Kleinewelt Architekten: "In each of our projects we try to fix the world"

In this issue, we are speaking to Nikolai and Sergey Pereslegins and George Trofimov, partners and founders of Kleinewelt Architekten, about their outlook on what matters most in the profession of an architect.

Interviewed by:
Elena Petukhova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

02 February 2017

Interview

Architect:

Firm:

Kleinewelt Architekten http://www.kleinewelt.ru/

The architectural company Kleinewelt Architekten was created in 2013 by three partners: Nikolai and Sergey Pereslegins and George Trofimov. Over the last few years, the company has been able to have its projects built in Moscow as well as in the regions, and won a few large-scale closed competitions for privately owned companies.

Archi.ru:
– How did you choose your profession?

Nikolai Pereslegin:
– Ever since I was a kid, the most exciting thing for me was coming up with some different worlds and creating some different spaces. The way I see it, the profession of an architect presents a great number of opportunities and fields for applying most diverse skills that you may have – including the ability to listen to your opponent, or, on the other hand, to prove your point. My parents graduated from Moscow Institute of Architecture, and my grandmother was also an architect. So, to me, the choice of my profession was based on a whole number of personal factors, one of them being my family background.

Sergey Pereslegin:
– As for me, I always wanted to create things - maybe of a completely different nature but things that I would be proud to show to the world, things that would be there to stay. I considered different options - including but not limited to microbiology. But at some point in time I realized that abstract or fundamental science just wasn't my thing. I wanted to see the results of my work, and I wanted people to see them. But "scientific research" approach was something that I tried to keep, and it helps us immensely in our work.

George Trofimov:
– My choice of profession was absolutely deliberate and by no means accidental. Ever since I was a kid, I loved drawing, making houses from a construction kit, and I seemed to be always making things. And it was my love of inventing and creating things that ultimately lead me to architecture. But before I became an architect I tried my hand at different creative professions. Among other things, I worked as a graphic designer and a photographer. Here is the takeaway from this experience: 99% of any creative product is short-lived and is designed for a really short service life, architecture being about the only exception. The very realization of the fact that you are working for a long-term perspective, that you are doing something serious, something that is meant to be there for ages, is a huge motivator that feeds your creative energy. And this, of course, leaves its mark on our approach to doing things.

What we don’t like is any "packaged" or "prefabricated" solutions. We always come up with new ideas, from simple things to complicated façade projects.

– And what is the subject matter of your research? Shapes? Scenarios of how human beings will live inside your projects?

Nikolai Pereslegin: As a prime mover, the subject matter of our research is, as a rule, the human beings themselves. The most interesting thing about all this is to see how totally different people will react to this or that solution of ours, how these solutions will affect their mood or worldview. This is really exciting – trying to model this or that scenario for the people in order to introduce new values into the reality, values that are important to us.

Sergey Pereslegin: Also, I would like to add that very often the subject matter of our research is information. The first stage of solving any task that we have is about collecting information that will help us to better understand what is required of our project and what makes it different. This can be information from totally different levels – from historical to social, from cultural to functional, or even from the day-to-day operation level.

George Trofimov: What we don’t do is mindless shape-making. Anything we do, we do it for a reason.

Nikolai Pereslegin: The first stage of any of our projects is the scientific survey. We process huge amounts of information; the first sketches come later on down the line.

Sergey Pereslegin: It is this survey that enables us to turn the project into a discovery or an invention.

zooming — The founders of Kleinewelt Architekten: Nikolai Pereslegin, Sergey Pereslegin, and George Trofimov. Photo © K. Shelukhin

– At which point do you get down to the design stage?

Nikolai Pereslegin: Our company has a rather strict set of management rules and all the workflows are clearly organized, first of all, in terms of meeting the deadlines. And this gives us the opportunity to work without distraction.

Sergey Pereslegin: Yes, you can go on accumulating your information forever. But at some point we realize that we have enough information and we can get down to actual work.

George Trofimov: And, of course, by all means, we do not downplay the role of intuition in our creative process.

– How does intuition fit in with the design project narrative?

