Brickwork Reconstruction

About the project developed by "City-Arch" bureau headed by Valery Lukomsky - the project became the basis for the reconstruction of the "Meshcherin" building of the Danilovskaya Manufactura.

28 June 2016

Object

Architect:

Firm:

City-Arch http://city-arch.com

Valery Lukomsky and the architects of "City-Arch" studio are sharing about the central ideas of their project of renovating Building PK-7, now known under its historical name of "Meshcherin", part of the Danilovskaya Manufactura. We are giving the floor to the architects:

"A few years ago, back in 2008, our company "City-Arch" did a reconstruction project of the building of the former Danilovskaya "Manufactura" ("Textile Factory") on the Novodanilovskaya Embankment. The first weaving mill belonging to the company called "Danilovskaya Manufactura" was founded by the Moscow top-guild merchant Basil Meshcherin but as early as in the first half of the XVIII century, this area of Moscow, at the time known as "Danilovskaya Sloboda", was the place where craftsmen worked, and some small-scale machine production appeared. What Meshcherin did was create a full-cycle factory: here yarn was spun, fabrics were woven and dyed, and the printed patterns were applied on them. The convenient factory premises for 250 workers contributed to the factory soon getting a reputation for being a model enterprise by the standards of those days.

Later on, in the early XX century, when it was managed by Baron Ludwig Von Knop, the factory got a foundry which provided an opportunity to manufacture weaver looms of its own. By that time, there were already 1200 employees working at the factory.

In the soviet time, the factory became state-owned, and it the late XX century it was abandoned. Now the building hosted a flea market. Nobody maintained either its infrastructure or its communications; the beautiful brick walls were literally falling apart. The new milestone in the history of the factory was brought by the Moscow program of reorganization of its industrial territories: it was decided to reconstruct the factory buildings and create a block of lofts. By the moment the construction began, which was in 2006, there was little expertise of such work in Moscow, and the talented developer KE Properties was using the successfully reorganized and unique in their atmosphere loft quarters of London and New York as a model to follow.

The projects of the buildings were developed by different architectural firms, including our "City-Arch"; the result turned out to be a success - we came up with glass overpasses, metallic additions, and massive steel constructions. We replaced all the communication lines with new ones but left them open and visible.

The large buildings were named after the founders of the factory: "Meshcherin", "Knop", then there is also a building named after the hero pilot Gastello, and one named after the entrepreneur Soldatenkov. The minor buildings are called "Flannel", "Sateen", "Calico", and "Batiste". The whole complex of the buildings is a classic example of the red-brick architecture of the XIX century Moscow which in itself was enough to define the direction of the reconstruction.

zooming — Reconstruction project of "Danilovskaya Manufactura" Factory into a LOFT business center © City-Arch

In 2014, we continued our work on the complex, and this time around we got down to the largest building of Danilovskaya Manufactura, Building PK-7, again, employing the loft aesthetics. Later on, the building got named "Meshcherin", after the main founder of the factory. We were faced with a challenging task of preserving the historical image of the building keeping it at the same time from looking too bulky, and, believe it or not, increasing the number of floors, and widening the sidewalk from the side of the Novodanilovskaya Embankment. From the functional standpoint, we were to divide the building into three zones: a food court for the employees on the first floor, the showroom zone, and the office zone.

There were also new conditions to occur: the densely overbuilt urban area around, the presence of pre-developed sketches and plans created by other architectural firms, specifically, ADM, and other decisions that the customer had made earlier. Some conditions were also set by the fire safety rules, the cramped conditions of the passage of fire engines, and doing reconstruction in general. The story of the engineering lines of PK-7 deserves a special mention. In order to remove the water from the basement during the seasonal flood, a brick collector was used that is now in a flooded dilapidated state.

One of the most important solutions of the project was the open air gallery on the first floor running parallel to the embankment - this was done in order to broaden the sidewalk and improve the quality of the pedestrian environment. The showrooms are turned to the gallery with panoramic stained glass windows; all put together refers us back to the typology of the antique urban street but, first of all, Paris's famous rue de Rivoli. The arcade must become a cozy and at the same time busy urban territory, the catalyst of the local social life, and an important atmospheric accent of the complex.

