Modern History of Tsarskoe Selo Industrial Construction

Architectural bureau PANACOM has created a tender design concept for site development of the territory of former Tsarskoselsky railway-car repair plant “Sofia” near St. Petersburg.

27 April 2016

Object

Architect:

Firm:

PANACOM http://pana.com.ru/

The territory of Tsarskoselsky railway-car repair plant “Sofia” in the outskirts of Pushkin, just as any pre-revolution industrial facility subject to redevelopment, contains multiple cultural layers that can be described by the word “palimpsest”. For project designers, this literal “showthrough” of historical layers through time often not only concerns artefacts which are found a suitable role in the new building development, but also the city-planning structure, the scale and principles of morphology. To different extents, the participants of the tender for development concept of the plant territory laid an emphasis on preservation of the traces of history. The proposal of PANACOM was no exception, but the architects went further by implementing the main principles of working in a historical context with the means of modern architectural language.

According to the design specification of the tender, this heel-shaped territory, where the most significant artefacts have concentrated southwards, is subject to mixed site-development with residential blocks, apartment hotels, a business and cultural centers, social infrastructure and a public center with shopping and entertainment functions and a sports facility. Closeness of the town Pushkin with its famous parks – Alexander and Catherine parks – surely projects its imagery to the planning site. However, the PANACOM architects did not bring here the classic net of blocks as it is; they used the semiotic and structural features of the classical language, in this way preserving the connection with tradition, without turning it into imitation.

zooming — The concept of developing the territory of the former Tsarskoe Selo railway-car repair works "Sophia" . Project, 2016 © PANACOM

“The image of St. Petersburg, the image of Pushkin and this whole area certainly dominate over this territory,” says Arseniy Leonovich. “That is why, there is room for historicism and some classical things worth linking to – but figuratively, not head-on, with iron benches and street lights… We saw our task in conveying the spirit of the time and place, of a powerful, rejuvenating city-planning impulse, which is associated with the build-up of this agglomeration of St. Petersburg, and is the prototype for the new stage of city-planning history. This is a sort of looking back at Holland, at the Germans – in a good way. The leitmotif of our project is an insight to the history, without imitations”.

First of all, PANACOM considered the genesis of this territory, which obtained such odd outline with a “beak” in the south-west part thanks to the curve of a railway road that used to go inside the lot. This dynamic line suggested the geometry of the main planning axis of the new urban-development formation – chains of water areas.

Water

In this concept – just as in St. Petersburg itself – water is the leitmotif and the planning “backbone”. Chanels, ponds, a “loop” with an island, a zig-zag stream: they suck in and thread – as if on skewers – this gigantic tumbling territory, connecting the blocks with infrastructure facilities and the public area in front of the shopping center. Walking, sporting and byking tracks are beaded onto the planning axis of the boulevard system.

“Closed Facades”

The second classical principle in formation of a city like St. Petersburg – “closed facades”, a foregoer of the block build-up – is implemented in the construction of residential houses. They are arranged equally high blocks, six floors each, but with various plastic and individual modern designs. Uniformity of height and the block-wise build-up principle allowed the PANACOM architects to link their project to St. Petersburg context, and, on the other hand, win a pragmatic advantage of rather high density values. The square line of the houses follows the contour of the territory and form private residential yards, separating private and public lives.

The scale is set by the large divisions with emphasized risalits, as well as the giant arches, three-five storeys high. As required by the design specifications, the houses remain independent, with two, three and four entrance halls, but they look like monolite blocks. The interchange of meridional and latitudinal sections allowed the authors to diversify apartment layout.

Apartments

A plastic and color accent of the residential part is the apartment complex in the forms of disk-houses and cylinder-houses. The low-rise towers inside this cluster can be differentiated by size, while retaining the same height of five high-ceiling floors. Spatially, this agglomeration is connected by a stream wrapping around the buildings and creating impressive reflections.

