По-русски

​Nagatino: Four Stories

The project of developing the western part of the Nagatinsky Peninsula was developed and readjusted by Ginzburg Architects four times; the company would superimpose, layer by layer, one concept after another, forming a unique case of urban development. In this article, we are bringing to your attention all the four of them, starting from the company’s collaboration with William Alsop.

Natalia Koriakovskaia

Written by:
Natalia Koriakovskaia
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

05 December 2019
Object
mainImg


The land site in question is essentially a continuation of the industrial construction of the ZIL peninsula, yet still separated from it by the remains of the old riverbed of the Moskva River. Due to this particular circumstance, it looks quite self-sufficient composition-wise. This “minor” peninsula is crossed in its very middle by the Andropov Avenue; its eastern part includes the Ostrov Mechty (“Dream Island”) amusement park, and its western part for years has been the subject of town planning efforts, starting from the late 1980’s, when its conceptual design was done by Vladimir Ginzburg’s architectural studio in Mosproekt. This place is very promising from the town planning standpoint – the land site sports a picturesque “spit” at the confluence or the old and the main riverbeds, a large recreation potential of the riverside lands, and at the same time it is totally context-free, which gives the architects an opportunity to go as fancy with it as they would like. The existing industrial construction is sparse and low-value, and the only thing that can kind of serve as a starting point is the “sail” houses designed by Rimma Aldonina back in the 1970’s, which form the waterfront on the opposite side of the river.
***

2014/ Competition

Right about the time when the ideas for redeveloping the ZIL land took shape, there appeared thoughts about reorganizing its western part and constructing a housing block here. In 2014, the developer conducted the first of the series of competitions for this site, which involved Ginzburg Architects. For Aleksey Ginzburg, this was the first experience of working with the territory. In the first competition, he took part in consortium with two world stars – William Alsop and McAdam Architects.



The project was very bright, not to say flamboyant. However, the authors did want to make something shocking and conceptual. “During that first competition, I invited a good friend of mine, William Alsop, a great freethinking conceptualist architect; I would even say, there was something rebellious about him – Aleksey Ginzburg reminisces – We proposed a rather uncompromising idea that we thought was doomed from the very start, but we still wanted to make this bold statement”.







In the first competition project, the peninsula’s spit was developed in a highly urbanized way – a “choir” of eccentric-looking towers, each of which could make a worthy exhibit in the museum of modern art. This uncompromising approach was perfectly viable as a new town planning highlight. The proposal was powerful and very elegant imagery-wise – very much in the spirit of William Alsop. The master plan was executed in the shape of a flower; the complex also had a plinth part formed by underground parking garages turned into green hills – because of the high ground water, it was impossible to build parking garages really underground. The space was crossed by a green yard, which was to resurface later in the town planning developments of this territory.

***

2016 / Competition



The first competition concept did not get any further development but can now be remembered as a bold creative starting point of developing this land. The next concept came about in 2016, when Aleksey Ginzburg was again invited to the competition – to design the same land site, for which now a territory planning project had been developed. And it was the planning project that served as the brief that was presented to the contestants. The site plan, according to the architects, had a whole number of shortcomings, and, based on these shortcomings, the authors built their new concept.



The multifunctional construction, which, in addition to housing, was now serving the public and business functions, was presented in this site plan as urban blocks that were placed alongside the perimeter of the site. On this site plan, the houses stood virtually on the very transportation mainline on the waterfront – the architect shares – We had to stretch the construction in a semicircular fashion so as to pull the buildings away from the traffic way and create a green recreational buffer zone”.



The architects tried to turn the residential yards southward as much as possible to make them face the river and the sun; at the same time, the side ends of the houses that were facing the water were used to form the waterfront. Aleksey Ginzburg shares that the green buffer idea came to him from his childhood associations: “I spent my entire childhood in the Architects’ House, which is on the Rostovskaya Embankment near the Kievsky railway station, and I remember that we had this little park that, thanks to the dip of the terrain, served as a screen between the waterfront highway and the residential buildings. This construction was designed still by Aleksey Shchusev as the waterfront in this section of the Moskva River. I thought that the logic of the Nagatinskaya riverbed required a similar solution”. 



Since removing the highway was out of the question (it was an important segment of the ZIL transportation scheme) the green buffer zone could advantageously separate the highway from people’s homes and get turned into a mini park. Therefore, the pedestrian boulevard, which was already there on the site plan, was literally carried over to the waterfront, which yielded a rather broad recreational zone.
***

2017 / Development of the competition concept

Ginzburg Architects won the competition, which came as a surprise even for themselves. Aleksey Ginzburg believes that this must have happened thanks to the carefully thought out public space that the project provided for, which also included the thought out plan of traffic and pedestrian flows. While in the stage of detailed elaboration of the project for getting the municipal approvals, Aleksey Ginzburg decided to invite a few other architectural companies to work on the project – the sheer construction volume was quite impressive – about 400 000 square meters. The project was joined by the “Laboratory or Virtual Architecture” header by Stanislav Kulish and Vadim Lipatov, “Popov and Architects”, and “SENAB PROJECT”.



