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Diffusions of Design

Arseny Leonovich shares about the mutual penetration of architecture and design, the challenges of today, and about his drive and motivation.

07 October 2014
Interview
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September 26, Singapore's Red Dot Design Museum played host to the prestigious Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2014. The prize-winning list includes two works by the Russian designer Arseny Leonovich. "Red Dots" gave honorable mention to KOSATKI project that was about the design of lights and the city benches Bench House. We spoke to Arseny about architects that are into design, about Italy, and about what things should be taught to today's students. 


Benchhouse, 2013. Author: Arseny Leonovich © PANACOM Architects

Archi.ru:

- What is, in your opinion, the difference between the designer architects from the "pure" designers?

- Arseny Leonovich:
- An industrial designer solely handles his tasks in the format of his or her designer needs. He comes up with the technical specifications proceeding from the scale and magnitude of the model that he designs, be that a chair or a tea glass holder. The architect, by definition, when he is faced with a similar challenge, must handle his task in a broader manner, and, let's say, in a number of different formats... Because from the very start the architect is taught to sum up much more factors than the student of design is supposed to, who is meant to perform rather specific tasks of designing "chairs-tables-bottle-openers". And I am not saying that it's "bad", either. Possibly, out of a hundred designers that do nothing but design chairs, you will be able to pull out an architect or two. But something tells me that in the world's big-time design there have always been a lot of people with an architectural education or at least with an architectural vision. 


"Capsule" micro-house. Author: Arseny Leonovich © PANACOM Architects

- In this case, what would you say about the projects by your western colleagues, such as, for example, Piero Lisdini or Antonio Citterio that are architects just like you but that still do successful design projects? 

- To me, they will always remain an example of a "designer" nation that has virtually no limits. The Italians were born into the cradle of architecture and design. When an Italian architect, while taking a break from creating some high-profile project, is doing some consumer goods design, it is as easy for him as having a cup of coffee. Generally, Italy has always been the origin of numerous architects. Suffice it to say that today there are several thousand students that graduate from the Turin Polytechnic Institute alone and a whole lot more if we take the whole Italy. Take good old Florence, for example. They will all become unemployed if each one of them claims to build a palazzo or a country house. And it was not by chance, as far as I remember, that still during WWII the Italian government and the lobby circles stipulated design as one of the key development vectors of the country's economy - so as the world and the European mind would clearly associate the very word "design" with Italy. And they really did it. I think you will agree that in comparison, say, to the German design, the Italian design is a lot more recognized notion, and the very word combination is steadier. 

- So it seems that you attribute your recent victory in two nominations ‘Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2014’ with the "architectural" character your design outlook? 

- Yes, possibly, they saw in my work the "architectural" vision of the design. Take KOSATKI, for example. On the one hand, this project shows a poetic and romantic image but, on the other hand, it is quite technology-friendly. As an object, this lamp is firmly connected with a double-height or a very tall room or hall. Meaning - this clear-cut image has a technical and functional casing to it. The same holds true for the benches BENCH HOUSE that are all about the idea of a country house. I think you will agree that while walking down the street we will be subconsciously attracted by this "house" - simply because it gives us some certain vision, some super idea, the image of a "house". And it is the first thing that people see, only noticing the bench later on.


KOSATKI lights. Author: Arseny Leonovich © PANACOM Architects


Rando table lamp. Author: Arseny Leonovich © PANACOM Architects


Dr.Carter table lamp. Author: Arseny Leonovich © PANACOM Architects


- What is the greatest challenge for you in industrial design? 

- Probably, making the right guess of what the "call of time" must be today... Each challenge already has an answer to it at its very heart. This is why the students must be taught to unravel charades as much as possible. Because the answers are always there and the most beautiful and groundbreaking things are always on the surface, actually. How is our educational process organized? Here we go, guys, here are the technical specifications for you, here is the land plot, we want a seven-story house on it... 


House in the settlement of Pozdnyakovo "Ivan Kuzmich Steamboat", project of 2006, implementation of 2012-2013. Author: Arseny Leonovich © PANACOM Architects

But there is also a different approach out there, when the architect comes and starts "listening" to the place, trying to understand just what this place is all about and how he can unobtrusively and gracefully implement his or her ideas here. Meaning - when the posing and solving of spacial and strictly material challenges is influenced by things that belong to a totally different category... The design work could also be measured by this tool: listen to the calls of times, carefully study the location, social needs, and the geometry of the land that you are working with. 

