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Nikita Yavein: Drawing facades is now history

The leader of "Studio 44" shares about tenders, new objects, and styles in which the architects will no longer be able to work.

23 December 2013
Interview
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Nikita Yavein Явейн © "Studio 44"


Archi.ru:
Nikita, the last time we talked to you was two years ago, and one of the central subjects of that conversation became the much talked-of recently completed contests for the reconstruction projects of the New Holland and the Polytechnic Museum, the results of which, to put it mildly, amazed you. How vital is the subject of contests for "Studio 44" now?

Nikita Yavein:
- We still actively participate in contests because we consider this way of obtaining commissions to be one of the most interesting from the professional standpoint. This year, in particular, we took place in a few large-scale contests for projects in the city of Astana (Kazakhstan) - for "EXPO", for the building of the defense ministry (we are now the finalists, but the results have not been announced yet), and for the Youth Palace (we won it). We also took part in a few high-profile contests in Saint Petersburg, for example, for the residential complex on the embankment of the Karpovka River, and for the concept of developing the area of the Oktyabrskaya Embankment that we won, and for the "Sudyebny Kvartal" that we also won. Generally, we have chosen the following tactic: when working on a concept, we try to take it to the limit, at the same time staying true to our basic values. In particular, we never count on the “wow-effect” and we do not work in "styles”.

Architectural concept "Regular City" © "Studio 44"
 

- It seems to me, you have just named the two sure-fire strategies of winning any contest.

- It generally seems to me that today there are more and more contests whose results are very easy to predict well in advance. And this is what worries and extremely depresses me. Our cities continue getting filled with pseudo-architecture, unconcealed kitsch, in spite of the fact that only recently there was a growing hope that this nightmare forever remained in the 2000's... No, I cannot blame the Americans who sincerely believe that their Venice in Las Vegas is even better than the real thing - it is cleaner, neater and cheaper, it smells better, and the gondoliers are more polite - but why should WE turn a multi-layer historical city into Las-Vegas? 

- It is common knowledge that for many people, at least in Russia, designing in this or that particular "style" still remains the synonym of keeping the city's historical legacy. 

- This is unconcealed mendacity! According to my observations, it is these projects that do the number one damage to the city. And it is not just an issue of distorting the authentic historical context - I assure you that such high-brow questions worry but a handful of people - it's about the fact that under the disguise of "classicism" one can easier and sooner demolish the environmentally-valuable objects to "untie" the architect's and the developer's hands, like, hey, it's no big deal, we can build the same thing instead of what we've just torn down, even better! And, as for the contemporary architecture, it enters the city more carefully and more responsibly, which, in my opinion, says a good deal in its favor. 

Olympian Railway Station in Sochi © "Studio 44"


Olympian Railway Station in Sochi. Interior. © "Studio 44"

Only in some of the contests it is the architectural solution that ultimately wins; most of the time the architects are forced to compete by just lowering the costs of their services, the way it was with the Apraksin Dvor - the last tender was won by Timur Bashkaev Bureau who proposed a ridiculously low price. What do you think the future of this venue will look like?
 
- If my memory serves me well, there have been almost a dozen projects of reconstructing Apraksin Dvor, including the projects by foreign companies. These proposals can be divided into two types: the former completely ignore the monument-protective legislation, the latter - considerations of compensability. These were very beautiful-looking concepts, but I could not get rid of a feeling that their authors were certain that their budgets were unlimited, and ultimately this would become a gift to someone high and mighty. As far as Timur Bashkaev's work is concerned, I have a deep respect for him as an architect but I still di not quite understand just how he is going to handle this project - as far as I know, his studio does not have the license for working with monuments. The work that has already been done there can hardly be considered to be a fully-fledged project, rather, it is a functional zone layout, and it misses the economic aspect altogether. And, taking into account the housing pattern, the cost of one square meter will cost not less than 100-120 thousand rubles, or maybe even 170 thousand. Who ever will buy an apartment for this kind of money - in a house with no parking garage and with a restaurant on the first floor? Alright, maybe in Moscow miracles do happen but this just cannot sell in Saint Petersburg - people just do not have that kind of money! So, it seems to me that it is still too early to draw the line in the history of Apraksin Dvor. I think that if ultimately this or that project does get implemented it will be the one that will combine the regard for the conservation legislation of the return-on-investments considerations. All the other projects will die "from natural causes”.

- And as for direct orders, ones when the developer goes directly to your studio - do you get many of them?

- Yes, I'd say we do. I think, this comes as a consequence of our experience and our reputation - we are capable from implementing our project from beginning to end, and then our customers come to us again and again. And, because in this country, business is still to a large extent based on trust, we highly value our steady customers, and frankly speaking, we give our preferences to those clients that are "combat-tested".  

Presently, we have a number of large-scale restoration projects going on Aleksandrovsky Palace,“Mikhailovskaya Dacha”, adaptation of the building of the First Military School for the needs of Saint Petersburg University. There are also large-scale construction projects - "Galaxy" neighborhood behind the Warsaw Railway Station, the office complex next to Sytny Market, and the Railway Museum. The "Olympian" Railway Station in Sochi has already been completed. Presently, we are starting the work on the third phase of Eifmann Academy.

