"Lenigradka" Embankment

In this issue, we are covering the projects prepared by the winners and the finalists of the contest for the best concept of "Dimamo" Boulevard in Moscow.

Written by:
Polina Sadova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

03 March 2015

Contest Results

The contest lasted from October 2014 to January 2015 as part of the educational program "Leningradka Embankment" launched by MARCH Architectural School. Under the guidance of the contest curator, architect Ilia Mukosey, the students did a research of the Dinamo Boulevard and determined its problem spots. The boulevard was considered in conjunction with its adjacent square, the Dinamo Stadium, and the Petrovsky Park. Then the contestants were to come up with specific solutions for the problems that they discovered. In late January, there took place the defense of the students' projects, seven of which were forwarded on to the consideration of the judging panel. The organizers also conducted an online popular vote.

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Contest winners

The First Place + People's Choice Award
Ksenia Zvereva

zooming — Visualization of a fragment of the boulevard. Concept of "Dinamo" Boulevard. Author: Ksenia Zvereva

The concept is all about the sonic diversity of the territory. Using the mobile application for measuring the noise level, Ksenia determined the places that are most susceptible to the noise pollution. For example, a large level of noise was discovered opposite the "slab" of a large residential building whose facade reflects the sound. According to the conclusions made by the authors of the project, the reason for the noise pollution of the boulevard is "the absence of the medium green belt". The bushes and the small trees might absorb the noise close to the ground. Strengthening this medium green belt became the key idea of the project. However, according to the architect, there is no necessity to get rid of the noise altogether - because it forms the unique "sonic portrait" of this particular territory. Because of that, it is proposed that at some places the city noise should be kept as it is, and sometimes even augmented with extra sources of sound, fountains for example. Thus, the boulevard gets a peculiar "sonic tour route". Developing her idea of sonic variety, Ksenia proposed to organize, under the junction flyover, a yoga center that will be opposed to the noisy and crowded stadium and at the same time will support the sport theme intrinsic to this place.

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The Second Place
Anastasia Rozhkova

The project is aimed at organizing and comfortably using the boulevard in spite of the proximity of a construction site and a noisy highway. Anastasia proposes to create a covered boulevard whose vertical green belt will protect it from the world outside. There is a bar counter that runs directly along the pedestrian path. Across from it, the authors place a blackboard where anybody can leave a note. Here one can organize weekend bazaars and flea markets, the kind that you can see on the boulevards of European cities.

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The Third Place
Daria Gerasimova

Daria Gerasimova's project is based on the idea of accessibility of the boulevard and the square for the handicapped people. In order to make the territory accessible, the authors propose to replace some of the stairways with zigzag ramps. Besides, according to the author, "Dinamo" Stadium lacks the necessary bicycle infrastructure. In its contest project, for Park of Physical Culture and Sport, "Praktika" proposes to create a bicycle ring that would belt both the park and the stadium. Daria thinks that it is necessary to expand the ring as far as the Petrovsky Park, and, when it runs through the square, elevate the bicycle track over the ground level so as to avoid interfering with the flows of pedestrians and the support crowds during the games. In the center of the square, there is a bicycle renting point and a small cafe. The circular ramp will allow for the cyclists to get up the the level of the bicycle track.

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Contest Finalists

Anton Timofeev

The author dedicated his research to the automotive situation on the highways adjacent to the boulevard. His conclusion runs as follows: in the nearest future, a large part of the local population will be forced to opt out of using their cars in favor of public transportation, and the necessity of multi-level road junctions will be no longer there. The flyovers are turned into linear parks, similar to New-York's High Line. Anton suggests to start preparing people for these changes today. The three-phase scenario that the author has come up with is called "Crutch - Trail - Seizure". The idea is about adding a pedestrian and bicycle trail "crutch" to the flyover. With time, they will also be able to "seize" the carriage way. The space under the flyover may be used as expo space for organizing fairs and exhibitions.

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Andrew Fomichev

According to the research done by Andrew Fomichev, the place that suffers the most from the adverse effects of the highway is the square between the pavilions of the "Dinamo" metro station as well as the part of the boulevard not covered by the flyover. The author also paid attention to the bus stops and retail kiosks scattered chaotically along the Leningrad Avenue. As the key idea, Andrew proposed to implement, on the sidewalk running along the Leningrad Avenue, a modular "transformer" structure. This structure consists, among other things, of "green modules" (bushes in tubs), bus stop modules, cafe modules, and others. The structure can be adjusted and fine-tuned to fit the current specific tasks. By relocating the mobile benches and tubs, for example, one could use the territory as a festival venue, a promenade, or even a skating rink in the wintertime.

