High-rise Proposal

For the Kiev-based architects Alexander Popov and Dmitry Vasiliev, working with the territory of “Filikrovlya” became the first project they ever did for Moscow. Daringly, yet for a reason, the architects broke the height restrictions.

Written by:
Anna Starostina
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

17 February 2017

Contest Results

zooming — Mixed-use complex on the territory of the Milikrovlya factory. Project, 2015 © Archimatika

Project for the territory of the “Filikrovlya” factory
More on the land site and the competition

“In August of 2015 we were invited to participate in an invitation-only competition for a housing project of great social importance, and we agreed enthusiastically, perceiving this like a certain trust credit, which we did our best to justify” – the architects confess.

The complex form of the land plot made Archimatika refrain from rectangular configuration of the buildings and regular plans of their positioning. The closest of all to the overland metro line are the sports fields, and therefore, the 2-3 stories school building for 500 students, which is situated right behind these sports fields, finds itself the required 50 meters away from the metro line. For other public buildings this figure is slightly lower, and the office buildings 3 to 5 stories high, which flank the academic building, are only 20 meters away from the metro line. And still further away behind them the architects placed four towers of a complex shape, 15 to 41 stories tall. Such a “ledgy” composition made it possible to, first of all, protect the residential buildings from the noise of the metro line, second, set some human-friendly scale of the volumes, and, third, ensure a high degree of insolation for both the inside yard and the residential towers – because this side is the south one.

The high-rises have a complex shape and form the boundary of the urban block from the side of the traffic junctions – on this side, the architects had to implant the noise protection into the structures of the façades, windows and doors. They are arranged in such a way that virtually all of them catch the sunlight: the substandard insolation time is only found on two small façade fragments, less than 5% of the overall façade surface. At the same time, the towers not only have different shapes with “cavities” and “slits” but are also placed on the north part of the territory in a rather freehand manner. Thanks to this technique, the high-rises signify the conditional boundaries of the urban block, without forming a “fortress wall”, which usually protects the residents not so much from any potential adversaries (of a purely imaginary nature) as from the opportunity to see the sky. At the same time, there appears an interesting nonlinear system of open spaces in between the yards, accessible not only for the residents of the complex and their guests but also for the general public, which is also important for forming a comfortable and human-friendly living environment.

As a result of the clear-cut planning of the land site and the thought-out traffic pattern (the parking garage is, of course, hidden underground), each of the functional zones, be that the school, the offices or the residential buildings, forms a micro-world of its own, that does not bother all the others. And the landscape, which naturally spills over to the river, becomes the glue that holds them together as a single organism. At the same time, the embankment itself is actively interacting with the city because it becomes a continuation of the neighboring green zone formed within the project of the multifunctional residential complex “Zapadny Port” (“Western Port”) – it is designed by SPEECH, ADM, and TPO “Reserve”.

The competition’s brief specified the height restrictions for the new complex – not higher than 110 meters. However, the solution that the architects proposed exceeds this mark by more than 30 meters. “These height restrictions were dictated by the completely understandable desire to keep the panoramas of the city with the Fili Intercession Church – Alexander Popov explains – But studying the situation in detail, we found that the powerful landmark of the Moscow City business center actively influences all of the silhouettes in that area. A paradoxical situation is created: continuing to “haircut” all of the surrounding buildings at a much lower notch, we only highlight the already noticeable and very conspicuous cluster of buildings, thus suppressing – and this is important – the historical buildings, for the sake of which these restrictions were introduced. Of course, we still have to do a thorough analysis of the whole situation from all vantage points but we are positive that creating some landmarks that would set off the pressure of the Moscow City is not only possible but even highly desirable for this city”. As far as the new block itself is concerned, increasing the number of floors turns out to be a very important factor for it because it makes it possible to significantly shrink the construction blueprint, letting in more air and creating a more open “breathing” environment. It was this increase in height that allowed the architects to form the low-rise construction front and set a human-friendly scale supported by the highlights base floors of the towers.

