Pavel Andreev: “House 17 on Bolshaya Nikitskaya is indeed historical and authentic”

In this issue, we are talking to the author of the 1992-1995 reconstruction of the building, try to find out what specifically was reconstructed, and publish the drafts that prove that the historical nucleus of the house was preserved both inside and outside.

Interviewed by:
Julia Tarabarina
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

29 January 2019

Interview

The possibility of demolition of the so-called “Buloshnikov Tenement House” at Bolshaya Nikitskaya, 17, building 1, coupled with the possibility of building on that spot a housing project up to nine stories high, became one of the loudest Moscow scandals of the beginning of this year. At the same time, a question arose: is this house, so ardently defended by local preservation activists, truly authentic? Or was it simply rebuilt from scratch in the 1990’s? We met with the author of the reconstruction project, Pavel Andreev, and Interviewed him about the project. A spoiler: the house was preserved in its original condition, even though it got additions from the yard side. So, in short, yes, it is authentic.

zooming — Buloshnikov House, Bolshaya Nikitskaya, 17, Building 1.

In 1995, when you worked on reconstructing House 17, Building 1 on the Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street, what was essentially this project about? Was it restoration, reconstruction, or was the building completely torn down and then rebuilt from scratch?

The house was kept fully intact, the bearing structures and the façade decor alike. We conducted a long-term research of the building – as far as I can remember, we started working with it in 1992. The house was severely damaged, there were leaks all over the place, it was infected with fungus, the basement was terribly damp, probably, because of breakdowns of the utility lines. We deepened the basement by about a meter, then we reinforced it, and cured the walls from the fungus. Concurrently to that, they were building a collector on Bolshaya Nikitskaya, and the underground work turned out to be rather challenging, first of all because of the decision to keep the bearing structures. There was a rather lengthy period of making the wall injections, penetrating and so on. The walls of all the three floors, both the outside bearing walls and the inside ones, and the whole volume remained original, which is clearly visible on the plans of the working documents stage.

Measurements before the reconstruction:

Project documents:

There are six vaulted cells in the basement...

We cleared the vaults and sandblasted the bricks they were made of. After we lowered the basement floor, the height of the inner space became about 2.5 meters. For a while, that place hosted a beer restaurant – one of the investors was Austrian, which determined its specialty. Our client bought somewhere a lot of photographs of old Moscow, posted them on the walls, and it created a really nice atmosphere.

What additions did you make in the course of reconstruction?

There were three versions of the schematic design, one of them including an elongated annex stretching into the depth of the Maly Kislovsky Side-street. What we ultimately chose was the version with a longitudinal annex, which made the volume of the building thicker but at the same time allowed us to raise the height of the crest of the roof without having to change its tilt angle. We placed the ventilation system in there, completely hiding it under the roof. The attic is unheated; the air induction is performed through the latticed gable windows. It never ceases to amaze me that today a lot of architects design their mechanical floors as boxes, while you can just easily hide them the way that we did.

On the street side, the cornice runs above a small attic ledge, on the yard side it is raised a little higher, and in the middle part, underneath the attic, the building got a rather spacious attic floor.

Who proposed the idea of adding a dome on the corner?

I did. There was a rounded corner without a door, we made an entrance in the corner, behind which the bank lobby is situated. This entrance door needed an accent, and the dome became such an accent. I must say that it only popped up in the final versions – originally, we had no such idea.

How authentic is the façade decor?

For the most part, it’s truly original – we measured all the details and filled in the missing links – mind, with stucco, not with polystyrene foam. I think that our work with the façade can be arguably classified as restoration, which was appropriately recorded at the time. As far as the color of the façades was concerned, we selected it by the building’s current name – Green House – and it must be said that it was slightly mismatched with the concept that was at the time being developed for Moscow.

Did the house have a protected status back in 1992-1995?

No, it didn’t.

The decision to preserve the house with all of its bearing walls as a valuable part of the city environment was collectively made by the experts of the Heritage Site Protection Department, headed at the time by Vladimir Sokolovsky. The discussion also included such prominent experts as Victor Sheredega, Aleksey Kurennoy, and Vladimir Chernyshenko. Back then, it was all decided on the level of the people who really cared for the preservation of the historical heritage: in the course of the discussion, the preservation principles were defined that later on formed the basis for the technical specifications and still later on, having taken the shape of a project, were considered by the council of the Heritage Site Protection Department, after which they took the form of official approvals.

