The Facade of Modern Medicine

At Moscow's Krasnaya Presnya, the construction of a multi profile diagnostic and treatment center of MEDCI Group is being completed.

Written by:
Alla Pavlikova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

24 September 2015

Object

Architect:

Firm:

GrandProektCity http://saprichyan.ru/

The new building of the medical center is situated not far away from the Moscow Zoo and the Krasnaya Presnya high-rise, at the crossing of the Krasnaya Presnya and Malaya Gruzinskaya streets, in the spot of the former "communal kitchen" built in the late twenties by the architect Sergey Kurabtsev. The building of the "kitchen", just like a few adjacent facilities, for a long time belonged to City Hospital №32. Then since 2006 it stood empty gradually falling into decay until in November of 2013, after long negotiations between MEDCI GROUP and Moscow municipality, the controversial decision to take down the old constructivist building was made. Instead, a new state-of-the-art private medical center was built. The customer committed to allot a share of it the city hospital and design the new building in the vein of Soviet constructivism - in memory of its predecessor.

zooming — Architectural solution of the facades of the diagnostic and treatment center © GrandProjectCity

As the master designer, the company KAPSTROYPROJECT was invited that did the implementation of the project and developed its planning structure. As for the authors of the architecture of this new building, and its facades in particular, they were chosen at a closed contest that included not only Russian but also foreign companies. Karen Saprichyan, the leader of "GrandProjectCity", together with Alexander Asadov, came up with a "compromise" proposal for this contest based on today's interpretation of the motifs of late constructivism. "We wanted to keep the spirit of the place intact - Karen Saprichyan shares - and pay homage to the existing urban environment of Krasnaya Presnya area where construction was underway from the 1930's to 1980's. Today, the most high-profile edifice of this area is the 1928 building of "Gostorg" department store built upon the project of Vesnin brothers. Besides, the style of the late constructivism seemed to us to be the most appropriate for a medical institution: it is in this particular style that, say, the Kremlin health center on the Vozdvizhenka is designed of the Russian Railways health center". The contest was won, and the authors got down to the design work.

In the first version proposed by the architects, the allusions to the late constructivism were rather strong: a rounded bay window overlooking Krasnaya Presnya, large windows and doubled semi-columns, and the horizontal belts of the cornices - all reminded, among other things, the Ivan Fomin buildings. The city council gave the project its approval. The customer, however, did not go for this proposal that was not only approved but also got the "architectural and urban planning solution" certificate: the customer reasoned that the task connected with the quality health care of the new millennium was not to look like the Soviet architecture but, quite the opposite, was to belong to the new age and bring associations with today's technologies. The customer even thought of implementing a different project with fully glazed facades.

However, as Karen Saprichyan shares, "thanks to the firm attitude of the main architect of Moscow Sergey Kuznetsov, it was our version that was ultimately chosen, in the spirit of Moscow constructivism". The architecture, however, had to be transformed to a large extent to answer the preferences of MEDCI GROUP. A solution that could satisfy everybody - the city, the customer, the people living in this area that also cared, and the authors as well - was long searched for, in spite of the time constraints, the building had to be built (and actually was built) very quickly - within less than two years, from autumn 2013 to summer 2015.

The second and final version that suited all the parties looks less than the architectural avant-garde and early neoclassic - but the architects added to it some allusions to the "Azure House" on the Leningrad Avenue built by Andrew Burov. We can see here the same concrete grid that stands out from the glass background mounted on metal framework; the difference is that glass is even more abundant here, and the cells of the grid are wider; at some places they unite, as is the custom nowadays, two floors within one cell. We see here the same dominance of verticalls, but here they are spaced more apart and are covered not with imitation Venetian marble as in the Andrew Burov house but with thin rockface panels. Incidentally, the rockface, the blades, and the layered structure of the facade with sunken-in ribbed horizontals are the actually the building's reaction its nearest surroundings; they visually resonate with the Posokhin-Mndoyants Krasnaya Presnya high-rise viewable from here in the perspective.

But the main thing here is the openwork panels. Their pattern is generalized and looks something like gothic spider web with a plastique that is abstract and subjected to the arch-shaped lines, even though still not completely detached from the floral motifs.