George Trofimov: Well, and how are the great discoveries made? Nobody knows! We gather the information, we think it over, and then we start developing some ideas. The creative search begins.

– So how do you view shape per se then? How important is it to you?

Nikolai Pereslegin: We think discussing separately your shapes, your planning, and your materials to be an unprofessional approach. We do not consider ourselves as some creators of great art who can draw, say, a beautiful curve, and then everybody is obliged to come running to implement it. But we do our work really well. We bring together a huge number of really different elements and solutions in order to create a really interesting high-quality space. What is the most important, however, is the feeling, the mood that it creates for the people, which ultimately defines their lifestyle. We are the producers of life, no less.

– And what kind of mood should people be put into? What feelings are your projects supposed to inspire?

Nikolai Pereslegin: What matters to us are the basic human values, and we want our projects to make people kinder, make them think of building and creating rather than destroying and conflicting. We try to appeal to the highest feelings and values – these notions might be a bit on the abstract side but you still can get them across through these or those specific design solutions. Combining our knowledge of technology and the emotion that we put into our work, we try to build in such a way that the life that will take place in our buildings and spaces would make people happy every living second.

– Generally, what is Kleinewelt Architekten is about? What words would you use to describe your architecture?

George Trofimov: Of course, we all are individuals but any of our projects is the result of collective work of a whole team of specialists. Any solution that one can see in our projects is the result of repeated discussions and heated debates. We always organize our inner competitions when for about an hour the whole company goes wild, everybody doing his sketches, and then we pick what we think is the best solution and we choose the direction in which to go.

Nikolai Pereslegin: The identity of our architecture is formed thanks to the three layers that our every project consists of. The first layer is science. The second layer is all about our meditation and our emotions. And the third layer is actually about working on the project. Thanks to this approach, our every solution, our every façade, and our every space are rationally justified and individual.

Sergey Pereslegin: A huge mark is also made by the inner code of honor that has formed in the course of multiple discussions and that covers the basic principles and fundamentals of our work. For example, we know for sure that under no circumstances shall we do an imitation selling plastic as wood or stone. This is what I would call “material integrity”.

– Are you ever confronted with a problem of finding a unique architectural language of your own?

George Trofimov: This problem is solved within the framework of each individual project, and it is strongly dependent on the specific architectural task. For example, if the location or the function calls for some bold statement, we, of course, will not be shy to go ahead and make it.

Nikolai Pereslegin: In each of our projects, we try mend a piece of time-torn or time-worn fabric in order to help this fabric live longer. In each of our projects, we try to fix the world, and each time we try to find the right wrench or the right screwdriver so as to make things fit perfectly, and, God forbid, ни в коем случае не сорвать. But when we understand that there is nothing left to fix here, and the only option is to create something entirely new, we just go ahead and do it, creating this fragment of the world from scratch. And if we commit ourselves to making a new world, make no mistake, it will be a very good one!

Architect:

Firm:

Kleinewelt Architekten http://www.kleinewelt.ru/

02 February 2017

Headlines now

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

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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

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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.

Overview

Vertical Civilization

Genpro considered the development of the vertical city concept and made it the theme of their pavilion at the “ArchMoscow” exhibition.

Interview

Marina Yegorova: “We think in terms of hectares, not square meters”

The career path of architect Marina Yegorova is quite impressive: MARHI, SPEECH, MosComArchitectura, the Genplan Institute of Moscow, and then her own architectural company. Its name Empate, which refers to the words “to draw” in Portuguese and “to empathize” in English, should not be misleading with its softness, as the firm freely works on different scales, including Integrated Territorial Development projects. We talked with Marina about various topics: urban planning experience, female leadership style, and even the love of architects for yachting.

​Kleinewelt Architekten: "In each of our projects we try to fix the world"

In this issue, we are speaking to Nikolai and Sergey Pereslegins and George Trofimov, partners and founders of Kleinewelt Architekten, about their outlook on what matters most in the profession of an architect.

Kleinewelt Architekten: "In each of our projects we try to fix the world"