Here is the thing – when professional and competent people consider this or that matter, they can see beyond classified, specifically, see a house that formally does not have a protected status and define the principles of working with it, decide how far you can go with changing things. Back in those days, there were fewer architectural heritage buildings – today we have about four thousands of them.

If you ask me what is more important, the monument of architecture or the environment I will answer without hesitation that the environment is more important. Just imagine – you tear down the entire city altogether, leaving just a few monuments of architecture – and you’ll lose the city forever, even though you will still have a few madly beautiful things left. There is one such a city out there, by the way, it is Samarkand – it does have a few heritage sites in it, but the city as such is nonexistent. Bukhara and Khiva, on the other hand, do have environments of their own. And if you lose the Moscow environment, your individual monuments of architecture will look pretty much like the inkstand on the green cloth, like something that you can place virtually anywhere.

You can move your monument over to any place but if you leave it devoid of its environment, its value – for me, at least – will be 99% lost. The atmosphere will just go. The projects that we worked with for twenty years formed something that we know as Moscow – environment, context, call it what you like. Because individual buildings – even if there are masterpieces among them – will not make a city.

Who was the commissioner of the reconstruction project in 1992-1995?

It was Valery Baranov, the C.E.O of the Greenhouse company that owned a grocery store in that house. We did the reconstruction project bearing in mind a supermarket, a cafeteria, and a restaurant; there was a rather large shopping hall – the showcases situated closer to the center were occupied by the store. Hence the name of “Green House”. Later on, the bank, which was on the corner, ousted the store.

I must say that another important aspect is preserving not just the building but its habitual function as well – something that turned it into a landmark within the city context. The grocery store was rather popular in Moscow, and now it’s gone. In the end of the Gertsena Street, there was a popular “FISH” store – and now this place is going to be occupied by the Bulgari Hotel. There was just as popular candy store on Nikitskie Vorota, and now its place is occupied by a Villroy&Boch store… Of course, there are things in this city that you need to change from time to time but just think for a moment: if you leave the Madeleine Square devoid of the Fauchon restaurant – Paris is not going to be the same.

Do you think this house can still be turned into a residential one?

As a matter of fact, it was built as a residential one – remember, it was a tenement house. At first it was two stories high, then, in the beginning of the XIX century a third story was built up. Of course, it can be readjusted to fit the housing function – but we are now speaking about preserving the building’s appearance in order to ultimately preserve the city’s environment, not about restoring the function. Perhaps, we could build up a story or two, stepping back a little from the front side... No more than that.

29 January 2019

Headlines now

Object

Home Base

Working on the new building for Letovo Junior School – opened to students in autumn 2025 in the MSU Valley – the architects of UNK, following the client’s vision, subordinated both façades and interiors to the theme of “home”. Multiple variations of pitched roofs, a city skyline traced across glass balustrades, wooden textures, and a whole series of micro-spaces for retreat within public areas are all at the disposal of primary and middle school students. We take a closer look at the new school building – and at how it interprets current trends in educational environments.

Object

Doubles Match

The architecture of the Tennis Palace built in Luzhniki Olympic Complex, designed by Arena Design Institute, was shaped by three factors: the proximity of the brutalist Druzhba Arena, the closeness of the Moskva River and the metro bridge overpass, as well as the specifics of the function – tennis courts require large spans, abundant light, yet at the same time protection from direct sunlight. The architects divided the building into several blocks, playing on contrast, which is further emphasized by the façades developed in collaboration with TPO Reserve and Vladimir Plotkin.

Object

Microdynamics of Macroprocesses

Given the proximity of the multifunctional complex SOLOS to Sokolniki Park and to a major transport hub, Kleinewelt Architekten embedded in the design of the two high-rise towers a sense of dynamism more characteristic of natural phenomena than of man-made objects. Without the authors’ diagrams, this logic is not easy to decipher, although the eye immediately detects a pattern and tries to grasp it. It seems to us that one tower contains the impulse of a bud about to open, while the other evokes the movement of a lithospheric plate. Let us try to unravel it together.

