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Biotechnogenic Duality

A concept of nature and technology combined in the interior of company MRTS, performing construction of major subsea pipelines.

08 June 2016
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The interior has been designed for “Mezhregiontruboprovodstroy” (MRTS), whose specialization is subsea pipe laying and reconstruction. The complicated specifics of the client’s work have in many ways determined the character of the project. The task of the architects of Arch group bureau was not only to build an office, but to represent the company’s image, create a space for work and inspiration for the whole MRTS team.      

The office, with the total area a bit exceeding 2 000 sqm, is located in a building in the south of Moscow, and occupies the top, ninth floor. However, despite the floor-to-ceiling glazing, the room cannot boast of a marvelous view from the window – all around is a housing development and industrial territories. Another problem is the original layout: tiny offices, narrow corridors and fixed position of the communication core. The architects proposed to transform this so irrationally-used space into a modern, wide open space designed in a single stylistics. They arranged all the working areas along the perimeter of the floor, closer to the light, whereas the central part was allotted for meeting rooms, offices, coffee-points for the employees and two reception zones.

MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group
MRTS Office. Floor plan © Arch group
  

A perfectly traditional and maximally convenient layout has obtained a bold and original form. The main idea of the project was a symbolic union of natural and manmade elements. As explained by the authors – Alexey Goryainov and Mikhail Krymov – they tried to play with the idea of “eternal confrontment of nature and man”, in which the man has finally learnt to use the resources of the planet without harming it. This resulted in a contrast of natural and technogenic materials, calm and blazing colors, warm wooden and cold metallic and glass surfaces.    

You can feel this duality of the interior already in the lift lobby, where the rich-yellow stemalite walls compete with milky-matt horizontal floor and ceiling surfaces. A continuous line of built-in lights creates a soft glow in the whole room, reflected in the glossy surfaces of the glass. The fine line separating the snow-white floor from the yellow walls is highlighted in black, which creates an impression that the walls do not touch the floor. Black has become the symbol of technological effectiveness of the extraction and transport of minerals. Yellow, on the contrary, is associated with sun and sand shore.

MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group
       

On both sides of the lift lobby are the two main office areas – MRTS Engineering and MRTS Holding. The reception faced at the entrance to the main working area reflects the sea theme, so familiar to the employees. Minimum details, metal walls, white ceiling and floor, reception desk and stands for house-plants: all of this shapes a wonderful image – a snow-white ship on the background of waves. It seems that sprays of water are continuously falling down, shining in the sun, and the deck of the ship slightly fluctuates. The authors could achieve this effect by using silvery perforated alucobond with backlight for wall finishing. Round holes of different diameters, lit from the inside, look like small bubbles even close-up. The role of the ship is performed by the reception desk made of corian – it is multilayered, flowing and smoothly growing from the white floor. Above it – like a reflection in water – rises the ceiling construction, with lamps hidden in it.

MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group
          

Two corridors part both ways from the reception, leading to the work places. They are executed differently, but both in a laconic and clever way. For example, through combination of two finishing materials, that cover not the parallel, but adjoining surfaces, the architects manage to completely transform and turn around the space, cutting it diagonally. The corridors repeat the familiar approach with perforated metal walls. Though the “bubbles and water drops” hide behind the second layer of glass, they do not have to be lit from behind – the light coming from the “open space” is enough.

MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group
 

The floor is divided in several working areas, each with its own character. The interior of the largest room of 480 m² resorts to the sea and ships theme again. The space is founded on the contrast of the bright blue floor, symbolizing the sea, and the volumetric white ceiling, playing the role of the sky. The sky draws the most of attention due to the complex constructions of corian, reminding clouds. Long, wavelike constructions visually extend the room, and besides, serve as framing for the lights and absorb sound. One of them goes down so low, that it turns into a partition, provided with storage places. Under the hanging down construction, whose outlines once again remind of marine vessels, the authors arranged a beautiful planted green area. This not only helps to diversify the space, but also to zone it, making it cozier. Both the partition, hanging from the ceiling, and the ceiling itself were developed according to the authors’ drafts.

MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


The complex ceiling in the other “open space” holds volumetric hexagonal lamps. As explained by the authors, the hexagonal shape is dominating in the room. It is repeated in the pattern of the carpet flooring with colorful hexagons and in the table constructions. For the other separate department the authors made up a more formal interior, based on the contrast of yellow and black. Here, the leading positions are given to glossy surfaces and geometrical forms.     

MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


The authors also found an original solution for the meeting rooms. It should be mentioned that color plays the main role in the office, where the key areas are executed in certain colors, which helps to find one’s way around more easily. The meeting room, just like the lift lobby, is marked yellow. The bright yellow glow can be seen from the corridor through the matt translucent walls. This glow appears due to the yellow carpet flooring. Apart from that, the room looks reserved. Lamps and a projecting prismatic black wall with a large TV screen in its center make the room a bit more futuristic.    

MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group
 

The second reception is arranged before the MRTS Holding zone, where the management offices are. Their interior, with the emphasized high-status character, differs greatly from the stylistics of the whole office. That is why, the reception zone became a sort of connecting, transitional link. Here, instead of modern, synthetic materials, dominating in the interiors of the employees, the architects apply natural wood; the forms become softer, the furniture – traditional. All walls of the room are clad with wood; the reception stand is also wooden. White matt and black glossy MDF panels serve only to highlight the noble texture of wood.      

Light plays a significant role in the formation of the space: multiple dots of light are built in the ceiling, the walls are underlined with linear lighting that traces the pattern of the panels on wooden surfaces. The company’s logo is also glowing on the reception stand. Another noticeable room in this office is the main meeting room with a large floor-to-ceiling window. The dominating accents here are the white table of corian and an “island” of green plants in the center. A big square “window” made of MDF panels is fixed on the ceiling and colored in yellow gloss.

MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group
 

The hard and not very poetic work of the client inspired the architects to create a romantic and, at the same time, austere and practical interior, which became an icon of the company. The architects are convinced that the versatile interior that they got in the end fully reflects the modern spirit of the company, its unconventional approach to business, special care for the environment and advanced technology. The employees, who call the new office their home, agree with it as well.   
MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group
MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group
MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group
MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group
MRTS Office. Implementation, 2015 © Arch group


