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The concept of Russia’s pavilion at the Venice biennale has been announced

At the press conference held today there has been announced the idea of the exposition of Russia’s pavilion at the 11th Venice bienalle. The author of the idea is Gregory Revzin, for the first time he decided to show modern architecture at biennale, actual constructions and projects that will be realized

13 May 2008
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Modern architecture – constructions and projects by Russian and foreign architects will be presented in the Russia’s pavilion at the 11th bienalle in Venice. It might seem there is nothing simplier than presenting what is being constructed at the moment in the country. For the 28 year history of the Venice biennale Russia have never done that. As a rule, trying to be in character with the prestigious international exhibition, in Russia’s pavilion there were conceptual expositions – mostly presenting all we had: visionary architecture, probably, most delicate and favorite of the critics. At the last biennale Russia was presented by Alexander Brodsky’s installation, and in 2004 by a student studio Workshop Russia.

This year the curators for the first time decided to break the tradition and show not the past or future, not dreams, not hopes, not recollections, but most possibly – the reality. The author of the idea, Gregory Revzin, one of the two curators of the Russian pavilion of the 11th architectural biennale in Venice, famous Russian architectural critic, told about that at today’s press-conference.

15 Russian and 10 foreign architects take part in the main exposition of the pavilion. Gregory Revzin picked the participators regarding how they popular in media, he invited the architects who are most talked about in press. Each one will be presented by a prototype of one construction or a project. Remarkably, the exposition presents together Russian and foreign architects, famous and not, equaling them all. One of the Gregory Revzin’s aims is to compare the art of “varangians” and “our” architects visually, the curator says he imagined that many times. Gregory Revzin is sure the Russian architects will not lose but probably will be the best.

The curator talked about one of the peculiarities in Russia at the press-conference. The Russian architects have more realized constructions. But in the process of building they change considerably – the project must be approved; they improve and ruin, and change it. To save anything an author has to strive for their project. Russian architects think of this strive as a part of their job, natural part of the profession. Foreigners do not want to strive, build. So foreign projects more often remain as concept, and so they look more impressive.

Gregory Revzin showed a clear example: the two architects, Sergey Skuratov and Erick van Egeraat have designed two different residential skyscrapers based on the common idea of a spiral-like twirl of the building’s volume. Such buildings are expensive, and the both architects had problems with developers. But Sergey Skuratov made changes in the project achieving the effect of a twirl of the carcass through the more simple method. Erick van Egeraat has legal proceedings. The first has almost finished construction of his building, the other one has just recovered. So, the curator resumed the positions changed – before Russian visionary architects used to picture beautiful fantasies, and foreign architects were striving with practice, and today foreigners in Russia got the role of visionary architects who draw nice pictures and Russians (also for former visionary architects) realize their dreams most possibly.

Well, the main exposition is the profile of architectural process, a kind of photofinish of the situation of 2008 through the eyes of a famous Russian critic. Along with prototypes, art of each exposition participant will be more closely illustrated on screens and in electronic catalogue.

This concept, for the first time in history of Russian architectural exhibitions in Venice, is focused on displaying reality, and does not totally tune to the slogan of 11th Biennale, announced by its curator, Aaron Betsky, a famous American architectural critic. The words are: «Out there. Architecture beyond the building». In the Russia’s pavilion they will show buildings, quite lot of buildings, risking not to develop the idea.

Though it is true that as a rule mottos of biennale are not so fine for demonstrating buildings as such, leading thoughts somewhere beyond. Betsky’s idea seems to be a quintessence of this tendency, but before there were Bardette’s “cities”, Foster’s “metamorphoses”, Fuksas’ “ethics”. In short, it was decided not to change the main idea of the pavilion.

Must add Gregory Revzin becomes curator of Russia’s pavilion for the second time. First, in 2000, he worked not holding to the main idea, but against it. Massimiliano Fuksas asked to think over the “ethics instead of aesthetics”, in Russia’s pavilion there was aesthetic stairs to the sky by Mikhail Filippov and aesthetic photographs by Ilya Utkin, he was given a special award for them. This was the only time when Russia’s pavilion was awarded at biennale in Venice. So, looking back, we see that this is not the first time when Gregory Revzin does not develop the idea of biennale.

