По-русски

​Video: an open-type urban block versus a courtyard

The video version of a lecture by Alexander Popov, the cofounder of Archimatika project group, in which he explains about the typology of residential areas.

07 July 2016
Video
mainImg
Architect:
Aleksandr Popov

Being disappointed with the modernist “micro-district” typology, architects and designers are ever more actively returning to the concept of the traditional urban block. There are a lot of benefits that an urban block yields: it is comfortable and, as a rule, human-friendly. However, while giving the modern trend its due, the architects of Archimatika Alexander Popov and Dmitry Vasiliev came to a conclusion that the city block in its classic traditional form, i.e. closed from all sides along its perimeter, is not always convenient. It ends up yielding “well-type” courtyards and “corridor-type” streets. Therefore, the architects switched over to a different hybrid typology of an open and semi-open urban block, which, on the one hand, is essentially still an urban block, and, on the other hand, is more flexible and open to the city. Alexander Popov showed examples of such solutions in his lecture.




Architect:
Aleksandr Popov

07 July 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”.