The bas-reliefs are executed from sculptural clay full-size: from 3.5 to 8 meters on Karen Saprichyan's author sketches. They were molded and produced also by the team of "GrandProjectCity". "There were many options for these drawings - the author shares: the abstract, echoing the design of the portals of the railroad tracks in the city of Adler, executed by me for the Olympics 2014; floral ornament, simple geometric kind, and others". The openwork reliefs, it must be noted, turned out to be virtually the perfect solution for the problem of reconciling the historical contextualism within the boundaries of which the architects wanted to stay, and the conformity to the expectations of today on which the customer insisted - as is known, probably the "hottest" thing in the architecture of today is the moderately abstract ornament. In other words, the panels made the building look modern and historical at the same time. For the works by the bureau of Karen Saprichyan who is both an architect and a sculptor this solution is also quite characteristic - one can say that in this case the peculiarity of the author's trademark style went a long way to quickly overcome a whole number of contradictions, at the same time endowing the building with a character of its own.

As far as the overall picture is concerned, the architectural solution is based on the combination of greenish glass - this is MEDCI trademark brand book color which allowed the authors to use this color as an "argument" and to a large degree pushed forward the process of getting the customer's approval - with light stone-looking glass fiber concrete that forms on the facades a textured grid that on the longitudinal facades United the floors into pairs changing its rhythm on the street facade, outlining of the floors. According to the architects, they deliberately varied the different architectural elements using them "to different capacities": in a more reserved way in the yard and more actively at the "visual points of importance" on the street side - this technique was meant to help create the necessary contrast and help form the accents within the framework of a certain homogeneity of the stylistic devices employed.

One of the most noticeable plastic techniques is inherited from the original version - this is a semicircular bay window turned into the direction of the high-rise and hanging in a neat cantilever; the architects deliberately did not stretch it up to the roof level leaving it as a recognizable quotation. The corner at the crossroads side echoes this bay window with a smooth rounding.

The main entrance located in the middle of the slab of the building on the side of the Malaya Gruzinskaya Street, on the other hand, is accentuated by a slight cavity - the facade gets broken in a wide angle resembling an "open book" very much like the New Arbat buildings, even though the resemblance here is less obvious. At the place of the break, the facade gets predominantly glass, while the thin textured interfloor cornices of the left and right parts of the building stop short meeting like clenched fingers of a human hand - in a odd and even formula. Thus, through the difference in the rhythm and the alternation of the two-stores bands, the architects were able to visually break the elongated building into two volumes, as if growing into each other on the pivot of the entrance lobby. On the yard side, there is a cavity in this key place.

Besides, the new building fits in perfectly with the array of the soviet nine-story high-rises at Krasnaya Presnya - its tallness and color make it look like it really belongs here.

An important part in creating the individual image of the building is played by the architectural backlighting that helps to reveal the structure of the facades and enhance the individuality of the plastic techniques. The openwork panels got a special "bonus" - RGB backlight in the full color range; it delicately accentuates the inserts without violating the integrity of the facade structure.

The complex at the Krasnaya Presnya was built really fast, in spite of the complexity of the land site and the issues having to do with the demolition of the old building. The construction began in 2014, and as early as before 2016 the center should open for the patients. The clinic will cover all the medical branches from general therapy to immunology and allergy research. The clinic will also include the day patient facility, the operational, and the diagnostic block. For the nation's capital, this is a great step in the development of its health care system, however payable, while for the city environment it is something like a vitamin injection, an example of almost literal "alloy" of reflections of the days past with the new ideas of tomorrow.

Architect:

Firm:

GrandProektCity http://saprichyan.ru/

24 September 2015

Headlines now

Object

Home Base

Working on the new building for Letovo Junior School – opened to students in autumn 2025 in the MSU Valley – the architects of UNK, following the client’s vision, subordinated both façades and interiors to the theme of “home”. Multiple variations of pitched roofs, a city skyline traced across glass balustrades, wooden textures, and a whole series of micro-spaces for retreat within public areas are all at the disposal of primary and middle school students. We take a closer look at the new school building – and at how it interprets current trends in educational environments.

Object

Doubles Match

The architecture of the Tennis Palace built in Luzhniki Olympic Complex, designed by Arena Design Institute, was shaped by three factors: the proximity of the brutalist Druzhba Arena, the closeness of the Moskva River and the metro bridge overpass, as well as the specifics of the function – tennis courts require large spans, abundant light, yet at the same time protection from direct sunlight. The architects divided the building into several blocks, playing on contrast, which is further emphasized by the façades developed in collaboration with TPO Reserve and Vladimir Plotkin.

