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Business in a Landscape

Detailed coverage of the contest project of the International financial center in the area of Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe by the consortium "Reserve + Maxwan"

04 June 2014
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International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan

At first we will remind you that the final results of the contest for the best architectural and urban-planning proposal of the International Financial Center have not yet been announced. On the 8th of April, the judging board named the three finalists of the contest, and now the commissioner, ZAO "Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe", will choose the winner that will further work on the project. One of the nominees is the Russian bureau "Reserve" and the Dutch company "Maxwan" that have already done a few projects together - what they offered for Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe is arguably the most detailed project of IFC.

Maxwan and Vladimir Plotkin bureau are doing already the third contest project on end: this cooperation grew particularly strong at the "Zaryadye" Park project, so, when embarking on the development of the IFC project, the architects were already a tight-knit team in which the parties know and understand one another. Probably because of that, the authors pretty soon settled down about the overall layout of the future financial center, as well as about the key principles of the development of the project. 


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan

Totally, there were seven "starting points" of this kind - like the cornerstones of the concept they support not only its attractiveness but also its exceptional sustainability. The first and probably the most important starting point was about making the most of the wonderful scenery that the IFC will be built upon.


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan

The architects themselves call this idea "Optimizing the Gifts", explaining that the remoteness from the megalopolis together with the breathtaking scenery around the site, and the panoramic view of the Moskva River are the factors that can (and must!) make the IFC the greenest business area ever, totally unlike the traditional financial centers. The main question is, of course, how you use these benefits: if you hand the territory completely over to the bankers, you will hardly be able to create a truly sustainable neighborhood (which is more like a whole city, judging by its scale).


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan

It was specifically because of this that the next points were the "optimum balance with the surrounding landscape" and "variety of lifestyles" or the "semi functional" planning, so popular nowadays. What is interesting is the fact that unlike the many other competitors, the team of "Reserve" and "Maxwan" forewent the idea of spreading the functions evenly all over the territory - instead, the architects create five planning clusters each of which combines these functions in different proportions and thus gets a face of its own in the structure of the city that is in construction. Yet another two clusters will be placed on the triangular plots that are located along the northern border of the site closest to the Novorizhskoe Highway - but this is a further perspective of the development of the project. 


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan

The densest area will be the Central that, in fact, is getting the role of the international financial center: the numerous administrative buildings here alternate with the high-rises that also include apartments (at the very top) and the public functions (at the very bottom). On the plan, the neighborhood has the shape of an elongated rectangle, and, from the planning point, the architects play this configuration as if on que: coupled with the numerous traversing boulevards, the four longitudinal axes of the streets form the planning grid - some kind of New York whose business-like air is clearly readable from the first glance. 


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan

Nearby, the Park quarter (Forest Estate) stretches, just as triangular on the plan and having the same grid of blocks - only now residential ones. And, while the Central area had only some green injections of the boulevard esplanades and odd fractions of a small park here and there, here the verdure dominates: the broad park belt embraces the neighborhood along its perimeter, and each of the blocks is adjoined by a green boulevard. The planning density is also different here: there are mostly five-story houses that create the atmosphere of a nice little town.


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan

Yet another rectangle is placed not perpendicular to the river but parallel to it: this is the River quarter that consists predominantly of townhouses that mark the transition from the dense urban environment to the more sparse country housing. This makes perfect sense because behind it, the river meadows start, that are prohibited to build upon: the architects place here a golf-club surrounded by private residences that nicely fit into the surrounding scenery. A similar "green island" is also flanking the yard from the other side: the woodland that prevails there also cannot fit into the rigid planning grid and thus the architects fit in the residential houses in between the trees, giving to the mater plan of the Forest neighborhood a picturesque naturalness.

The groundbreaking planning breakthrough of "Reserve" and "Maxwan" is the decision of digging two water channels on the territory of the IFC: the architects run one of them from the Zakharkovsky Reservoir that is located in the northwest part of the territory, and the other - from the horseshoe-shaped riverbed of the abandoned loop of the Moskva River, located more to the east. The "blue streets", on the one side, give to the structure of the city a clear and bright identity, and, on the other side, help to zone out the so-unlike Central, Park, and Forest neighborhoods. The environment is also livened up by the numerous bridges thrown from one neighborhood to another, the main connecting axis being the broad winding "snake" thoroughfare upon which the architects string the main public territories of each of the clusters. 


