In the settlement of Zarechye of Moscow Region, the construction of the new residential compound “Grünwald” has been completed, the general designer of which has become the architectural bureau “SPEECH Choban&Kuznetsov”. This project has united four designer visions of up-to-date high-standard residential architecture.
Written by: Tatiana Shovskaya Translated by: Anton Mizonov
Project Team:
Masterplan project: nps tchoban voss (Germany), “Ostozhenka” Bureau (Russia)
Building A, “Waltz”
Architectural studio SPEECH Choban & Kuznetsov and nps tchoban voss (Germany)
Authors of the project: Sergey Choban, Sergey Kuznetsov
Chief architects of the project: Y. Kotlyar, V. Kazul
Chief engineer of the project: L. Makukhina
Architects of the project: S. Khapoknysh, V. Shalyavsky, K. Shalyavsky
Total area: 12 484 sqm
Building B, “Sector”
“Ostozhenka” Architectural Bureau
Architects: A. Skokan, V. Kanyashin, M. Matveenko, M. Dekhtyar, M. Kudryashov
Total area: 9 718 sqm
Building C, “Cubus”
Architectural Bureau Assmann Salomon (Germany)
Architects: Frank Assmann, Peter Salomon
Total area: 16 997 sqm
Building D, “Veil”
Architectural Bureau “Project Meganom” and Mossin&partners
Architects: A. Mossin, V. Kazachenkova, S. Kirichenko
Total area: 8 132 sqm
2004 — 2010
/ 2008 — 2011
General designer: StroySpetsMontazh
Engineering departments: OAO “Stroyproject”
Commissioner: “Mosstroyrekonstruktsia” Company (LSR Group)
This
project was launched back in the pre-crisis 2004, when the company “Group LSR”
set off to build a residential complex, one of the most notable features of which
would be the high-quality architectural environment. The advantages of living
outside the metropolis were to be combined here with the comfort and cozy
atmosphere of a European city. The commissioner placed his bets on Russia’s
leading architects, Sergey Choban and Alexander Skokan, while they, in turn, while
developing the masterplan, suggested that the author team should be expanded by
inviting other authors to work on separate volumes within the project. These
people were Anton Mossin who at the moment worked for “Meganom”, and the German
bureau “AssmannSolomon”. The land site, allotted for the construction of “Grünwald”,
is situated on the river bank and is notable for a prominent height difference
– about 5 meters.
The residential compound borders on a wide field that separates it from the
technology city of Skolkovo.
In order to visually single out the territory and give it a cozy feel, the
architects surrounded the “Grünwald” with an earth mound, into which they hid
the parking garage. The mound forms two layers of public space: the main one, the
boulevard surrounded by the buildings and protected by a green hill, and the
secondary one – an array of terraces set upon this hill, i.e. on top of the
parking garage, commanding a fine view of the surroundings. No two houses here
are exactly alike. The round volumes mark the corners, while the sector
building creates the dynamic entrance area. The height of the buildings is also
carefully chosen – they tower just a little bit over the surrounding treetops,
not domineering over the nature but just making their presence visible. The house
designed by “Ostozhenka” studio, was aptly named “Sector” because it looks like
a quarter circle on the layout. This shape, stylish by definition, did not require
any extra volume elements – that’s why the facades here are dominated by the
so-much-like-Ostozhenka pattern of window openings and the combination of
finishing materials, natural stone and wood. The “Cubuses”, houses by the German
bureau AssmannSolomon, originally the largest ones of all, got the facades with
prominently protruding elements. Arguably, the most unusual facades are sported
by the “Veil” house designed by Anton Mossin. They look as if they were covered
with a green openwork shell that forms various floral ornaments. This shell
serves the function of an extra façade and provides not only visual and
acoustic protection but also creates the air buffer protecting from the heat in
the summertime, which helps cut the air conditioning expenses. The round house,
designed by SPEECH Choban&Kuznetsov and nps tchoban voss, according to the
masterplan, was to become the outpost of the settlement, and the architects
treat it accordingly as a tower, enhancing this metaphor with the rhythmical
window belts. The facades of this house, with a poetic name of “Waltz”, are
finished with rusticated stone blocks that the architects run between the
window openings in crisscross bands. The interior of the well-like elevator
lobby also takes the tower association to a new level: the light from the
high-rise lights permeates it from top to bottom, and the elevators are
accessed by hanging bridges.