Object

Microdynamics of Macroprocesses

Given the proximity of the multifunctional complex SOLOS to Sokolniki Park and to a major transport hub, Kleinewelt Architekten embedded in the design of the two high-rise towers a sense of dynamism more characteristic of natural phenomena than of man-made objects. Without the authors’ diagrams, this logic is not easy to decipher, although the eye immediately detects a pattern and tries to grasp it. It seems to us that one tower contains the impulse of a bud about to open, while the other evokes the movement of a lithospheric plate. Let us try to unravel it together.

Report

The Space of Post-Cubism

Sergei Tchoban and Alexandra Sheiner, of Studio CHART, created for the exhibition of “post-cubist” sculpture by Beatrice Sandomirskaya – a talented and even “mainstream” artist, yet almost unknown even to art historians – a space akin to her sculptural language: solidly built, confidently stereometric, and subtly expressive. It curves, emphasizing the mass of the sculpture, envelops the viewer, and guides them from one perspective to another, from a generic “shrine” to a “Madonna”.

Object

The Value of Open Space

For the site near the Barrikadnaya Metro Station, Sergey Skuratov developed five projects between 2020 and 2025. Two of them were ones that won the client’s invitation-only competitions. The fifth was recently selected by the Mayor of Moscow for implementation. The project is vivid and sculptural, expressive, eye-catching, and engaging – very much in line with the spirit of our time. And yet, this project is mid-rise rather than tall. In its northwestern part, near the metro and Druzhinnikovskaya Street, it shapes a comfortable urban environment. On the opposite side, it opens up, allowing sunlight into the courtyard and creating a spatial pause within the dense city fabric. How it is organized, what geometric principles underlie it, and why it takes this form – all this is explored in our article.

Coming From the Cold

The ArchBukhta Festival remains one of the few events in Russia where participants go through the entire process of creating an architectural object – from concept to construction. And they do so on the shores of Lake Baikal, in dedication to it. This year, GAFA took part and shared its experience: a local legend, a team-specific design code, friendship, as well as ice skating and endurance in freezing temperatures all contributed to gaining something more than just an award.

Object

Symphony of Water and Brick

The Alter residential complex, designed by Stepan Liphart and built on a bend of the Okhta River, is an example of a “drawn house”: the number of original architectural details is virtually immeasurable. As a result, ribs, projections, and recesses create a picturesque silhouette even without a significant variation in height. Both composition and material respond to the proximity of the river and to the red-brick factory building dating back to the early 20th century. The project was also significantly shaped by recommendations from the city’s chief architect. More details in our article.

Object

Wave and Vertical

The premium residential complex designed by GAFA for a site in the Khoroshevsky District responds to multiple constraints – the arc of a planned roadway, the water protection zone of the Khodynka River, and insolation requirements – through inventive massing. The composition is built on the interplay of two spatial layers: an elongated perimeter block and three towers concealed behind it generate the silhouette and key viewpoints, while also adding semantic depth reinforced by the façade solutions. Another defining feature is a large private courtyard, complemented by a citywide linear park.

Object

Office on Trubnaya

We continue publishing projects by Valery Kanyashin. A building once described, a quarter century ago, as an example of “quiet modernism” has remained just that in some people’s memory. According to Anatoly Belov, its main quality is its unobtrusiveness. The architects from Ostozhenka say the leading role here is played by context and landscape – the change in elevation. Yet is it really so inconspicuous?

Object

The First International

With this publication, we begin a series of texts dedicated to works by the late Valery Kanyashin, one of the founders of Ostozhenka Architects. As it happens, the projects he was involved in largely illustrate our understanding of the firm and its history. The first project in this series is the International Moscow Bank on Prechistenskaya Embankment.

in memoriam

In Memory of Valery Kanyashin

On Friday, February 27, architect Valery Kanyashin passed away – co-founder of Ostozhenka Architects and the author of many significant buildings in Moscow. We publish a text by Anatoly Belov in memory of Valery Kanyashin.

