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We and they. News of November

The last month of dawn, has stood out with especially rich crop on delivery of premiums, two of which are absolutely new, at once have loudly declared themselves. The second main theme of the month became the discussion of projects of a Gazprom tower - on December, 1st the winner have been declared.

04 December 2006
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The rewarding of winners of premium ARX awards, referred to without superfluous modesty « key event in the field of architecture and constructions » has passed in great pomposity. From such reckless frankness in business of self-eulogy all a little bit shivered, but obediently waited for great event. Also it is necessary to recognize, as a whole the premium has gone right. First, in nominees of the premium it was possible to call many recognized architects who get together in few places now, except for Arx-Moscow. Given up the place somewhere young, and somewhere - to not Moscow colleagues, venerable architects last years have ceased to be appreciable, as though having sated with glory. It is not absolutely correct, because as a result that they do, becomes not so noticeably, as earlier. Perhaps, successful start of premium ARX awards will help to overcome this injustice.

Secondly, the decision of jury in the pleasant image has smoothed PR aplomb of action, having stopped on very quiet things: at once two nominations has won one wooden Yachts-clubs Totan Kuzembaev, having made obvious analogy and some kind of continuation to consecutive victories of “small forms” Brodsky on Arx-Moscow. Same building of Kuzembaev was chosen by two of three foreigners participated in jury, this concurrence clearly having expressed that exactly this, conditionally speaking, «kliazminskoe» the direction in modern Russian architecture for them is more interesting than the rest: no one can argue, it is really special creative product, something an average between concept and architecture. Winners of other nominations: the house in Tessinskij pereulok by S.Skuratov, Crete settlement by D. Aleksandrov, the town-planning concept of Ufa peninsula Raum architects - differ by thoughtful context on the verge of ecology, somewhere natural, somewhere cultural. 
 
If in ARX awards the international jury chose works of the recognized Russian architects, then in some days the rewarding of somewhat mirror took place - on behalf of Russian avant guarde handed over other premium, for the first time this year, the premium of a name of Jacob Chernihova from the same fund. Here not a figurine was handed over, but the solid sum in ? 50 000 (and the general fund twice is more), not venerable, but young and promising, and not Russian, but foreign - is more true international, but from Russians Boris Bernaskoni who has brought the tablet last day has dared to participate only. Awarded not for the concrete work, but for creative credo, finding among 55 nominees the most headed in the future, corresponding not to the letter, but spirit of avant guarde. As those have recognized the urbanists-theorists working, in particular, for administration of the European Union and for the Albanian capital, architects of group DOGMA. Architects represent obvious alternative to modern searches of new in the refined complex bends counted on a computer - they despise style refined, think in scale of cities, buildings for simplicity represent in the form of cubes, speak by manifests - looking directly before themselves, drop the perfected phrases, probably, fragments of dogma. Anyway their loss from the formalized searches of the present is obvious; and avaricious images of their tablets even more then avant guarde, also remind most of all Leda - from here, probably, the name « city of new Jacobins». On the other hand, such theorized urbanism well corresponds to slogans of the present Venetian Biennial, devoted to problems of cities on which DOGMA represented the project of the ideal city of Vema in the Italian pavilion; they have not been noticed on Biennial, probably, just because of utopianism.

Not Utopias, but real business was awarded on Biennial. The Danes successfully cooperating with Chinese in sphere of ecology. Capital of Colombia Bogota which like Munhauzen with success has pulled out itself from problems with own hand, have named « a beacon of hope » for all other cities. Not so much beautiful exhibition design was estimated, but the maintenance - the present exhibition of achievements. As in Russia urbanistic successes now are not present, and there is only a fact of uncontrollable growth of one big city so there was nothing to count for. The graceful decision - to show the Russian urbanism in the form of memoirs on its consequences presented in poetical installations of Brodsky, it was pleasant for those who understands, and for the rest, most likely, it was not clear - this time on Biennial estimated not the language of arts, but figures. Though one beautiful exposition have awarded, Japanese.

Besides two absolutely new and loud premiums, in Moscow have handed over already become for four years habitual «Arhip» from magazine Salon, the premium for interiors and private houses. This year traditionally qualitative works of winners had an easy strike of nervousness - asymmetric windows, shifts - whether a style, whether the general mood of private architecture. The winner of the main nomination « the Individual house » architect Dmitry Gejchenko could not come on rewarding - in the summer he had been arrested at the Ukrainian customs for a harmless pack of medicines, not so long ago have released under a subscription not to leave and in the middle of December he was going to be judged.