He does not consider this as a principal. At the conference someone said the idea to show “true architecture” had appeared before Betsky announced it. National pavilions of other countries responded the motto differently. Trying to go somewhere beyond, Germany made tender for the most ecological project, American pavilion will probably present some student projects. Exposition of the Russia’s pavilion decided not to fully stick to the main idea, but make it differently. Gregory Revzin invited Nikolay Polissky, a famous landscape architect-artist, an anchoret of Nikola-Lenivets, a village in Kaluzhsk, the author of army of snowmen, ziggurat made of hay, imperial border of wood supports and so on.

He greatly explains his way of thoughts – he explained it as one critic to another. The author of the motto, Aaron Betsky, has also the book named “Architecture beyond the building”. The book says that each territory is the space that wants to be built over. So, reasons Revzin, Russia is the huge and mostly vacant space that wants to be developed. Nikolay Polissky in his giant landscape fancies shows desire of Russian land to be built over – his objects are not architecture, but images and buds that look like towers, walls, houses. But they all beyond a building, no one can say that Polissky constructs buildings. Here Polissky is an artist-medium, who lives back in the country and catches that desire of the vacant territory to be built over. In Russia there is much of such territory, so, the Russian vacancy – as largest in the world – is the answer for Betsky reasonings of architecture beyond a building.

This part of the exhibition – from one side is conceptual, from the other it is artistic – will be in the lower storey and will be an art and theory basis of the exposition. Upper, on the second storey, there will be a “buildover” – result of vacancy’s whish to be filled. There comes out the building boom. Architecture comes out of that building boom. We show it.

The concept is neat, it begins with Betsky’s theory, applies them to Russia, finds there a proper medium, brings all that to reality he wants to show. The concept explains everything logically, if one reads and thinks carefully. There is one undeveloped issue left – will anyone ever think carefully. Well, this directly depends on creativity of the exhibition. Yet design of the exposition is secret, Pavel Khoroshilov, the second curator of the pavilion said so.

Below there is a list of participants of the exposition in Russia’s pavilion:

Alexander Asadov
Architectural studio of A. Asadov
Multi-use complex in the place of Cheremushkinsky market
A. R. Asadov, K. Saprichyan, E. Vdovin (chief project architect), A. A. Asadov, O. Grigoreva, A. Dmitriev, A. Polischuk, A. Astashov, A. Shtanuk (A. Asadov’s studio), U. Ravkin (Tvorchesky centre [artistic centre] of U. Ravkina); engineers: T. Novoselova (chief project engineer) (AO "Promstroiproekt"), P. Rafelson , G. Karklo (A. Asadov’s studio)

Alexey Bavykin
Studio of the architect Bavykin
Office complex on Mozhaiskoe highway
A. Bavykin, M. Marek, D. Chistov, D. Gumenuk in participation of N. Bavykina; chief constructor: K. Kabanov; chief project engineer: L. Sluckovskaya; fire safety: S. Tomin

Mikhail Belov
Residential building in Filippovsky pereulok in Moscow
Detailed design: OAO “Stroiproekt”
Facing work: “BGS” company
Making and fixing elements of décor: “Gorod bogov” company

Andrey Bokov
Mosproekt-4
Ice palace in Moscow
A. Bokov, D. Bush, S. Chuklov, V. Valuiskih, L. Romanova, Z. Burchuladze, O. Gak, A. Zolotova, A. Timohov
constructors: M. Livshin, P. Eremeev, M. Kelman, E. Bekmuhamedov, O. Starikov
architect-technologist: A. Shabaidash

Yury Grigoryan
Project by Meganom
Multi-use centre on Cvetnoy boulevard
U. Grigoryan, A. Pavlova, T. Shabaev, U. Kuznecov

Sergey Kiselev
Multi-use centre Miraks-plaza in Moscow
S. Kiselev, A. Nikiforov, A. Breslavcev, A. Busalov, G. Holopov, E. Klueva engineers: I. Shvarcman, K. Spiridonov

Boris Levyant
ABD architects
Multi-use high-rise building in Novosibirsk
B. Levyant, B. Stuchebrukov, L. Mikishev, A. Feoktistova, O. Rutkovsky, D.Spivak, I. Levyant, A.Gorovoy, M.Gulieva, M.Stepura, A.Volyncev (3D)

