A Smart Street

Kiev’s “Fayna Town” is yet another step for ARKHIMATIKA in the direction of perfecting their housing complexes, from low-rise planning, open city blocks, and thought-out promenades to such seemingly insignificant details as barbecue spots and charging slots for smartphones.

Written by:
Darya Gorelova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

14 February 2018

Object

The territory of the future “Fayna Town” housing complex is located at the west suburb of Kiev, in the district of Nivki, situated between a string of parks in the valley of the Syrets River and the territory of the Antonov Aviation Technological Complex. The five-story houses that were built here in the 1960’s are now overgrown with trees; there are also large surviving clusters of low-rise privately owned cottages, and the “Cherry Garden” park nearby – the choice of the location for the new housing complex is quite successful. The transportation accessibility is ensured by the “Nivki” metro station, which is about a 15-minutes’ walk away, and the Brest-Litovskoe Highway, along the length of which, as a matter of fact, the metro line goes, and which at this particular segment is called “Prospect Pobedy” (“Victory Avenue”).

The housing complex is going to be a large one – it must cover the territory of about 40 hectares, which is currently occupied by vegetable gardens and greenhouses of the Selkhozpoligon (which literally translates as “agricultural testing ground”) and the buildings of Kiev’s Expoplaza, which will also be replaced by the housing complex. It is here, in the north part of the territory stretching along the Salutnaya Street, that the construction of the first stage will take place, which will also include the tallest buildings of the complex ranging from 9 to 19 stories high.

Generally, however, the complex only slightly “outgrows” its five-story surroundings. From north to south, the number of floors gradually decreases, first to 6-9, and then to 4-5 in the last south side stage of construction bordering on the private cottages area. The low-rise quality of the housing complex is something that the architects deservedly take pride in: in this day and age of soaring new houses, especially in metropolitan cities (and Kiev can be definitely described as one), the authors of the project were able to convince the developer in the correctitude of their approach, which not only yields crazy amounts of square meters but also forms a comfortable city environment that become one of the competitive edges of the complex. As for the client, KAN Development, it is not the first time that ARKHIMATIKA works with this company: they have already built a housing complex named “Comfort Town”, whose bright façades and silhouettes of pitched roofs livened up the context of the left bank of the Dnipro River. This complex was not of the high-rise type either – from 2 to 14 floors.

The houses inside the complex follow the principle of modern city block planning: the sections are grouped together around vehicle-free yards, the driveways are situated in between the blocks, and these driveways have spots of overland parking lots strung on them (there are no underground parking garages but the architects have designed two multilevel overland ones closer to the Tupoleva Street in the western part of the complex). However, in full accordance with the principle practiced by ARKHIMATIKA, the city blocks are not closed – they are “half-open”. This allows the architects to make the most of the benefits of the city block planning (first of all, the private yards), and avoid its drawbacks, namely, the excessive closeness, the “well” yard effect, and too much shade. For this reason, the city blocks are opened up southward. In some places, however, they form a snaky zigzag, and a slab appears between two frames.

zooming — "Fayna Town" housing complex. First stage of construction © ARKHIMATIKA

Just as diverse are the buildings’ silhouettes: at the corners of the blocks, the buildings are 2 or 3 stories higher, and, in addition, oftentimes one section inside the “link” also slightly rises, in this case, livening up the composition with a single-side roof pitch. “This technique is very convenient for getting a maximum number of corner apartments, the most advantageous and popular layout option – the architects explain – A regular city block has only four corners in it, but this way we were able to get a yield of 16-20 corner apartments from each block”.

The layouts of the apartments in this housing complex are a separate subject that is worth mentioning. The five houses of the first construction stage are already offering 40 layout configurations – from single-room apartments and studios to 3-room and two-story apartments. As we already shared, ARKHIMATIKA came up its own efficient approach to designing the apartment floor plans, calling it “PRO” – it ensures that not a single square meter goes to waste, the architects claim. And, while TIME housing complex had about 97%, of such apartments, Fayna Town has a full 100%.

