По-русски

Architecture Flowing

XXII Winter Olympics in Sochi left behind a vast architectural legacy. Besides the sports and housing projects, these are the impressive infrastructure objects, among which a special place is occupied by "Olympic Park" railway station built upon the project of "Studio 44".

Anna Martovitskaya

Written by:
Anna Martovitskaya
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

25 June 2014
Object
mainImg
Architect:
Nikita Yavein
Firm:
Company:
Object:
“Olympic Park” railroad station
Russia, Sochi

Project Team:
arhitekts: Javein N.I. (head of the group of authours), Zenkevich V. A. (project manager), Razumova Zh. V., Romantsev V. A. (chief project architect), with participation of Vinogradova M. S., Zhukova V.S., Kuptsova E. V., Stanchinski A. V. Sulimova U. V.; Schastlivtseva K. O. chief project engineer: Gershtein L. V. Rendering: Ashmetev J. N. Model: Itsikson J. S. (the head)

2009 — 2010 / 2010 — 2013

DKRS OAO "RZhD"

"Olympic Park" Terminal © Aleksey Naroditsky

For the team of Nikita Yavein this project became a huge professional challenge. And it was not so much about the status of the object (the architects were to create, no more no less, the "gate" of the Olympics), as in the time frames that the object was to be completed in. "Studio 44" got the commission for the project of the railway terminal in March of 2010, i.e. a little less than four years before the Olympics: before that, the project was done by a different team but the customer started having problems with it, both from the technological and the architectural standpoint. "Strictly speaking, in Russia the architects with an experience of designing railroad terminals are rather hard to find. "Studio 44" had such an experience - first of all, we built the Ladozhsky terminal in Saint Petersburg, and, second of all, by that time we had already won the international contest for building the main railroad terminal in Astana, and the work on it was in full swing - Nikita Yavein shares - furthermore, the Ladozhsky terminal was designed in a record-breaking term, a little over a year, and I think that to a large extent it was this particular project that brought us such a prestigious and complex order as the Olympic Terminal. A mere month and a half after the first meeting with the customer we already signed the official contract, and we started designing even earlier than that: strictly speaking, in the end of April the schematic design of the complex was approved by the architectural board of "Olimpstroy". 


"Olympic Park" Terminal © Aleksey Naroditsky

It is clear that under such circumstances the architects were devoid of the possibility to start their project "from scratch". For one, before "Studio 44" coming into the project, it already included the passenger platforms and the track facilities. Besides, the architects were supposed to tie in the location of the building with the layout of the entrance area of the Olympic Park. At the same time, both the track facilities and the layout of the park had a curvilinear geometry, so the "curved" plan of the terminal was in fact predestined: born at the junction of two curvilinear geometries, it acted as the perfect matchmaker between them.


"Olympic Park" Terminal © Aleksey Naroditsky


"Olympic Park" Terminal © Aleksey Naroditsky

This plan is perfectly complemented with the non-linear "flowing" architecture of the building. Like two waves running abreast one another, the awnings over the passenger platforms billow over the central volume, and then, abruptly changing their direction, cascade down in the marquee that covers the terminal's square from the sun. "The terminal is both the beginning and the end of the whole planning system of the Olympic Park, very much like its fountainhead and its estuary. Because it is from here that the route to the main Olympic Square starts - Nikita Yavein explains - we wanted our architecture to set the tone to this whole momentum, and to adequately convey its dynamics. Hence - the constant flowing of the form and the "hydraulic" plastic of the shell of this edifice". Such plastic is resonant with the character of the surrounding landscape: the building of the terminal is located at the very edge of the Imeritinskaya lowland, to the north of which the relief ascends to the mountains in ledges and terraces. 


"Olympic Park" Terminal © Aleksey Naroditsky


"Olympic Park" Terminal © Aleksey Naroditsky

Of course, the architectural and planning solution of the terminal was influenced by its very function: a modern terminal, "Olympic Gate" or not, besides looking beautiful, also needs to be really easy to navigate. In order to optimize the organization of traffic, luggage, and passenger flows, the architects made a two-level square in front of the terminal. The top level - a platform situated at a height of 6.3 meters - is wholly given to the pedestrians and is treated as the public territory, from where the grand staircase leads down to the Olympic Park. Down below, there are driveways leading to the railway station and the places for boarding/alighting of the passengers of the public transportation and personal vehicles, parking lots for the personnel vehicles, and the bus depot. 