“According to the assignment, a big number of square meters is to be built-up with apartments. We think that something special cound be made in this segment,” says Arseniy Leonovich. “According to their status, apartments are second-range accomodation. They call for different approach to life, and to planning, and to the standards. We made some of the houses wothout clearly defined yards, although groupped on one territory they surely form their special architectural experience in the space on the landscape”.

Transport

In most of the cases, the drive-ups to the houses are arranged only from the outside, practically eliminating transit of vehicles through the residential complex. The main dual artery is brought out to the periphery, to the west and south-west borders. Starting from Kuzminskoye Schosse, passing along the site border, it runs out near the planned parking space in the west part, and goes down to Peterburgskoye Schosse, on the track of presently unsurfaced road. Such connection of a lot to two highways at once improves the quality of its transport scheme.

Public Areas

The territory of the new district is functionally divided into two unequal parts – the larger residential, and the smaller public one. The system of visual restrictions allows to maintain this division without fences and barriers. With common use in mind, the part close to Kuzminskoye Schosse places a public center, some buildings of which are pre-revolutionary. This place is energized with history and traces of time; here are the buildings of plant management and workshop pavilions, by whose side appears the new shopping center. It includes the part of the pavilion under restoration, as well as the artefacts of the existing plant: a crane bridge and fragments of rails. Nearby, there is a Memorial Park – it is created on the basis of the existing garden by the building of the health safety management; this is the place that the family of thr last Russian Emperor left when going into banishment. At the crosspoint of two planning axes of the park, the authors suggest building a chapel. The second public center, created for convenience of the residents of the new block, appears at the embankment of a man-made oval pond in the middle of the district: here, the authors placed compact and modern constructions of commercial and sporting buildings.

Parks

Presence of famous garden and park ensembles at close vicinity forced the authors of the concept not to follow the path of imitations, but to interpret beautification in a modern way, but at the same time preserving the classical principle of interchange of dense build-up of residential blocks with open green public areas. The site improvement becomes a chain of micro-environments, with their “scenarios” superseding throughout the whole “green” planning axis. Various types of paving, timber decking, different grasses, gabions, local lighting of the benches, sculptures and lawns, as well as the one built-in the paving of the lanes and alleys; surface and vertical architectural lighting, bridges over the canals; stony, batten and turf covering of the embankment – this is just part of the specter of modern instruments used for creation of a comfortable and conceptual landscape. The architects also found use in the tradition construction of mansion ensembles with interchange of dense and unloaded areas, with dividing a park into a representative, regular and more private, picturesque parts.

“It was important for us to interpret the territory in large pieces, so we proposed to nominally divide it into three thematic parks: the memorial park, the “English” landscape park and the “French” regular one,” says Arseniy Leonovich. “We sought to make people living in a new city get the feel of the history of this place”.

Architect:

Firm:

PANACOM http://pana.com.ru/

27 April 2016

Headlines now

Object

A Step Forward

The HIDE residential complex represents a major milestone for ADM architects and their leaders Andrey Romanov and Ekaterina Kuznetsova in their quest for a fresh high-rise aesthetic – one that is flexible and layered, capable of bringing vibrancy to mass and silhouette while shaping form. Over recent years, this approach has become ADM’s “signature style”, with the golden HIDE tower playing a pivotal role in its evolution. Here, we delve into the project’s story, explore the details of the complex’s design, and uncover its core essence.

Object

Gold in the Sands

A new office for a transcontinental company specializing in resource extraction and processing has opened in Dubai. Designed by T+T Architects, masters of creating spaces that are contemporary, diverse, flexible, and original, this project exemplifies their expertise. On the executive floor, a massive brass-clad partition dominates, while layered textures of compressed earth create a contextually resonant backdrop.