Project Team:
Masterplan project: nps tchoban voss (Germany), “Ostozhenka” Bureau (Russia)
Building A, “Waltz”
Architectural studio SPEECH Choban & Kuznetsov and nps tchoban voss (Germany)
Authors of the project: Sergey Choban, Sergey Kuznetsov
Chief architects of the project: Y. Kotlyar, V. Kazul
Chief engineer of the project: L. Makukhina
Architects of the project: S. Khapoknysh, V. Shalyavsky, K. Shalyavsky
Total area: 12 484 sqm
Building B, “Sector”
“Ostozhenka” Architectural Bureau
Architects: A. Skokan, V. Kanyashin, M. Matveenko, M. Dekhtyar, M. Kudryashov
Total area: 9 718 sqm
Building C, “Cubus”
Architectural Bureau Assmann Salomon (Germany)
Architects: Frank Assmann, Peter Salomon
Total area: 16 997 sqm
Building D, “Veil”
Architectural Bureau “Project Meganom” and Mossin&partners
Architects: A. Mossin, V. Kazachenkova, S. Kirichenko
Total area: 8 132 sqm
2004 — 2010
/ 2008 — 2011
General designer: StroySpetsMontazh
Engineering departments: OAO “Stroyproject”
Commissioner: “Mosstroyrekonstruktsia” Company (LSR Group)
The Altai Ornament
The architectural company Empate has developed the concept for an eco-settlement located on a remote site in Altai. The master plan, which resembles a traditional ornament or even a utopian city, forms a clear system of public and private spaces. The architects also designed six types of houses for the settlement, drawing inspiration from the region’s culture, folklore, and vernacular building practices.
Pro Forma
Photos have emerged of the newly completed whisky distillery in Chernyakhovsk, designed by TOTEMENT / PAPER – a continuation of their earlier work on the nearby Cognac Museum. From what is, in essence, a merely technical and utilitarian volume and space, the architects have created a fully-fledged theatre of impressions. Let’s take a closer look. We highly recommend a visit to what may look like a factory, but is in fact an experiment in theatricalizing the process of strong spirit production – and not only that, but also of “pure art”, capable of evolving anywhere.
The Arch and the Triangle
The new Stone Mnevniki business center by Kleinewelt Architekten – designed for the same client as their projects in Khodynka – bears certain similarities to those earlier developments, but not entirely. In Mnevniki, there are more angular elements, and the architects themselves describe the project as being built on contrast. Indeed, while the first phase contains subtle references to classical architecture – light touches like arches, both upright and inverted, evoking the spirit of the 1980s – the second phase draws more distantly on the modernism of the 1970s. What unites them is a boldly expressive public space design, a kaleidoscope of rays and triangles.
Health Factory
While working on a wellness and tourist complex on the banks of the Yenisei River, the architects at Vissarionov Studio set out to create healing spaces that would amplify the benefits of nature and medical treatments for both body and soul. The spatial solutions are designed to encourage interaction between the guests and the landscape, as well as each other.
The Blooming Mechanics of a Glass Forest
The Savvinskaya 27 apartment complex built by Level Group, currently nearing completion on an elongated riverfront site next to the Novodevichy Convent, boasts a form that’s daring even by modern Moscow standards. Visually, it resembles the collaborative creation of a glassblower and a sculptor: a kind of glass-and-concrete jungle, rhythmically structured yet growing energetically and vividly. Bringing such an idea to life was by no means an easy task. In this article, we discuss the concept by ODA and the methods used by APEX architects to implement it, along with a look at the building’s main units and detailing.
Grace and Unity
Villa “Grace”, designed by Roman Leonidov’s studio and built in the Moscow suburbs, strikes a balance between elegant minimalism and the expansive gestures of the Russian soul. The main house is conceived as a sequence of four self-contained volumes – each could exist independently, yet it chooses to be part of a whole. Unity is achieved through color and a system of shared spaces, while the rich plasticity of the forms – refined throughout the construction process – compensates for the near-total absence of decorative elements.
Daring Brilliance
In this article, we are exploring “New Vision”, the first school built in the past 25 years in Moscow’s Khamovniki. The building has three main features: it is designed in accordance with the universal principles of modern education, fostering learning through interaction and more; second, the façades combine structural molded glass and metallic glazed ceramics – expensive and technologically advanced materials. Third, this is the school of Garden Quarters, the latest addition to Moscow’s iconic Khamovniki district. Both a costly and, in its way, audacious acquisition, it carries a youthful boldness in its statement. Let’s explore how the school is designed and where the contrasts lie.