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan

Top public spaces are yet another cornerstone of this project. Instead of creating a large number of "recreation" places, the architects laid their stress on the landscaped streets and squares together with their thought-out connections with the outside environment. What is interesting is the fact that the Central neighborhood with its numerous high-rises uses the "height-reduction concept": the high-rise facade steps back from the edge of the street at the level of the 4th or 5th floor, thus letting even such dense housing as this one keep the light and the human proportion of the street. The "maximum humanity" is also achieved at the expense of detailed elaboration of the transport issue (yet another priority).


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan

"The master plan that we developed provides for steady interrelation between various types of transport - Vladimir Plotkin explains - We tried to arrange it in such a way that the priority here is given to the pedestrians and cyclists, while the highly-developed public transportation (metro, busses, river taxis) will allow for making this town a pretty much car-free zone". The architects even found a solution for eliminating the possibility of cars passing through the territory of the IFC (located between the Rublevskoye and Novorizhskoe highways, it will indeed become a temptation for the drivers that like a shortcut, especially during the commuter traffic jams on Moscow Ring Road): this risk is eliminated by the thought-out hierarchy of the streets, regulated crossroads, and a tollway system. 


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan

Great architecture was also an unconditional priority of this project (IFC will consist of friendly, sustainable, and "open" buildings, many of which are so expressive that stick in one's memory from the first visualization), but its sustainability is, first of all, is provided for by its very master plan. Each block here is terminally flexible and consists of three elements: the parking (it can occupy the construction blueprint fully or partially), the "base" (the first floors of the buildings, sometimes joined into a single whole), and the "upper volumes" (these can be altered or even replaced altogether with time, leaving only the outside front facades unchanged). Just as flexible and at the same time unconventional is the plan of the "layer" development of the blocks. Instead of developing such a huge territory in the traditional phases, "Maxwan" and "Reserve" proposed to landscape all the five major clusters, and then start gradually building in them - in small increments, but all the five simultaneously. According to the architects, such a "recipe" of developing this land long-term for the future unknown will provide for the natural and gradual growth of the town and, more importantly, ensure the high quality of the environment from the very start. 


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan


International financial center in Rublevo Arkhangelskoe© «Reserve» + Maxwan

 
The international financial center in Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe
Copyright: © TPO Reserve + Maxwan