Object

Layers and Levels of Flight

This project goes way back – Reserve Union won this architectural competition at the end of 2011, and the building was completed in 2018, so it’s practically “archival”. However, despite being relatively unknown, the building can hardly be considered “dated” and remains a prime example of architectural expression, particularly in the headquarters genre. And it’s especially fitting for an aviation company office. In some ways, it resembles the Aeroflot headquarters at Sheremetyevo but with its own unique identity, following the signature style of Vladimir Plotkin. In this article, we take an in-depth look at the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) headquarters in the Moscow agglomeration town of Zhukovsky, supplemented by recent photographs from Alexey Naroditsky – a shoot that became only recently possible due to the fact that improvements were finally made in the surrounding area.

Object

Light and Shadow

In this article, we delve into the architectural design of the “Chaika” house by DNK ag architects, which was recently completed in 2023 as part of the collection of signature designs at ZILArt. As is well-known, all the buildings in this complex follow a design code, yet each one is distinct. This particular building stands out not only for its whiteness and minimalism but also for the refined use of a limited number of techniques that, together, create what can confidently be called synergy.

View

Casus Novae

A master plan was developed for a large residential area with a name of “DNS City”, but now that its implementation began, the plan has been arbitrarily reformatted and replaced with something that, while similar on the surface, is actually quite different. This is not the first time such a thing happens, but it’s always frustrating. With permission from the author, we are sharing Maria Elkina’s post.

Report

Treasure Hunting

The GAFA bureau, in collaboration with Tegola and Arkhitail, organized an expedition to the island of Kilpola in Karelia as part of Moskomarkhitektura’s “Open City” festival. There, amidst moss and rocks, the students sought answers to questions like: what is the sacred, where does it dwell, and what sustains it? Assisting the participants in this quest were landscape engineer Evgeny Levin, artist Nicholas Roerich, a moose, and the lack of cellular connection. Here’s how the story unfolded.

Object

Depths of the Earth, Streams of Water

In the Malaya Okhta district, the Akzent building, designed by Stepan Liphart, was constructed. It follows a classic tripartite structure, yet it’s what you might call “hand-drawn”: each façade is unique in its form and details, some of which aren’t immediately noticeable. In this article, we explore the context and, together with the architect, delve into how the form was developed.

Object

Fir Tree Dynamics

The “Airports of Region” holding is planning to build an airport in Karachay-Cherkessia, aiming to make the Arkhyz and Dombay resorts more accessible to travelers. The project that won in an invitation-only competition, submitted by Sergey Nikeshkin’s KPLN, blends natural imagery inspired by the shape of a conifer seed, open-air waiting spaces, majestic large trees, and a green roof elevated on needle-like columns. The result is both nature-inspired and WOW.

Object

A Brick Shell

In the process of designing a clubhouse situated among pine trees in a prestigious suburban area near Moscow, the architectural firm “A.Len” did the façade design part. The combination of different types of brick and masonry correlates with the volumetric and plastique solutions, further enhanced by the inclusion of wood-painted fragments and metal “glazing”.

Report

Word Forms

ATRIUM architects love ambitious challenges, and for the firm’s thirtieth anniversary, they boldly play a game of words with an exhibition that dives deep into a self-created vocabulary. They immerse their projects – especially art installations – into this glossary, as if plunging into a current of their own. You feel as if you’re flowing through the veins of pure art, immersed in a universe of vertical cities, educational spaces – of which the architects are true masters – and the cultural codes of various locations. But what truly captivates is the bold statement that Vera Butko and Anton Nadtochy make, both through their work and this exhibition: architecture, above all, is art – the art of working with form and space.

Object

Flexibility and Acuteness of Modernity

Luxurious, fluid, large “kokoshniks” and spiral barrel columns, as if made from colorful chewing gum: there seem to be no other mansion like this in Moscow, designed in the “Neo-Russian-Modern” style. And the “Teremok” on Malaya Kaluzhskaya, previously somewhat obscure, has “come alive with new colors” and gained visibility after its restoration for the office of the “architectural ecosystem” as the architects love to call themselves. It’s evident that Julius Borisov and the architects at UNK put their hearts into finding this new office and bringing it up to date. Let’s delve into the paradoxes of this mansion’s history and its plasticity. Spoiler: two versions of modernity meet here, both balancing on the razor’s edge of “what’s current”.