Due to the fact that the apartment plans were predetermined by the client’s brief, the architects focused on the outward appearance of the buildings. The houses within the block were divided into a few types, all the four companies designing the facades for each of them. Striving to maintain, for all the diversity of the individual solutions, the visual integrity of the complex, Aleksey Ginzburg proposed to unify all of the facade designs by obligatory use of brick.

“The shades of brick, as well as the ways and methods of its application, was something that we left to each partner’s discretion – the architect explains – Eventually, we got four patterns, each of which demonstrated an individual designer technique. In the version that was designed by our company, for example, the facade idea was expressed in large segments, while the version proposed by Kulish and Lipstov was essentially about what you might call pixel painting. Then we conducted a series of workshops in order to find the best way for combining our versions, ultimately coming up with a system of factors that would help bye to do this within one urban block on the basis of the compositional analysis”.



Parallel to that, the fourth compositional layer of the land site was developed – the concept of the public spaces. Essentially, it was based on the competition idea of the green buffer zone serving as a screen between the riverside highway and the residential area, adding a whole new level to it – an elevated system of pedestrian promenades, little bridges and ramps, making a landscaped park above the driveways that were originally included in the site plan. On the plan, this layer looked like a grid of large cells that connected the park to the level of the yards, also elevated because of the leveed parking garages.



While this work was in progress, Yuri Grigoryan designed for the city a concept of developing the Moskva River waterfronts, on which interesting “points of growth” appeared – the “ports” or multifunctional public spaces. Aleksey Ginzburg decided to “plug in to this narrative” and turned the already existing quay of the river boat into one of such “ports”, adding to it a semicircular pedestrian bridge. The future park will be called NAGA, which is short for Nagatino. But then again, so far it has remained on the level of conceptual development. 
***

2018 / competition



Yet another generation of managers, who replaced the old ones behind the wheel of the seemingly endless project, conducted still another competition in 2018, inviting western stars for participation. Aleksey Ginzburg also took part in this competition as a “long-standing contestant”. And, although the new clients wanted to break away from brick as the main building material in favor of the more budget-friendly prefab panels, the project still inherited a lot of things from the previous iterations. The arrangement of the city blocks changed a little bit, but the idea of a green buffer zone near the river, the elevated leveed parking garages, and the play of levels remained. Here, the architects again put their focus on the waterfront – the authors formed a single construction front from the side ends of the residential houses, creating an effect of a “sliced surface”, as the architect explains. By doing this, they joined by a slight arc all of the four housing blocks from the side of the river. Yet another highlight is the business part – as we remember, the developer considered the block to be multifunctional.