Alexander Palace © "Studio 44"

Alexander Palace © "Studio 44"
  
- In one of your recent interviews you said that you consider the Ballet Academy to be one of the best buildings in your entire career. 

- I take great pride in that project, seriously. At a very cramped construction site, and under very challenging town-planning circumstances, we were able not only to build a complex whose functions completely answered the task that was set before us but also create a whole world the architectural and interior decoration elements of which, I hope, will be conductive of the students' creative growth. The third phase of the academy will be located in the nearby school building of the 1930's. What we do is we keep its external dimensions and the facade, while on the inside we completely rebuild it, continuing the "children's world" theme that we came up with - the systems of stone terraces, atriums, and the like. And, inside the school yard, we will build an auditorium connected wit the main building with an overpass.

- This project really wins you over with its elegance and the meticulousness of working with the tiniest details. Quite a different character was given by "Studio 44" to the residential complex on the Karpovka Embankment - a project that caused a storm of criticism for its "brutal monumentality".

- I think that no matter what we would do there, it would have caused a great deal of controversy because that is s too "high-profile" venue. But, yes, what we have there now - I mean, the corner break - this is awful, and this needs to be corrected. We continue to finish our project, and, possibly, we slightly hurried to publish our rough sketches - now the silhouette, the plastic, and facades are wrought much deeper, and we hope that this complex will become the worthy part “of the facade” of embankment. This, of course, greatly depends also on the quality of the implementation, which now, alas, too frequently leaves much to be desired… Perhaps, this is the only thing that I envy my Moscow colleagues for: here the construction costs are a lot lower than they are in Moscow - but this tells on the quality of the end product, and not in a good way. The customer simply cannot afford the expensive materials and experienced contractors. What especially "sags" in this respect is the comfort class, of course. We try to make up for this by town-planning means, creating an environment that is thought-out and comfortable to live in, like in the "Perfect City", for instance. Generally, now I am more interested in the town planning projects - it is my opinion that drawing facades is now history, and one can only make a fundamental positive difference in the environment by employing the urban-planning strategies on a grand scale. 

- Is working in Astana an example of such work for you?

- Yes, you name the project that is being done there, and it will be an experimental one! Now we are working on the Youth Palace, and it is such a grand-scale project that it is difficult even for me to grasp its entire magnitude. And it continues grow! Now, for example, is has been augmented by the Wedding Palace. I think it's the world's only object that combines in one volume so many commercial and non-commercial functions. And, seriously, I would like to take a look at the company that will take the job of managing it. But then again, I had similar misgivings about the Schoolchildren's Palace - but I was there recently, everything is alive and working there, even though it was a surprise visit, and they simply did not have the time to stage a show for me. 

Youth Palace in the city of Astana © "Studio 44"
 
- Do you, by any chance, plan to open a subsidiary office in Kazakhstan, since you have so many commissions there?

- I do not think that it is necessary. That place is ruled by the company named "Basis" - it is a developer/construction company, they are a reliable partner and ally of ours, and we do our projects together. "Studio 44" is not going to take over the Kazakhstan market single-handed. 
 
- Generally, have you taken in many new employees over the recent years? 

- Strictly speaking, over these years, we have grown to the size of a bureau that consists of as much as three separate studios. One is occupied by the restoration and the adaptation of monuments, the second conducts major housing projects, and the third, which I personally manage, answers for the experimental, foreign and public objects. From the creative standpoint, today's structure of "Studio 44"is even a little bit on the bulky side - we are getting more and more projects running parallel to one another. I think soon there will come a day when some of my employees will think of starting a business of their own - and I will give them every assistance in that, even though I will not let my former colleagues strand too far away.

Railway Museum © "Studio 44"

Railway Museum. Interior. © "Studio 44"

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23 December 2013

Headlines now
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.
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.
A New Track
We took a thorough look at D_Station, a railcar repair depot dating back to 1906, recently reconstructed while preserving its century-old industrial structure, upon the project by Sergey Trukhanov and T+T Architects. Though work on the interiors – set to house restaurants and public spaces – is still underway, the building’s exterior already offers plenty to see. Visitors can explore the blend of old and new brickwork, appreciate the architect’s unique interpretation of ruin aesthetics, and enjoy the newly built pedestrian route that connects the Citydel Business Center’s arches to Kazakova Street.
Four Different Surveys
The “Explore the City” competition, organized this year by the Genplan Institute of Moscow, stands out as a pretty unconventional one for the architectural field but aligns perfectly well with the character of urban planning work. The winning project analyzed contemporary residential complexes, combining urban planning insights with a realtor’s perspective to propose a hybrid approach. Other entries explored public centers, motivations for car ownership, and housing vacancy rates. A fifth participant withdrew. Here’s a closer look at the four completed works.
Scheduled Evolution
ASADOV Architects unveiled the EvyCenter pavilion, a microcultural hub for fostering personal growth, organizing workshops, and doing gymnastics. Additionally, this pavilion serves as a prototype for a scalable country house, drawing inspiration from the “Loskutok” project, and constructed from CLT panels in a factory. This marks the beginning of a developer project initiated by the architectural firm (sic!), which is seeking partners to expand both small Evy settlements and even larger Evy cities, which are, according to Andrey Asadov, aimed at fostering the “evolutionary” development of the people who will inhabit them.
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.