Report

The Space of Post-Cubism

Sergei Tchoban and Alexandra Sheiner, of Studio CHART, created for the exhibition of “post-cubist” sculpture by Beatrice Sandomirskaya – a talented and even “mainstream” artist, yet almost unknown even to art historians – a space akin to her sculptural language: solidly built, confidently stereometric, and subtly expressive. It curves, emphasizing the mass of the sculpture, envelops the viewer, and guides them from one perspective to another, from a generic “shrine” to a “Madonna”.

Object

The Value of Open Space

For the site near the Barrikadnaya Metro Station, Sergey Skuratov developed five projects between 2020 and 2025. Two of them were ones that won the client’s invitation-only competitions. The fifth was recently selected by the Mayor of Moscow for implementation. The project is vivid and sculptural, expressive, eye-catching, and engaging – very much in line with the spirit of our time. And yet, this project is mid-rise rather than tall. In its northwestern part, near the metro and Druzhinnikovskaya Street, it shapes a comfortable urban environment. On the opposite side, it opens up, allowing sunlight into the courtyard and creating a spatial pause within the dense city fabric. How it is organized, what geometric principles underlie it, and why it takes this form – all this is explored in our article.

Coming From the Cold

The ArchBukhta Festival remains one of the few events in Russia where participants go through the entire process of creating an architectural object – from concept to construction. And they do so on the shores of Lake Baikal, in dedication to it. This year, GAFA took part and shared its experience: a local legend, a team-specific design code, friendship, as well as ice skating and endurance in freezing temperatures all contributed to gaining something more than just an award.

Object

Symphony of Water and Brick

The Alter residential complex, designed by Stepan Liphart and built on a bend of the Okhta River, is an example of a “drawn house”: the number of original architectural details is virtually immeasurable. As a result, ribs, projections, and recesses create a picturesque silhouette even without a significant variation in height. Both composition and material respond to the proximity of the river and to the red-brick factory building dating back to the early 20th century. The project was also significantly shaped by recommendations from the city’s chief architect. More details in our article.

Object

Wave and Vertical

The premium residential complex designed by GAFA for a site in the Khoroshevsky District responds to multiple constraints – the arc of a planned roadway, the water protection zone of the Khodynka River, and insolation requirements – through inventive massing. The composition is built on the interplay of two spatial layers: an elongated perimeter block and three towers concealed behind it generate the silhouette and key viewpoints, while also adding semantic depth reinforced by the façade solutions. Another defining feature is a large private courtyard, complemented by a citywide linear park.

Object

Office on Trubnaya

We continue publishing projects by Valery Kanyashin. A building once described, a quarter century ago, as an example of “quiet modernism” has remained just that in some people’s memory. According to Anatoly Belov, its main quality is its unobtrusiveness. The architects from Ostozhenka say the leading role here is played by context and landscape – the change in elevation. Yet is it really so inconspicuous?

Object

The First International

With this publication, we begin a series of texts dedicated to works by the late Valery Kanyashin, one of the founders of Ostozhenka Architects. As it happens, the projects he was involved in largely illustrate our understanding of the firm and its history. The first project in this series is the International Moscow Bank on Prechistenskaya Embankment.

in memoriam

In Memory of Valery Kanyashin

On Friday, February 27, architect Valery Kanyashin passed away – co-founder of Ostozhenka Architects and the author of many significant buildings in Moscow. We publish a text by Anatoly Belov in memory of Valery Kanyashin.

Report

Hypertext in Space

As part of the exhibition “What We Have We (Do Not) Keep”, Sergey Tchoban, the Museum of Architecture, and the CHART studio experiment with an eco-conscious approach to exhibition design, with thematic cross-references and even with publicistic reflections on the necessity of preserving modernism, the roots of contemporary architecture, and the birth of ideas. All of this makes the exhibition, with its light and transparent design, look quite innovative. The elements – both “material” and conceptual – are familiar, yet their combination is far from conventional.