"Olympic Park"Terminal © Aleksey Naroditsky

The inside organization of the terminal is also of a multilevel nature. The infrastructure of the passenger service for the short-distance destinations is mainly situated under the platform, while the long-distance terminal is situated above the tracks, in the form of a в виде конкорса. Still higher, at the point of +18,620 meters, there is a waiting lounge, a hall for the official delegations, a bank, a service center, a VIP lounge and the maintenance facilities. All the levels are interconnected and are also connected to the passenger platforms with stairways, ramps, moving stairs, and elevators. 


"Olympic Park" Terminal © Aleksey Naroditsky


"Olympic Park" Terminal © Aleksey Naroditsky


"Olympic Park" Terminal © Aleksey Naroditsky

The complex multi-branch system of vertical communications forms the "face" of the inside space of the terminal, also serving to express the idea of constant movement and locomotion, in its own way. It is also manifested in the bare structure of the roof supported by multicolored pillars: the architects deliberately decided not to hide it with the false ceiling but simply covered it with fireproof paint of a steel hue that perfectly matches the natural stone that was used fir covering the walls and the elevator chutes. As for the stone itself, "Studio 44" made its choice in favor of the Italian travertine that looks very much like the local limestone that was extensively used in the buildings of Sochi during the 1950's. "This is both tribute to the local building tradition and at the same time a token of reverence to the natural surroundings, i.e. the mountains" - says Nikita Yavein. The travertine, by the way, is used both in the interior and in the exterior design - which enhances the integrity of the architectural image: it is only the texture of the stone (jagged or sawn) that varies. 


"Olympic Park" Terminal © Aleksey Naroditsky


"Olympic Park" Terminal © Aleksey Naroditsky

A special mention should be given to the roof that forms the image of the entire complex. Transforming the striking-looking idea from paper to reality proved to be very challenging indeed: in fact, its every unit was designed individually. Each element of the metallic structures (these being over three hundred there in the roof coverage) was calculated on a special formula, was prepared individually and then was going through a controlled assembly with the "model-adjustment" procedure. The architects deliberately made their choice in favor of the hollow tubes: the circular sections facilitated the junction of the columns and the supporting struts, linking the struts to the roof and so on. The roof coverage is executed from galvanized lock-seam sheet metal. In order to bring into reality its curvilinear geometry, the architects had to make use of the parametric modeling software. 


"Olympic Park" Terminal © Aleksey Naroditsky


"Olympic Park" Terminal © Aleksey Naroditsky

For the terminal, just as for a number of other Olympic objects in Sochi, special ecological standards BREEAM Bespoke were developed, ones that took into consideration the specifics of Russia and the sport objects. By the moment it was done, though, "Studio 44" had already got the federal approval with its project, so in fact the architects had to go back to it introducing a whole number of changes related to energy and water conservation, the quality of the indoor air and the acoustic comfort, as well as creating the conditions for the usage of bicycles. The building of the terminal uses energy-saving windows, low-noise ventilation equipment, lights with energy-saving bulbs, automatically adjusted lighting systems and motion sensors. Special impulse and infrared sensors also control the water consumption, upon the roof there are solar batteries, all the ventilation machines are equipped with inside filters, while the system of purifying the outside air is a two-phase one. This giant work was not done in vain, though: it was "Olympic Park" that became Russia's first edifice that was certified in accordance with the international standard BREEAM. It was awarded the honorable rating VERY GOOD with a total number of points 63,3% - which, for today, is the absolute record for Russia.
zooming


Architect:
Nikita Yavein
Firm:
Company:
Object:
“Olympic Park” railroad station
Russia, Sochi