Of course, today nobody will permit us to be solely guided by the philosophical or poetic considerations. There are up-to-date building materials, environmental approach, economy reasons, and the minimum possible budget to consider. The best project will be the one that, while still at the preliminary proposal stage, is encumbered with a large number of requirements and conditions. Take our last project of a private residential house in Germany, for example.


House in Grunwald, project of 2010, implementation of 2010-2014. Author: Arseny Leonovich © PANACOM Architects

We were faced with a lot of challenges: we could not move anything a single inch. Still, however, within the limits of these "sliced empty spaces" we were able to do everything that was required of us: economically, efficiently, and with good taste. 

In the field of design I value really high our collection of the work tables for Nayada company. What we did was we just violated every typological boundary you can think of: there used to be tables with four legs, and there used to be separate partitions, so we went ahead and cast away everything that we did not need. As my professors would say, all the new discoveries are made at the junction of the typologies, at the point where they bleed into each other. So it is not by chance that today a bench bleeds into an armchair, an armchair - into a table, a table - into a closet, and so on. Your working furniture flows into the furniture that you will use for taking a rest. Today these processes are ever brighter and more and more significant. 


"Island" tables. Author: Arseny Leonovich © PANACOM Architects


"Island" tables. Author: Arseny Leonovich © PANACOM Architects


"COMBO 75" Tables for co-working , 2014. Author: Arseny Leonovich © PANACOM Architects

- Your designer work often win prizes at international and Russian contests. At a minimum, they make the short-lists. What does participating in such contests mean to you - is it about your vanity, your talent, or just your drive?


"In-out" easy chairs , 2012. Author: Arseny Leonovich © PANACOM Architects

- I think that with time I really became a driven person, so now these designer contests are much of a sport for me. As a student, when I heard about participating in the contests and tenders, I thought that this was for some super people, and I was too young and inexperienced to do that. With experience, this fear grew into motivation and drive. Now I avidly spring at every such opportunity - I wish I had more time for that. But if we are to put the sport or charismatic motivation aside, any contest for me is all about discovering something new. For example, back in 2003 I got a task of designing a door handle in the design contest organized by the Italian company Valli&Valli.


"Walkiria" door handle, 2004. Author: Arseny Leonovich © PANACOM Architects

Had it not been for this, I would have lived on unaware of the fact that there is an opportunity of designing a door handle: this thing seemingly so clear, so routine, and so day-to-day but one that inscribed a lot of architects and designers into the context of the world fame. I really enjoy remembering this project. The very shape was found so many years ago, and now it has become popular and recognizable. Today there are lots of similar models out there...

- In the perfect world, what is your ideal of design, icon of style?

- Well, the first things that come to mind are the works by Aalto, Imzov, Jacobsen. Also, Ico Parisi, Carlo Mollino, Gio Ponti. Ponti's every work is high-profile. His modernism is deeply rooted in the centuries-old Italian culture. It's amazing how the simplification of shape, the "open" color - everything that is related in one way or another with the modernist tradition - is beautifully superimposed on the designer's drawing talent, his deep knowledge of history of arts... Each name on this list is a peculiar human icon to me, the quintessence of embodiment of designer genius. 


House in the settlement of Pozdnyakovo "Pithon", project of 2007, implementation of 2008-2013. Author: Arseny Leonovich © PANACOM Architects