08 June 2016

Headlines now
Daring Brilliance
In this article, we are exploring “New Vision”, the first school built in the past 25 years in Moscow’s Khamovniki. The building has three main features: it is designed in accordance with the universal principles of modern education, fostering learning through interaction and more; second, the façades combine structural molded glass and metallic glazed ceramics – expensive and technologically advanced materials. Third, this is the school of Garden Quarters, the latest addition to Moscow’s iconic Khamovniki district. Both a costly and, in its way, audacious acquisition, it carries a youthful boldness in its statement. Let’s explore how the school is designed and where the contrasts lie.
A Twist of the Core
A clever and concise sculptural solution – rotating each floor by N degrees – has created an ensemble of “dancing” towers: similar yet different, simple yet complex. The designers meticulously refined a single structural node and spent considerable effort on the column construction – after that, “everything else was easy”. The architects also rotated the core walls on each floor to maximize the efficiency of the office spaces.
The Sculpting of Spring Forest Matter
We’ve been observing this building for a couple of years now: seemingly simple, perhaps even unassuming, it fits in remarkably well with the micro-district context shaped by the Moscow MCD road junctions. This building sticks in the memory of everyone who drives along the highway, even occasionally. In our opinion, Sergey Nikeshkin, by blending popular architectural techniques and approaches of the 2010s, managed to turn a seemingly simple structure into a statement “on the theme of a house as such”. Let’s figure out how this happened.
Water and Wind Whet the Stone
The Arisha Terraces residential complex, designed by Asadov Architects, will be built in a district of Dubai dedicated to film and television production. To create shaded spaces and an intriguing silhouette, the architects opted for a funnel-shaped composition and nature-inspired forms of erosion and weathering. The roofs, podium, and underground spaces extend leisure opportunities within the boundaries of a man-made “oasis”.
Elevation 5642
The Genplan Institute of Moscow has developed a comprehensive development project for three ski resorts in the Caucasus, which have been designated as special economic zones of the tourism and recreation type. The first of these zones is Elbrus. The project includes the construction of new ski runs, cable cars, and hotels, as well as the modernization of stations and improvements to the Azau tourist meadow. To expand the audience and enhance year-round appeal, a network of eco-trails is also being developed. In this article, we provide a detailed breakdown of each stage.
The IT Town
Taking the example of the first completed phase of the “U” district, we examine how the new neighborhood in Innopolis will be organized. T+T Architects and HADAA formed a well-balanced and ingenious master plan with different types of housing, a green artery, a system of squares, and a park in the town’s central part.
The Heart Lies Within
The second-phase building of the Evgeny Primakov School already won multiple awards while still in the design stage. Now that it’s completed, some unfinished nuances remain – most notably, the exposed ceiling structures, which ideally should have been concealed. However, given the priority placed on the building’s volumetric composition, this does not seem critical. What matters more is the “Wow!” effect created by the space itself.
Magnetic Forces
“Krylatskaya 33” is the first large-scale residential complex to appear amidst the 1980s “micro-districts” that harmoniously coexist with the forests, the river, the slopes, and the sports infrastructure. Despite its imposing scale, the architects of Ostozhenka managed to turn the complex into something that can be best described as a “graceful dominant”. First, they designed the complex with consideration for the style and height of the surrounding micro-districts. Second, by introducing a pause in its tallest section, they created compositional tension – right along the urban planning axis of the area.
Orion’s Belt
The Stone Khodynka 2 office complex, designed by Kleinewelt Architekten for the company Stone, is built with an ergonomic layout following “healthy building” principles: natural light, ventilation, and all the necessary features for an efficient office environment. On the outside, it resembles – like many contemporary buildings – an iPhone: sleek, glowing, glass-and-metal, edges elegantly rounded. Yet, it responds sensitively to the Khodynka context, where the main theme is the contrast between vertical and horizontal lines. The key intrigue lies in the design of the “stylobate” as a suspended passage, leaving the space beneath it open for free pedestrian movement.
Grigory Revzin: “It Was a Bold Statement Made on the Sly. Something Won”
In this article, we discuss the debates surrounding the circus competition and the demolition of the CMEA building with the most renowned architectural critic of our time. A paradox emerges in the process: while nostalgia for the Brezhnev era seems to be in vogue in Russia, a landmark building – the “axis” of the Warsaw Pact – has been sentenced to demolition. Isn’t that strange? We also find out that wow-architecture has made a comeback as a post-COVID trend. However, to make a truly powerful statement, professionals still remain indispensable.
Exposed Concrete
One of the stages of improving a small square in the town of Lermontov was the construction of a skatepark. Entrusting this part of the project to the XSA team, the city gained a 250-meter trick track whose features resemble those of land art objects – unparalleled in Russia in both scale and design. Here’s a look at how the experimental snake run in the foothills of the Caucasus was built.
One Step Closer To the Dream
The challenges of getting all the mandatory approvals, an insufficient budget, and construction site difficulties did not prevent ASADOV Bureau from achieving its main goal in the realization of the school project in the town of Troitsk – taking another step away from outdated notions of educational spaces toward creating a fundamentally new academic environment.
Chalet on the Rock
An Accor hotel in Arkhyz, designed by A.Len, will be situated at the gateway to the resort’s main tourist hubs. The architects reinterpreted the widely popular chalet style while adding an unexpected twist – an unfinished structure preserved on the site. The design team transformed this remnant into an exciting space featuring an open-air pool and a restaurant with panoramic views of the region’s highest mountain ridges.
Sergey Skuratov: “By and large, the project has been realized in line with the original ideas”
In this issue, we talk to the chief architect of Garden Quarters, looking back at the history and key moments of a project that took 18 years to develop and has now finally been completed. What interests us most are the transformations that the project underwent during construction, and the way the “necessary void” of public space was formed, which turned this remarkable complex into a fragment of a whole new type of urban fabric – not just at the horizontal “street” level but in its vertical structure as well.
A Unique Representative
The recently concluded year 2024 can be considered the year of completion for the “Garden Quarters” residential complex in Moscow’s Khamovniki. This project is well-known and, in many ways, iconic. Rarely does one manage to preserve such a number of original ideas, achieving in the end a kind of urban planning Gesamtkunstwerk. Here is a subjective view from an architecture journalist, with an interview with Sergey Skuratov soon to follow.