The turn of very different premiums not connected with trade unions has recovered an architectural life in general and November in particular, but the main sensation has concentrated not here. During the whole November everyone who could, discussed projects of a skyscraper "Gazprom-city", exposed in Academies of arts in Petersburg. The press was flooded with clauses against a skyscraper, it is impossible to spoil the unique in the country beautiful city, strictly speaking. Have called some press conferences, there were youth associations, protest actions. In the answer have received assurances that projects - only sketches and nothing is decided jet.

Movement in protest is very active, though is non-uniform. Its the first, the most nice, the part, conditionally speaking, intellectual, is presented by Michael Piotrovsky and the truth inherits D.S.Lihacheva's ideas, already defended Peter from one skyscraper, that was growth below and not gazprom’s, it was not planed as a symbol of the statement above city of a very large and influential company and in this respect positions of a skyscraper of the ninetieth were rather weaker. Closer by the end of the month this movement, at last, has found support of foreign colleagues in the form of the letter of lord Norvicha and Kolin Ameri, Englishmen, representatives of the World fund of protection of monuments; clause in Times has followed.

The second part of resistance - trade-union, and though they act for one business, the performance of the unions of architects does not leave the insult that the Russian architects were have not involved in designing.

The opinions concerning the projects of foreign stars also dispatch – the director of the Museum of architecture David Sakrisjan has named all of them bad and slipshod, but has not explained why. Piotrovsky opposite, has recognized projects to be good, having divided the quality of architecture and that damage which it will put to city if will appear in that place where it is planned. Somewhere here exists the output - why not to construct a good skyscraper « from a star » somewhere in the suburb of the city, at the same time having recycled the area? If, certainly Gazprom is ready to go on the compromise.

If to look at projects generally it would be desirable to agree with Piotrovsky. Remaining within the limits of not most refined genre, "star" have offered various enough decisions. One law is observed: from six invited, five were unconditional stars of the first size, and the sixth project was also foreign, but « with greater Russian participation » - RMJM. It is also a workshop of not the last size, but not with such world glory, as the others - the seventh among the British architectural companies. It participated in construction of the Scottish parliament known for very delicate attitude to historical building, but not on the first roles. But it works for Dubai, it is not a secret, that for the Russian officials and businessmen this place is almost an ideal of happiness.

If to look at projects the small difference is felt at once. Five "stars", everyone in own way, have tried to brighten up the intrusion of the giant into city. Nuvel has built "Aurora", it is not the first building in the form of the ship designed by him ; Libeskind - an arch of the General Staff, having tried to open a view on Smolnyi Cathedral by Rastrelli; Fuksas - a spike, whether Admiralties, whether Petropavlovka. Koolhas «cut away» the volume by cubic niches, having tried to retire the massiveness of a building, the tower by Hertzoga and De Meron is bent as if it is ashamed for it to stand on this place. In vain spoke, that our scandal has not reached the foreigners, either all of them knew, or felt - all five present "stars" have anyhow expressed their confusion to what they do, interfering in « a heavenly line ».

Only one project has appeared to be alien doubts and meditations. It represents a pure embodiment of an emblem of Gazprom, a gas candle, the size even higher the one was announced for 20 meters. It is very expensive, technologically complex sculpture of a torch - the cleanest embodiment of the order for an arrogant symbol of gas. Whether it was necessary to doubt, what project would be choosen. What about the public, declaring the results, Valentine Matvienko has told, that petersburgers should be happy, and Alexey Miller has suggested the public to be consoled whith a skating rink which at the same time will be constructed in the territory of Okhta. It was on the 1st of  December.

The autumn crop of awards is collected. Serious events in professional sphere in December are not expected, but development of scandal with a Petersburg tower is probable. 

