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From Solntsevo to Peredelkino

The judging panel announced the names of the ten finalists of the contest for the best architectural concept/proposal for the "Novoperedelkino" and "Solntsevo" metro stations of the "yellow" line of Moscow Metro.

01 September 2014
Contest Results
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The right to design each of the stations is claimed by five architectural teams. The names of the end winners will be announced in November 2014. 

"Solntsevo" station: music of the spheres


"Solntsevo" metro station. Location and plan of the exits. Image courtesy by the contest organizers.

The bright place-name (Solntsevo, "Town of the Sun" - translator's note) charmed literally all - at least all the finalists. In each of the projects, the main part is played by the sunlight - all the contestants peppered their proposals with the solar disks and glittering stars. Indeed: we do not always get the best weather around here, and even a hint at a sunny day is highly valued. 
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NEFA ARCHITECTS [NEFARESEARCH]
(Moscow, Russia)

The punctured walls of the entrance lobbies whose proportions remind us of the classic Moscow garages (only larger) - are meant to gather the sunlight together in a host of rays inside. Streaming from above, the rays of light penetrate even underground (figuratively, though) where the specs of light are imitated by the round lamps. The navigating light will be executed in the form of a glowing stripe in the semitransparent artificial stone. 


Project of "Solntsevo" station © NEFA ARCHITECTS [NEFARESEARCH]


Project of "Solntsevo" station © NEFA ARCHITECTS [NEFARESEARCH]


Project of "Solntsevo" station © NEFA ARCHITECTS [NEFARESEARCH]


Project of "Solntsevo" station © NEFA ARCHITECTS [NEFARESEARCH]
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Rhizome Group
(Saint Petersburg, Russia)

The "sunny" name of the metro station prompted the authors to use predominantly bright colors, and only after that - the "solar disks". The vertical surfaces are faced with ceramic tiles of yellow and white colors, the paving pattern of the tiles made different at different places to liven up the atmosphere and create a more dynamic feel. The lighting consists of two lines of large "solar disks" hanging down from the ceiling. The central part of the platform is accentuated by a broad curvilinear band where various pieces of furniture can be placed that can not only be sat upon but also leaned on to. The authors also propose to pave the space between the pavilions with bright-colored tiles. 


Project of "Solntsevo" station © Rhizome Group


Project of "Solntsevo" station © Rhizome Group


Project of "Solntsevo" station © Rhizome Group
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Wall
(Moscow, Russia)

Astronomy again: the station looks like planetarium that demonstrates a shooting star shower and the motion of heavenly bodies. In front of the station entrance, there is an art object that shows the trajectories of the planets of the solar system. The walls of the underpasses between the above-ground and underground parts are executed from opaque glass, one of the walls "bending" and forming a long bench. The platform is equipped with a wall with sliding doors matching the doors of the train cars (a solution familiar to many people by some train stations in Saint Petersburg). The glowing stripes on the walls looking like a snapshot of a starry sky in motion enhance the effect and make the passengers feel as if they are heavenly bodies tearing through space. 


Project of "Solntsevo" station © Wall


Project of "Solntsevo" station © Wall


Project of "Solntsevo" station © Wall


Project of "Solntsevo" station © Wall
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Anton Barklyansky
(Moscow, Russia)

In this project, the station looks like a cave from some computer game. The pillars look like stylized stalactites or like video footage of giant streams of white paint splashed onto a blue surface put on pause and then turned upside down. The result is a hall in which each of the pylons ends in a curvilinear "umbrella" awning that, due to their shape that is not quite regular, look as if they were chaotically placed. The umbrella awnings are to be found not only at the station - softening the borders between the above-ground and underground they also adorn the territory of the adjacent park. 


Project of "Solntsevo" station © Anton Barklyansky


Project of "Solntsevo" station © Anton Barklyansky


Project of "Solntsevo" station © Anton Barklyansky


Project of "Solntsevo" station © Anton Barklyansky
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Rosproject M
(Saint Petersburg, Russia)

Cylindrical supports: slender at the top, positioned at different angles, they echo Moscow's ash trees; almost brutal at the bottom, they bleed into the spots of light visually piercing the surface of the ceiling. The sunlight - yes, the project is all about the sun again, there is no getting away from the place-name - is scattered all over the ceiling in small disks looking like stars or just sunlight dapples. In the underpasses, the lamps are gathered into thin lines, while the entrance pavilions, transparent and slender-legged, will emit a cozy light in the evenings. One way or another, the sun here takes on some "underground" quality - it shines from down under, not the other way around. 