07 October 2014

Headlines now
A Deep, Crystal Shine
A new luxury residential development by ADM architects is set to rise in the Patriarch’s Ponds district, not far from Novopushkinsky Square. It will replace three buildings erected in the early 1990s. The project authors, Andrey Romanov and Ekaterina Kuznetsova, have placed their bets on the variety among the three volumes, modern design solutions, and attention to detail: one of the buildings will feature smoothly curved balconies with a ceramic sheen on their undersides, while another will be accented by glass “sculpture” columns.
A Roadside Picnic of Urban Planning Theorists
Marina Egorova, head of Empate Architectural Bureau, brought together urban planning theorists – the successors of Alexey Gutnov and Vyacheslav Glazychev – to revive the substance and depth of professional discourse. At the first meeting, much ground was covered: the participants revisited the theoretical foundations, aligned their values, examined a cutting-edge case of the Kazan agglomeration, and concluded with the unfathomable intricacies of Russian land demarcation. Below, we present key takeaways from all the presentations.
Perspective View
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Malevich and Bathhouses, Nature and High-Tech
The Malevich Bathhouse complex is scheduled to open in the fall of 2025 on the Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Highway. The project, designed by DBA-GROUP under the leadership of Vladislav Andreev, is an example of an unconventional approach to the image of a spa in general and of a bathhouse in particular. Deliberately avoiding any kind of allusion, the architects opted for streamlined forms with characteristic rounded corners, a combination of wood with bent glass, and restrained contemporary shapes – both inside and out. Let’s take a closer look at the project.
Rather, a Tablecloth and a Glass!
After many years, the long-abandoned Horse Guards Department building in St. Petersburg has finally received the attention it deserves: according to a design by Studio 44, the first restoration and adaptation works are scheduled to begin this year. Both the intended function and the general scope of works imply minimal alteration to the complex, which has preserved traces of its three-century history. All solutions are reversible and aimed, above all, at opening the monument to the city and immersing it in a lively social scene – hence the choice of a cultural center scenario with a strong gastronomic component.
​Materialization of Airflows
The Nikolai Kamov International Airport in Tomsk opened at the end of August last year. We have already written about the project – now we are taking a look at the completed building. Its functionality is reinforced by symbolic undertones: the architects at ASADOV sought to reflect local identity in the architecture as fully as possible.
The City as a Narrative
Sergey Skuratov’s approach to large urban plots could best be described as a “total design code”. The architect pays equal attention to the overall composition and the smallest of details, striving to ensure that every aspect is thoroughly thought out and subordinated to the original vision. It’s a Renaissance-like approach, really – a titanic effort demanding remarkable willpower and perseverance. The results are likewise grand – architecture that makes a statement. This article looks at the revived concept for the central section of the Seventh Heaven residential district in Kazan, a composition so thoroughly considered that even the “gradient of visual emphasis” (sic!) across the facades has been carefully worked out. It also touches on the narrative idea behind the project – and even the architect’s own doubts about it.
A Garden of Hope for Freedom
In October, at the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery in Suzdal, the Prison Yard Garden opened on the site that had served as a prison from the 18th century until the Khrushchev Thaw. The architectural concept was developed by NOῨD Short Film, and the landscape design by the MOX landscape bureau. In fact, there are two gardens here – very different ones. We try to understand whether they evoke the right emotions in visitors, while also showing the beauty of June’s ruderal plants in bloom.
A Laconic Image of Time
The Time Square residential complex, built on the northern edge of St. Petersburg, appears more concise and efficient than its neighbor and predecessor, the New Time complex. Nevertheless, the architect’s hand is clearly felt: themes of “black and white”, “inside and outside”, and most notably, the “lamellar” quality of the facades that seems to visibly “eat away” at the buildings’ mass – everything is played out like a well-written score. One is reminded of both classical modernism and the so-called “post-constructivism”.
The Flower of the Lake
The prototype for the building of the Kamal Theater in Kazan is an ice flower: a rare and fragile natural phenomenon of Lake Kaban “froze” in the large, soaring outlines of the glass screens enclosing the main volume, shaping its silhouette and shielding the stained-glass windows from the sun. The project, led by the Wowhaus consortium and including global architecture “star” Kengo Kuma, won the 2021/2022 competition and was realized close to the original concept in a short – very short – period of time. The theater opened in early 2025. It was Kengo Kuma who proposed the image of an ice flower and the contraposition of cold on the outside and warmth on the inside. Between 2022 and 2024, Wowhaus did everything possible to bring this vision to life, practically living on-site. Now we are taking a closer look at this landmark building and its captivating story.
Peaceful Integration on Mira Avenue
The MIRA residential complex (the word mir means “peace” in Russian), perched above the steep banks of the Yauza River and Mira Avenue, lives up to its name not only technically, but also visually and conceptually. Sleek, high-rise, and glass-clad, it responds both to Zholtovsky’s classicism and to the modernism of the nearby “House on Stilts”. Drawing on features from its neighbors, it reconciles them within a shared architectural language rooted in contemporary façade design. Let’s take a closer look at how this is done.
An Interior for a New Format of Education
The design of the new building for Tyumen State University (TyumSU) was initially developed before the pandemic but later revised to meet new educational requirements. The university has adopted a “2+2+2” system, which eliminates traditional divisions into groups and academic streams in favor of individualized study programs. These changes were implemented swiftly – right at the start of construction. Now that the building is complete, we are taking a closer look.
Penthouses and Kokoshniks
A new residential complex designed by ASADOV Architects for the Krasnaya Roza business district responds to its proximity to 17th-century landmarks – the chambers of the Hamovny Dvor and St. Nicholas Church – as well as to the need to preserve valuable façades of a historic rental house built in the Russian Revival style. The architects proposed a set of buildings of varying heights, whose façades reference ecclesiastical architecture. But we were also able to detect other associations.
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.