For Yekaterinburg’s bid book for the right to host the World Universal Exhibition "Expo-2020", ABD Architects developed a concept of arranging the exhibition facilities.
Written by: Tatiana Shovskaya Translated by: Anton Mizonov
Project Team:
Leader of the author collective, general director of OOO "ABD" - B.Levyant; deputy director on design – B.Stuchebryukov; director on project management – A.Korzenkova; chief architect of the project – A.Feoktistova; leader architect – T.Skoroduli; architect – E.Ignatova; architect – D.Potryasaev
1.2012 — 1.2013
Commissioner – autonomous non-profit organization “Bid committee EXPO 2020”
Allied suppliers – “Laboratory of Transport Systems”, “Ilia Mochalov and Partners”, “M.K.Z. Engineering”
At the end of this year, in Paris, the venue of the
World Universal Exhibition "EXPO 2020" will be announced. Besides Russia's Yekaterinburg, this role is claimed by
four cities - Dubai, Sao
Paulo, Ayutthaya, and Izmir. However, the most
important part of the bid book that our country has submitted to take part in
this high-profile competition, is the architectural proposal and the
town-planning contest of the "Expo" territory in Yekaterinburg
developed by ABD Architects.
This exhibition is not only a
major international event, but also a very effective way to stimulate the
development of the city and the region where it is organized. That is why the
project of ABD architects provides not only for the "Expo" with all
the necessary facilities, but also a strategy to use these facilities after the
event. After the exhibition is over, the greatest changes will be made in the
first place to the expo park: some pavilions will be dismantled and utilized;
some will be turned into office and cultural spaces, while the residential and
public buildings will become the residential stock of the city.
As the area for ExpoPark,
Yekaterinburg offered the architects two places to choose from: one in the
immediate vicinity of the airport, and the other not far away from the heart of
the city, on the bank of a large natural lake. The choice was made in favor of
the Verkh-IsetskyLake - not only because
this place is more attractive but mostly because of the fact that the new
residential buildings, the roads, and the public facilities as well as the
landscaped territories are more appropriate and required within, and not
outside, the city. This place has other benefits as well. For example, there is
a symbolic border of Europe and Asia nearby,
and this attraction can be made part of the exposition in the open air. What is
more, in the immediate vicinity, there is a high hill, on the top of which a
sightseeing platform can be built, from which the entire future expo park will
be plainly seen.
The transport plan of the
territory of the future exhibition was developed with consideration of the
already-approved project of highway development in Russia. The architects proposed to
build a bridge across the lake and thus close the minor transport ring of
Yekaterinburg. Simultaneously, this will ensure the best accessibility of the
exhibition grounds both from the north and from the south. The bridge will be a
two-level one, besides the highway, it is planned to lay a railroad track on it
that will connect the exhibition with the airport. The superhighway that runs
from the bridge, in turn, will approach the transport junction that will
connect it with the Moscow
highway running from the West, and with the street leading to the center of
city. Next to the highway junction, a capacious parking lot will be built,
together with a transport and transfer terminal, the latter uniting under its
roof a subway and an underground station, a bus depot, shopping areas, and a
conference hall with a hotel.
The main entrance into the
Expo-park is located in the immediate proximity from the transport terminal. In
addition, the exhibition area will be accessible by city bus directly from the
city center, and from the ExpoVillage. In addition to
its own subway station, "Expo" is planned to connect with the heart
of Yekaterinburg by a tramway line, and there will be built a helipad for
VIP-persons. Inside the Expo-Park, only environmentally-friendly kind of
transport will be used - electro bus with a route covering the entire perimeter
of the expo area, and the water tram. For the water tram, the authors propose
to dig a ring channel that will be filled with the water from the lake.
The existing streets of
Yekaterinburg set the main axes of the newly-designed territory of the
Expo-Park and its residential quarters, which, according to the architects'
plan, will ensure a maximally organic inclusion of the improved section into
the already-formed structure of the city. However, this was only one of the
challenges faced by the authors of the concept. The layout of the expo area
took into account all sorts of factors. Among others, this was the uniformity
of the distribution of the points of attraction and services for the visitors,
and the ease of finding one's bearings at the exhibition, and the accessibility
of each specific pavilion. Totally, the exhibition will consist of 103 pavilions
- these will form the squares, and these squares, in turn, will be
"strung", very much like beads on the main pedestrian axis that will
stretch from west to east.