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04 December 2006

Headlines now
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
​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.
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.
Water and Light
Church art is full of symbolism, and part of it is truly canonical, while another part is shaped by tradition and is perceived by some as obligatory. Because of this kind of “false conservatism”, contemporary church architecture develops slowly compared to other genres, and rarely looks contemporary. Nevertheless, there are enthusiasts in this field out there: the cemetery church of Archangel Michael in Apatity, designed by Dmitry Ostroumov and Prokhram bureau, combines tradition and experiment. This is not an experiment for its own sake, however – rather, the considered work of a contemporary architect with the symbolism of space, volume, and, above all, light.
Champions’ Cup
At first glance, the Bell skyscraper on 1st Yamskogo Polya Street, 12, appears strict and laconic – though by no means modest. Its economical stereometry is built on a form close to an oval, one of UNK architects’ favorite themes. The streamlined surface of the main volume, clad in metal louvers, is sliced twice with glass incisions that graphically reveal the essence of the original shape: both its simplicity and its complexity. At the same time, dozens of highly complex engineering puzzles have been solved here.
Semi-Digital Environment
In the town of Innopolis, a satellite of Kazan, the first 4-star hotel designed by MAD Architects has opened. The interiors of the hotel combine elegance with irony, and technology with comfort, evoking the atmosphere of a computer game or maybe a sci-fi movie about the near future.
History never ends
The old railway station in Kapan, a city in southern Armenia, has been given new life by the Paris-based design firm Normal Studio. Today, it serves as a TUMO center.
A Deep, Crystal Shine
A new luxury residential development by ADM architects is set to rise in the Patriarch’s Ponds district, not far from Novopushkinsky Square. It will replace three buildings erected in the early 1990s. The project authors, Andrey Romanov and Ekaterina Kuznetsova, have placed their bets on the variety among the three volumes, modern design solutions, and attention to detail: one of the buildings will feature smoothly curved balconies with a ceramic sheen on their undersides, while another will be accented by glass “sculpture” columns.
Grigory Revzin: “What we should do with the architecture of the seventies”
Soviet modernism came in two flavors: the good, author-driven kind, and the bad, standardized kind. The good kind was “on the periphery”, while the bad kind was in the center – geographically, in terms of attention, scale, and everything else. Can we demolish it? “That would be destroying public consensus out of thin air”. So what should we do? Preserve it, but creatively: “Bring architecture into places where it hasn’t yet appeared”. Treat these buildings not as monuments, but as urban landscape. Read our interview with Grigory Revzin on the pressing topic of saving modernism – where he proposes a controversial, yet really intriguing, way of preserving 1970s buildings.
A Roadside Picnic of Urban Planning Theorists
Marina Egorova, head of Empate Architectural Bureau, brought together urban planning theorists – the successors of Alexey Gutnov and Vyacheslav Glazychev – to revive the substance and depth of professional discourse. At the first meeting, much ground was covered: the participants revisited the theoretical foundations, aligned their values, examined a cutting-edge case of the Kazan agglomeration, and concluded with the unfathomable intricacies of Russian land demarcation. Below, we present key takeaways from all the presentations.
Perspective View
CNTR Architects has designed a business center for a new district in Yekaterinburg, aiming to reduce the need for commuting and make the residential environment more diverse. The architectural solutions are equally focused on creating spatial flexibility, comfortable working conditions, and a memorable image that could allow the building to become a spatial landmark of the district.
Malevich and Bathhouses, Nature and High-Tech
The Malevich Bathhouse complex is scheduled to open in the fall of 2025 on the Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Highway. The project, designed by DBA-GROUP under the leadership of Vladislav Andreev, is an example of an unconventional approach to the image of a spa in general and of a bathhouse in particular. Deliberately avoiding any kind of allusion, the architects opted for streamlined forms with characteristic rounded corners, a combination of wood with bent glass, and restrained contemporary shapes – both inside and out. Let’s take a closer look at the project.
Rather, a Tablecloth and a Glass!
After many years, the long-abandoned Horse Guards Department building in St. Petersburg has finally received the attention it deserves: according to a design by Studio 44, the first restoration and adaptation works are scheduled to begin this year. Both the intended function and the general scope of works imply minimal alteration to the complex, which has preserved traces of its three-century history. All solutions are reversible and aimed, above all, at opening the monument to the city and immersing it in a lively social scene – hence the choice of a cultural center scenario with a strong gastronomic component.
​Materialization of Airflows