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Oleg Sazonov

The author of the project notes the important role of this territory as a link between two parks (Petrovsky and Dinamo). However, the square is not properly organized, and, according to the recent opinion poll, is not really popular with the local people. Oleg proposed to raise the popularity of this place by attracting to it the lovers of extreme sports. The composition is built around a half-pipe that performs, aside from its immediate sport function, a number of other ones (it houses the stadium's booking office, a stage for open-air festivals, a cafe, and a retail store). Ultimately, we see a picturesque enfilade of spaces with diverse functions, securely protected from the noise of the highway. Using this "structure", one can easily get from one park to the other. Yet another solution proposed by the author is creating a terminal for the above-ground transportation that will include the stops of all kinds of transport that runs through this area.

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Daria Zaitseva

This concept was inspired by the diverse architecture of this area. Here one can encounter all the architectural styles of the XX century as well as the Putevoy Palace built in 1780 upon the project of Mathew Kazakov. Daria proposed to create a collective image of the architecture of this area in the form of a "phantom" tower that might be built at the crossing of the Leningrad Avenue and the Third Transport Ring. According to Daria, if placed at the crossings of the Third Transport Ring with Moscow's thirteen main radial highways, such towers could become the basis for the city's new navigation system. Technically, the tower is a metal spike about four hundred feet tall, issuing steam, upon which images are projected. The judging panel gave a special mention to the model of the tower that Daria prepared. It consists of a steam generator and a pocket projector that projects the image of the tower onto a steam column.

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The judging panel of the contest

S.P. Shamanov, Deputy General Director of UK Dinamo
T.P. Dedinskaya, Deputy Head of Administrative Board of "Airport" District for trading and service issues.
Sergey Tchoban, architect, the managing partner of SPEECH architectural bureau
Oscar Mamleev, professor of Moscow Institute of Architecture, MARCH architectural school, and the International Academy of Architecture, Architectural Association School of Architecture (London, UK)
A.A. Voskresensky, editor-in-chief of "Commersant. Dom" Magazine
Y.G. Saprykin, journalist, former editor-in-chief of "Afisha" Magazine
Julius Borisov, co-founder of the architectural bureau UNK project
S.A. Nikitin, urbanist historian, leader of "Moscultprog" Group and the founder of the international project "Velonoch" ("Night of a Bicycle")
M.L. Zvyagintseva, artist and curator of public art projects, member of the Creative Union of Artists of Russia, and Union of Artists of Moscow

03 March 2015

Headlines now

The Mirror of Your Soul

We continue to publish projects from the competition for the design of the Russian Pavilion at EXPO in Osaka 2025. We are reminding you that the results of the competition have not been announced, and hardly will ever be. The pavilion designed by ASADOV Architects combines a forest log cabin, the image of a hyper transition, and sculptures made of glowing threads – it focuses primarily on the scenography of the exhibition, which the pavilion builds sequentially like a string of impressions, dedicating it to the paradoxes of the Russian soul.

Part of the Ideal

In 2025, another World Expo will take place in Osaka, Japan, in which Russia will not participate. However, a competition for the Russian pavilion was indeed held, with six projects participating. The results were never announced as Russia’s participation was canceled; the competition has no winners. Nevertheless, Expo pavilion projects are typically designed for a bold and interesting architectural statement, so we’ve gathered all the six projects and will be publishing articles about them in random order. The first one is the project by Vladimir Plotkin and Reserve Union, which is distinguished by the clarity of its stereometric shape, the boldness of its structure, and the multiplicity of possible interpretations.

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The Fortress by the River

ASADOV Architects have developed a concept for a new residential district in the center of Kemerovo. To combat the harsh climate and monotonous everyday life, the architects proposed a block type of development with dominant towers, good insolation, facades detailed at eye level, and event programming.

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In the Rhombus Grid

Construction has begun on the building of the OMK (United Metallurgical Company) Corporate University in Nizhny Novgorod’s town of Vyksa, designed by Ostozhenka Architects. The most interesting aspect of the project is how the architects immersed it in the context: “extracting” a diagonal motif from the planning grid of Vyksa, they aligned the building, the square, and the park to match it. A truly masterful work with urban planning context on several different levels of perception has long since become the signature technique of Ostozhenka.

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Generational Connection

Another modern estate, designed by Roman Leonidov, is located in the Moscow region and brings together three generations of one family under one roof. To fit on a narrow plot without depriving anyone of personal space, the architects opted for a zigzag plan. The main volume in the house structure is accentuated by mezzanines with a reverse-sloped roof and ceilings featuring exposed beams.

