Made in ABD

This article is not about the results of an architectural studio work, not about a project or construction, but tells about creative and work processes. The architects from ABD company, whose constructions have become a standard of quality commercial architecture, agreed to share secrets of bureau work management.

Written by:
Anna Martovitskaya

29 December 2009

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Architect:

Firm:

ABD architects https://www.abd-architects.ru

ABD Architects is one of the first specialized architectural offices. Boris Levyant, its founder, is sure their know-how is obvious: focused specialization increases effectiveness many times. However ABD Architects are often involved as a general planner. This brings up the question: who is coordinating the whole process? For this purpose the company has project managers in charge of the all administrative issues of a project. Today there are numerous specialized architectural offices among the private Moscow companies, only ABD has such highly developed project management institute.

"When a project has a manager, a chief project architect has a lot more time for creative work, and is able to take on 3 or 4 large project at one time, - explains Alla Feoktistova, the chief project architect of ABD Architects architecture department. – A chief project architect has only to attend working meeting on each of the objects, but a manager makes all the arrangements, from documents to invitation all the specialists involved in a particular stage. "We help architects not to bother about accounting and the accountant – about the architecture – joking Nick Barabanov, the deputy director general of project management, controlling the ABD Architects managers. - But the primary target is not to help a chief project architect but to improve the quality of interaction between all project members, including the client”. Another significant difference ABD Architects from any other bureau is their approach to the creative process. 'Our product certainly cannot be qualified as signature architecture. I always remind - says Boris Levyant - that ABD Architects is not “Levyant’s bureau” in a creative meaning.

It is more correct to consider our bureau as a creative union of architects, opinion of each of them is important. It is underlined by the usage of word "architect" in the plural: ABD ArchitectS - ALL the architects of ABD ». Moreover, any architectural critic will confidently say the ABD Architects architecture is very recognizable. The secret is simple. Bright personalities work in the bureau, who managed to work out their own language, work of any of the chief project architects results in high quality and stylish business architecture object, easily identified as ABD Architects creation. "We do not deny the creative and social main tasks, but a competent response to a client’s requirement is our priority - says Sergei Kruchkov. – As a rule, we design commercial buildings, and the issue of economic efficiency of an object is one of our most important priorities. The bureau developed some unified answers for possible clients queries, our internal know-how, our rules. In ABD Architects everyone know the ruled and it is the level of quality and service the bureau establishes on the market".

Architect:

Firm:

ABD architects https://www.abd-architects.ru

29 December 2009

Headlines now

Object

A Paper Clip above the River

In this article, we talk with Vitaly Lutz from the Genplan Institute of Moscow about the design and unique features of the pedestrian bridge that now links the two banks of the Yauza River in the new cluster of Bauman Moscow State Technical University (MSTU). The bridge’s form and functionality – particularly the inclusion of an amphitheater suspended over the river – were conceived during the planning phase of the territory’s development. Typically, this approach is not standard practice, but the architects advocate for it, referring to this intermediate project phase as the “pre-AGR” stage (AGR stands for Architectural and Urban Planning Approval). Such a practice, they argue, helps define key parameters of future projects and bridge the gap between urban planning and architectural design.

Review

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A City Block Isoline

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Report

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Any day now, we’re expecting the results of a competition held by the “Samolet” development group for a plot in Kommunarka. In the meantime, we share the impressions of Editor-in-Chief Julia Tarabarina, who managed to conduct a public talk. Though technically focused on the interaction between developers and architects, the public talk turned into a discussion about the pros and cons of architectural competitions.

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Terraced Design

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Contest Results

The Volga Regatta

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Life Plans

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A New Track

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Report

Four Different Surveys

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Report

Scheduled Evolution

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The Golden Crown

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News

Flexibility and Integration

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A Step Forward

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Gold in the Sands

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Layers and Levels of Flight

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Light and Shadow

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View

Casus Novae

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Report

Treasure Hunting

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Depths of the Earth, Streams of Water

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Fir Tree Dynamics

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A Brick Shell

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Report

Word Forms

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Flexibility and Acuteness of Modernity

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Interview

Yuri Vissarionov: “A modular house does not belong to the land”

It belongs to space, or to the air... It turns out that 3D printing is more effective when combined with a modular approach: the house is built in a workshop and then adapted to the site, including on uneven terrain. Yuri Vissarionov shares his latest experience in designing tourist complexes, both in central Russia and in the south. These include houseboats, homes printed from lightweight concrete using a 3D printer, and, of course, frame houses.

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Moscow’s First

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Looking at the Water

The site of Villa Sonata stretches from the road to the water’s edge, offering its own shoreline, pier, and a picturesque river panorama. To reveal these sweeping views, Roman Leonidov “cut” the façade diagonally parallel to the river, thus getting two main axes for the house and, consequently, “two heads”. The internal core – two double-height spaces, a living room and a conservatory, with a “bridge” above them – makes the house both “transparent” and filled with light.

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The White Wing

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Urban Dunes

The XSA Ramps team designed and built a three-part sports hub for a park in Rostov-on-Don, welcoming people of all ages and fitness levels. The skate plaza, pump track, and playground are all meticulously crafted with details that attract a diverse range of visitors. The technical execution of the shapes and slopes transforms this space into a kind of sculptural composition.

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Proportional Growth

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