Project Team:
arhitekts: Javein N.I. (head of the group of authours), Zenkevich V. A. (project manager), Razumova Zh. V., Romantsev V. A. (chief project architect), with participation of Vinogradova M. S., Zhukova V.S., Kuptsova E. V., Stanchinski A. V. Sulimova U. V.; Schastlivtseva K. O. chief project engineer: Gershtein L. V. Rendering: Ashmetev J. N. Model: Itsikson J. S. (the head)

2009 — 2010 / 2010 — 2013

DKRS OAO "RZhD"

25 June 2014

Anna Martovitskaya

Written by:

Anna Martovitskaya
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov
Headlines now
The Other Way Around
Few awards instead of many, the award ceremony conducted on the first day instead of last, projections instead of sketch boards, trees inside and art objects outside – the renewal of the Architecton festival seemingly took the sure-fire path of turning all the professional traditions upside down – or at least those that happened to be within the scope of the organizers’ attention. There’s certainly a lot to pick on, but the exhibition does feel fresh and improvisational. It looks that pretty soon these guys will set trends for Moscow as well. We shared with you about some elements of the festival in our Telegram channel, and now we are examining the whole thing.
The Chinese Symphony
The construction of the Chinese center “Huaming Park” has been a long story that came to fruition relatively recently. The building is adjacent to a traditional Chinese garden, but it is very modern, laconic and technological, and the simple-in-form, yet spectacular, white lamellae promise to someday be incorporated as a media facade. This complex is also truly multifunctional: it contains different types of living spaces, offices, a large fitness center, conference halls and restaurants – all wrapped in one volume. You can comfortably hold international forums in it, having everything you may possibly need at your fingertips, and going outside only to take a walk. In this article, we are examining this complex in detail.
Ensemble of Individualities
Construction of the first phase of the INDY Towers multifunctional complex on Kuusinen Street, designed by Ostozhenka, has started. The project opens new angles of similarity between the column and the skyscraper, and we examine the nuances and parallels.
Black and Red
Kazakov Grand Loft received its name for a reason: responding to the client’s brief and proceeding from the historical industrial architecture of its immediate surroundings, Valery Kanyashin and Ostozhenka architects proposed a new version of a modern house designed in the fashionable “loft” style. What makes this building different is the fact that the bricks here are dark gray, and the facades of the romantic “fortress” towers blossom with magnificent glazing of the windows in the upper part. The main highlight of the complex, however, is the multiple open air terraces situated on different levels.
Icy Hospitality
Mezonproject has won the national architectural and town planning competition for designing a hotel and a water recreation center in the city of Irkutsk. The architects chose hummocks of Baikal ice as a visual image.
The Mastery of Counterpoint
In the sculpture of Classical Greece, counterpoint was first invented: the ability to position the human body as if it were about to take a step, imbuing it with a hint of the energy of future movement, and with hidden dynamics. For architecture, especially in the 20th century and now, this is also one of the main techniques, and the ATRIUM architects implement it diligently, consistently – and always slightly differently. The new residential complex “Richard” is a good example of such exploration, based on the understanding of contrasts in the urban environment, which was fused into the semblance of a living being.
Countryside Avant-Garde
The project of the museum of Aleksey Gastev, the ideologist of scientific organization of work, located in his hometown of Suzdal, is inscribed in multiple contexts: the contest of a small town, the context of avant-garde design, the context of “lean production”, and the context of the creative quest of Nikolai Lyzlov’s minimalist architecture – and it seems to us that this project even reveals a distant memory of the fact that Aleksey Gastev learned his craft in France.
On the Hills
In the project by Studio 44, the “distributed” IT campus of Nizhny Novgorod is based on well-balanced contracts. Sometimes it is hovering, sometimes undulating, sometimes towering over a rock. For every task, the architects found appropriate form and logic: the hotels are based on a square module, the academic buildings are based on a “flying” one, and so on. Modernist prototypes, specifically, Convent Sainte-Marie de La Tourette, stand next to references to the antique Forum and the tower of a medieval university – as well as next to contextual allusions that help inscribe the buildings of the future campus into the landscape of the city hills with their dominants, high slopes, breathtaking river views, the historical city center, and the Nizhny Novgorod University.
The Magic Carpet