The building itself is rectangular, it stretches along the embankment, while in its bottom part it is divided into two almost equal parts by an arch that connects the sidewalk of the "rue de Rivoli" to the inner yard. On each side of the arch, there is an individual entrance lobby. The top floors are fractured into large office lofts, each of which is connected to either of the two lobbies, and has an extra emergency exit. The two-story annex with a mansard that adjoins the building on the left was divided between the offices in its main part and a restaurant on the first and second floors, the top level being occupied by a common metallic staircase.

The walls were restored and repaired with artificially aged bricks. The architects also preserved the height vaulted ceilings, the intermediate lofts, and the cast-iron and concrete columns. What got dismantled was only the inside partitions and the roof that got replaced by the loft floor. They also restored the fireplaces, and the large windows with arched links. The engineering lines were completely replaced with new ones but, in the loft spirit, left open and viewable. The texture of the buildings dictated the use of wood and black metal. Yet another success, in our opinion, was our solving the problem of keeping the right proportions and our using, in the build-up floors and the warm roof, the material that is radically different from the red-brick historical walls - the dark metallic Reinzink roof sheets. This was also enhanced by the steep slant of the gable roof of the mansard.

One of the important uniting elements of the project is a massive steel double-L beam, the core of the bearing structure of the historical building. The double-L beams used in the interior were meant to remind one of the fact that this place belongs to the class of industrial facilities. The design of the lights hanging from the ceiling uses thick ropes that remind us of the "weaving" essence of the mill. "A window to the past" is also provided by the tile pattern that repeats the ornament of the fabric that was manufactured at this mill in the late XIX century.

Currently, the work on renovating the "Meshcherin" building is drawing to a close, and we hope that the developer will create a modern urban territory, at the same time preserving the unique architectural spirit of the time of the industrial revolution of the late XIX century, while the building itself will adorn the Novodanilovskaya Embankment".

Architect:

Firm:

City-Arch http://city-arch.com

28 June 2016

Headlines now

Object

The Power of Lines

The building at the very beginning of New Arbat is the result of long deliberations over how to replace the former House of Communication. Contemporary, dynamic, and even somewhat zoomorphic in character, it is structured around a large diagonal grid. The building has become a striking accent both in the perspective of the former Kalinin Avenue and in the panorama of Arbat Square. Yet, unfortunately, the original concept was not fully realized. In 2020, the Moscow ArchCouncil approved a design featuring an exoskeleton – an external load-bearing structure, which eventually turned into a purely decorative element. Still, the power of the supergraphic “holds” the building, giving it the qualities of a new urban landmark with iconic potential. How this concept took shape, what unexpected associations might underlie the grid’s form, and why the exoskeleton was never built – all this is explored in our article.

News

Resort on the Kama River

Wowhaus has developed a project for the reconstruction of Korabelnaya Roshcha (“Mast Grove”), a wellness resort located on the banks of the Kama River.

Object

Nests in Primorye

The eco-park project “Nests”, designed by Aleksey Polishchuk and the company Power Technologies, received first prize at the Eco-Coast 2025 festival, organized by the Union of Architects of Russia. For a glamping site in Filinskaya Bay, the authors proposed bird-shaped houses, treehouses, and a nest-shaped observation platform, topping it all with an entrance pavilion executed in the shape of an owl.

Object

The Angle of String Tension

The House of Music, designed by Vladimir Plotkin and the architects of TPO Reserve, resembles a harp, and when seen from above, even a bass clef. But if only it were that simple! The architecture of the complex fuses two distinct expressive languages: the lattice-like, transparent, permeable vocabulary of “classical” modernism and the sculptural, ribbon-like volumes so beloved by today’s neo-modernism. How it all works – where the catharsis lies, which compositional axes underpin the design, where the project resembles Zaryadye Concert Hall and where it does not – read in the article below.

Object

How Historic Tobolsk Becomes a Portal to the Future

Over the past decade, the architectural company Wowhaus has developed urban strategies for several Russian cities – Vyksa, Tula, and Nizhnekamsk, to name but a few. Against this backdrop, the Tobolsk master plan stands out both for its scale – the territory under transformation covers more than 220 square kilometers – and for its complexity.