A Twist of the Core
A clever and concise sculptural solution – rotating each floor by N degrees – has created an ensemble of “dancing” towers: similar yet different, simple yet complex. The designers meticulously refined a single structural node and spent considerable effort on the column construction – after that, “everything else was easy”. The architects also rotated the core walls on each floor to maximize the efficiency of the office spaces.
The Sculpting of Spring Forest Matter
We’ve been observing this building for a couple of years now: seemingly simple, perhaps even unassuming, it fits in remarkably well with the micro-district context shaped by the Moscow MCD road junctions. This building sticks in the memory of everyone who drives along the highway, even occasionally. In our opinion, Sergey Nikeshkin, by blending popular architectural techniques and approaches of the 2010s, managed to turn a seemingly simple structure into a statement “on the theme of a house as such”. Let’s figure out how this happened.
Water and Wind Whet the Stone
The Arisha Terraces residential complex, designed by Asadov Architects, will be built in a district of Dubai dedicated to film and television production. To create shaded spaces and an intriguing silhouette, the architects opted for a funnel-shaped composition and nature-inspired forms of erosion and weathering. The roofs, podium, and underground spaces extend leisure opportunities within the boundaries of a man-made “oasis”.
Elevation 5642
The Genplan Institute of Moscow has developed a comprehensive development project for three ski resorts in the Caucasus, which have been designated as special economic zones of the tourism and recreation type. The first of these zones is Elbrus. The project includes the construction of new ski runs, cable cars, and hotels, as well as the modernization of stations and improvements to the Azau tourist meadow. To expand the audience and enhance year-round appeal, a network of eco-trails is also being developed. In this article, we provide a detailed breakdown of each stage.
The IT Town
Taking the example of the first completed phase of the “U” district, we examine how the new neighborhood in Innopolis will be organized. T+T Architects and HADAA formed a well-balanced and ingenious master plan with different types of housing, a green artery, a system of squares, and a park in the town’s central part.
The Heart Lies Within
The second-phase building of the Evgeny Primakov School already won multiple awards while still in the design stage. Now that it’s completed, some unfinished nuances remain – most notably, the exposed ceiling structures, which ideally should have been concealed. However, given the priority placed on the building’s volumetric composition, this does not seem critical. What matters more is the “Wow!” effect created by the space itself.
Magnetic Forces
“Krylatskaya 33” is the first large-scale residential complex to appear amidst the 1980s “micro-districts” that harmoniously coexist with the forests, the river, the slopes, and the sports infrastructure. Despite its imposing scale, the architects of Ostozhenka managed to turn the complex into something that can be best described as a “graceful dominant”. First, they designed the complex with consideration for the style and height of the surrounding micro-districts. Second, by introducing a pause in its tallest section, they created compositional tension – right along the urban planning axis of the area.
Orion’s Belt
The Stone Khodynka 2 office complex, designed by Kleinewelt Architekten for the company Stone, is built with an ergonomic layout following “healthy building” principles: natural light, ventilation, and all the necessary features for an efficient office environment. On the outside, it resembles – like many contemporary buildings – an iPhone: sleek, glowing, glass-and-metal, edges elegantly rounded. Yet, it responds sensitively to the Khodynka context, where the main theme is the contrast between vertical and horizontal lines. The key intrigue lies in the design of the “stylobate” as a suspended passage, leaving the space beneath it open for free pedestrian movement.
Grigory Revzin: “It Was a Bold Statement Made on the Sly. Something Won”
In this article, we discuss the debates surrounding the circus competition and the demolition of the CMEA building with the most renowned architectural critic of our time. A paradox emerges in the process: while nostalgia for the Brezhnev era seems to be in vogue in Russia, a landmark building – the “axis” of the Warsaw Pact – has been sentenced to demolition. Isn’t that strange? We also find out that wow-architecture has made a comeback as a post-COVID trend. However, to make a truly powerful statement, professionals still remain indispensable.
Exposed Concrete
One of the stages of improving a small square in the town of Lermontov was the construction of a skatepark. Entrusting this part of the project to the XSA team, the city gained a 250-meter trick track whose features resemble those of land art objects – unparalleled in Russia in both scale and design. Here’s a look at how the experimental snake run in the foothills of the Caucasus was built.