Project of "Solntsevo" station © Rosproject M


Project of "Solntsevo" station © Rosproject M


Project of "Solntsevo" station © Rosproject M


Project of "Solntsevo" station © Rosproject M

"Novoperedelkino" metro station

Since neither the place-name nor the surrounding scenery were suggestive of an obvious starting point for the authors, "Novoperedelkino" station got a multitude of different solutions, not united, as opposed to the lightened-up "Solntsevo", by some single theme. Rather, the architects meditated on the Russian identity in general portraying it as a concrete bunker standing amidst a deep forest, a mottled heraldic eagle, a multicolored ornamental fair, as well as a number of less "tell-tale" things - a set of acid colors or a white "kerchief" arrested in motion. 


"Novoperedelkino" metro station. Location and plan of the exits. Image courtesy by the contest organizers.
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FAS(t)
(Moscow, Russia)

The idea of the project: "underground" forest. The station is underground but, with the help of glowing stripes bearing the images of trees, the architects achieve the effect of an open-air metro station (such as many stations at the Light-Blue line of Moscow Metro, only at those stations it is the train that is exposed to the sky, and this project imitates a live forest at the edges of the station). Everything is real except for the trees, - [UPD: The authors recently specified that, no, the forest is also going to be real. What they plan to do is gradually lower, down to the level of the roadway, the "green" park-ways that separate the main highway from the other roads, and plant them with shrubs and small trees, thus creating the effect of a mixed forest and the natural relief. The whole thing is separated from the roadway by a giant stained glass"]. By contrast with the trees, the space of the station is very "brutalist", dark-concrete, with exposed communications, the heaviness of the man-made machinery accentuated by the ethereal aspect of the pastoral forest. The movie-like quality of the concrete bunker, so alien to Moscow Metro, and so customary to any western subway, gets an interesting spin, though: the rough texture of the wall is accentuated by the side light whose beams, when needed, tear the ceiling or draw us into the tunnels of the underpasses. 


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © FAS(t)


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © FAS(t)


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © FAS(t)


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © FAS(t)
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Gerber Architekten
(Dortmund, Germany)

The project is based on one single beautiful plastic theme: a white pleated fan, whose large folds look more like silk than paper (looking even more like Corian), serves as a sculptural curvilinear ceiling that stretches over the platform; just before the station entrance, it gathers itself into a large column (something like "Kurskaya" metro station), and then tears to the surface almost like a scarf of a pilot of the 1930's: a white scarf from the black underground. The fan/scarf will be backlit with eye-friendly daylight electric lamps. 


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Gerber Architekten


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Gerber Architekten


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Gerber Architekten


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Gerber Architekten
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Boris Voskoboinikov Studio [NEFARESEARCH]
(Moscow, Russia)

The simple parallelepiped of the entrance pavilion is executed from the material that looks like a punctured breadboard or a honeycomb. The project is brimming with color and optimism; the bright luminescent light that usually brings the passengers down will be changed with the joyous palette of green, orange, and lilac colors. The walls of the underpass turn into an active navigation and information panel. The signal lines on the platform and the lines on the transportation map will be executed as plains of the printed board. 


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Boris Voskoboinikov Studio [NEFARESEARCH]


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Boris Voskoboinikov Studio [NEFARESEARCH]


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Boris Voskoboinikov Studio [NEFARESEARCH]


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Boris Voskoboinikov Studio [NEFARESEARCH]

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Palast Architekts
(Riga, Latvia)

The authors decided to bring to "Novoperedelkino" the fame of the world's quietest subway station. In order to achieve that, they propose to cover the station's walls and ceiling with innovative acoustically treated panels that will not let the sound waves reflect from the walls and create their jarring echo. For this same purpose, they considerably increased the wall surface - it is corrugated and at some places is made from diamond-pointed rustication to unobtrusively form something Byzantine or maybe just Empire-magnificent and heraldic. The large stone grille of the entrance entrance pavilion consists of bas-relief windows that complete the picture. 


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Palast Architekts


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Palast Architekts


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Palast Architekts


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Palast Architekts
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Eugene Leonov
(Riga, Latvia)

This project is about the Ancient Russ: the motifs of the adornment of Moscow's palaces and chambers, the "grass" (still reminiscent of the Kholuy paintings or even of the Sochi trademark Olympic drawings) pillars that grow wider at the top as if to support some stone vaults. In actuality, these "vaults" are lightboxes equipped with RGB-LED (light-emitting diodes) that can change the color of the light during the city celebrations.


