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Garden City

Working on the project of landscaping the territory of the office center, T+T Architects filled it with a multitude of ideas capable of giving to the fragment of the former industrial park an air of a comfortable and thought-out public territory.

11 August 2014
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Concept of landscaping the territory of the multifunctional office and business center "Savelovsky City". Park part of of the landscaping © Т+Т Architects

The theme of landscaping the urban territories came into out life quickly and it is pretty much everywhere now: the architects come out for mini-rallies for the tender for the Triumphal Square, the Construction Department changes the Pokrovka Street beyond recognition, and the PR departments of the developer companies publish reviews of the landscaping of the large office complexes. If implemented, this project done by Т+Т architects, has every chance to make one of these reviews.

T+T architects got the commission for landscaping the complex of "Savelovsky City" that is being built on the Skladochnaya Street upon the project of SPEECH Bureau. The place is surrounded by a large industrial park that has for years been turning into a conglomerate of office buildings. "Savelovsky City" consists of four 20-story office buildings in its northern and central parts and two 47-floor towers in the loosely treated Chicago style in the south. The first stage of construction included the parking lot, the two north office buildings and - the landscape project in question. Besides the territory improvement concept, T+Т architects also developed the detailed design and the paperwork for it. 


General view of the complex (SPEECH Project). Picture courtesy of mr-group.ru, 08.2014

Landscaping plan. Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City" © Т+Т Architects


First of all, the architects removed from the comparatively small (1.65 hectares) territory the redundant above-ground parking garages: the complex has in it enough parking stalls thanks to the 8-tier garage and the underground parkings under each building. The authors also slightly improved the driving layout, turning one extra driveway into the fire lane - meaning, virtually, handing it over to the pedestrians. At the entrance to the complex, there appeared a small pedestrian-only square of a triangular shape. The architects also paid attention to the fence: it protects the territory from only two sides and, depending on its surroundings, changes its form, transforming from a solid concrete wall to a metal pale fence of varying density and then to a 60-centimeter retainer wall. 

In order to make the complex, hidden among the surrounding buildings, more easily findable, the architects proposed to install next to the exit from the highway a guidance sign, coming up with a few options of it: from a conditional arrow of perforated metal to a backlit LED cube on a stand, looking almost as a billboard. 


Guidance sign location plan. Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City" © Т+Т Architects


The height of the towers with regard to the height of the flyover. Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City". © Т+Т Architects


The layout of the fences. Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City". © Т+Т Architects


The layout of the fence running along the street and the view from the Skladochnaya Street. Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City". © Т+Т Architects


Variativity and the decoration of the fences. Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City". © Т+Т Architects


Typology of the fences. Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City". © Т+Т Architects



Passing thus round the land site, let us get back to its content - it is truly diverse indeed. The paving is turned into geometric pattern - it is plainly seen from the offices up above when one looks down on the trails, benches, and flower beds. The pattern is liberally embellished with the strokes of bright colored asphalt: they continue the bands of colored metal on the facades of the office buildings that thus look as if they either grow from the earth or grow into the landscape with their decorative metallic "roots". 

The territory is divided into six theme zones. One of them is the already-mentioned pedestrian square adjoining the triangle next to the main entrance. "Flowing down from the facades", the decorative lines are echoed by the punctured lines of the rectangular benches that are hidden from the mini-parking by tall grass, bushes, and trees in tall tubs. The second zone is business-like and saturated - located between two buildings, it is expected to have almost no green plants, only some grass in the rectangular flower beds. 


Detailed elaboration of the coceptual proposal. Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City". © Т+Т Architects


The square opposite the main entrance. Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City". © Т+Т Architects


Space between the office buildings. Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City". © Т+Т Architects


Space between the office buildings. Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City". © Т+Т Architects

The east part includes three recreation zones. The first, the "park" one is centered around the inbuilt curvilinear benches: "at the example of the Gaudi Bench in Guell park " - the architects explain; only in this case the benches are not maiolica but wooden. In the middle there is a little terraced park, it is here that the concrete fence was required so as to fence the complex off from the unwelcome industrial park vicinity; the terraces that use the relief drop, also help divert people's attention from the surroundings. This is the called "place for solitary recreation". 


Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City". The park part. © Т+Т Architects


Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City". The park part. © Т+Т Architects


Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City". The terraced park part. © Т+Т Architects


Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City". The terraced park part. © Т+Т Architects


Concept of improvement of the business and office center "Savelovsky City". The terraced park part. © Т+Т Architects

Between the 8-tier parking and the office buildings there is an elongated promenade under a bulging wood-covered roof with a zigzag line of lamps: the awning conceals from the by-passers' eyes the on-the-simple-side facades of the parking garage; it also serves as the pedestrian boulevard that interconnects different parts of the complex. 

In the southern part, next to the residential towers, there is a little park with children's playgrounds. The wavy lines of the trails are enhanced here by the soft hue of the terra cotta pavement. 

The list of different "architectural feelings" was also augmented by a multitude of lights. The strokes in the surface of the pavement echo the stripes of the colored asphalt; the lantern posts of different height change their scale, the flexible bands of the LED's backlight from beneath the lines of the benches, sometimes wavy, sometimes jagged. 