In order to keep up and enhance this feeling of proportion, the architects tried to visually take some weight off the top part of the building at the expense of the lightened façade design. As a finishing stroke, the architects “landed” on one of the towers a “hovering” snow-white sculptural volume, in which they proposed to organize a unique penthouse or a sightseeing platform with a bar. As far as the main decoration materials are concerned, the architects considered several kinds of stone, and, of course, glass. The large glazed surfaces naturally create a play of highlights and reflections. They also help to increase the quality of the inner space of the apartments at the expense of good insolation and panoramic views.

An important part in forming the fractured pattern of the façade and showing the structure of the buildings is played by the terraces. These are arranged in groups and they are not to be met everywhere. Wherever there are no terraces, the architects designed small glazed recessed balconies of different sizes and different geometric shapes, which essentially become an indispensable part of the inner space of the apartment. By employing this technique, the architects are proposing to solve the problem of outlaw balcony glazing. Yet another typical problem is using the balconies as emergency exits. This solution is both inconvenient (because the extra stairways eat up an extra part of that valuable balcony space and are a nuisance for the residents) and ineffective (because a lot of residents remove their sections of the stairways and stop the openings, in spite of the fact that doing this is illegal). In this specific instance, the architects were able to afford to make two inside emergency staircases, thus freeing all the terraces and balconies from that extra functional load. This made it possible to place the balconies virtually in any conceivable part of the façades. Some of the apartments could get not just one but two such balconies or terraces. Although such planning entails a pretty inconvenient corridor, the architects are promising to make up for this inconvenience by breaking up the longish passage into fragments and decorating it in a nice and interesting way.

However, the main result of the freedom of action that the architects got this way was a great number of floor planning options: more than 30 types of apartments, from 35 square meter studios to 160 square meter giants. As we remember, there are no problems with insolation of the façades, and the apartments can be also positioned in different ways. Each of the proposed floor plans has its own strong point: at some places, corner terraces appear, or fragments of living rooms of interesting configuration, at some places a great summer recreation area can be set up, at some places, the bathroom pops up not just next to the bedroom but also next to the terrace (which is extra-convenient), at some places appears a large living room that commands fine city views, at some places – a capacious kitchen or anteroom; some of the apartments can even comfortably house two generations of grownups (two families, in fact), which will not get in each other’s way. And it is this diversity of layouts that fully addresses all of the most diverse behavioral needs that the architects see as the foundation of the future commercial success of their project.

In search for new approaches to organizing the life of the families, the architects even came up with a new housing typology – an urban townhouse within a high-rise. From the side of the street, the bottom floors of the towers will be quite habitually occupied by shops, restaurants and other public places, while the inside “transition” yard will be commanded by two-level apartments with an area of about 120 square meters, which will also boast a small terrace with railings. This solution is not exactly a cure-all thing but in many ways it is advantageous because it allows the architects to completely free the residential yard of any public areas, at the same time providing a high level of comfort for the residents of the bottom floors: the bedrooms can be elevated to the second level, while the hedgerow will ensure the necessary level of privacy of the bottom residential floor.

“It stands to reason that because of the fact that we significantly exceeded the height limit our competition proposal is likely to have a lot of opponents – admits Alexander Popov – However, according to our observations, the public opinion on the maximum allowed construction height is not carved in stone: 15 years ago everyone in Moscow tried to build as high as possible; now we are seeing the reverse trend. On the other hand, in London, for example, they are designing and building about 400 high-rise projects, while about a decade ago this figure was two or three times less. The last thing that we want to say is “no, you can’t build them anywhere” or “yes, you can build them everywhere”. What you’ve got to do is think and make out for yourself in which cases the height restrictions do serve to keep up the scale of the environment that surrounds monuments of architecture, and in which cases these restrictions only serve to make architectural monuments out of recently built projects that took into account these restrictions. Because it is thanks to the contrast between the scale of the historical buildings and the new buildings (which are subject to height restrictions) that the recently-built high-rise record breakers involuntarily become architectural centerpieces, the vis-a-vis of the cathedrals and belfries towering above the old town – but here is the question: do they bear the conceptual and esthetic load that stands up to the high status of architectural landmarks?”

17 February 2017

Headlines now

Object

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.

News

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.

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.

​High-rise Proposal

For the Kiev-based architects Alexander Popov and Dmitry Vasiliev, working with the territory of “Filikrovlya” became the first project they ever did for Moscow. Daringly, yet for a reason, the architects broke the height restrictions.

High-rise Proposal