Back to the layout of the complex, though! The architects “opened up” the otherwise closed city blocks for a purpose: their vehicle-free yards are united in a single pedestrian network, which, in turn, forms what you might call a “distributed park”. Walking around, one will be able to easily get from one yard to another; this way the residents will be guaranteed a variety of impressions and acquaintances instead of living in a closed private little world. Frankly speaking, this advantage was brought over into the city block planning from the Soviet “micro-district” type – and the architects ultimately came up with the right hybrid idea.

When still in the stage of a pre-project survey, the authors discovered a string of 50-year-old fir trees in the middle of the land site, and decided to keep the trees intact. This alley will become a promenade and a crosswise pedestrian axis. The promenade will also have a 3-km bicycle trail running in the middle of it; it will become the axis of the pedestrian promenade and provide the connection between most of the pedestrian zones turning them into a huge single promenade. “At some places it will be narrow, and at some places wide – the architects share – and at two points it will pass over a driveway like a bicycle and pedestrian bridge”.

The authors also designed a highly sophisticated infrastructure: two private kindergartens and an elementary school, a supermarket, a fitness center, sports fields, recreation areas, and, curiously enough, two barbecue spots (which is not to be encountered in any new housing complex in Kiev). Due to the fact that the territory will be a public place, the infrastructure will also be used by the residents of the surrounding houses, which, in turn, will increase the client base of the local businesses operating on the territory of Comfort Town.

The buildings belonging to the first construction stage (which will be built already in 2018), as we remember, will be built in the place of the former Expoplaza hangars, alongside the Salutnaya Street, three houses in the eastern part being built first. This is the only border of the complex that runs alongside a busy highway with a bus route, and because of that the architects’ task was to develop its strong points as a city street – as opposed to the “quiet and homely” area inside. Here the buildings are larger, and the height difference is greater – from 16 to 9 floors.

“What we did was we looked at the Kreshchatik Street, measured its pedestrian part and found out that its length was about 450 meters, almost the same as the length of our street section – Dmitry Vasilyev explains – And we decided to turn our fragment of the Salutnaya Street into a promenade, with a dense array of cafes and shops. The city environment will be quite different here – busy and bustling”. For this, all the first floors of the street are turned into shop windows, and the premises are reserved for commercial leasing.

The authors provided for the territory organization as well: trees, benches, fashionable filed herbs in the flowerbeds; between the houses there are summer terraces of the cafes. This is not just territory organization but, just as was the case with the apartment plans, it is the PRO version of it: it rests on the concept of a smart street which was proposed by the creative partner of ARKHIMATIKA Andrey Brazhnik from the company “Kulman-Workshop”, a “smart” kind of city environment that reacts to the presence of people – for example, making the street lights brighter when there are many people around and dimming it in order to save the power when there is nobody there. This concept also includes modern services, such as the opportunity to charge your smartphone while sitting on a bench or electric cars charging stations. These, by the way, are designed not only on the city street but also on the promenade.

The yards of the houses of the first construction stage also have a lot of thought-out details about them: geo plastics, trees, galleries on the first floors and private terraces for their residents.

The façades of the first stage, just as all their successors, for that matter, are all subjugated to the theme of pristine modernism of vertical proportions. But then again, the plastic diversity is interesting to the architects just as much, especially in the case with two “accent” houses at the northeast and northwest corners which play the role of the “visiting cards” of the complex; one of them overlooks the city standing almost next to the crossroads, the other faces the Aviation Technological Complex but it complements the first one.

The towers are light-colored, almost white. Between them stretches a horizontal block of dark cherry colored brick, its scale and proportions being approximately like those of a five-story building. In terms of plastique, however, it is a bright colorful accent, I would say, in the spirit of MVRDV experiments. Higher up, there is a glass stripe, and there is yet another horizontal above it – a beige one consisting of shallow but still noticeable “television-shaped” projections.

This is the most plastique and the most accentuated part of complex. As we move deeper into the complex, the design solutions become more reserved and not as textured, although the depth of the façades, the diversity of color, and the visual fracturing of the houses, resonant with the structure of the street of the XIX century, “when the estate properties were small” is kept throughout the project as the guiding principle. The color in this case is respectable to the point of conservative, unlike the rainbow-like Comfort Town: the color range includes beige, white, light-gray, brown, and mahogany.

