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

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”.

27 April 2016

Headlines now

The Mirror of Your Soul

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

Part of the Ideal

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

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The Fortress by the River

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

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In the Rhombus Grid

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

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Generational Connection

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

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Three Dimensions of the City

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

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New “Flight”

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

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The Yauza Towers

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

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Architecture and Leisure Park

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

Overview

The U-House

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

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Black and White

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

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The “Snake” Mountain

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

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Opal from Anna Mons’ Ring

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

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Feed ’Em All

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

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The Ensemble at the Mosque

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

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Pargolovo Protestantism

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

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The Shape of the Inconceivable

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

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Rays of the Desert

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

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The Dairy Theme

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

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The Road to the Temple

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

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Towers Leaning Towards the Sun

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

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In the spirit of ROSTA posters

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

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The Northern Thebaid

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

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Brilliant Production

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

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

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

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

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

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A Single-Industry Town

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

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A New Age Portico

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

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A New Starting Point

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

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Molding Perspectives

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