated by well-known curators. We speak with Sergey Tchoban about the concept and its realization.

Object

A Golden Sunbeam

A compact brick-and-metal building in the growing Shukhov Park in Vyksa seems to absorb sunlight, transform it into yellow accents inside, and in the evening “give it back” as a warm golden glow streaming from its windows. It is, frankly, a very attractive building: both material and lightweight at the same time, with lightness inside and materiality outside. Its form is shaped by function – laconic, yet far from simple. Let’s take a closer look.

Architecton Awards

In 2025, the jury of the Architecton festival reviewed the finalist projects through live, open presentations held right in the exhibition hall – a rather engaging performance, and something rarely seen among Russian awards. It would be great if “Zodchestvo” adopted this format. Below, we present all the winning projects, including four special nominations.

send.project

Garden of Knowledge

UNK architects and UNK design created the interiors of the Letovo Junior campus, working together with NF Studio, which was responsible for developing the educational technology that takes into account the needs and perception of younger and middle school children.

The Silver Skates

The STONE Kaluzhskaya office quarter is accompanied by two residential towers, making the complex – for it is indeed a single ensemble – well balanced in functional terms. The architects at Kleinewelt gave the residential buildings a silvery finish to match the office blocks. How they are similar, how they differ, and what “Silver Skates” has to do with it – we explore in this article.

Overview

On the Dynastic Trail

The houses and townhouses of the “Tsarskaya Tropа” (“Czar’s Trail”) complex are being built in the village of Gaspra in Crimea – to the west and east of the palaces of the former grand-ducal residence “Ai-Todor”. One of the main challenges for the architects at KPLN, who developed the project, was to respond appropriately to this significant neighboring heritage. How this influenced the massing, the façades, and the way the authors work with the terrain is explored in our article.

Object

A New Path

The main feature of the Yar Park project, designed by Sergey Skuratov for Kazan, is that it is organized along the “spine” of a multifunctional mall with an impressive multi-height atrium space in its middle. The entire site, both on the city side and the Kazanka River embankment, is open to the public. The complex is intended not to become “yet another fenced enclave” but, as urban planners say, a “polycenter” – a new point of attraction for the whole of Kazan, especially its northern part, made up of residential districts that until now have lacked such a vibrant public space. It represents a new urban planning approach to a high-density mixed-use development situated in the city center – in a sense, an “anti-quarter”. Even Moscow, one might say, doesn’t yet have anything quite like it. Well, lucky Kazan!

Object

Beneath the Azure Sky

A depository designed by Studio 44 will soon be built in Kenozersky National Park to preserve and display the so-called “heavens” – ceiling structures characteristic of wooden churches in the Russian North, painted with biblical scenes. For each of these “heavens”, the architects created a volume corresponding in scale and dimensions to the original church interior. The result is a honeycomb-like composition, with modules derived directly from the historic monuments themselves, allowing visitors to view the icons from the historically accurate angle – from below, looking upward. How exactly this works is the subject of our story.

Object

The Power of Lines

The building at the very beginning of New Arbat is the result of long deliberations over how to replace the former House of Communication. Contemporary, dynamic, and even somewhat zoomorphic in character, it is structured around a large diagonal grid. The building has become a striking accent both in the perspective of the former Kalinin Avenue and in the panorama of Arbat Square. Yet, unfortunately, the original concept was not fully realized. In 2020, the Moscow ArchCouncil approved a design featuring an exoskeleton – an external load-bearing structure, which eventually turned into a purely decorative element. Still, the power of the supergraphic “holds” the building, giving it the qualities of a new urban landmark with iconic potential. How this concept took shape, what unexpected associations might underlie the grid’s form, and why the exoskeleton was never built – all this is explored in our article.

News

Resort on the Kama River

Wowhaus has developed a project for the reconstruction of Korabelnaya Roshcha (“Mast Grove”), a wellness resort located on the banks of the Kama River.

Object

Nests in Primorye

The eco-park project “Nests”, designed by Aleksey Polishchuk and the company Power Technologies, received first prize at the Eco-Coast 2025 festival, organized by the Union of Architects of Russia. For a glamping site in Filinskaya Bay, the authors proposed bird-shaped houses, treehouses, and a nest-shaped observation platform, topping it all with an entrance pavilion executed in the shape of an owl.

Object

The Angle of String Tension

The House of Music, designed by Vladimir Plotkin and the architects of TPO Reserve, resembles a harp, and when seen from above, even a bass clef. But if only it were that simple! The architecture of the complex fuses two distinct expressive languages: the lattice-like, transparent, permeable vocabulary of “classical” modernism and the sculptural, ribbon-like volumes so beloved by today’s neo-modernism. How it all works – where the catharsis lies, which compositional axes underpin the design, where the project resembles Zaryadye Concert Hall and where it does not – read in the article below.

Object

How Historic Tobolsk Becomes a Portal to the Future

Over the past decade, the architectural company Wowhaus has developed urban strategies for several Russian cities – Vyksa, Tula, and Nizhnekamsk, to name but a few. Against this backdrop, the Tobolsk master plan stands out both for its scale – the territory under transformation covers more than 220 square kilometers – and for its complexity.

Object

St. Petersburg vs Rome

The center of St. Petersburg is, as we know, sacred – but few people can say with certainty where this “sacred place” actually begins and ends. It’s not about the formal boundaries, “from the Obvodny Canal to the Bolshaya Nevka”, but about the vibe that feels true to the city center. With the Nevskaya Ratusha complex – built to a design that won an international competition – Evgeny Gerasimov and Sergei Tchoban created an “image of the center” within its territory. And not so much the image of St. Petersburg itself, as that of a global metropolis. This is something new, something that hasn’t appeared in the city for a long time. In this article, we study the atmosphere, recall precedents, and even reflect on who and when first called St. Petersburg the “new Rome”. Clearly, the idea is alive for a reason.

Object

On the Wave

The project of transforming the river port and embankment in the city of Cheboksary, developed by the ATRIUM Architects, involves one of the city’s key areas. The Volga embankment is to be turned into a riverside boulevard – a multifunctional, comfortable, and expressive space for work and leisure activities. The authors propose creating a new link with the city’s main Krasnaya (“Red”) Square, as well as erecting several residential towers inspired by the shape of the traditional national women’s headdress – these towers are likely to become striking accents on the Volga panorama.

Interview

Valery Kanyashin: “We Were Given a Free Hand”

The Headliner residential complex, the main part of which was recently completed just across from Moscow City, is a kind of neighbor to the MIBC that doesn’t “play along” with it. On the contrary, the new complex is entirely built on contrast: like a city of differently scaled buildings that seems to have emerged naturally over the past 20 years – which is a hugely popular trend nowadays! And yet here – perhaps only here – such a project has been realized to its full potential. Yes, high-rises dominate, but all these slender, delicate profiles, all these exciting perspectives! And most importantly – how everything is mixed and composed together... We spoke with the project’s leader Valery Kanyashin.

Object

The Keystone

Until quite recently, premium residential and office complexes in Moscow were seen as the exclusive privilege of the city center. Today the situation is changing: high-quality architecture is moving beyond the confines of the Third Ring Road and appearing on the outskirts. The STONE Kaluzhskaya business center is one such example. Projects like this help decentralize the megalopolis, making life and work prestigious in any part of the city.

send.project

Perpetuum Mobile

The interior of the headquarters of Natsproektstroy, created by the IND studio team, vividly and effectively reflects the client’s field of activity – it is one of Russia’s largest infrastructure companies, responsible for logistics and transport communications of every kind you can possibly think of.