As is the custom at “Expo”, the
large exhibiting countries are building their pavilions by themselves, while
the smaller countries occupy the so-called "joints" that are going to
be built by the on-venue construction company. Besides, the exhibition is going
to feature quite a few of "corporate" and "theme' pavilions, as
well as the pavilions of federal regions of Russia. It is planned that the
latter will be built along the main promenade - the esplanade that starts at
the main entrance. Its perspective will be closed by the pavilion of Russia that is going to be executed in the shape
of a bridge that symbolically connects Europe and Asia.
After the pavilion of Russia, the axis of the esplanade
will be continued by the developed pier, which is planned as the area for
conducting light shows and fireworks. The entire territory of the exhibition is
divided into the day and night zones. When the pavilions are closed, the
visitors go over to the embankment. Designed as one big natural park, it is
filled with a lot of "evening-type" facilities: expo-arena,
amphitheater, Movie Theater, hybrid library, and a few multi-purpose venues.
The theme of “EXPO -2020” is
already known - “Global Reason”, and, of course, first of all, it will find its
reflection in the exposures of the theme and national pavilions; however, the
authors of the concept wanted it to also show though in the outward appearance
of the exhibition complex. For this purpose, as the key architectural image, a
crystal was chosen - the jagged edges of the pavilions and the white color of
their facades, according to ABD architects, will not only create the right
associations but will also enhance the "Ural" origin of this
"mineral". However, the design of the concrete objects of exhibition
still belongs to the future, as the architects say, sincerely hoping to get to
it after the positive resolution of the International Bureau of Exhibitions.
Project Team:
Leader of the author collective, general director of OOO "ABD" - B.Levyant; deputy director on design – B.Stuchebryukov; director on project management – A.Korzenkova; chief architect of the project – A.Feoktistova; leader architect – T.Skoroduli; architect – E.Ignatova; architect – D.Potryasaev
1.2012 — 1.2013
Commissioner – autonomous non-profit organization “Bid committee EXPO 2020”
Allied suppliers – “Laboratory of Transport Systems”, “Ilia Mochalov and Partners”, “M.K.Z. Engineering”
The Golden Crown
The concept for a dental clinic in Yekaterinburg, developed by CNTR Studio, revolves around the idea of a “mouth full of gold”: pristine white porcelain stoneware walls are complemented by matte brass details. To avoid an overly literal interpretation, the architects focused on the building’s proportions, skillfully navigating between sunlight requirements and fire safety regulations.
Flexibility and Integration
Not long ago, we covered the project for the fourth phase of the ÁLIA residential complex, designed by APEX. Now, we’ve been shown different fence concepts they developed to enclose the complex’s private courtyards, incorporating a variety of public functions. We believe that the sheer fact that the complex’s architects were involved in such a detail as fencing speaks volumes.
A Step Forward
The HIDE residential complex represents a major milestone for ADM architects and their leaders Andrey Romanov and Ekaterina Kuznetsova in their quest for a fresh high-rise aesthetic – one that is flexible and layered, capable of bringing vibrancy to mass and silhouette while shaping form. Over recent years, this approach has become ADM’s “signature style”, with the golden HIDE tower playing a pivotal role in its evolution. Here, we delve into the project’s story, explore the details of the complex’s design, and uncover its core essence.
Gold in the Sands
A new office for a transcontinental company specializing in resource extraction and processing has opened in Dubai. Designed by T+T Architects, masters of creating spaces that are contemporary, diverse, flexible, and original, this project exemplifies their expertise. On the executive floor, a massive brass-clad partition dominates, while layered textures of compressed earth create a contextually resonant backdrop.
Layers and Levels of Flight
This project goes way back – Reserve Union won this architectural competition at the end of 2011, and the building was completed in 2018, so it’s practically “archival”. However, despite being relatively unknown, the building can hardly be considered “dated” and remains a prime example of architectural expression, particularly in the headquarters genre. And it’s especially fitting for an aviation company office. In some ways, it resembles the Aeroflot headquarters at Sheremetyevo but with its own unique identity, following the signature style of Vladimir Plotkin. In this article, we take an in-depth look at the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) headquarters in the Moscow agglomeration town of Zhukovsky, supplemented by recent photographs from Alexey Naroditsky – a shoot that became only recently possible due to the fact that improvements were finally made in the surrounding area.
Light and Shadow
In this article, we delve into the architectural design of the “Chaika” house by DNK ag architects, which was recently completed in 2023 as part of the collection of signature designs at ZILArt. As is well-known, all the buildings in this complex follow a design code, yet each one is distinct. This particular building stands out not only for its whiteness and minimalism but also for the refined use of a limited number of techniques that, together, create what can confidently be called synergy.