Report

Hypertext in Space

As part of the exhibition “What We Have We (Do Not) Keep”, Sergey Tchoban, the Museum of Architecture, and the CHART studio experiment with an eco-conscious approach to exhibition design, with thematic cross-references and even with publicistic reflections on the necessity of preserving modernism, the roots of contemporary architecture, and the birth of ideas. All of this makes the exhibition, with its light and transparent design, look quite innovative. The elements – both “material” and conceptual – are familiar, yet their combination is far from conventional.

Object

The Outline of “Foundation”

In their competition proposal for the Fili transport hub, the consortium led by Alexey Ilyin proposed an “inhabited arch” – a form that is simple yet complex. The architects emphasize that even at the competition stage, the project’s feasibility was fully calculated, taking into account the minimal nighttime closures of Bagration Avenue. How was this achieved? With what functions? Let us take a closer look. In our view, the building would have suited the heroes of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation novels perfectly.

Object

The Flying Horizontal

“A house in the spirit of Wright”, as architect Roman Leonidov describes it, pointing to his source of inspiration, was built on a challenging wedge-shaped site. To achieve a sense of intimacy and secure good views from the windows, the entire volume had to be shifted toward the far boundary, turning the house “back” to the neighboring mansions. The main façade demonstrates time-tested techniques often employed by the company: articulated horizontals, a weightless roofline, and a triad of materials – light plaster, dark slate, and warm wood.

Object

Needles of Horizon Contemplation

The “House of Horizons”, designed by Kleinewelt Architekten in Krylatskoye, is carefully thought out at the stereometric level – from the logic of how the volumes interlock (and, conversely, how gaps are articulated between them) to the triangular balconies that give the building its striking, slightly bristling silhouette.

News

The Red Thread

A linear park project prepared by Alexey Ilyin studio for the improvement of a riverbank in one of the residential districts seeks to reconnect people with nature. Two levels of the embankment invite visitors to contemplate the landscape while at the same time protecting the riverbank from excessive human impact. The “aerial street” links functional zones and the opposite banks, creating new points of attraction along the way: balconies, bridges, and even a “grotto”.

Object

Spindle and Thread

The concept of the Waver residential complex in Yekaterinburg draws inspiration from the past of the Parkovy district. In order to preserve the memory of the late-19th-century flax spinning mill once located here, the architectural company KPLN turns to the theme of textiles and weaving. The project’s main expressive device is a system of ribbons made of perforated weathering steel – a material that, in such volumes, has arguably not yet been used in Russian residential projects.

Overview

From Ski Resorts to Year-Round Recreation Clusters

In mid-December, several architectural firms gathered to discuss a “seasonal” topic: the prospects for the development of domestic ski tourism. Where is modern infrastructure already in place, where do only remnants of the Soviet legacy remain, and where is there still nothing – but projects are underway and soon to be completed? This article explores these questions.

Object

Woven Into Sokolniki

Over the past few years, high-rise residential construction in former industrial zones has become the main theme of Moscow architecture. Towers are springing up here and there – but the question is what kind of towers they are. The residential complex CODE Sokolniki, designed by Ostozhenka Architects, is a project where every detail has been taken care of. The authors are attentive to the history of the site, the continuity of the urban fabric, the skyline, and visual corridors. They also proposed a motif with the lyrical name “scarf”. We take a closer look at the volumetric composition and the large-scale décor “woven”, in this case, out of terraces and balconies.

Interview

Stepan Liphart and Yuri Gerth: “Our Program Is Aesthetic”

The studio of Stepan Liphart, an architect known for his distinctive signature style and one-off projects, now has a partner. Yuri Khitrov, a specialist with a broad range of competencies, will take on the part of the work that distracts one from creativity but drives the business forward. One of the aims of this partnership is to improve the urban environment through dialogue with clients and officials. We spoke with both sides about their ambitions, the firm’s development strategy, shared values, and the need for pragmatism. And why the studio is called “Liphart & Gerth” only became clear at the very end of the interview.

Object

The Copper Mirror

The varied-toned sheen of “unsealed” copper, painterly streaks and fingerprints, exposed concrete, and the unusual proportions – when you study the ZILART Museum building by Sergei Tchoban and SPEECH architects, there is plenty to talk about. However, it seems to us that the most interesting thing is how the museum’s composition responds to the realities of the district itself. The residential district has been realized as an open-air exhibition of façade statements by contemporary architects – but without public access to the inner courtyards of the blocks. This building – that is, the museum – is exactly the opposite: on the outside, it is deliberately restrained, while inside it shines spectacularly, creating its own sunbeams in any weather.