Interview

Yuri Vissarionov: “A modular house does not belong to the land”

It belongs to space, or to the air... It turns out that 3D printing is more effective when combined with a modular approach: the house is built in a workshop and then adapted to the site, including on uneven terrain. Yuri Vissarionov shares his latest experience in designing tourist complexes, both in central Russia and in the south. These include houseboats, homes printed from lightweight concrete using a 3D printer, and, of course, frame houses.

Object

Moscow’s First

“The quality of education largely depends on the quality of the educational environment”. This principle of the last decade has been realized by Sergey Skuratov in the project for the First Moscow Gymnasium on Rostovskaya Embankment in the Khamovniki district. The building seamlessly integrates into the complex urban landscape, responding both to the pedestrian flow of the city and the quiet alleyways. It skillfully takes advantage of the height differences and aligns with modern trends in educational space design. Let’s take a closer look.

Object

Looking at the Water

The site of Villa Sonata stretches from the road to the water’s edge, offering its own shoreline, pier, and a picturesque river panorama. To reveal these sweeping views, Roman Leonidov “cut” the façade diagonally parallel to the river, thus getting two main axes for the house and, consequently, “two heads”. The internal core – two double-height spaces, a living room and a conservatory, with a “bridge” above them – makes the house both “transparent” and filled with light.

Object

The White Wing

Well, it’s not exactly white. It’s more of a beige, white-stone structure that plays with the color of limestone – smoother surfaces are lighter, while rougher ones are darker. This wing unites various elements: it absorbs and interprets the surrounding themes. It responds to everything, yet maintains a cohesive expression – a challenging task! – while also incorporating recognizable features of its own, such as the dynamic cuts at the bottom, top, and middle.

Object

Urban Dunes

The XSA Ramps team designed and built a three-part sports hub for a park in Rostov-on-Don, welcoming people of all ages and fitness levels. The skate plaza, pump track, and playground are all meticulously crafted with details that attract a diverse range of visitors. The technical execution of the shapes and slopes transforms this space into a kind of sculptural composition.

Object

Proportional Growth

The project for the fourth phase of the ÁLIA residential area has been announced. The buildings are situated on an elongated plot – almost a “ray” that shoots out from the center of the area towards the river. Their layout reflects both a response to Moscow’s architectural preferences over the past 15 years, shifting “from blocks to towers”, and an interpretation of the neighboring business park designed by SOM. Additionally, the best apartments here are not located at the very top but closer to the middle, forming a glowing “waistline”.

Object

The “Staircase” Building

In designing the “Details” residential complex in New Moscow, Rais Baishev spiced up the now-popular Moscow theme of a “courtyard” building with an idea drawn from the surrealist drawings by Maurits Escher. He envisioned the stepped silhouettes and descending slopes as a metaphysical mega-staircase, creating a key void within the courtyard that gave the project an internal “spine”. This concept is felt both in the building’s silhouette and on its façades.

Object

Projection of the Quarter

No one doubted that the building that Vladimir Plotkin designed as part of the “Garden Quarters” would be the most modernist of all. And it turned out just that way: while adhering to the common design code, the building successfully combines brick and white stone, rhythmically responding to the neighboring building designed by Ostozhenka, yet tactfully and persistently making a few statements of its own. This includes the projection of the ideal urban development composition “14–9–6”, which can be found right next door, mathematical calculations, including those for various types of terraces (and perhaps the only reminder of the Soviet past of the Kauchuk rubber factory!), and the white “cross-stitch” pattern of the façade grid.