Field of Life
The new project by the architectural company PNKB (an acronym for “Design, Research, and Advisory Bureau”), led by Sergey Gnedovsky and Anton Lyubimkin, for the Kulikovo Field Museum is dedicated to the field as a concept in its own right. The field has long been a focus of the museum’s thorough and successful research. Accordingly, the exterior of the new museum building is gentler than that of its predecessor, which was also designed by PNKB and dedicated specifically to the historic battle. Inside, however, the building confidently guides the visitor from a luminous atrium along a spiral path to the field – interpreted here as a field of life.
A Paper Clip above the River
In this article, we talk with Vitaly Lutz from the Genplan Institute of Moscow about the design and unique features of the pedestrian bridge that now links the two banks of the Yauza River in the new cluster of Bauman Moscow State Technical University (MSTU). The bridge’s form and functionality – particularly the inclusion of an amphitheater suspended over the river – were conceived during the planning phase of the territory’s development. Typically, this approach is not standard practice, but the architects advocate for it, referring to this intermediate project phase as the “pre-AGR” stage (AGR stands for Architectural and Urban Planning Approval). Such a practice, they argue, helps define key parameters of future projects and bridge the gap between urban planning and architectural design.
Living in the Architecture of One’s Own Making
Do architects design houses for themselves? You bet! In this article, we are examining a new book by TATLIN publishing house. This book – unprecedented for Russia – features 52 private homes designed and built by contemporary architects for themselves. It includes houses that are famous, even iconic, as well as lesser-known ones; large and small, stylish and eccentric. To some extent, the book reflects the history of Russian architecture over the past 30 years.
A City Block Isoline
Another competition project for a residential complex on the banks of the Volga in Nizhny Novgorod has been prepared by Studio 44. A team of architects led by Ivan Kozhin concluded that using a regular block layout in such a location would be inappropriate and developed a “custom design” approach: a chain of parceled multi-section buildings stretching along the entire embankment. Let’s explore the features and advantages of this unconventional method.
Competition: The Price of Creativity?
Any day now, we’re expecting the results of a competition held by the “Samolet” development group for a plot in Kommunarka. In the meantime, we share the impressions of Editor-in-Chief Julia Tarabarina, who managed to conduct a public talk. Though technically focused on the interaction between developers and architects, the public talk turned into a discussion about the pros and cons of architectural competitions.
Terraced Design
The “River Park” residential complex has confidently and securely shaped the Nagatinsky Backwater shoreline. Featuring a public embankment, elevated courtyards connected by pedestrian bridges, and brick façades, the development invites exploration of its nuanced response to the surrounding context, as well as hints of the architects’ megalithic design thinking.
A Kremlin’s Core and Meteorite Fragments
We continue our coverage of the competition projects for the residential district that the development company GloraX plans to build along the embankment of the Rowing Channel in Nizhny Novgorod. ASADOV Architects approached the concept through a deep dive into local identity, using storytelling to pinpoint a central idea for the design: the master plan and composition are imagined as if a meteorite had struck a “proto-Kremlin”. Sounds weird? Find more details below!
The Volga Regatta
GloraX plans to develop a residential complex spanning 14 hectares along the Volga River in Nizhny Novgorod. The winning design in a closed-door competition, created by GORA Architects, features housing typologies ranging from townhouses to terraced high-rise slabs, a balance of functions, diverse ways of engaging with the water, and even a dedicated island (no less!) for the city residents.
Life Plans
The master plan for the residential district “Prityazheniye” (“Gravity”) in Naberezhnye Chelny was developed by the architectural company A.Len, taking into account the specific urban planning context and partially implemented solutions of the first phase. However, the master plan prioritized its own values: a green framework, a system of focal points, a hierarchy of spaces, and pedestrian priority. After this, the question of what residents will do in their neighborhood simply doesn’t arise.
A New Track
We took a thorough look at D_Station, a railcar repair depot dating back to 1906, recently reconstructed while preserving its century-old industrial structure, upon the project by Sergey Trukhanov and T+T Architects. Though work on the interiors – set to house restaurants and public spaces – is still underway, the building’s exterior already offers plenty to see. Visitors can explore the blend of old and new brickwork, appreciate the architect’s unique interpretation of ruin aesthetics, and enjoy the newly built pedestrian route that connects the Citydel Business Center’s arches to Kazakova Street.
Four Different Surveys
The “Explore the City” competition, organized this year by the Genplan Institute of Moscow, stands out as a pretty unconventional one for the architectural field but aligns perfectly well with the character of urban planning work. The winning project analyzed contemporary residential complexes, combining urban planning insights with a realtor’s perspective to propose a hybrid approach. Other entries explored public centers, motivations for car ownership, and housing vacancy rates. A fifth participant withdrew. Here’s a closer look at the four completed works.
Scheduled Evolution
ASADOV Architects unveiled the EvyCenter pavilion, a microcultural hub for fostering personal growth, organizing workshops, and doing gymnastics. Additionally, this pavilion serves as a prototype for a scalable country house, drawing inspiration from the “Loskutok” project, and constructed from CLT panels in a factory. This marks the beginning of a developer project initiated by the architectural firm (sic!), which is seeking partners to expand both small Evy settlements and even larger Evy cities, which are, according to Andrey Asadov, aimed at fostering the “evolutionary” development of the people who will inhabit them.
The Golden Crown
The concept for a dental clinic in Yekaterinburg, developed by CNTR Studio, revolves around the idea of a “mouth full of gold”: pristine white porcelain stoneware walls are complemented by matte brass details. To avoid an overly literal interpretation, the architects focused on the building’s proportions, skillfully navigating between sunlight requirements and fire safety regulations.
Flexibility and Integration
Not long ago, we covered the project for the fourth phase of the ÁLIA residential complex, designed by APEX. Now, we’ve been shown different fence concepts they developed to enclose the complex’s private courtyards, incorporating a variety of public functions. We believe that the sheer fact that the complex’s architects were involved in such a detail as fencing speaks volumes.
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.