Object

The Outline of “Foundation”

In their competition proposal for the Fili transport hub, the consortium led by Alexey Ilyin proposed an “inhabited arch” – a form that is simple yet complex. The architects emphasize that even at the competition stage, the project’s feasibility was fully calculated, taking into account the minimal nighttime closures of Bagration Avenue. How was this achieved? With what functions? Let us take a closer look. In our view, the building would have suited the heroes of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation novels perfectly.

Object

The Flying Horizontal

“A house in the spirit of Wright”, as architect Roman Leonidov describes it, pointing to his source of inspiration, was built on a challenging wedge-shaped site. To achieve a sense of intimacy and secure good views from the windows, the entire volume had to be shifted toward the far boundary, turning the house “back” to the neighboring mansions. The main façade demonstrates time-tested techniques often employed by the company: articulated horizontals, a weightless roofline, and a triad of materials – light plaster, dark slate, and warm wood.

Object

Needles of Horizon Contemplation

The “House of Horizons”, designed by Kleinewelt Architekten in Krylatskoye, is carefully thought out at the stereometric level – from the logic of how the volumes interlock (and, conversely, how gaps are articulated between them) to the triangular balconies that give the building its striking, slightly bristling silhouette.

News

The Red Thread

A linear park project prepared by Alexey Ilyin studio for the improvement of a riverbank in one of the residential districts seeks to reconnect people with nature. Two levels of the embankment invite visitors to contemplate the landscape while at the same time protecting the riverbank from excessive human impact. The “aerial street” links functional zones and the opposite banks, creating new points of attraction along the way: balconies, bridges, and even a “grotto”.

Object

Spindle and Thread

The concept of the Waver residential complex in Yekaterinburg draws inspiration from the past of the Parkovy district. In order to preserve the memory of the late-19th-century flax spinning mill once located here, the architectural company KPLN turns to the theme of textiles and weaving. The project’s main expressive device is a system of ribbons made of perforated weathering steel – a material that, in such volumes, has arguably not yet been used in Russian residential projects.

Overview

From Ski Resorts to Year-Round Recreation Clusters

In mid-December, several architectural firms gathered to discuss a “seasonal” topic: the prospects for the development of domestic ski tourism. Where is modern infrastructure already in place, where do only remnants of the Soviet legacy remain, and where is there still nothing – but projects are underway and soon to be completed? This article explores these questions.

Object

Woven Into Sokolniki

Over the past few years, high-rise residential construction in former industrial zones has become the main theme of Moscow architecture. Towers are springing up here and there – but the question is what kind of towers they are. The residential complex CODE Sokolniki, designed by Ostozhenka Architects, is a project where every detail has been taken care of. The authors are attentive to the history of the site, the continuity of the urban fabric, the skyline, and visual corridors. They also proposed a motif with the lyrical name “scarf”. We take a closer look at the volumetric composition and the large-scale décor “woven”, in this case, out of terraces and balconies.

Interview

Stepan Liphart and Yuri Gerth: “Our Program Is Aesthetic”

The studio of Stepan Liphart, an architect known for his distinctive signature style and one-off projects, now has a partner. Yuri Khitrov, a specialist with a broad range of competencies, will take on the part of the work that distracts one from creativity but drives the business forward. One of the aims of this partnership is to improve the urban environment through dialogue with clients and officials. We spoke with both sides about their ambitions, the firm’s development strategy, shared values, and the need for pragmatism. And why the studio is called “Liphart & Gerth” only became clear at the very end of the interview.

Object

The Copper Mirror

The varied-toned sheen of “unsealed” copper, painterly streaks and fingerprints, exposed concrete, and the unusual proportions – when you study the ZILART Museum building by Sergei Tchoban and SPEECH architects, there is plenty to talk about. However, it seems to us that the most interesting thing is how the museum’s composition responds to the realities of the district itself. The residential district has been realized as an open-air exhibition of façade statements by contemporary architects – but without public access to the inner courtyards of the blocks. This building – that is, the museum – is exactly the opposite: on the outside, it is deliberately restrained, while inside it shines spectacularly, creating its own sunbeams in any weather.

View

“Strangers” in the City

We asked Alexander Skokan for a comment on the results of 2025 – and he sent us a whole article, moreover one devoted to the discussion we recently began on the “appropriateness of high-rises” – or, more broadly speaking, “contrasting insertions into the urban fabric”. The result is a text that is essentially a question: why here? Why like this?