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Three Dimensions of the City

We began to delve into the project by Sergey Skuratov, the residential complex “Depo” in Minsk, located at Victory Square, and it fascinated us completely. The project has at least several dimensions to it: historical – at some point, the developer decided to discontinue further collaboration with Sergey Skuratov Architects, but the concept was approved, and its implementation continues, mostly in accordance with the proposed ideas. The spatial and urban planning dimension – the architects both argue with the city and play along with it, deciphering nuances, and finding axes. And, finally, the tactile dimension – the constructed buildings also have their own intriguing features. Thus, this article also has two parts: it dwells on what has been built and what was conceived

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New “Flight”

Architects from “Mezonproject” have developed a project for the reconstruction of the regional youth center “Polyot”(“Flight”) in the city of Oryol. The summer youth center, built back in the late 1970s, will now become year-round and acquire many additional functions.

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The Yauza Towers

In Moscow, there aren’t that many buildings or projects designed by Nikita Yavein and Studio 44. In this article, we present to you the concept of a large multifunctional complex on the Yauza River, located between two parks, featuring a promenade, a crossroads of two pedestrian streets, a highly developed public space, and an original architectural solution. This solution combines a sophisticated, asymmetric façade grid, reminiscent of a game of fifteen puzzle, and bold protrusions of the upper parts of the buildings, completely masking the technical floors and sculpting the complex’s silhouette.

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Architecture and Leisure Park

For the suburban hotel complex, which envisages various formats of leisure, the architectural company T+T Architects proposed several types of accommodation, ranging from the classic “standard” in a common building to a “cave in the hill” and a “house in a tree”. An additional challenge consisted in integrating a few classic-style residences already existing on this territory into the “architectural forest park”.

Overview

The U-House

The Jois complex combines height with terraces, bringing the most expensive apartments from penthouses down to the bottom floors. The powerful iconic image of the U-shaped building is the result of the creative search for a new standard of living in high-rise buildings by the architects of “Genpro”.

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Black and White

In this article, we specifically discuss the interiors of the ATOM Pavilion at VDNKh. Interior design is a crucial component of the overall concept in this case, and precision and meticulous execution were highly important for the architects. Julia Tryaskina, head of UNK interiors, shares some of the developments.

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The “Snake” Mountain

The competition project for the seaside resort complex “Serpentine” combines several typologies: apartments of different classes, villas, and hotel rooms. For each of these typologies, the KPLN architects employ one of the images that are drawn from the natural environment – a serpentine road, a mountain stream, and rolling waves.

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Opal from Anna Mons’ Ring

The project of a small business center located near Tupolev Plaza and Radio Street proclaims the necessity of modern architecture in a specific area of Moscow commonly known as “Nemetskaya Sloboda” or “German settlement”. It substantiates its thesis with the thoroughness of details, a multitude of proposed and rejected form variants, and even a detailed description of the surrounding area. The project is interesting indeed, and it is even more interesting to see what will come of it.

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Feed ’Em All

A “House of Russian Cuisine” was designed and built by KROST Group at VDNKh for the “Rossiya” exhibition in record-breaking time. The pavilion is masterfully constructed in terms of the standards of modern public catering industry multiplied by the bustling cultural program of the exhibition, and it interprets the stylistically diverse character of VDNKh just as successfully. At the same time, much of its interior design can be traced back to the prototypes of the 1960s – so much so that even scenes from iconic Soviet movies of those years persistently come to mind.

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The Ensemble at the Mosque

OSA prepared a master plan for a district in the southern part of Derbent. The main task of the master plan is to initiate the formation of a modern comfortable environment in this city. The organization of residential areas is subordinated to the city’s spiritual center: depending on the location relative to the cathedral mosque, the houses are distinguished by façade and plastique solutions. The program also includes a “hospitality center”, administrative buildings, an educational cluster, and even an air bridge.

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Pargolovo Protestantism

A Protestant church is being built in St. Petersburg by the project of SLOI architects. One of the main features of the building is a wooden roof with 25-meter spans, which, among other things, forms the interior of the prayer hall. Also, there are other interesting details – we are telling you more about them.

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The Shape of the Inconceivable

The ATOM Pavilion at VDNKh brings to mind a famous maxim of all architects and critics: “You’ve come up with it? Now build it!” You rarely see such a selfless immersion in implementation of the project, and the formidable structural and engineering tasks set by UNK architects to themselves are presented here as an integral and important part of the architectural idea. The challenge matches the obliging status of the place – after all, it is an “exhibition of achievements”, and the pavilion is dedicated to the nuclear energy industry. Let’s take a closer look: from the outside, from the inside, and from the underside too.

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Rays of the Desert

A school for 1750 students is going to be built in Dubai, designed by IND Architects. The architects took into account the local specifics, and proposed a radial layout and spaces, in which the children will be comfortable throughout the day.

