Andrew and Nikita Asadov: "An architect is very much like a doctor - he knows at which spots you must "press" to make the city come alive"

The curators of "Zodchestvo - 2015" Andrew and Nikita Asadov – share about the key role of architecture in transforming the minor cities, about an architect's synthetic thinking, and about the peculiarities of the Russian context.

Interviewed by:
Nina Frolova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

22 September 2015

Interview

Archi.ru:
- The first question that I would like to ask is both from us and our readers. The range of "new industries" that will be discussed at "Zodchestvo - 2015" is very broad indeed - it includes virtually all fields of human endeavor, not only urban but rural as well: agricultural industry is also represented. So it turns out that for today's Russia practically any industry, for the exception of the mining industry and the development industry are new, progressive, and worth supporting.

Andrew and Nikita Asadov:
- For the expo project of "Zodchestvo", this year we are trying to select everything that, at least from our standpoint, pushes forward the city's business activity without which it simply cannot exist. Today, the main problem - if we are to consider the nation's architecture as a whole - lies in the fact that active people from the regions have a tendency of first moving to the regional centers, then to one of the capitals, and then, if they are lucky, to the western countries. And one of the goals of the festival is to try and start the reverse process - as a matter of fact, it has already started, but without involving the people so far - I am speaking here about the minor cities turning into places that are attractive to live in thanks to, among other things, those "new industries". With their help, these cities get business activity of a whole new level because there is now a whole class of people that are tired of doing things in Moscow that can be actually done in a minor city but in conditions that are more comfortable. Both for these cities and for this country in general, this will be a salvation in many ways because it will launch a totally different mechanism of development, while architecture will be the ignition, the tool to start this mechanism.

This new industry is a means of attracting people to the new cities, while their architecture is a tool of making the people stay there to create a "new quality of life" because now the whole production process is not so much about the quantity as it is about the quality and about creating a new format that is creative, highly technological and highly intellectual. Another consideration why this theme is vital: today, because of the world economic crisis, the former sources of getting rich quick have virtually disappeared; new technologies of getting rich slowly but surely are starting to come into play. We view this situation as a chance for starting new industries, a chance to popularize and speed up this process.

By this "new industries" term we mean the whole spectrum of intellectual and creative activities. The future belongs to them. And just how soon Russia will switch over to this "new economy" will determine how soon it will be able to reinvent itself, including its culture and society. Actually, if as early as now the architects start thinking about how to readjust the existing city and rural spaces to this "new economy", then architecture can become one of the flagships of this transformation process. The fact that this process must begin in the upcoming year is already clear. And we propose to do this with the help of architecture.

zooming — Andrew and Nikita Asadov. Photo courtesy by "Zodchestvo" Festival organizing committee

- However, your list includes not only science and culture but also the service industry, the tourism industry, and even transportation.

- This all hits one and the same mark. These new industries are like "points of growth" for the Russian cities. What do you need to make such "point of growth" work in a city? You need to form a space for this effective growth at the same time renovating what you already have. With this purpose in mind, you can "re-format" the derelict factory buildings that are there of virtually any mid-size to small Russian city, "re-format" their both space and restart the production process - only make it creative, informative, and intellectual. Still further on, to make this city, working on "new production", attractive for the young specialists, you need to improve the quality of live there and create an environment comfortable to live in. And in order to do that, you need to renew and reform the public territories or create them from scratch. The tourism industry will also work for the same cause: if the city lacks a suitable factory building but has a great monument of architecture, a Kremlin or even a monastery - it can also become a "point of growth".

- A monastery as a museum or as a cult building handed over to the Orthodox Church?

- The monasteries that were handed back over to the Church are alright; they have become cultural clusters in their own right - and we have numerous examples of that. They form around them a community and do something that so far the post soviet municipal authorities have been unable to do: in the case of the monasteries, we have a strong spiritual power, thanks to which all the system start to work easier and more naturally.

As far as the transportation is concerned, in order to make the locomotion in such a "network" space of cities faster - because even if everyone is always online you have to pay offline visits to your friends and colleagues now and then - we will need the adequate transportation systems - fast and convenient, starting from the renovation of the highways and ending with alternative kinds of transport, including the hi-speed string transport systems.

- The manifesto of the festival makes stress on the "human capital". On the one hand, Russia has enough of it but, on the other hand, one cannot help but notice the deficit of this capital: this refers, for example, to the circle of your co-organizers of architectural events - exhibitions and festivals - because it is relatively small. This observation holds true for other fields of activity as well. The truly active people, people who think out of the box and people that are ready to break the viscous circle of "home-studies-work-family" still seem to be few and far between.