The anniversary exhibition of Totan Kuzembaev’s drawings named “Event Horizons” shows both very old drawings made by the architect in the formative 1980’s, and now extracted from the Museum of Architecture, as well as quite a few pictures from the “Weightlessness” series that Totan Kuzembaev drew specifically for this exhibition in 2023. It seemed to us that the architect represented reality from the point of view of someone levitating in space, and sometimes even upside down, like a magic carpet with multiple layers.
​A Copper Step
Block 5, designed by ASADOV architects as part of the “Ostrov” (“Island”) housing complex, is at the same time grand-scale, conspicuous thanks to its central location – and contextual. It does not “outshout” the solutions used in the neighboring buildings, but rather gives a very balanced implementation of the design code: combining brick and metal in light and dark shades and large copper surfaces, orthogonal geometry on the outside and flexible lines in the courtyard.
The Light for the Island
For the first time around, we are examining a lighting project designed for a housing complex; but then again, the authors of the nighttime lighting of the Ostrov housing complex, UNK lighting, proudly admit that this project is not just the largest in their portfolio, but also the largest in this country. They describe their approach as a European one, its chief principles being smoothness of transitions, comfort to the eye, and the concentration of most of the light at the “bottom” level – meaning, it “works” first of all for pedestrians.
Spots of Light
A new housing complex in Tyumen designed by Aukett Swanke is a very eye-pleasing example of mid-rise construction: using simple means of architectural expression, such as stucco, pitched roofs, and height changes, the architects achieve a “human-friendly” environment, which becomes a significant addition to the nearby park and forest.
Ledges and Swirls
The housing complex “Novaya Zarya” (“New Dawn”) designed by ASADOV Architects will become one of the examples of integrated land development in Vladivostok. The residential area will be characterized by various typologies of its housing sections, and a multitude of functions – in addition to the social infrastructure, the complex will include pedestrian promenades, shopping malls, office buildings, and recreational facilities. The complex is “inscribed” in a relief with a whopping 40-meter height difference, and overlooks the Amur Bay.
Agglomeration on an Island
Recently, an approval came for the master plan of the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk agglomeration, which was developed by a consortium headed by the Genplan Institute of Moscow. The document provides for the creation of 12 clusters, the totality of which will give the region a qualitative leap in development and make the island more self-sufficient, more accessible, and less dependent on the mainland. We are inviting you to examine the details.
Ivan Grekov: “A client that wants to make a building that is “about architecture” is...
In this article, we are talking to Ivan Grekov, the leader of the architectural company KAMEN (translates as “stone”), the author of many high-profile projects that have been built in Moscow in the recent years, about the history of his company, about different approaches to form making, about different meanings of volume and facade, and about “layers” in working with the environment – at the example of two projects by Osnova Group. These are the MIRAPOLIS complex on the Mira Avenue in Rostokino, whose construction began at the end of last year, and the multifunctional complex in the 2nd Silikatny Proezd on the Zvenigorodsky Highway; recently, it received all the required approvals.
Grasping and Formulating
The special project “Tezisy” (“Abstracts”), showcased at Arch Moscow exhibition in Moscow’s Gostiny Dvor, brought together eight young “rock stars of architecture”, the headliner being Vladislav Kirpichev, founder of the EDAS school. In this article, we share our impressions of the installations and the perspectives of the new generation of architects.
The White Tulip
Currently, there are two relevant projects for the Great Cathedral Mosque in Kazan, which was transferred to a land site in Admiralteiskaya Sloboda in February. One of them, designed by TsLP, was recently showcased at Arch Moscow. In this article, we are covering another project, which was proposed during the same period for the same land site. Its author is Aleksey Ginzburg, the winner of the 2022 competition, but now the project is completely different. Today, it is a sculptural “flower” dome symbolizing a white tulip.
ATRIUM’s Metaverse
The architectural company ATRIUM opened a gallery of its own in a metaverse. Inside, one can examine the company’s approach and main achievements, as well as get some emotional experience. The gallery is already hosting cyberspace business meetings and corporate events.
​From Darkness to Light
Responding to a lengthy list of limitations and a lengthy – by the standards of a small building – list of functions, Vladimir Plotkin turned the project of the Novodevichy Monastery into a light, yet dynamic statement of modern interpretation of historical context, or, perhaps, even interpretation of light and darkness.