04 June 2014

Headlines now
Daring Brilliance
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A Twist of the Core
A clever and concise sculptural solution – rotating each floor by N degrees – has created an ensemble of “dancing” towers: similar yet different, simple yet complex. The designers meticulously refined a single structural node and spent considerable effort on the column construction – after that, “everything else was easy”. The architects also rotated the core walls on each floor to maximize the efficiency of the office spaces.
The Sculpting of Spring Forest Matter
We’ve been observing this building for a couple of years now: seemingly simple, perhaps even unassuming, it fits in remarkably well with the micro-district context shaped by the Moscow MCD road junctions. This building sticks in the memory of everyone who drives along the highway, even occasionally. In our opinion, Sergey Nikeshkin, by blending popular architectural techniques and approaches of the 2010s, managed to turn a seemingly simple structure into a statement “on the theme of a house as such”. Let’s figure out how this happened.
Water and Wind Whet the Stone
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Elevation 5642
The Genplan Institute of Moscow has developed a comprehensive development project for three ski resorts in the Caucasus, which have been designated as special economic zones of the tourism and recreation type. The first of these zones is Elbrus. The project includes the construction of new ski runs, cable cars, and hotels, as well as the modernization of stations and improvements to the Azau tourist meadow. To expand the audience and enhance year-round appeal, a network of eco-trails is also being developed. In this article, we provide a detailed breakdown of each stage.
The IT Town
Taking the example of the first completed phase of the “U” district, we examine how the new neighborhood in Innopolis will be organized. T+T Architects and HADAA formed a well-balanced and ingenious master plan with different types of housing, a green artery, a system of squares, and a park in the town’s central part.
The Heart Lies Within
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Magnetic Forces
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Orion’s Belt
The Stone Khodynka 2 office complex, designed by Kleinewelt Architekten for the company Stone, is built with an ergonomic layout following “healthy building” principles: natural light, ventilation, and all the necessary features for an efficient office environment. On the outside, it resembles – like many contemporary buildings – an iPhone: sleek, glowing, glass-and-metal, edges elegantly rounded. Yet, it responds sensitively to the Khodynka context, where the main theme is the contrast between vertical and horizontal lines. The key intrigue lies in the design of the “stylobate” as a suspended passage, leaving the space beneath it open for free pedestrian movement.
Grigory Revzin: “It Was a Bold Statement Made on the Sly. Something Won”
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Exposed Concrete
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One Step Closer To the Dream
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Chalet on the Rock
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Sergey Skuratov: “By and large, the project has been realized in line with the original ideas”
In this issue, we talk to the chief architect of Garden Quarters, looking back at the history and key moments of a project that took 18 years to develop and has now finally been completed. What interests us most are the transformations that the project underwent during construction, and the way the “necessary void” of public space was formed, which turned this remarkable complex into a fragment of a whole new type of urban fabric – not just at the horizontal “street” level but in its vertical structure as well.
A Unique Representative
The recently concluded year 2024 can be considered the year of completion for the “Garden Quarters” residential complex in Moscow’s Khamovniki. This project is well-known and, in many ways, iconic. Rarely does one manage to preserve such a number of original ideas, achieving in the end a kind of urban planning Gesamtkunstwerk. Here is a subjective view from an architecture journalist, with an interview with Sergey Skuratov soon to follow.
Field of Life
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A Paper Clip above the River
In this article, we talk with Vitaly Lutz from the Genplan Institute of Moscow about the design and unique features of the pedestrian bridge that now links the two banks of the Yauza River in the new cluster of Bauman Moscow State Technical University (MSTU). The bridge’s form and functionality – particularly the inclusion of an amphitheater suspended over the river – were conceived during the planning phase of the territory’s development. Typically, this approach is not standard practice, but the architects advocate for it, referring to this intermediate project phase as the “pre-AGR” stage (AGR stands for Architectural and Urban Planning Approval). Such a practice, they argue, helps define key parameters of future projects and bridge the gap between urban planning and architectural design.
Living in the Architecture of One’s Own Making
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A City Block Isoline
Another competition project for a residential complex on the banks of the Volga in Nizhny Novgorod has been prepared by Studio 44. A team of architects led by Ivan Kozhin concluded that using a regular block layout in such a location would be inappropriate and developed a “custom design” approach: a chain of parceled multi-section buildings stretching along the entire embankment. Let’s explore the features and advantages of this unconventional method.
Competition: The Price of Creativity?
Any day now, we’re expecting the results of a competition held by the “Samolet” development group for a plot in Kommunarka. In the meantime, we share the impressions of Editor-in-Chief Julia Tarabarina, who managed to conduct a public talk. Though technically focused on the interaction between developers and architects, the public talk turned into a discussion about the pros and cons of architectural competitions.
Terraced Design
The “River Park” residential complex has confidently and securely shaped the Nagatinsky Backwater shoreline. Featuring a public embankment, elevated courtyards connected by pedestrian bridges, and brick façades, the development invites exploration of its nuanced response to the surrounding context, as well as hints of the architects’ megalithic design thinking.
A Kremlin’s Core and Meteorite Fragments
We continue our coverage of the competition projects for the residential district that the development company GloraX plans to build along the embankment of the Rowing Channel in Nizhny Novgorod. ASADOV Architects approached the concept through a deep dive into local identity, using storytelling to pinpoint a central idea for the design: the master plan and composition are imagined as if a meteorite had struck a “proto-Kremlin”. Sounds weird? Find more details below!
The Volga Regatta
GloraX plans to develop a residential complex spanning 14 hectares along the Volga River in Nizhny Novgorod. The winning design in a closed-door competition, created by GORA Architects, features housing typologies ranging from townhouses to terraced high-rise slabs, a balance of functions, diverse ways of engaging with the water, and even a dedicated island (no less!) for the city residents.
Life Plans
The master plan for the residential district “Prityazheniye” (“Gravity”) in Naberezhnye Chelny was developed by the architectural company A.Len, taking into account the specific urban planning context and partially implemented solutions of the first phase. However, the master plan prioritized its own values: a green framework, a system of focal points, a hierarchy of spaces, and pedestrian priority. After this, the question of what residents will do in their neighborhood simply doesn’t arise.
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
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