Nikolay Lyzlov
Architectural studio of Lyzlov
Residential building «Gorod Yaht» in Moscow
N. Lyzlov, M. Kaplenkova, E. Kaprova, N. Lipilina, A. Podemwikov in participation of A. Krohin, O. Avramets, A. Yankova

Vladimir Plotkin
TPO «Rezerv»
Retail complex “Chetyre sezona” [four seasons]
V. Plotkin, I. Deeva, Borodushkin, Kazakov, Romanova, Logvinova

Aleksander Skokan
AB «Ostozhenka»
«Posolsky dom» in Borisoglebsky pereulok in Moscow architects: A. Skokan, A. Gnezdilov, E. Kopytova, M. Elizarova, M. Matveenko, O. Soboleva, constructor: M. Mitukov

Sergey Skuratoy
Sergey Skuratov architects
Sky-scrapers on Mosfilmovskaya in Moscow
S. Skuratov, S. Nekrasov - chief project architect, I.Il’in, P. Karpovsky

Sergey Tkachenko
OOO «Arka»
Residential building on Mashkova street in Moscow
Architects: S. Tkachenko, O. Dubrovsky, S. Anufriev, V. Belsky, S. Belyanina, I. Voznesensky, E. Kapalina, A. Kononenko, M. Leikin, G. Nikolashina, V. Chulkova
Chief engineer: E. Spivak
constructors: V. Gnedin, E. Skachkova, A. Litvinova, N. Kosmina

Mihail Filippov
Mikhail Filippov’s studio
Residential building in Kazachy pereulok in Moscow
M. Filippov, M. Leonov, T. Filippova, A. Filippov, O. Mranova, E. Mihailova

Mihail Hazanov
Kurortproekt
Multi-use centre of the Government of Moscow oblast
architects: M. Hazanov, D. Razmahnin, T. Serebrennikova, E. Mil, V. Mihajlov, N. Schedrova, L. Borisova, A. Zinchuk, A. Krohin, E. Petushkova, D. Elfimov, D. Nasyrova, A. Kosheleva, V. Vedenyapin, K. Kuzmenko, D. Degtyarev, E. Akulova, M. Kalashnikova, R. Grigorevsky, O. Gulneva, A. Filimonov, V. Klassen, A. Odud, R. Belov, D. Spivak, V. Klassen, M. Chistyakov

Nikita Yavein
Studio 44
Development concept by Ladozhsky vokzal in St.Petersburg
N. Yavein, N. Arhipova, U. Ashmeteva, V. Zenkevich (chief project architect)

***

Norman Foster, UK
Foster and Partners
“Russia” tower in the City

Dominique Perrault, France
DPA
Dominique Perrault Architecture
Project of the new building of Mariinsky theatre in St. Petersburg

Peter Schweger, Sergey Tchoban, Germany
SCHWEGER ASSOZIIERTE Gesamtplanung GmbH
NPS Tchoban Voss
“Federacia” tower in the City, Moscow

Erick van Egeraat, Holland
Erick van Egeraat associated architects
National library in Kazan

Zaha Hadid, UK
Zaha Hadid Architects
Private residential building, near Moscow

Thomas Leeser, USA
Leeser Architecture
Museum of mammoth in Yakutia

David Adjaye, London
Adjaye/Associates
Business-school in Skolkovo

Ricardo Bofill, Spain
Taller de Arquitectura
The 75th block. Welton park

Jean Nouvel, France
SOM, USA



13 May 2008

Headlines now
Champions’ Cup
At first glance, the Bell skyscraper on 1st Yamskogo Polya Street, 12, appears strict and laconic – though by no means modest. Its economical stereometry is built on a form close to an oval, one of UNK architects’ favorite themes. The streamlined surface of the main volume, clad in metal louvers, is sliced twice with glass incisions that graphically reveal the essence of the original shape: both its simplicity and its complexity. At the same time, dozens of highly complex engineering puzzles have been solved here.
History never ends
The old railway station in Kapan, a city in southern Armenia, has been given new life by the Paris-based design firm Normal Studio. Today, it serves as a TUMO center.
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
CNTR Architects has designed a business center for a new district in Yekaterinburg, aiming to reduce the need for commuting and make the residential environment more diverse. The architectural solutions are equally focused on creating spatial flexibility, comfortable working conditions, and a memorable image that could allow the building to become a spatial landmark of the district.
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.