The Nikolai Kamov International Airport in Tomsk opened at the end of August last year. We have already written about the project – now we are taking a look at the completed building. Its functionality is reinforced by symbolic undertones: the architects at ASADOV sought to reflect local identity in the architecture as fully as possible.
The City as a Narrative
Sergey Skuratov’s approach to large urban plots could best be described as a “total design code”. The architect pays equal attention to the overall composition and the smallest of details, striving to ensure that every aspect is thoroughly thought out and subordinated to the original vision. It’s a Renaissance-like approach, really – a titanic effort demanding remarkable willpower and perseverance. The results are likewise grand – architecture that makes a statement. This article looks at the revived concept for the central section of the Seventh Heaven residential district in Kazan, a composition so thoroughly considered that even the “gradient of visual emphasis” (sic!) across the facades has been carefully worked out. It also touches on the narrative idea behind the project – and even the architect’s own doubts about it.
A Garden of Hope for Freedom
In October, at the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery in Suzdal, the Prison Yard Garden opened on the site that had served as a prison from the 18th century until the Khrushchev Thaw. The architectural concept was developed by NOῨD Short Film, and the landscape design by the MOX landscape bureau. In fact, there are two gardens here – very different ones. We try to understand whether they evoke the right emotions in visitors, while also showing the beauty of June’s ruderal plants in bloom.
A Laconic Image of Time
The Time Square residential complex, built on the northern edge of St. Petersburg, appears more concise and efficient than its neighbor and predecessor, the New Time complex. Nevertheless, the architect’s hand is clearly felt: themes of “black and white”, “inside and outside”, and most notably, the “lamellar” quality of the facades that seems to visibly “eat away” at the buildings’ mass – everything is played out like a well-written score. One is reminded of both classical modernism and the so-called “post-constructivism”.
The Flower of the Lake
The prototype for the building of the Kamal Theater in Kazan is an ice flower: a rare and fragile natural phenomenon of Lake Kaban “froze” in the large, soaring outlines of the glass screens enclosing the main volume, shaping its silhouette and shielding the stained-glass windows from the sun. The project, led by the Wowhaus consortium and including global architecture “star” Kengo Kuma, won the 2021/2022 competition and was realized close to the original concept in a short – very short – period of time. The theater opened in early 2025. It was Kengo Kuma who proposed the image of an ice flower and the contraposition of cold on the outside and warmth on the inside. Between 2022 and 2024, Wowhaus did everything possible to bring this vision to life, practically living on-site. Now we are taking a closer look at this landmark building and its captivating story.
Peaceful Integration on Mira Avenue
The MIRA residential complex (the word mir means “peace” in Russian), perched above the steep banks of the Yauza River and Mira Avenue, lives up to its name not only technically, but also visually and conceptually. Sleek, high-rise, and glass-clad, it responds both to Zholtovsky’s classicism and to the modernism of the nearby “House on Stilts”. Drawing on features from its neighbors, it reconciles them within a shared architectural language rooted in contemporary façade design. Let’s take a closer look at how this is done.
An Interior for a New Format of Education
The design of the new building for Tyumen State University (TyumSU) was initially developed before the pandemic but later revised to meet new educational requirements. The university has adopted a “2+2+2” system, which eliminates traditional divisions into groups and academic streams in favor of individualized study programs. These changes were implemented swiftly – right at the start of construction. Now that the building is complete, we are taking a closer look.
Penthouses and Kokoshniks
A new residential complex designed by ASADOV Architects for the Krasnaya Roza business district responds to its proximity to 17th-century landmarks – the chambers of the Hamovny Dvor and St. Nicholas Church – as well as to the need to preserve valuable façades of a historic rental house built in the Russian Revival style. The architects proposed a set of buildings of varying heights, whose façades reference ecclesiastical architecture. But we were also able to detect other associations.
Centipede Town
The new school campus designed by ATRIUM Architects, located on the shores of a protected lake in the Imeretian Lowland Ornithological Reserve, represents an important and ambitious undertaking for the team: this is not just a school, but a Presidential Lyceum for the comprehensive development of gifted children – 2,500 students from age 3 through high school. At the same time, it is also envisioned as a new civic hub for the entire Sirius territory. In this article, we unpack the structure and architecture of this “lyceum town”.
Warm Black and White
The second phase of “Quarter 31”, designed by KPLN and built in the Moscow suburb town of Pushkino, reveals a multifaceted character. At first glance, the complex appears to be defined by geometry and a monochrome palette. But a closer look reveals a number of “irregular” details: a gradient of glazing and flared window frames, a hierarchy of façades, volumetric brickwork, and even architectural references to natural phenomena. We explore all the rules – and exceptions – that we were able to discover here.