Considerate Guest

In the historical part of Saint Petersburg, Anatoly Stolyarchuk has designed a residential building with an attitude, yet still friendly towards its neighbors.

Written by:
Alyona Kuznetsova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

21 November 2017

Object

Architect:

Firm:

Anatoly Stolyarchuk Architectural Studio

The city block in which this house is being built is part of one of the historical industrial parks that survived into the present on Saint Petersburg’s Petrograd Side. In the 1920’s, a knitting factory was built here by the project of Erich Mendelson. The factory was named “Krasnoe Znamya” (“The Red Banner”), and today it is chiefly known for the expressive silhouette of its power station: the architect himself compared it to a “flagship that tows up all the production cycle”. The building influenced the development of the Leningrad avant-garde, and, for some time, it was a symbol of the Soviet industrialization and even a symbol of the city (in the 1930’s its picture was on the cover of the tourist guide).

zooming — Perspective view © Anatoly Stolyarchuk architects, 2017

Up until this year, the building of the station, as well as the factory and its surrounding territory were in a state of suspended animation: the land went from one owner to another, some predicted that one day this place would become the Russian Tate Modern, while others had serious misgivings about its future fate. In 2016, they started building a housing complex named “Mendelson” literally window to window with the power station upon the project of Evgeny Podgornov, and this drew a serious responce: a lot of local preservation activists demanded that the new construction be stopped and the building be taken down; the International Council on Monuments and Sites looked into the matter, and the Smolny finally OK’ed the beginning of the restoration work.

The power station is the doubtless centerpiece and the “star” of this suburban area of the Petrograd Side. Currently, all of its surroundings are changing together with it: buildings get restored and adjusted to fit new functions; voids get filled with office buildings and housing projects, and even the historical buildings of the nearby Mozhaisky Military and Space Academy are clad in scaffolding.

The land plot that Anatoly Stolyarchuk got to work with is located across from the road and diagonally from the power station. Currently, it is a wasteland with rather mottled surroundings: factory buildings alternate with houses of unknown origin and brand-new business centers. The main goal that the architects set for themselves was making sure that they do not violate the historically formed surroundings and make sure that there is no dissonance. However, another goal, just as important, was to avoid copying the style of the surrounding houses, and make a unique architectural statement of one’s own.

The plan of the land site prompted dividing the building into two major volumes. This way, the architects got a rectangular “white” unit and a slightly sunken-in “red” one that turns round into the depth of the city block. If we are to look at the façade from the Pionersksya Street, we will find that these two volumes are fractured horizontally with color and the window pattern in such a way as to pick up the height of the surrounding buildings. The resulting “cascading” pattern creates an unusual effect: as if the house already “lived” for some time, and at some point a buildup of a few extra floors. In this narrative, even the mansard, which was the client’s special request, becomes appropriate. Essentially, the façade projects to the street the architectural “herbage”, which is hidden in the yard, but in a slightly “combed-up” stylized manner. It is spontaneous yet at the same time pristine, like a guest who is dressing up for a party with carefully thought-out carelessness.

Rather lengthy (around 40 meters), the façade is dissected vertically as well: the broad bands of the stanzas refer us to the stained glass windows of the factories and alternate with “perforation” of the square windows and narrow glazing strips. The neat rows of balconies in the top part of the building turn into a “staggered” order in the lower part. These little balconies are meant for the air conditioning units, the chaotic installation of which by the tenants is, according to Anatoly Stolyarchuk, something that causes architects inevitable pain.

The color and the material (the decoration is fully executed from brick) also drop a courtesy to the surrounding houses: the conditionally red building is “clad” in the same tones with the neighboring factory buildings, while the white one picks up the colors of the other neighbors.

Ultimately, the building, although slightly higher than the power station of “Krasnoe Znamya” (its cornice height is 28 meters, and its total height is 33), does not make a parade of its height and does not look as if it wants to dominate. On the contrary, it pays all kinds of visual homage to its surroundings, without losing its dignity. Anatoly Stolyarchuk is hoping that there will be no antagonism here: “The power station has a strong plastique language of its own, with which it makes a bold statement, while what we’ve built is a background-type reserved-looking house”. This is proven by the visualization of interaction points between the power station and the future house developed by the Committee on State Control, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Landmarks.

The first floor is occupied by shops and restaurants. Because of the slight breakaway of the “red” building, the edge turned out to be a “living” one, making this part of the street interesting for the passes-by. The architects enhanced this effect by making in the “white” building a gallery that leads to a broad pavement with large shop windows of the “red” one. Between these, there is a hidden entrance to the building; two other entrances are situated in the yard, where the façade grows even more reserved yet by no means monotonous.

Floors from 2 to 10 include apartments – their layouts were handed down to the architects “pre-packed” from the marketing experts of the project, which doubtlessly complicated their work.

The basement floor includes a parking garage, the entrance to which is situated on the Pionerskaya Street from the side of the “white” building.

Anatoly Stolyarchuk stresses that simplicity and laconism are what the architects were about working on this project. This means not only the architects’ respect to the city and their predecessors but also a fair amount of confidence – they were able to design something simple yet at the same time flashy-looking. What also helped was the understanding that the architects achieved with the client whose notion of beauty matched the authors’ project proposal (it would be appropriate to recall here the project of another building designed by this architectural firm, which was built amidst a similar context on the Mira Street yet with bigger difficulties).

This building not only “fixes a hole” in the street – it “takes root” in its new place, intertwining with everything that was there before it came around. Such examples can hopefully change the people’s attitude towards new construction carried out in the historical areas, of which most of Saint Petersburg people are still pretty wary, and for a good reason, too.

Architect:

Firm:

Anatoly Stolyarchuk Architectural Studio

21 November 2017

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

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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.

​Considerate Guest

In the historical part of Saint Petersburg, Anatoly Stolyarchuk has designed a residential building with an attitude, yet still friendly towards its neighbors.

Considerate Guest