Object

Domus Aurea

In this issue, we examine the “Tessinsky-1” house, designed by Sergey Skuratov and completed in 2023. Located in the middle of the Serebryanicheskaya Embankment district, at the intersection of its main streets, this house assumes a sort of “nodal” role: it not only responds to everything around it and preserves many memories of the former EMA factory within itself, but it weaves all this into a newly directed pattern, reconciling bright “gold” and dark-colored brick, largely with the help of the new, modern-yet-archaic Columba brick, which, come to think about it, is the most precious element here.

send.project

The Chimney of Nikola-Lenivets

In this issue, we are examining the “Obelisk House” designed by KATARSIS and built for the Arkhstoyanie 2023 festival. However, it was only finished later on, and this is why we are examining it now. It seems to us that after the “Obelisk House” appeared in Nikola-Lenivets, a dialogue and a few inner connections appeared between the temporary structures built here. These houses no longer look like “accidental neighbors”, more of which below.

Periscope by the Bay

The jury awarded the second place in the competition for a public and cultural center in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to the companies GORA (“Mountain”) and M4. In the consortium’s proposal, the building resembles a sperm whale with a calf swimming next to it or a periscope, whose lenses capture the most spectacular views from the surrounding landscape.

Contest Results

From Arcs to Dolmens

While working on the competition project for Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, ASADOV Architects prioritized the value of the natural and urban environment, aiming to preserve the balance of the location while minimizing the resemblance of the volume that they designed to a “traditional building”. The task was challenging, and the architects created three versions, one of which having been developed after the competition, where their main proposal took third place. However, the point of interest here is not the competition result but the continuity of creative thinking.

Object

Hide and Seek

The ID Moskovskiy house, designed by Stepan Liphart in St. Petersburg, in the courtyards near Moskovskiy Avenue beyond the Obvodny Canal and recently completed, is notable for several reasons. Firstly, it has been realized with considerable accuracy, which is particularly significant as this is the first building where the architect was responsible not only for the facades but also for the layouts, allowing for better integration between the two. On the other hand, this building is interesting as an example of the “germination” of new architecture in the city: it draws on the best examples from the neighborhood and becomes an improved and developed sum of ideas found by the architect in the surrounding context.

The Big Twelve

Yesterday, the winners of the Moscow Mayor’s Architecture Award were announced and honored. Let’s take a look at what was awarded and, in some cases, even critique this esteemed award. After all, there is always room for improvement, right?

Object

Above the Golden Horn

The residential complex “Philosophy” designed by T+T architects in Vladivostok, is one of the new projects in the “Golubinaya Pad” area, changing its development philosophy (pun intended) from single houses to a comprehensive approach. The buildings are organized along public streets, varying in height and format, with one house even executed in gallery typology, featuring a cantilever leaning on an art object.

Report

Nuanced Alternative

How can you rhyme a square and space? Easily! But to do so, you need to rhyme everything you can possibly think of: weave everything together, like in a tensegrity structure, and find your own optics too. The new exhibition at GES-2 does just that, offering its visitor a new perspective on the history of art spanning 150 years, infused with the hope for endless multiplicity of worlds and art histories. Read on to see how this is achieved and how the exhibition design by Evgeny Ace contributes to it.

Object

Blinds for Ice

An ice arena has been constructed in Domodedovo based on a project by Yuri Vissarionov Architects. To prevent the long façade, a technical requirement for winter sports facilities, from appearing monotonous, the architects proposed the use of suspended structures with multidirectional slats. This design protects the ice from direct sunlight while giving the wall texture and detail.

Contest Results

Frozen Magma

A competition for the creation of a public and cultural center was held in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Three architectural companies made it to the final, and we consider it important to share about the work of each. Let’s start with the winner – the consortium led by Wowhaus.

Report

Campus within a Day

In this article, we talk about what the participants of Genplan Institute of Moscow’s hackathon were doing at the MosComArchitecture booth at the “ArchMoscow” exhibition. We also discuss who won the prize and why, and what can be done with the territory of a small university on the outskirts of Moscow.