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The Dairy Theme

The concept of an office of a cheese-making company, designed for the enclosed area of a dairy factory, at least partially refers to industrial architecture. Perhaps that is why this concept is very simple, which seems the appropriate thing to do here. The building is enlivened by literally a couple of “master strokes”: the turning of the corner accentuates the entrance, and the shade of glass responds to the theme of “milk rivers” from Russian fairy tales.

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The Road to the Temple

Under a grant from the Small Towns Competition, the main street and temple area of the village of Nikolo-Berezovka near Neftekamsk has been improved. A consortium of APRELarchitects and Novaya Zemlya is turning the village into an open-air museum and integrating ruined buildings into public life.

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Towers Leaning Towards the Sun

The three towers of the residential complex “Novodanilovskaya 8” are new and the tallest neighbors of the Danilovsky Manufactory, “Fort”, and “Plaza”, complementing a whole cluster of modern buildings designed by renowned masters. At the same time, the towers are unique for this setting – they are residential, they are the tallest ones here, and they are located on a challenging site. In this article, we explore how architects Andrey Romanov and Ekaterina Kuznetsova tackled this far-from-trivial task.

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In the spirit of ROSTA posters

The new Rostselmash tractor factory, conceptualized by ASADOV Architects, is currently being completed in Rostov-on-Don. References to the Soviet architecture of the 1920’s and 1960’s resonate with the mission and strategic importance of the enterprise, and are also in line with the client’s wish: to pay homage to Rostov’s constructivism.

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The Northern Thebaid

The central part of Ferapontovo village, adjacent to the famous monastery with frescoes by Dionisy, has been improved according to the project by APRELarchitects. Now the place offers basic services for tourists, as well as a place for the villagers’ leisure.

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Brilliant Production

The architects from London-based MOST Architecture have designed the space for the high-tech production of Charge Cars, a high-performance production facility for high-speed electric cars that are assembled in the shell of legendary Ford Mustangs. The founders of both the company and the car assembly startup are Russians who were educated in their home country.

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Three-Part Task: St. Petersburg’s Mytny Dvor

The so-called “Mytny Dvor” area lying just behind Moscow Railway Station – the market rows with a complex history – will be transformed into a premium residential complex by Studio 44. The project consists of three parts: the restoration of historical buildings, the reconstruction of the lost part of the historical contour, and new houses. All of them are harmonized with each other and with the city; axes and “beams of light” were found, cozy corners and scenic viewpoints were carefully thought out. We had a chat with the authors of the historical buildings’ restoration project, and we are telling you about all the different tasks that have been solved here.

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The Color of the City, or Reflections on the Slope of an Urban Settlement

In 2022, Ostozhenka Architects won a competition, and in 2023, they developed and received all the necessary approvals for a master plan for the development of Chernigovskaya Street for the developer GloraX. The project takes into account a 10-year history of previous developments; it was done in collaboration with architects from Nizhny Novgorod, and it continues to evolve now. We carefully examined it, talked to everyone, and learned a lot of interesting things.

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A Single-Industry Town

Kola MMC and Nornickel are building a residential neighborhood in Monchegorsk for their future employees. It is based on a project by an international team that won the 2021 competition. The project offers a number of solutions meant to combat the main “demons” of any northern city: wind, grayness and boredom.

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A New Age Portico

At the beginning of the year, Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport opened Terminal C. The large-scale and transparent entrance hall with luminous columns inside successfully combines laconism with a bright and photogenic WOW-effect. The terminal is both the new façade of the whole complex and the starting point of the planned reconstruction, upon completion of which Tolmachevo will become the largest regional airport in Russia. In this article, we are examining the building in the context of modernist prototypes of both Novosibirsk and Leningrad: like puzzle pieces, they come together to form their individual history, not devoid of curious nuances and details.

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A New Starting Point

We’ve been wanting to examine the RuArts Foundation space, designed by ATRIUM for quite a long time, and we finally got round to it. This building looks appropriate and impressive; it amazingly combines tradition – represented in our case by galleries – and innovation. In this article, we delve into details and study the building’s historical background as well.

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Molding Perspectives

Stepan Liphart introduces “schematic Art Deco” on the outskirts of Kazan – his houses are executed in green color, with a glassy “iced” finish on the facades. The main merits of the project lie in his meticulous arrangement of viewing angles – the architect is striving to create in a challenging environment the embryo of a city not only in terms of pedestrian accessibility but also in a sculptural sense. He works with silhouettes, proposing intriguing triangular terraces. The entire project is structured like a crystal, following two grids, orthogonal and diagonal. In this article, we are examining what worked, and what eventually didn’t.