The interesting proposals are literally brimming over; the detailed elaboration of the space is raised to fine art here, it has about it less of a landscape feel and more elaboration of the inner courtyard or a small neat town park (which is the complete opposite of the traditional Moscow grand-scale approach and the breadth of the asphalt fields that we are so used to seeing in thus city and that is felt especially acutely in the industrial parks). This territory is, on the other hand, of the "town" type, carefully decorated, like an islet among the haphazard industrial territories. One thing can be stated for sure: thus project is so saturated with the territorial and decorative ideas that the future inhabitants and office workers will sure have a fun time living and working here. 
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The square opposite the grand entrance. Concept of organizing the territory of the business and office center "Savelovsky City" © T+T Architects
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11 August 2014

Headlines now
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.
Campus within a Day
In this article, we talk about what the participants of Genplan Institute of Moscow’s hackathon were doing at the MosComArchitecture booth at the “ArchMoscow” exhibition. We also discuss who won the prize and why, and what can be done with the territory of a small university on the outskirts of Moscow.
Vertical Civilization
Genpro considered the development of the vertical city concept and made it the theme of their pavilion at the “ArchMoscow” exhibition.
Marina Yegorova: “We think in terms of hectares, not square meters”
The career path of architect Marina Yegorova is quite impressive: MARHI, SPEECH, MosComArchitectura, the Genplan Institute of Moscow, and then her own architectural company. Its name Empate, which refers to the words “to draw” in Portuguese and “to empathize” in English, should not be misleading with its softness, as the firm freely works on different scales, including Integrated Territorial Development projects. We talked with Marina about various topics: urban planning experience, female leadership style, and even the love of architects for yachting.
Andrey Chuikov: “Optimum balance is achieved through economics”
The Yekaterinburg-based architectural company CNTR is in its mature stage: crystallization of principles, systematization, and standardization helped it make a qualitative leap, enhance competencies, and secure large contracts without sacrificing the aesthetic component. The head of the company, Andrey Chuikov, told us about building a business model and the bonuses that additional education in financial management provides for an architect.
The Fulcrum
Ostozhenka Architects have designed two astonishing towers practically on the edge of a slope above the Oka River in Nizhny Novgorod. These towers stand on 10-meter-tall weathered steel “legs”, with each floor offering panoramic views of the river and the city; all public spaces, including corridors, receive plenty of natural light. Here, we see a multitude of solutions that are unconventional for the residential routine of our day and age. Meanwhile, although these towers hark back to the typological explorations of the seventies, they are completely reinvented in a contemporary key. We admire Veren Group as the client – this is exactly how a “unique product” should be made – and we tell you exactly how our towers are arranged.
Crystal is Watching You
Right now, Museum Night has kicked off at the Museum of Architecture, featuring a fresh new addition – the “Crystal of Perception”, an installation by Sergey Kuznetsov, Ivan Grekov, and the KROST company, set up in the courtyard. It shimmers with light, it sings, it reacts to the approach of people, and who knows what else it can do.
The Secret Briton
The house is called “Little France”. Its composition follows the classical St. Petersburg style, with a palace-like courtyard. The decor is on the brink of Egyptian lotuses, neo-Greek acroteria, and classic 1930s “gears”; the recessed piers are Gothic, while the silhouette of the central part of the house is British. It’s quite interesting to examine all these details, attempting to understand which architectural direction they belong to. At the same time, however, the house fits like a glove in the context of the 20th line of St. Petersburg’s Vasilievsky Island; its elongated wings hold up the façade quite well.
The Wrap-Up
The competition project proposed by Treivas for the first 2021 competition for the Russian pavilion at EXPO 2025 concludes our series of publications on pavilion projects that will not be implemented. This particular proposal stands out for its detailed explanations and the idea of ecological responsibility: both the facades and the exhibition inside were intended to utilize recycled materials.
Birds and Streams
For the competition to design the Omsk airport, DNK ag formed a consortium, inviting VOX architects and Sila Sveta. Their project focuses on intersections, journeys, and flights – both of people and birds – as Omsk is known as a “transfer point” for bird migrations. The educational component is also carefully considered, and the building itself is filled with light, which seems to deconstruct the copper circle of the central entrance portal, spreading it into fantastic hyper-spatial “slices”.
Faraday Grid
The project of the Omsk airport by ASADOV Architects is another concept among the 14 finalists of a recent competition. It is called “The Bridge” and is inspired by both the West Siberian Exhibition of 1911 and the Trans-Siberian Railway bridge over the Irtysh River, built in 1896. On one hand, it carries a steampunk vibe, while on the other, there’s almost a sense of nostalgia for the heyday of 1913. However, the concept offers two variants, the second one devoid of nostalgia but featuring a parabola.
Midway upon the Journey of Our Life
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Inverted Fortress
This year, there has been no shortage of intriguing architectural ideas around the Omsk airport. The project developed by the architectural company KPLN appeals to Omsk’s history as a wooden fortress that it was back in the day, but transforms the concept of a fortress beyond recognition: it “shaves off” the conical ends of “wooden logs”, then enlarges them, and then flips them over. The result is a hypostyle – a forest of conical columns on point supports, with skylights on top.
