This September, Saint Petersburg has seen the final of the open contest for the best development concept of the historical downtown area. The list of the contestants included, among others, “Studio 44” architectural office, whose project got an honorable mention for its stylishness and feasibility.
Written by: Anna Martovitskaya Translated by: Anton Mizonov
Project Team:
Authors of the project: N. Yavein, O. Yavein, M. Vinogradova, I. Grigoryev, I. Kozhin, V. Lemekhov, L. Likhacheva, A. Patrikeev, G. Snezhkin, M. Yavein
Historical consultants: B. Kirikov, director of Saint Petersburg branch of Research Institute of Theory of Architecture and Town-planning of Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences A. Kobak, executive director of D.C. Likhachev Foundation, A. Margolis, co-chairman of Saint Petersburg branch of All-Russian Society for the Protection of Monuments and Culture.
Transport development strategy: M. Petrovich, General Director of “House-planning Laboratory”
2012
Contest organizer: Government of Saint Petersburg represented by Committee for Economic Development, Industrial Policy and Trade.
First of all, the architects
did what might be called “taking inventory” of the vast historical and cultural
legacy of the area – it was important for them to sort out which “growing points”
were already underway for the city, which worked half their potential, and
which were lying idle. The basic inference drawn by “Studio 44” can be put in this nutshell:
“Konyushennaya” and “Severnaya Kolomna – Novaya Gollandiya (“New Holland”)” are
the areas that concentrate all the best that the northern capital has to offer.
It is the crossing spot of several Saint Petersburgs, completely different. These
are the interfaith city, the imperial capital, the center of revolutionary
struggle, a city of theaters and concert halls, and, of course, the city of
bridges and unique granite embankments. In other words, this part of the city offers
an abundance of “cultural anchors” that are worth not only the tourists’
attention but also investments of various magnitude. The difficulty is that today
all these beauty sights have neither comfortable pedestrian access nor any
well-thought system of sign-posts. “Even in the center of Saint Petersburg, the
civilized environment comes in random fragments – Nikita Yavein explains – On
the one hand, the city implements ambitious projects, on the other hand, all
the work is conducted solely on the façade side. The underside of the blocks still
presents a striking contrast to their prestigious “credentials”. According to
the architect, what the city really lacks is, as he puts it, the depth of the
service, and it is this depth of service that “Studio 44” project is about in the
first place.
The system of public spaces that is now under construction should be based, according
to “Studio 44”
on the main pedestrian artery – the axis lane of Millionnaya and Galernaya
Streets that traverses the downtown area from Fontanka Street to the Gulf
of Finland water area. Its length is approximately two miles, which
“Studio 44”
conditionally called “Golden” and “Silver” ones. Along this axis, pedestrian
flow is organized, which will be rendered continuous by means of three new
pedestrian crossings (underground or stoplight-equipped) – across Nevsky
Prospect near the PalaceBridge, on the Senate Square, and
on the Labor Square.
The pedestrian flows running along the Golden and the Silver Mile is going to
be doubled by the water transportation on the NevaRiver
and by the bicycle and EV lanes. The idea of “Studio 44” is pretty simple: the city completely
finances this stage of the project and its implementation will trigger other
investments: from the main artery, new branches of new public spaces and
streets will spring out that will in turn “flow” into the other blocks and thus
will form a “capillary” system of “chamber” landscaped territories. The project
also contains specific examples of private and federal fund-raising initiatives.
For one, the architects are proposing to open to the general public the already
mentioned Block 100 (with gradual forming of Old Saint Petersburg Museum), in
the Guards Corps Building the architects are proposing to make the Guards
Museum, as well as to organize guided tours in the Abamelek-Lazarev Mansion
(presently it is occupied by the Physical Culture and Sports Committee). The
network of the new culture centers must be supported by the new infrastructure
objects – art galleries, cafes, and stores that the architects are proposing to
place on the ground floors of the buildings.
The final stage of the project provides for even deeper saturation of the city
tissue – it was not by chance that the architects called these changes “protuberances”.
As possible examples, Nikita Yavein names the Museum
of Chocolate at Samoilova Confectionary
or launching a restaurant and a viewing platform on the AdmiraltyTower.
At the same time the architects are not saying that they are suggesting driving
Russian Navy Headquarters out of the Admiralty building tomorrow – rather, they
are looking to start a wide public discussion about the possibility of
multipurpose use of the objects of Saint
Petersburg historical center. Because it is this capability
of performing several different functions that will become the basis of successful
revival of Saint Petersburg
downtown area under the new economic conditions.
Project Team:
Authors of the project: N. Yavein, O. Yavein, M. Vinogradova, I. Grigoryev, I. Kozhin, V. Lemekhov, L. Likhacheva, A. Patrikeev, G. Snezhkin, M. Yavein
Historical consultants: B. Kirikov, director of Saint Petersburg branch of Research Institute of Theory of Architecture and Town-planning of Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences A. Kobak, executive director of D.C. Likhachev Foundation, A. Margolis, co-chairman of Saint Petersburg branch of All-Russian Society for the Protection of Monuments and Culture.
Transport development strategy: M. Petrovich, General Director of “House-planning Laboratory”
2012
Contest organizer: Government of Saint Petersburg represented by Committee for Economic Development, Industrial Policy and Trade.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