Casus Novae
A master plan was developed for a large residential area with a name of “DNS City”, but now that its implementation began, the plan has been arbitrarily reformatted and replaced with something that, while similar on the surface, is actually quite different. This is not the first time such a thing happens, but it’s always frustrating. With permission from the author, we are sharing Maria Elkina’s post.
Treasure Hunting
The GAFA bureau, in collaboration with Tegola and Arkhitail, organized an expedition to the island of Kilpola in Karelia as part of Moskomarkhitektura’s “Open City” festival. There, amidst moss and rocks, the students sought answers to questions like: what is the sacred, where does it dwell, and what sustains it? Assisting the participants in this quest were landscape engineer Evgeny Levin, artist Nicholas Roerich, a moose, and the lack of cellular connection. Here’s how the story unfolded.
Depths of the Earth, Streams of Water
In the Malaya Okhta district, the Akzent building, designed by Stepan Liphart, was constructed. It follows a classic tripartite structure, yet it’s what you might call “hand-drawn”: each façade is unique in its form and details, some of which aren’t immediately noticeable. In this article, we explore the context and, together with the architect, delve into how the form was developed.
Fir Tree Dynamics
The “Airports of Region” holding is planning to build an airport in Karachay-Cherkessia, aiming to make the Arkhyz and Dombay resorts more accessible to travelers. The project that won in an invitation-only competition, submitted by Sergey Nikeshkin’s KPLN, blends natural imagery inspired by the shape of a conifer seed, open-air waiting spaces, majestic large trees, and a green roof elevated on needle-like columns. The result is both nature-inspired and WOW.
A Brick Shell
In the process of designing a clubhouse situated among pine trees in a prestigious suburban area near Moscow, the architectural firm “A.Len” did the façade design part. The combination of different types of brick and masonry correlates with the volumetric and plastique solutions, further enhanced by the inclusion of wood-painted fragments and metal “glazing”.
Word Forms
ATRIUM architects love ambitious challenges, and for the firm’s thirtieth anniversary, they boldly play a game of words with an exhibition that dives deep into a self-created vocabulary. They immerse their projects – especially art installations – into this glossary, as if plunging into a current of their own. You feel as if you’re flowing through the veins of pure art, immersed in a universe of vertical cities, educational spaces – of which the architects are true masters – and the cultural codes of various locations. But what truly captivates is the bold statement that Vera Butko and Anton Nadtochy make, both through their work and this exhibition: architecture, above all, is art – the art of working with form and space.
Flexibility and Acuteness of Modernity
Luxurious, fluid, large “kokoshniks” and spiral barrel columns, as if made from colorful chewing gum: there seem to be no other mansion like this in Moscow, designed in the “Neo-Russian-Modern” style. And the “Teremok” on Malaya Kaluzhskaya, previously somewhat obscure, has “come alive with new colors” and gained visibility after its restoration for the office of the “architectural ecosystem” as the architects love to call themselves. It’s evident that Julius Borisov and the architects at UNK put their hearts into finding this new office and bringing it up to date. Let’s delve into the paradoxes of this mansion’s history and its plasticity. Spoiler: two versions of modernity meet here, both balancing on the razor’s edge of “what’s current”.
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.
Moscow’s First
“The quality of education largely depends on the quality of the educational environment”. This principle of the last decade has been realized by Sergey Skuratov in the project for the First Moscow Gymnasium on Rostovskaya Embankment in the Khamovniki district. The building seamlessly integrates into the complex urban landscape, responding both to the pedestrian flow of the city and the quiet alleyways. It skillfully takes advantage of the height differences and aligns with modern trends in educational space design. Let’s take a closer look.
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.
The White Wing
Well, it’s not exactly white. It’s more of a beige, white-stone structure that plays with the color of limestone – smoother surfaces are lighter, while rougher ones are darker. This wing unites various elements: it absorbs and interprets the surrounding themes. It responds to everything, yet maintains a cohesive expression – a challenging task! – while also incorporating recognizable features of its own, such as the dynamic cuts at the bottom, top, and middle.
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.
Proportional Growth
The project for the fourth phase of the ÁLIA residential area has been announced. The buildings are situated on an elongated plot – almost a “ray” that shoots out from the center of the area towards the river. Their layout reflects both a response to Moscow’s architectural preferences over the past 15 years, shifting “from blocks to towers”, and an interpretation of the neighboring business park designed by SOM. Additionally, the best apartments here are not located at the very top but closer to the middle, forming a glowing “waistline”.