“We are looking to create a comfortable architectural environment for everybody, including children and the elderly, pedestrians, cyclists, athletes, and, yes, drivers too – Alexander Popov says – We are positive that such approach ensures a win-win situation for everyone, residents and developers alike, because housing with a large set of advantageous options sells a lot better”.

14 February 2018

Written by:

Darya Gorelova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

Headlines now

Inverted Fortress

This year, there has been no shortage of intriguing architectural ideas around the Omsk airport. The project developed by the architectural company KPLN appeals to Omsk’s history as a wooden fortress that it was back in the day, but transforms the concept of a fortress beyond recognition: it “shaves off” the conical ends of “wooden logs”, then enlarges them, and then flips them over. The result is a hypostyle – a forest of conical columns on point supports, with skylights on top.

The Paradox of the Temporary

The concept of the Russian pavilion for EXPO 2025 in Osaka, proposed by the Wowhaus architects, is the last of the six projects we gathered from the 2022 competition. It is again worth noting that the results of this competition were not finalized due to the cancellation of Russia’s participation in World Expo 2025. It should be mentioned that Wowhaus created three versions for this competition, but only one is being presented, and it can’t be said that this version is thoroughly developed – rather, it is done in the spirit of a “student assignment”. Nevertheless, the project is interesting in its paradoxical nature: the architects emphasized the temporary character of the pavilion, and in its bubble-like forms sought to reflect the paradoxes of space and time.

The Forum of Time

The competition project for the Russian Pavilion at EXPO 2025 in Osaka designed by Aleksey Orlov and Arena Project Institute consists of cones and conical funnels connected into a non-trivial composition, where one can feel the hand of architects who have worked extensively with stadiums and other sports facilities. It’s very interesting to delve into its logic, structurally built on the theme of clocks, hourglasses and even sundials. Additionally, the architects have turned the exhibition pavilion into a series of interconnected amphitheaters, which is also highly relevant for world exhibitions. We are reminding you that the competition results were never announced.

Mirrors Everywhere

The project by Sergey Nebotov, Anastasia Gritskova, and the architectural company “Novoe” was created for the Russian pavilion at EXPO 2025, but within the framework of another competition, which, as we learned, took place even earlier, in 2021. At that time, the competition theme was “digital twins”, and there was minimal time for work, so the project, according to the architect himself, was more of a “student assignment”. Nevertheless, this project is interesting for its plan bordering on similarity with Baroque projects and the emblem of the exhibition, as well as its diverse and comprehensive reflectiveness.

Report

The Steppe Is Full of Beauty and Freedom

The goal of the exhibition “Dikoe Pole” (“Wild Field”) at the State Historical Museum was to move away from the archaeological listing of valuable items and to create an image of the steppe and nomads that was multidirectional and emotional – in other words, artistic. To achieve this goal, it was important to include works of contemporary art. One such work is the scenography of the exhibition space developed by CHART studio.

The Snowstorm Fish

The next project from the unfinished competition for the Russian Pavilion at EXPO 2025, which will be held in Osaka, Japan, is by Dashi Namdakov and Parsec Architects. The pavilion describes itself as an “architectural/sculptural” one, with its shape clearly reminiscent of abstract sculpture of the 1970s. It complements its program with a meditative hall named “Mendeleev’s Dreams”, and offers its visitors to slide from its roof at the end of the tour.

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

Construction has begun on the building of the OMK (United Metallurgical Company) Corporate University in Nizhny Novgorod’s town of Vyksa, designed by Ostozhenka Architects. The most interesting aspect of the project is how the architects immersed it in the context: “extracting” a diagonal motif from the planning grid of Vyksa, they aligned the building, the square, and the park to match it. A truly masterful work with urban planning context on several different levels of perception has long since become the signature technique of Ostozhenka.

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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.

​A Smart Street

Kiev’s “Fayna Town” is yet another step for ARKHIMATIKA in the direction of perfecting their housing complexes, from low-rise planning, open city blocks, and thought-out promenades to such seemingly insignificant details as barbecue spots and charging slots for smartphones.

A Smart Street