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Eugene Leonov


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Eugene Leonov


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Eugene Leonov


Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Eugene Leonov
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Totally, over 600 projects were submitted for the contest, but only 96 were considered by the judging panel as answering all the contest specifications ("Novoperedelkino - 46, "Solntsevo" - 50). Out of these, 22 projects were from foreign participants: Slovenia, Netherlands, Germany, India, France, Bulgaria, Spain, Cyprus, Great Britain, Canada, and Italy. 

Judging Panel: 
  • Marat Khusnullin, deputy mayor of Moscow for town planning issues (president of the judging panel);
  • Andrew Bochkarev, chief of construction department of Moscow;
  • Andrew Gnezdilov, the main architect of Scientific Research and Design Institute of General Plan of Moscow;
  • Elena Gonzales, architectural reviewer, curator of exhibitions;
  • Erken Kagarov, art director of Artemy Lebedev Studio;
  • Olga Kosareva, co-founder of "Design-Lectorium"; 
  • Sergey Kuznetsov, chief architect of Moscow;
  • Konstantin Matveev, General director of JSC "Mosengproject";
  • Aleksey Muratov, partner of "Strelka" Studio;
  • Vladimir Plotkin, partner, founder, and chief architect of "Reserve" Studio;
  • Elena Solovieva, leader of NPO-38 "Protected Historical Zones" of Scientific Research and Design Institute of General Plan of Moscow;
  • Vasily Tsereteli, executive director of Moscow Museum of Modern Arts; 
  • Nikolai Shumakov, president of Moscow Architects Union, chief architect of Metrogiprotrans.
"Solntsevo" metro station. Location and plan of the exits. Image courtesy by the contest organizers.
Project of "Solntsevo" station © NEFA ARCHITECTS [NEFARESEARCH]
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Project of "Solntsevo" station © NEFA ARCHITECTS [NEFARESEARCH]
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Project of "Solntsevo" station © NEFA ARCHITECTS [NEFARESEARCH]
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Project of "Solntsevo" station © NEFA ARCHITECTS [NEFARESEARCH]
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Project of "Solntsevo" station © Rhizome Group
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Project of "Solntsevo" station © Rhizome Group
Project of "Solntsevo" station © Rhizome Group
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Project of "Solntsevo" station © Wall
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Project of "Solntsevo" station © Wall
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Project of "Solntsevo" station © Wall
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Project of "Solntsevo" station © Wall
Project of "Solntsevo" station © Anton Barklyansky
Project of "Solntsevo" station © Anton Barklyansky
Project of "Solntsevo" station © Anton Barklyansky
Project of "Solntsevo" station © Anton Barklyansky
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Project of "Solntsevo" station © Rosproject M
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Project of "Solntsevo" station © Rosproject M
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Project of "Solntsevo" station © Rosproject M
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Project of "Solntsevo" station © Rosproject M
"Novoperedelkino" metro station. Location and plan of the exits. Image courtesy by the contest organizers.
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Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © FAS(t)
Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © FAS(t)
Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © FAS(t)
Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © FAS(t)
Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Gerber Architekten
Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Gerber Architekten
Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Gerber Architekten
Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Gerber Architekten
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Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Boris Voskoboinikov Studio [NEFARESEARCH]
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Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Boris Voskoboinikov Studio [NEFARESEARCH]
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Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Boris Voskoboinikov Studio [NEFARESEARCH]
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Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Boris Voskoboinikov Studio [NEFARESEARCH]
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Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Palast Architekts
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Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Palast Architekts
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Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Palast Architekts
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Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Palast Architekts
Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Eugene Leonov
Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Eugene Leonov
Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Eugene Leonov
Project of "Novoperedelkino" station © Eugene Leonov


01 September 2014

Headlines now
Centipede Town
The new school campus designed by ATRIUM Architects, located on the shores of a protected lake in the Imeretian Lowland Ornithological Reserve, represents an important and ambitious undertaking for the team: this is not just a school, but a Presidential Lyceum for the comprehensive development of gifted children – 2,500 students from age 3 through high school. At the same time, it is also envisioned as a new civic hub for the entire Sirius territory. In this article, we unpack the structure and architecture of this “lyceum town”.
Warm Black and White
The second phase of “Quarter 31”, designed by KPLN and built in the Moscow suburb town of Pushkino, reveals a multifaceted character. At first glance, the complex appears to be defined by geometry and a monochrome palette. But a closer look reveals a number of “irregular” details: a gradient of glazing and flared window frames, a hierarchy of façades, volumetric brickwork, and even architectural references to natural phenomena. We explore all the rules – and exceptions – that we were able to discover here.
​Skylights and Staircase
Photos from March show the nearly completed headquarters of FSK Group on Shenogina Street. The building’s exterior is calm and minimalist; the interior is engaging and multi-layered. The conical skylights of the executive office, cast in raw concrete, and the sweeping spiral staircase leading to it, are particularly striking. In fact, there’s more than one spiral staircase here, and the first two floors effectively form a small shopping center. More below.
The Whale of Future Identity
Or is it a veil? Or a snow-covered plain? Vera Butko, Anton Nadtochy, and the architects of ATRIUM faced a complex and momentous task: to propose a design for the “Russia” National Center. It had to be contemporary, yet firmly rooted in cultural codes. Unique, and yet subtly reminiscent of many things at once. It must be said – the task found the right authors. Let’s explore in detail the image they envisioned.
Greater Altai: A Systemic Development Plan
The master plan for tourism development in Greater Altai encompasses three regions: Kuzbass, the Altai Republic, and Altai Krai. It is one of twelve projects developed as part of the large-scale state program bearing the simple name of “Tourism Development”. The project’s slogan reads: “Greater Altai – a place of strength, health, and spirit in the very heart of Siberia”. What are the proposed growth points, and how will the plan help increase the flow of both domestic and international tourists? Read on to find out.
The Colorful City
While working on a large-scale project in Moscow’s Kuntsevo district – one that has yet to be given a name – Kleinewelt Architekten proposed not only a diverse array of tower silhouettes in “Empire-style” hues and a thoughtful mix of building heights, creating a six-story “neo-urbanist” city with a block-based layout at ground level, but also rooted their design in historical and contextual reasoning. The project includes the reconstruction of several Stalin-era residential buildings that remain from the postwar town of Kuntsevo, as well as the reconstruction of a 1953 railway station that was demolished in 2017.
In Orbit of Moscow City
The Orbital business center is both simple and complex. Simple in its minimalist form and optimal office layout solution: a central core, a light-filled façade, plenty of glass; and from the unusual side – a technical floor cleverly placed at the building’s side ends. Complex – well, if only because it resembles a celestial body hovering on metallic legs near Magistralnaya Street. Why this specific shape, what it consists of, and what makes this “boutique” office building (purchased immediately after its completion) so unique – all of this and more is covered in our story.
The Altai Ornament
The architectural company Empate has developed the concept for an eco-settlement located on a remote site in Altai. The master plan, which resembles a traditional ornament or even a utopian city, forms a clear system of public and private spaces. The architects also designed six types of houses for the settlement, drawing inspiration from the region’s culture, folklore, and vernacular building practices.
Pro Forma
Photos have emerged of the newly completed whisky distillery in Chernyakhovsk, designed by TOTEMENT / PAPER – a continuation of their earlier work on the nearby Cognac Museum. From what is, in essence, a merely technical and utilitarian volume and space, the architects have created a fully-fledged theatre of impressions. Let’s take a closer look. We highly recommend a visit to what may look like a factory, but is in fact an experiment in theatricalizing the process of strong spirit production – and not only that, but also of “pure art”, capable of evolving anywhere.
The Arch and the Triangle
The new Stone Mnevniki business center by Kleinewelt Architekten – designed for the same client as their projects in Khodynka – bears certain similarities to those earlier developments, but not entirely. In Mnevniki, there are more angular elements, and the architects themselves describe the project as being built on contrast. Indeed, while the first phase contains subtle references to classical architecture – light touches like arches, both upright and inverted, evoking the spirit of the 1980s – the second phase draws more distantly on the modernism of the 1970s. What unites them is a boldly expressive public space design, a kaleidoscope of rays and triangles.
Health Factory
While working on a wellness and tourist complex on the banks of the Yenisei River, the architects at Vissarionov Studio set out to create healing spaces that would amplify the benefits of nature and medical treatments for both body and soul. The spatial solutions are designed to encourage interaction between the guests and the landscape, as well as each other.
The Blooming Mechanics of a Glass Forest