One Step Closer To the Dream
The challenges of getting all the mandatory approvals, an insufficient budget, and construction site difficulties did not prevent ASADOV Bureau from achieving its main goal in the realization of the school project in the town of Troitsk – taking another step away from outdated notions of educational spaces toward creating a fundamentally new academic environment.
Chalet on the Rock
An Accor hotel in Arkhyz, designed by A.Len, will be situated at the gateway to the resort’s main tourist hubs. The architects reinterpreted the widely popular chalet style while adding an unexpected twist – an unfinished structure preserved on the site. The design team transformed this remnant into an exciting space featuring an open-air pool and a restaurant with panoramic views of the region’s highest mountain ridges.
Sergey Skuratov: “By and large, the project has been realized in line with the original ideas”
In this issue, we talk to the chief architect of Garden Quarters, looking back at the history and key moments of a project that took 18 years to develop and has now finally been completed. What interests us most are the transformations that the project underwent during construction, and the way the “necessary void” of public space was formed, which turned this remarkable complex into a fragment of a whole new type of urban fabric – not just at the horizontal “street” level but in its vertical structure as well.
A Unique Representative
The recently concluded year 2024 can be considered the year of completion for the “Garden Quarters” residential complex in Moscow’s Khamovniki. This project is well-known and, in many ways, iconic. Rarely does one manage to preserve such a number of original ideas, achieving in the end a kind of urban planning Gesamtkunstwerk. Here is a subjective view from an architecture journalist, with an interview with Sergey Skuratov soon to follow.
Field of Life
The new project by the architectural company PNKB (an acronym for “Design, Research, and Advisory Bureau”), led by Sergey Gnedovsky and Anton Lyubimkin, for the Kulikovo Field Museum is dedicated to the field as a concept in its own right. The field has long been a focus of the museum’s thorough and successful research. Accordingly, the exterior of the new museum building is gentler than that of its predecessor, which was also designed by PNKB and dedicated specifically to the historic battle. Inside, however, the building confidently guides the visitor from a luminous atrium along a spiral path to the field – interpreted here as a field of life.
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.
Living in the Architecture of One’s Own Making
Do architects design houses for themselves? You bet! In this article, we are examining a new book by TATLIN publishing house. This book – unprecedented for Russia – features 52 private homes designed and built by contemporary architects for themselves. It includes houses that are famous, even iconic, as well as lesser-known ones; large and small, stylish and eccentric. To some extent, the book reflects the history of Russian architecture over the past 30 years.
A City Block Isoline
Another competition project for a residential complex on the banks of the Volga in Nizhny Novgorod has been prepared by Studio 44. A team of architects led by Ivan Kozhin concluded that using a regular block layout in such a location would be inappropriate and developed a “custom design” approach: a chain of parceled multi-section buildings stretching along the entire embankment. Let’s explore the features and advantages of this unconventional method.
Competition: The Price of Creativity?
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.
Terraced Design
The “River Park” residential complex has confidently and securely shaped the Nagatinsky Backwater shoreline. Featuring a public embankment, elevated courtyards connected by pedestrian bridges, and brick façades, the development invites exploration of its nuanced response to the surrounding context, as well as hints of the architects’ megalithic design thinking.
A Kremlin’s Core and Meteorite Fragments
We continue our coverage of the competition projects for the residential district that the development company GloraX plans to build along the embankment of the Rowing Channel in Nizhny Novgorod. ASADOV Architects approached the concept through a deep dive into local identity, using storytelling to pinpoint a central idea for the design: the master plan and composition are imagined as if a meteorite had struck a “proto-Kremlin”. Sounds weird? Find more details below!
The Volga Regatta
GloraX plans to develop a residential complex spanning 14 hectares along the Volga River in Nizhny Novgorod. The winning design in a closed-door competition, created by GORA Architects, features housing typologies ranging from townhouses to terraced high-rise slabs, a balance of functions, diverse ways of engaging with the water, and even a dedicated island (no less!) for the city residents.
Life Plans
The master plan for the residential district “Prityazheniye” (“Gravity”) in Naberezhnye Chelny was developed by the architectural company A.Len, taking into account the specific urban planning context and partially implemented solutions of the first phase. However, the master plan prioritized its own values: a green framework, a system of focal points, a hierarchy of spaces, and pedestrian priority. After this, the question of what residents will do in their neighborhood simply doesn’t arise.