Object

St. Petersburg vs Rome

The center of St. Petersburg is, as we know, sacred – but few people can say with certainty where this “sacred place” actually begins and ends. It’s not about the formal boundaries, “from the Obvodny Canal to the Bolshaya Nevka”, but about the vibe that feels true to the city center. With the Nevskaya Ratusha complex – built to a design that won an international competition – Evgeny Gerasimov and Sergei Tchoban created an “image of the center” within its territory. And not so much the image of St. Petersburg itself, as that of a global metropolis. This is something new, something that hasn’t appeared in the city for a long time. In this article, we study the atmosphere, recall precedents, and even reflect on who and when first called St. Petersburg the “new Rome”. Clearly, the idea is alive for a reason.

Object

On the Wave

The project of transforming the river port and embankment in the city of Cheboksary, developed by the ATRIUM Architects, involves one of the city’s key areas. The Volga embankment is to be turned into a riverside boulevard – a multifunctional, comfortable, and expressive space for work and leisure activities. The authors propose creating a new link with the city’s main Krasnaya (“Red”) Square, as well as erecting several residential towers inspired by the shape of the traditional national women’s headdress – these towers are likely to become striking accents on the Volga panorama.

Interview

Valery Kanyashin: “We Were Given a Free Hand”

The Headliner residential complex, the main part of which was recently completed just across from Moscow City, is a kind of neighbor to the MIBC that doesn’t “play along” with it. On the contrary, the new complex is entirely built on contrast: like a city of differently scaled buildings that seems to have emerged naturally over the past 20 years – which is a hugely popular trend nowadays! And yet here – perhaps only here – such a project has been realized to its full potential. Yes, high-rises dominate, but all these slender, delicate profiles, all these exciting perspectives! And most importantly – how everything is mixed and composed together... We spoke with the project’s leader Valery Kanyashin.

Object

The Keystone

Until quite recently, premium residential and office complexes in Moscow were seen as the exclusive privilege of the city center. Today the situation is changing: high-quality architecture is moving beyond the confines of the Third Ring Road and appearing on the outskirts. The STONE Kaluzhskaya business center is one such example. Projects like this help decentralize the megalopolis, making life and work prestigious in any part of the city.

send.project

Perpetuum Mobile

The interior of the headquarters of Natsproektstroy, created by the IND studio team, vividly and effectively reflects the client’s field of activity – it is one of Russia’s largest infrastructure companies, responsible for logistics and transport communications of every kind you can possibly think of.

Object

Water and Light

Church art is full of symbolism, and part of it is truly canonical, while another part is shaped by tradition and is perceived by some as obligatory. Because of this kind of “false conservatism”, contemporary church architecture develops slowly compared to other genres, and rarely looks contemporary. Nevertheless, there are enthusiasts in this field out there: the cemetery church of Archangel Michael in Apatity, designed by Dmitry Ostroumov and Prokhram bureau, combines tradition and experiment. This is not an experiment for its own sake, however – rather, the considered work of a contemporary architect with the symbolism of space, volume, and, above all, light.

Object

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.

send.project

Semi-Digital Environment

In the town of Innopolis, a satellite of Kazan, the first 4-star hotel designed by MAD Architects has opened. The interiors of the hotel combine elegance with irony, and technology with comfort, evoking the atmosphere of a computer game or maybe a sci-fi movie about the near future.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Interview

Grigory Revzin: “What we should do with the architecture of the seventies”

Soviet modernism came in two flavors: the good, author-driven kind, and the bad, standardized kind. The good kind was “on the periphery”, while the bad kind was in the center – geographically, in terms of attention, scale, and everything else. Can we demolish it? “That would be destroying public consensus out of thin air”. So what should we do? Preserve it, but creatively: “Bring architecture into places where it hasn’t yet appeared”. Treat these buildings not as monuments, but as urban landscape. Read our interview with Grigory Revzin on the pressing topic of saving modernism – where he proposes a controversial, yet really intriguing, way of preserving 1970s buildings.

Overview

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Object

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”.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Object

New Aeroflot Office: Lightness, Play, Comfort

Even if you have no plans to fly with Aeroflot anytime soon, their new office at 2A 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street is still worth a visit for its interior design alone.

Object

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.

Object

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”.