View

“Strangers” in the City

We asked Alexander Skokan for a comment on the results of 2025 – and he sent us a whole article, moreover one devoted to the discussion we recently began on the “appropriateness of high-rises” – or, more broadly speaking, “contrasting insertions into the urban fabric”. The result is a text that is essentially a question: why here? Why like this?

Interview

Dmitry Ostroumov: “To use the language of alchemy, we are involved in the process of “transmutation...

What we ended up having was an extremely unusual conversation with Dmitry Ostroumov. Why? At the very least, because he is not just an architect specializing in the construction of Orthodox churches. And not just – which is an extreme rarity – a proponent of developing contemporary stylistics within this still highly conservative field. Dmitry Ostroumov is a Master of Theology. So in addition to the history and specifics of the company, we speak about the very concept of the temple, about canon and tradition, about the living and the eternal, and even about the Russian Logos.

Interview

MB-PROJECT: “Every new project is a challenge”

In this issue, we speak with Dmitry and Oleg Shurygin, founders of the company MV-PROJECT, which has extensive experience in designing theater and entertainment buildings as well as working with cultural heritage sites.

Object

A Glazed Figurine

In searching for an image for a residential building near the Novodevichy Convent, GAFA architects turned to their own perception of the place: it evoked associations with antiquity, plein-air painting, and vintage artifacts. The two towers will be entirely clad in volumetric glazed ceramic – at present, there are no other buildings like this in Russia. The complex will also stand out thanks to its metabolic bay-window cells, streamlined surfaces, a ceremonial “hotel-style” driveway, and a lobby overlooking a lush garden.

Report

A Knight’s Move via the Cour d’Honneur

Intercolumnium Architects presented to the City Planning Council a residential complex project that is set to replace the Aquatoria business center on Vyborgskaya Embankment. Experts praised the overall quality of the work, but expressed reservations about the three cour d’honneurs and suggested softening the contrast between the facades facing the embankment and the Kantemirovsky Bridge.

Object

Mountains, Groves, and Ancestral Towers

The year-round mountain resort Armkhi situated in Russia’s Republic of Ingushetia is positioned as a destination for calm family recreation and has well-established traditions shaped by its hundred-year history and the culture of the region. The development program prepared by the Genplan Institute of Moscow preserves the resort’s identity while expanding its offerings and introducing new types of tourist leisure. In the near future, the resort will feature a balneological center, a thermal complex, an interactive museum, an extreme park, and, of course, new ski slopes.

Object

A Small Country

Mezonproekt is developing a long-term master plan for the MEPhI campus in Obninsk. Over the next ten years, an enclave territory of about 100 hectares, located in a forest on the northern edge of the city, is set to transform into a modern center for the development of the nuclear energy sector. The plan envisions attracting international students and specialists, as well as comprehensive territorial development: both through the contemporary realization of “frozen” plans from the 1980s and through the introduction of new trends – public spaces, an aquapark, a food court, a school, and even a nuclear medicine center. Public and sports facilities are intended to be accessible to city residents as well, and the campus is to be physically and functionally connected to Obninsk.

Object

Pearl Divers

GAFA has designed an apartment complex for Derbent intended to switch people from a work mode to a resort mindset – and to give the surrounding area a much-needed jolt. The building offers two distinct faces: restrained and laconic on the city side, and a lushly ornate façade facing the sea. At the heart of the complex, a hidden pearl lies – an open-air pool with an arch, offering views of a starry sky, and providing direct access to the beach.

Object

A Satellite Island

The Genplan Institute of Moscow has prepared a master plan for the development of the Sarpinsky and Golodny island system, located within the administrative boundaries of Volgograd and considered among the largest river islands in Russia. By 2045, the plan envisions the implementation of 15 large-scale investment projects, including sports and educational clusters, a congress center with a “Volgonarium”, a film production cluster, and twenty-one theme parks. We explain which engineering, environmental, and transportation challenges must be addressed to turn this vision into reality. The master plan solutions have already been approved and incorporated into the city’s general development plan.