The Savvinskaya 27 apartment complex built by Level Group, currently nearing completion on an elongated riverfront site next to the Novodevichy Convent, boasts a form that’s daring even by modern Moscow standards. Visually, it resembles the collaborative creation of a glassblower and a sculptor: a kind of glass-and-concrete jungle, rhythmically structured yet growing energetically and vividly. Bringing such an idea to life was by no means an easy task. In this article, we discuss the concept by ODA and the methods used by APEX architects to implement it, along with a look at the building’s main units and detailing.
Grace and Unity
Villa “Grace”, designed by Roman Leonidov’s studio and built in the Moscow suburbs, strikes a balance between elegant minimalism and the expansive gestures of the Russian soul. The main house is conceived as a sequence of four self-contained volumes – each could exist independently, yet it chooses to be part of a whole. Unity is achieved through color and a system of shared spaces, while the rich plasticity of the forms – refined throughout the construction process – compensates for the near-total absence of decorative elements.
Daring Brilliance
In this article, we are exploring “New Vision”, the first school built in the past 25 years in Moscow’s Khamovniki. The building has three main features: it is designed in accordance with the universal principles of modern education, fostering learning through interaction and more; second, the façades combine structural molded glass and metallic glazed ceramics – expensive and technologically advanced materials. Third, this is the school of Garden Quarters, the latest addition to Moscow’s iconic Khamovniki district. Both a costly and, in its way, audacious acquisition, it carries a youthful boldness in its statement. Let’s explore how the school is designed and where the contrasts lie.
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
The Arisha Terraces residential complex, designed by Asadov Architects, will be built in a district of Dubai dedicated to film and television production. To create shaded spaces and an intriguing silhouette, the architects opted for a funnel-shaped composition and nature-inspired forms of erosion and weathering. The roofs, podium, and underground spaces extend leisure opportunities within the boundaries of a man-made “oasis”.
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
The second-phase building of the Evgeny Primakov School already won multiple awards while still in the design stage. Now that it’s completed, some unfinished nuances remain – most notably, the exposed ceiling structures, which ideally should have been concealed. However, given the priority placed on the building’s volumetric composition, this does not seem critical. What matters more is the “Wow!” effect created by the space itself.
Magnetic Forces
“Krylatskaya 33” is the first large-scale residential complex to appear amidst the 1980s “micro-districts” that harmoniously coexist with the forests, the river, the slopes, and the sports infrastructure. Despite its imposing scale, the architects of Ostozhenka managed to turn the complex into something that can be best described as a “graceful dominant”. First, they designed the complex with consideration for the style and height of the surrounding micro-districts. Second, by introducing a pause in its tallest section, they created compositional tension – right along the urban planning axis of the area.
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”
In this article, we discuss the debates surrounding the circus competition and the demolition of the CMEA building with the most renowned architectural critic of our time. A paradox emerges in the process: while nostalgia for the Brezhnev era seems to be in vogue in Russia, a landmark building – the “axis” of the Warsaw Pact – has been sentenced to demolition. Isn’t that strange? We also find out that wow-architecture has made a comeback as a post-COVID trend. However, to make a truly powerful statement, professionals still remain indispensable.
Exposed Concrete
One of the stages of improving a small square in the town of Lermontov was the construction of a skatepark. Entrusting this part of the project to the XSA team, the city gained a 250-meter trick track whose features resemble those of land art objects – unparalleled in Russia in both scale and design. Here’s a look at how the experimental snake run in the foothills of the Caucasus was built.
One Step Closer To the Dream
The challenges of getting all the mandatory approvals, an insufficient budget, and construction site difficulties did not prevent ASADOV Bureau from achieving its main goal in the realization of the school project in the town of Troitsk – taking another step away from outdated notions of educational spaces toward creating a fundamentally new academic environment.
Chalet on the Rock
An Accor hotel in Arkhyz, designed by A.Len, will be situated at the gateway to the resort’s main tourist hubs. The architects reinterpreted the widely popular chalet style while adding an unexpected twist – an unfinished structure preserved on the site. The design team transformed this remnant into an exciting space featuring an open-air pool and a restaurant with panoramic views of the region’s highest mountain ridges.
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
The new project by the architectural company PNKB (an acronym for “Design, Research, and Advisory Bureau”), led by Sergey Gnedovsky and Anton Lyubimkin, for the Kulikovo Field Museum is dedicated to the field as a concept in its own right. The field has long been a focus of the museum’s thorough and successful research. Accordingly, the exterior of the new museum building is gentler than that of its predecessor, which was also designed by PNKB and dedicated specifically to the historic battle. Inside, however, the building confidently guides the visitor from a luminous atrium along a spiral path to the field – interpreted here as a field of life.