The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

Remodeling the building of the former Sytin printing house on the Pyatnitskaya Street into a modern housing complex, Nikita Biryukov and his team fought a losing battle against the technical specifications – and, instead of the red-brick industrial character of the building, they accentuated the bourgeois nature of the building’s original Art Nouveau style.

Written by:
Lilya Aronova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

11 December 2017

Object

About the competition and the venue of the “First Exemplary Printing Works”

The starting point for the authors of the project that was submitted to the competition by the architectural firm ABV was the epoch when the historical buildings of the printing house were erected – at the brink of the XIX-XX centuries. The forming of the bourgeoisie as a class and new artistic trends closely connected to this process, chief among them being the birth of the Art Nouveau style, these processes, abruptly stopped by the well-known historical events, became the basis of Nikita Biryukov’s concept. It is the bourgeois character (in the best sense of the term) of this heritage site that Nikita Biryukov proposed to make the “visiting card” of the complex. “This is a complex for confident people” – in this nutshell the authors define the target group for their project.

zooming — Contest project of renovating the First Exemplary Printing Works. Building 1 © ABV Group

The architects saw their mission first of all in restoring the historical silhouette of the main building of the printing house. The main “evil” came in the form of the soviet-time fifth-floor buildup that leveled out the line of the façade, thus ruining the architect’s original idea – according to the ABV project, this fifth floor will be dismantled, and in its stead the building will get a mansard which, being recessed deeper into the building, will not violate its characteristic silhouette. Instead of one “soviet” floor, the authors were able to get a yield of two full-fledged ones, while, sinking the buildup of the top-floor apartments, they got an entrance to the terraces. The façade itself is designed in exquisite beige-and-gray tones, decorated with delicately sculptured elements, while the windows of the first floor are lowered virtually down to the ground in order to place their the showcases of the stores – naturally, the expensive and prestigious ones, the kind that should be there in a respectable bourgeois complex.

As far as developing the range of apartment configurations was concerned, it turned out to be a challenging brain teaser for the authors of the project. Trying to plan out the apartments in accordance with the technical specifications, they were confronted with the fact that these specifications were in conflict with the existing structure of the building: the space between the bearing columns, the ceiling vaults, and the arrangement of the windows – which, basically, came as no surprise, because what Erichson and Shukhov originally designed was not a housing complex but a production facility. In the course of the design work it turned out that the partitions would bump into the window sashes, the windows would “stick” to the walls, the vaults would break at most unexpected points, and, generally, the proportions of the rooms left much to be desired. Since the building itself is a heritage site, and making any changes to its walls was out of the question, it left only one way out – meaning, sacrificing the specifications. The authors of the project offered the client their own version of planning – with rooms of correct proportions, efficient arrangement of windows, plus, as a bonus, the attic level that the architects were able to “cut out” on the second floor – and, luckily, the client agreed with their reasoning. “What we did was turn the print house into a residential complex – summarized one of the authors of the project Valentin Ostroumov – Without downgrading their quality or damaging the heritage site”.

In all the other building units the architects did not have to step away from the technical specifications, although in each case the task was different and challenging. Unit 2, stretching along the 2nd Monetchikovsky Alley, is distinct not only for its considerable length but also for an unbelievable depth by housing construction standards – over twenty meters – which, again, poses a formidable challenge for planning apartments which, if the standard approach is used, end up being of a huge square footage. The architects were able to solve both problems simultaneously at the expense of the façade design solutions – we shall remind you at this point that, according to the specifications, only the basic framework was to be kept intact, while all the other structures were to be erected anew. Sunken into the depth of the façade, the elevator shafts divided the volume of the building into four parts, so unlike one another that a casual observer could easily mistake them for four independent compact buildings standing in a row. The difference lies in both the materials used – coating stone, ceramic tiles, then stone again – and in the colors, as well as in the very plastique of the buildings: squares of the recessed windows with French balconies alternate with the “bellows” of the triangular bay windows. Getting back to the diversity of the apartments issue: such “active” façades, biting deep into the flesh of the building, allowed the architects to bring the apartments to more or less reasonable square footage.

Yet another building unit of the printing house that faces the Garden Ring never tried to compete with the main building in terms of splendor but is nonetheless elegant and harmonious in its reserved appearance. The authors of the project stress its “discreet charm” by clearing the gray mother-of-pearl façade with an odd inclusion of beige, accentuating the decorative elements, characteristic for Art-Nouveau and again pushing the mansard inwards in order to avoid spoiling the exquisite silhouette of the attics.

The only red-brick building in the ABV project is the former hostel for the workers of the Sytin printing house that stands inside the yard. In this instance, the architects restore the decorative brickwork, and as for the top level, where the number of floors varies today from three to four, the architects level it out by using that same brick mansard with terraces. Due to the fact that, even with its buildup, this unit is the lowest in the complex, the authors of the project proposed to landscape the roof with plants, thus making it a part of the yard, adding extra beauty to the views commanded by the windows of the upper, most prestigious, floors of the surrounding houses. As for the yard, the architects are planning to put a lot of greenery into it; the intricate arabesques of flowerbeds and trails seem to be meant to soften some certain brutality of the industrial architecture of the former printing house.

Incidentally, as for the last building, the one that is in construction at the crossing of the Monetchikovsky alleys, the authors of the project also decided to design it based on some certain stylistic opposition. “I would say that it is more ladylike – Valentin Ostroumov comments – All the other buildings around it are prominently masculine, and we decided to make this specific building more on the feminine side”. Squeezed from all sides by the vice of insolation regulations, in this particular instance the authors of the project could only express themselves in the façade design: the building got a coating of light-colored bricks, vertically crossed by a dark strip of French windows grouped in threes – any woman knows that a vertical stripe makes you look thinner! – and, quite unexpectedly, colorful decorative inserts just below the mansard’s roof which refer us to the luxurious ornamentalism of the Moscow Art-Nouveau, this closing a “stylistic loop” of the architecture of the former Sytin printing house.

11 December 2017

Written by:

Lilya Aronova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

Headlines now

Object

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Object

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”.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Interview

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Interview

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Review

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.

Object

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.

Report

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.

Object

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!

Contest Results

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Report

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.

Report

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.

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.

​The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie