По-русски

​Copper Mountains

The neighborhood of mid-rise residential houses in the suburbs of Yekaterinburg looks like as an "urbanized" embodiment of the Ural landscape.

06 November 2014
Object
mainImg
Проект района среднеэтажной жилой застройки в окрестностях Екатеринбурга © «Архитектуриум», 2014
Project of a mid-rise neighborhood in the vicinity of Yekaterinburg © "Architecturium", 2014 открыть большое изображение

The land plot allotted for the construction of a new residential block is located thirty kilometers southeast of Yekaterinburg, between a forest range and the region's first golf course. With a total area of eleven hectares, it borders directly on the course, framing one of its areas from the west and from the north and taking on a shape of a smooth curve on the plan. 

"The extremely picturesque field, the "screen" of the forest range, and the mountains in the background left us devoid of any doubts that it is the landscape that plays the main part here - Vladimir Bindeman shares - Besides, we could not wait to use in our project the famous local stone and somehow reflect in it the unique local tradition of cutting, in the rock, roads and even dwellings, and this is why we came up with the image of the future neighborhood almost instantaneously. The houses that would be built here were to become the integral part of the natural terrain, a natural element that would tie the field, the forest, and the mountains into a single whole". At first, the authors were planning to express this metaphor for its face value and proposed to build "terrace" houses with green roofs bending the latter down to the ground: what they got was "hills of houses" that visually did produce the impression of a smooth transition from flat to rocky terrain. However, the first calculations were quick to show that the implementation of such a project wound be beyond the customer's means. This is why the "natural" theme is ultimately there in the project but to a lot more conditional extent - in the form of numerous terraces framed with green copper, and in the form of the thought-out coating of the facades. First things first, though.

The land plot is conditionally divided into three zones, or, rather, considering its configuration, three "belts": the farthest away from the golf field are the entrance group and the infrastructure, the central belt includes the residential properties and the pedestrian yards, while the field itself borders on the landscape and recreation area. This solution makes perfect sense: on the one side, the architects wanted to safeguard the residential premises from the unwanted vehicles and people, and on the other side - they just could not build along the brink of the golf course: golf is not the safest game for a casual passer-by to be around, so some buffer zone is mandatory. Treating the latter as a compound promenade, the authors tried to make it (along with the golf course, of course) as viewable from the residential houses as possible. 

Проект района среднеэтажной жилой застройки в окрестностях Екатеринбурга © «Архитектуриум», 2014
Project of a mid-rise neighborhood in the vicinity of Yekaterinburg © "Architecturium", 2014 открыть большое изображение

Проект района среднеэтажной жилой застройки в окрестностях Екатеринбурга © «Архитектуриум», 2014
Project of a mid-rise neighborhood in the vicinity of Yekaterinburg © "Architecturium", 2014 открыть большое изображение

Totally, the complex consists of seven residential buildings, five of which are in fact multi-sectional houses, arranged "in brackets" and opened up in the direction of the golf course. The central section has a break in it, though: the two long terraced wings run almost parallel to one another, while one corner part is a little smaller than the others - the differences dictated by the peculiarities of the of the land plot with its boomerang-like outline let the architects give a fair portion of individuality to each of the sections and their yard territories. 

Проект района среднеэтажной жилой застройки в окрестностях Екатеринбурга © «Архитектуриум», 2014
Project of a mid-rise neighborhood in the vicinity of Yekaterinburg © "Architecturium", 2014 открыть большое изображение

Each house is raised upon a stylobate with a green roof, while the yards got a rather active relief - in fact, this is a whole system of green terraces and trails, totally vehicle-free. "In the stylobate, we placed the parking garages which, on the one hand, would allow us to make the yards completely pedestrian, and, on the other hand, would help solve the problem of having to delve too deep into the rock - Vladimir Bindeman explains - the "green wedges" are also there in between the houses: thanks to them, the people will get extra walking routes, while the houses will avoid looking together like a bastion that separated the golf course from the forest range". But then again, the architects gave some "natural" features to each of the buildings. 

Проект района среднеэтажной жилой застройки в окрестностях Екатеринбурга © «Архитектуриум», 2014
Project of a mid-rise neighborhood in the vicinity of Yekaterinburg © "Architecturium", 2014 открыть большое изображение

All the sectional buildings are of varying height, from two to six floors, descend in the direction of the golf course in broad "stair steps". Coated with natural stone and the already mentioned copper panels, they look like the fissure of bare rock. Only one third of the terraces is planned to become residential properties - it is planned that this latter will be sheathed with wood, and the remaining part will be decorated with backfill. In finishing the facades, "Architecturium" also proposes to use the locally manufactured natural stone, serpentine marble, and sandstone. The backyard facades, though, are reigned by glazing; glass verticals of the stairwells and hallways also help to visually "split" the volumes, thus naming the yard lighter and more permeable. 

Проект района среднеэтажной жилой застройки в окрестностях Екатеринбурга © «Архитектуриум», 2014
Project of a mid-rise neighborhood in the vicinity of Yekaterinburg © "Architecturium", 2014 открыть большое изображение

In the triangular segments, formed by the wings of the three central houses, the architects placed two elliptic eight-story towers. Against the complex geometry of the other volumes, they look quite a surprise: the authors of the project explain thus choice by their desire to provide optimum insolation and provide the apartments with better views. Meanwhile, the oval houses not only offer to their future inhabitants an interesting alternative in terms of apartments but also serve as kind of landmarks of the quarter's center, softening - and thus bringing it more up to date - its "rocky" image. But then again, one can also see something "man-made" in these towers, particularly in their profile - at the expense of the increase of their thickness from the lower floors to the upper ones and the liberal glazing around the rounded "nose" the look like giant ice blocks - who knows, maybe these are ice mountains that survived from the ice age into the present and that are now being adjusted to become human homes. 

As Vladimir Bindeman shares, this complex was initially designed as some sort of a health resort. And, since the part of the sea is played here by the golf-course surrounded by rather stern nature, it got the matching appearance. The charming and even "brutalist" buildings, yards likened to moss-covered hills and the highly developed underground part protected from bad weather (it is down there that the public infrastructure is located) create the perfect conditions for the comfortable life in the Urals.
zooming
zooming


06 November 2014

Headlines now
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.
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
Do architects design houses for themselves? You bet! In this article, we are examining a new book by TATLIN publishing house. This book – unprecedented for Russia – features 52 private homes designed and built by contemporary architects for themselves. It includes houses that are famous, even iconic, as well as lesser-known ones; large and small, stylish and eccentric. To some extent, the book reflects the history of Russian architecture over the past 30 years.
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
The HIDE residential complex represents a major milestone for ADM architects and their leaders Andrey Romanov and Ekaterina Kuznetsova in their quest for a fresh high-rise aesthetic – one that is flexible and layered, capable of bringing vibrancy to mass and silhouette while shaping form. Over recent years, this approach has become ADM’s “signature style”, with the golden HIDE tower playing a pivotal role in its evolution. Here, we delve into the project’s story, explore the details of the complex’s design, and uncover its core essence.