Interview

Dmitry Ostroumov: “To use the language of alchemy, we are involved in the process of “transmutation...

What we ended up having was an extremely unusual conversation with Dmitry Ostroumov. Why? At the very least, because he is not just an architect specializing in the construction of Orthodox churches. And not just – which is an extreme rarity – a proponent of developing contemporary stylistics within this still highly conservative field. Dmitry Ostroumov is a Master of Theology. So in addition to the history and specifics of the company, we speak about the very concept of the temple, about canon and tradition, about the living and the eternal, and even about the Russian Logos.

Interview

MB-PROJECT: “Every new project is a challenge”

In this issue, we speak with Dmitry and Oleg Shurygin, founders of the company MV-PROJECT, which has extensive experience in designing theater and entertainment buildings as well as working with cultural heritage sites.

Object

A Glazed Figurine

In searching for an image for a residential building near the Novodevichy Convent, GAFA architects turned to their own perception of the place: it evoked associations with antiquity, plein-air painting, and vintage artifacts. The two towers will be entirely clad in volumetric glazed ceramic – at present, there are no other buildings like this in Russia. The complex will also stand out thanks to its metabolic bay-window cells, streamlined surfaces, a ceremonial “hotel-style” driveway, and a lobby overlooking a lush garden.

Report

A Knight’s Move via the Cour d’Honneur

Intercolumnium Architects presented to the City Planning Council a residential complex project that is set to replace the Aquatoria business center on Vyborgskaya Embankment. Experts praised the overall quality of the work, but expressed reservations about the three cour d’honneurs and suggested softening the contrast between the facades facing the embankment and the Kantemirovsky Bridge.

Object

Mountains, Groves, and Ancestral Towers

The year-round mountain resort Armkhi situated in Russia’s Republic of Ingushetia is positioned as a destination for calm family recreation and has well-established traditions shaped by its hundred-year history and the culture of the region. The development program prepared by the Genplan Institute of Moscow preserves the resort’s identity while expanding its offerings and introducing new types of tourist leisure. In the near future, the resort will feature a balneological center, a thermal complex, an interactive museum, an extreme park, and, of course, new ski slopes.

Object

A Small Country

Mezonproekt is developing a long-term master plan for the MEPhI campus in Obninsk. Over the next ten years, an enclave territory of about 100 hectares, located in a forest on the northern edge of the city, is set to transform into a modern center for the development of the nuclear energy sector. The plan envisions attracting international students and specialists, as well as comprehensive territorial development: both through the contemporary realization of “frozen” plans from the 1980s and through the introduction of new trends – public spaces, an aquapark, a food court, a school, and even a nuclear medicine center. Public and sports facilities are intended to be accessible to city residents as well, and the campus is to be physically and functionally connected to Obninsk.

Object

Pearl Divers

GAFA has designed an apartment complex for Derbent intended to switch people from a work mode to a resort mindset – and to give the surrounding area a much-needed jolt. The building offers two distinct faces: restrained and laconic on the city side, and a lushly ornate façade facing the sea. At the heart of the complex, a hidden pearl lies – an open-air pool with an arch, offering views of a starry sky, and providing direct access to the beach.

Object

A Satellite Island

The Genplan Institute of Moscow has prepared a master plan for the development of the Sarpinsky and Golodny island system, located within the administrative boundaries of Volgograd and considered among the largest river islands in Russia. By 2045, the plan envisions the implementation of 15 large-scale investment projects, including sports and educational clusters, a congress center with a “Volgonarium”, a film production cluster, and twenty-one theme parks. We explain which engineering, environmental, and transportation challenges must be addressed to turn this vision into reality. The master plan solutions have already been approved and incorporated into the city’s general development plan.

​Pavel Andreev: “House 17 on Bolshaya Nikitskaya is indeed historical and authentic”

In this issue, we are talking to the author of the 1992-1995 reconstruction of the building, try to find out what specifically was reconstructed, and publish the drafts that prove that the historical nucleus of the house was preserved both inside and outside.

Pavel Andreev: “House 17 on Bolshaya Nikitskaya is indeed historical and authentic”