Modernism in Avant-Garde
The contest proposal that Studio 44 made for the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theater is bright in all senses, and in many ways even provocative – just like a modern theater performance should be. Being in context with modern culture, it even shocks you in some respects. At first, you are amazed at the red color that is present all around, and then you gradually make sense of the picturesque congregation of volumes that share a multitude of functions. And it’s only later that you realize that this conglomerate conceals a modernist building, most of which the architects save intact.
The Black Mountain
The project of reconstructing the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet theater developed by Wowhaus, which won the competition, proposed a total demolition and new construction, as well as considerable expansion (up to 8 floors) – and transformable multifunctional spaces. The new project, however, does retain the recognizable elements and the image of the old theater. As for the main spectator hall, it is turned – figuratively speaking, of course – into a semblance of a black volcano.
Garage-Garage
Recently, Moscow saw the presentation of a project by Yuri Grigoryan, devoted to turning the truck garage on Novoryazanskaya Street, designed by Konstantin Melnikov, into the Museum of Moscow Transport. The project involves restoring the monument of architecture, adding a new underground floor and a new entrance, as well as a whole park. The implementation is already underway.
Houses by the Lakeside
Approvals came for the project of a housing complex that DNK ag designed in Kazan. The complex is low-rise; its sections are designed as separate volumes united by a common podium. Everything is very much like DNK: delicate and sometimes even lyrical, especially where the yard meets the lakeshore.
Exemplary Adaptation
In Novosibirsk, the construction of a school has been completed, whose project is standing every chance to set a new standard for the nation’s educational institutions. SVESMI Architects and Brusnika company started by developing the brief that would answer the modern teaching practices, and then they proposed the optimum plan, versatile classrooms, and reserved, yet expressive, image in the spirit of this Amsterdam alliance.
Terra Incognita
An 800-room hotel complex, designed by Ginzburg Architects, offers the seaside city of Anapa a fragment of well-organized urban environment that keeps up the cultural spirit of the place. The architects break away from traditional white facades, turning to the antique and even archaic periods of the history of this land, and drawing inspiration in the color of red clay and simple, yet lightweight, shapes.
In Plumage Colors
Working on the facades of a mid-rise residential area in Odintsovsky district, GENPRO architects “adjusted” a number of features of the volumetric composition, which they received without the right to make any changes to, by purely “decorative” means, such as ornamental brickwork, including glazed bricks and the rhythm of the windows. Interestingly, the starting point in the search for the color code was the plumage of birds that are found in the Moscow region.
Julius Borisov: “The “Island” housing complex is a unique project – we took it on with...
One of the largest housing projects of today’s Moscow – the “Ostrov” (“Island”) housing complex built by Donstroy – is now being actively built in the Mnevniky Floodplain. They are planning to build about 1.5M square meters of housing on an area of almost 40 hectares. We are beginning to examine this project– first of all, we are talking to Julius Borisov, the head of the architectural company UNK, which works with most of the residential blocks in this grand-scale project, as well as with the landscaping part; the company even proposed a single design code for the entire territory.
A Balanced Solution
The residential complex “Balance” on Moscow’s Ryazansky Prospekt is one of the large-scale, and relatively economical (again, by Moscow standards) housing projects. Its first phase has already been built and landscaped; the work on the others is in progress. Nevertheless, it has an integral internal logic, which is based on the balance of functions, height, and even image and space composition. The proposed solutions are recognizable and laconic, so that each of them was reduced by the authors to a graphic “logo”. To see everything, you have to flip through the pages and look through to the end.
Horror Vacui
In the city of Omsk, ASADOV architects took on a very challenging task: they are developing a concept of a public and residential complex, which involves reconstructing the city’s first thermal power station standing right next to Omsk’s first fortress. This territory has already seen a lot of projects designed for it, and the residential function of this land site has been the subject of heated debate. In this article, we are examining the project in question, aimed at developing a mid-scale city fabric suited for the historical center. We also examine the above-mentioned debate. Seriously, will this project save this place or will it bring it to ruin?