The “Staircase” Building
In designing the “Details” residential complex in New Moscow, Rais Baishev spiced up the now-popular Moscow theme of a “courtyard” building with an idea drawn from the surrealist drawings by Maurits Escher. He envisioned the stepped silhouettes and descending slopes as a metaphysical mega-staircase, creating a key void within the courtyard that gave the project an internal “spine”. This concept is felt both in the building’s silhouette and on its façades.
Projection of the Quarter
No one doubted that the building that Vladimir Plotkin designed as part of the “Garden Quarters” would be the most modernist of all. And it turned out just that way: while adhering to the common design code, the building successfully combines brick and white stone, rhythmically responding to the neighboring building designed by Ostozhenka, yet tactfully and persistently making a few statements of its own. This includes the projection of the ideal urban development composition “14–9–6”, which can be found right next door, mathematical calculations, including those for various types of terraces (and perhaps the only reminder of the Soviet past of the Kauchuk rubber factory!), and the white “cross-stitch” pattern of the façade grid.
Domus Aurea
In this issue, we examine the “Tessinsky-1” house, designed by Sergey Skuratov and completed in 2023. Located in the middle of the Serebryanicheskaya Embankment district, at the intersection of its main streets, this house assumes a sort of “nodal” role: it not only responds to everything around it and preserves many memories of the former EMA factory within itself, but it weaves all this into a newly directed pattern, reconciling bright “gold” and dark-colored brick, largely with the help of the new, modern-yet-archaic Columba brick, which, come to think about it, is the most precious element here.
The Chimney of Nikola-Lenivets
In this issue, we are examining the “Obelisk House” designed by KATARSIS and built for the Arkhstoyanie 2023 festival. However, it was only finished later on, and this is why we are examining it now. It seems to us that after the “Obelisk House” appeared in Nikola-Lenivets, a dialogue and a few inner connections appeared between the temporary structures built here. These houses no longer look like “accidental neighbors”, more of which below.
Periscope by the Bay
The jury awarded the second place in the competition for a public and cultural center in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to the companies GORA (“Mountain”) and M4. In the consortium’s proposal, the building resembles a sperm whale with a calf swimming next to it or a periscope, whose lenses capture the most spectacular views from the surrounding landscape.
From Arcs to Dolmens
While working on the competition project for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, ASADOV Architects prioritized the value of the natural and urban environment, aiming to preserve the balance of the location while minimizing the resemblance of the volume that they designed to a “traditional building”. The task was challenging, and the architects created three versions, one of which having been developed after the competition, where their main proposal took third place. However, the point of interest here is not the competition result but the continuity of creative thinking.
Hide and Seek
The ID Moskovskiy house, designed by Stepan Liphart in St. Petersburg, in the courtyards near Moskovskiy Avenue beyond the Obvodny Canal and recently completed, is notable for several reasons. Firstly, it has been realized with considerable accuracy, which is particularly significant as this is the first building where the architect was responsible not only for the facades but also for the layouts, allowing for better integration between the two. On the other hand, this building is interesting as an example of the “germination” of new architecture in the city: it draws on the best examples from the neighborhood and becomes an improved and developed sum of ideas found by the architect in the surrounding context.
The Big Twelve
Yesterday, the winners of the Moscow Mayor’s Architecture Award were announced and honored. Let’s take a look at what was awarded and, in some cases, even critique this esteemed award. After all, there is always room for improvement, right?
Above the Golden Horn
The residential complex “Philosophy” designed by T+T architects in Vladivostok, is one of the new projects in the “Golubinaya Pad” area, changing its development philosophy (pun intended) from single houses to a comprehensive approach. The buildings are organized along public streets, varying in height and format, with one house even executed in gallery typology, featuring a cantilever leaning on an art object.
Nuanced Alternative
How can you rhyme a square and space? Easily! But to do so, you need to rhyme everything you can possibly think of: weave everything together, like in a tensegrity structure, and find your own optics too. The new exhibition at GES-2 does just that, offering its visitor a new perspective on the history of art spanning 150 years, infused with the hope for endless multiplicity of worlds and art histories. Read on to see how this is achieved and how the exhibition design by Evgeny Ace contributes to it.
Blinds for Ice
An ice arena has been constructed in Domodedovo based on a project by Yuri Vissarionov Architects. To prevent the long façade, a technical requirement for winter sports facilities, from appearing monotonous, the architects proposed the use of suspended structures with multidirectional slats. This design protects the ice from direct sunlight while giving the wall texture and detail.