Transformation of Annenkirche
For Annenkirche (St. Anna Lutheran Church in St. Petersburg), Sergey Kuznetsov and the Kamen bureau have prepared a project that relies on the principles of the Venice Charter: the building is not restored to a specific date, historical layers are preserved, and modern elements do not mimic the authentic ones. Let’s delve into the details of these solutions.
The Paradox of the Temporary
The concept of the Russian pavilion for EXPO 2025 in Osaka, proposed by the Wowhaus architects, is the last of the six projects we gathered from the 2022 competition. It is again worth noting that the results of this competition were not finalized due to the cancellation of Russia’s participation in World Expo 2025. It should be mentioned that Wowhaus created three versions for this competition, but only one is being presented, and it can’t be said that this version is thoroughly developed – rather, it is done in the spirit of a “student assignment”. Nevertheless, the project is interesting in its paradoxical nature: the architects emphasized the temporary character of the pavilion, and in its bubble-like forms sought to reflect the paradoxes of space and time.
The Forum of Time
The competition project for the Russian Pavilion at EXPO 2025 in Osaka designed by Aleksey Orlov and Arena Project Institute consists of cones and conical funnels connected into a non-trivial composition, where one can feel the hand of architects who have worked extensively with stadiums and other sports facilities. It’s very interesting to delve into its logic, structurally built on the theme of clocks, hourglasses and even sundials. Additionally, the architects have turned the exhibition pavilion into a series of interconnected amphitheaters, which is also highly relevant for world exhibitions. We are reminding you that the competition results were never announced.
Mirrors Everywhere
The project by Sergey Nebotov, Anastasia Gritskova, and the architectural company “Novoe” was created for the Russian pavilion at EXPO 2025, but within the framework of another competition, which, as we learned, took place even earlier, in 2021. At that time, the competition theme was “digital twins”, and there was minimal time for work, so the project, according to the architect himself, was more of a “student assignment”. Nevertheless, this project is interesting for its plan bordering on similarity with Baroque projects and the emblem of the exhibition, as well as its diverse and comprehensive reflectiveness.
The Steppe Is Full of Beauty and Freedom
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The Snowstorm Fish
The next project from the unfinished competition for the Russian Pavilion at EXPO 2025, which will be held in Osaka, Japan, is by Dashi Namdakov and Parsec Architects. The pavilion describes itself as an “architectural/sculptural” one, with its shape clearly reminiscent of abstract sculpture of the 1970s. It complements its program with a meditative hall named “Mendeleev’s Dreams”, and offers its visitors to slide from its roof at the end of the tour.
The Mirror of Your Soul
We continue to publish projects from the competition for the design of the Russian Pavilion at EXPO in Osaka 2025. We are reminding you that the results of the competition have not been announced, and hardly will ever be. The pavilion designed by ASADOV Architects combines a forest log cabin, the image of a hyper transition, and sculptures made of glowing threads – it focuses primarily on the scenography of the exhibition, which the pavilion builds sequentially like a string of impressions, dedicating it to the paradoxes of the Russian soul.
Part of the Ideal
In 2025, another World Expo will take place in Osaka, Japan, in which Russia will not participate. However, a competition for the Russian pavilion was indeed held, with six projects participating. The results were never announced as Russia’s participation was canceled; the competition has no winners. Nevertheless, Expo pavilion projects are typically designed for a bold and interesting architectural statement, so we’ve gathered all the six projects and will be publishing articles about them in random order. The first one is the project by Vladimir Plotkin and Reserve Union, which is distinguished by the clarity of its stereometric shape, the boldness of its structure, and the multiplicity of possible interpretations.
The Fortress by the River
ASADOV Architects have developed a concept for a new residential district in the center of Kemerovo. To combat the harsh climate and monotonous everyday life, the architects proposed a block type of development with dominant towers, good insolation, facades detailed at eye level, and event programming.
In the Rhombus Grid
Construction has begun on the building of the OMK (United Metallurgical Company) Corporate University in Nizhny Novgorod’s town of Vyksa, designed by Ostozhenka Architects. The most interesting aspect of the project is how the architects immersed it in the context: “extracting” a diagonal motif from the planning grid of Vyksa, they aligned the building, the square, and the park to match it. A truly masterful work with urban planning context on several different levels of perception has long since become the signature technique of Ostozhenka.
​Generational Connection
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Three Dimensions of the City
We began to delve into the project by Sergey Skuratov, the residential complex “Depo” in Minsk, located at Victory Square, and it fascinated us completely. The project has at least several dimensions to it: historical – at some point, the developer decided to discontinue further collaboration with Sergey Skuratov Architects, but the concept was approved, and its implementation continues, mostly in accordance with the proposed ideas. The spatial and urban planning dimension – the architects both argue with the city and play along with it, deciphering nuances, and finding axes. And, finally, the tactile dimension – the constructed buildings also have their own intriguing features. Thus, this article also has two parts: it dwells on what has been built and what was conceived
New “Flight”
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The Yauza Towers
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