- Well, according to our feelings, recently the Russian architectural community has been getting a whole lot more "proactive" projects. This, on the one hand, has to do with the growing popularity of urbanism and architecture-related movements. And the architects themselves have started to act as activists and "instigators" of renovating the city territories. Here is a living example of such initiative - the Environment Department, launched by the team of young architects "Megabudka". What they do is they come up with a project online, discuss it online and then go and implement it in their city. And we know a whole number of such initiatives.

- So, the main exposition of "Zodchestvo" will be showcasing the "new industries". What special projects will be augmenting it?

- Yes, the main place at the exhibition will be occupied by the real examples of architectural renovation of the city territories and separate buildings. It must be mentioned here that the lineup of the participants will be changing in the course of the expo tour of Russia that is scheduled to take place after the festival - the projects that we have now will be added by the local examples.

Another special project - "Anatomy of the City" by Ilia Zalivukhin - will show the city as a living and breathing organism with its own skeleton, nervous and blood-vascular system.

Traditionally, there will also be an educational special project that gathers the best architectural schools of Russia. It is prepared by Oscar Mamleev and MARCH School in the person of its leaders Eugene Ace and Nikita Tokarev.

We are also planning a project of unusual "non-verbal" format. This is our joint project with the so-called "Forum of Living Cities". We will put up a large poster with the principles of the Charter of Living Cities proposed by different experts, and any Zodchestvo visitor will be able to add his or her five principles. "Forum of Living Cities" is an initiative that's coming from the city of Izhevsk, proposed by Leo Gordon and his colleagues. At the example of their home city they showed that with the help of active people the city can come alive again, muster its hidden resources and transform its inner space. And this initiative is already spreading across the nation.

- In your interviews, you often say that "Zodchestvo" must be the PR platform to promote architecture in general. But this is the problem of any architectural exhibition - including Venetian Biennale - in essence, they are held for the intimate circle of colleagues and friends, which is certainly the case with "Zodchestvo", just as with "Arch-Moscow". How do we go about attracting more general public?

- In our opinion, one should start with a "non-architectural" theme. This "new industries" theme was devised in the first place in order to attract not only the architects but also the participants and the creators of the new industries, the creative class, and the city activists. Incidentally, to participate in the main exhibition we invited both architects and leaders of different creative projects and venues, and they all on equal terms are doing the models for this exposition which is also very interesting.

At the same time we want to demonstrate that the architects are experts who do a lot of systematic and integrated thinking, who can reconcile the interest of all the participants of the process.

- So, where does the boundary of the architect's responsibility lie?

- This is a whole new topic, also very important. In this country, architects are oftentimes perceived as mere "facade designers" of the ready-made volumes predetermined by the town-planning rules and regulations. What we demonstrate, however, is that an architect intrinsically has the potential of an "orchestra conductor", that he is somebody who organizes the city space and comes up with the strategy of its renovation. He is the author of the script upon which the whole concept of implementing the new industries must be launched - up to the fact that he can write a scenario of renovating a whole city. An architect is just like a doctor - he feels what spots must be pressed, which specific places must be renewed to make the city come alive - even within the limits of a very tight budget.

The architect keeps in mind the interests of all the participants of the process: the municipality of the city, the city people, the investors, the developers and whatnot. And, considering these interests, he creates a product that's beneficial for the entire city. This synthetic quality of architectural thinking can be the salvation specifically today when we need to come up with integrated strategies.

We have a feeling that this beginning process of "re-formatting" the minor cities may really be new for a lot of people, and this is why most people have a very vague idea of how to go about it. What do you need to do with the city territory to make it "restart" again - not some separate building or public area but the entire urban mechanism? The architects have a chance of initiating this process and showing that they are capable of a lot more that what they've been doing for the last twenty years.

- Your exposition will be situated next to the showcase of the nation's projects already traditional for "Zodchestvo". How do these two parts go together in your concept?

- Apart from our reasoning, one must understand the reality that we live in. And it is "Zodchestvo" that gives the necessary picture of the world. "Zodchestvo" is not about showcasing the most prestigious Moscow projects - it is about showcasing what "average" architecture in this country is all about. This "kills" any false pretenses possible. We have no illusions - we do realize that today our country is functioning in such conditions, with such consumers, and in such reality. This is very important because you always need to realize just what reality you are in, what context is that you need to consider, and this context, by the way, will not accept any super-radical changes, it will simply reject them.

There is this particular context but there is also the theme of this year. All of us - the curators, the expert board, and the festival on the whole - we are proposing a vector of development - what kind of future we see behind the reality of today - and propose to act and think in this direction in spite of any obstacles.

22 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

The Penguin House

The building with a curved façade on Brestskaya Street is one of the manifestos of Russian neomodernism of the early 2000s, a sculpture – this is how Anatoly Belov interprets it, speaking of “breaking from the modernist canon and the contextual approach”. We do not fully agree with the author, but his perspective is an interesting one.

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.