The project of 2018, however, wasn’t realized either. The concept of the territory was re-formatted again, and up to this day there is no clear understanding whether a new project will be developed or the earlier solutions will be implemented. “This large town planning project was something that we repeatedly tried to imbue with progressive ideas, observing the principles of the commercial approach that is dictated by today’s market – Aleksey Ginzburg says – rearranging and repacking these city blocks, never once did we break the rules, which, regrettably, really limit the range of possible architectural solutions. But still I think that we were able to solve two main tasks, the inner one being the task to create a human-friendly environment for the life of people, and the outer one being the task of forming a fragment of city fabric that would have both compositional and aesthetic connections with the Moscow environment”.
The competition project for developing stages 3-5 of the Moscow city technopark “Nagatino-ZIL” as integrated construction. 2014.
Copyright: Ginzburg Architects (Moscow), All Design (Alsop Architects, London), McAdam Architects (London)
Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2014
Copyright: Ginzburg Architects (Moscow), All Design (Alsop Architects, London), McAdam Architects (London)
Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2014
Copyright: Ginzburg Architects (Moscow), All Design (Alsop Architects, London), McAdam Architects (London)
Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2014
Copyright: Ginzburg Architects (Moscow), All Design (Alsop Architects, London), McAdam Architects (London)
Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2014
Copyright: Ginzburg Architects (Moscow), All Design (Alsop Architects, London), McAdam Architects (London)
  • zooming
    1 / 4
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2014
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects (Moscow), All Design (Alsop Architects, London), McAdam Architects (London)
  • zooming
    2 / 4
    The landscaping scheme. Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2014
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects (Moscow), All Design (Alsop Architects, London), McAdam Architects (London)
  • zooming
    3 / 4
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2014
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects (Moscow), All Design (Alsop Architects, London), McAdam Architects (London)
  • zooming
    4 / 4
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2014
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects (Moscow), All Design (Alsop Architects, London), McAdam Architects (London)
Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2016
Copyright: Aleksey Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; T.Arkhipova – the leading architect
Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2016
Copyright: Aleksey Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; T.Arkhipova – the leading architect
Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2016
Copyright: Aleksey Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; T.Arkhipova – the leading architect
  • zooming
    1 / 9
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2016
    Copyright: Aleksey Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; T.Arkhipova – the leading architect
  • zooming
    2 / 9
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2016
    Copyright: Aleksey Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; T.Arkhipova – the leading architect
  • zooming
    3 / 9
    Copyright: Aleksey Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; T.Arkhipova – the leading architect
  • zooming
    4 / 9
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Sketch. Competition project, 2016
    Copyright: Aleksey Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; T.Arkhipova – the leading architect
  • zooming
    5 / 9
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2016
    Copyright: Aleksey Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; T.Arkhipova – the leading architect
  • zooming
    6 / 9
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2016
    Copyright: Aleksey Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; T.Arkhipova – the leading architect
  • zooming
    7 / 9
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2016
    Copyright: Aleksey Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; T.Arkhipova – the leading architect
  • zooming
    8 / 9
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2016
    Copyright: Aleksey Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; T.Arkhipova – the leading architect
  • zooming
    9 / 9
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2016
    Copyright: Aleksey Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; T.Arkhipova – the leading architect
  • zooming
    1 / 7
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. 2017
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects, Laboratory of Virtual Architceture, Popov and Architects, SENAB Project
  • zooming
    2 / 7
  • zooming
    3 / 7
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. The landscaped park on the embankment
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects, Laboratory of Virtual Architceture, Popov and Architects, SENAB Project
  • zooming
    4 / 7
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. View from the boulevard leading to the park. Arkhsovet, 2017
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects, Laboratory of Virtual Architceture, Popov and Architects, SENAB Project
  • zooming
    5 / 7
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. View of the complex from the river. Arkhsovet, 2017
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects, Laboratory of Virtual Architceture, Popov and Architects, SENAB Project
  • zooming
    6 / 7
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. View of the complex from the river. Arkhsovet, 2017
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects, Laboratory of Virtual Architceture, Popov and Architects, SENAB Project
  • zooming
    7 / 7
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Simplified master plan. Arkhsovet, 2017
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects, Laboratory of Virtual Architceture, Popov and Architects, SENAB Project
  • zooming
    1 / 5
    The facades. Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. View from the boulevard leading to the park. Arkhsovet, concept 2017
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects, Laboratory of Virtual Architceture, Popov and Architects, SENAB Project
  • zooming
    2 / 5
    The facades. Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. View from the bridge. Arkhsovet, concept 2017
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects, Laboratory of Virtual Architceture, Popov and Architects, SENAB Project
  • zooming
    3 / 5
    The facades. Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. View from the bridge. Arkhsovet, concept 2017
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects, Laboratory of Virtual Architceture, Popov and Architects, SENAB Project
  • zooming
    4 / 5
    The facades. Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. View from the bridge. Arkhsovet, concept 2017
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects, Laboratory of Virtual Architceture, Popov and Architects, SENAB Project
  • zooming
    5 / 5
    The facades. Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. View from the bridge. Arc
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects, Laboratory of Virtual Architceture, Popov and Architects, SENAB Project
  • zooming
    1 / 3
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. View from the boulevard leading to the park. Arkhsovet, 2017
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects, Laboratory of Virtual Architceture, Popov and Architects, SENAB Project
  • zooming
    2 / 3
    The facades. Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. The section views of the pedestrian space. Arkhsovet, concept 2017
    Copyright: Ginzburg Architects, Laboratory of Virtual Architceture, Popov and Architects, SENAB Project
  • zooming
    3 / 3
  • zooming
    1 / 4
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2018
    Copyright: A.Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Dudin – Chief Architect of the Project, A.Puchkov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Aleksandrova – the leading architect; V.Galimov – Architect
  • zooming
    2 / 4
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2018
    Copyright: A.Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Dudin – Chief Architect of the Project, A.Puchkov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Aleksandrova – the leading architect; V.Galimov – Architect
  • zooming
    3 / 4
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2018
    Copyright: A.Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Dudin – Chief Architect of the Project, A.Puchkov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Aleksandrova – the leading architect; V.Galimov – Architect
  • zooming
    4 / 4
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2018
    Copyright: A.Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Dudin – Chief Architect of the Project, A.Puchkov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Aleksandrova – the leading architect; V.Galimov – Architect
  • zooming
    1 / 4
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2018
    Copyright: A.Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Dudin – Chief Architect of the Project, A.Puchkov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Aleksandrova – the leading architect; V.Galimov – Architect
  • zooming
    2 / 4
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2018
    Copyright: A.Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Dudin – Chief Architect of the Project, A.Puchkov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Aleksandrova – the leading architect; V.Galimov – Architect
  • zooming
    3 / 4
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. Competition project, 2018
    Copyright: A.Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Dudin – Chief Architect of the Project, A.Puchkov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Aleksandrova – the leading architect; V.Galimov – Architect
  • zooming
    4 / 4
    Architectural and town-planning concept of the mixed-use development in the western part of the Nagatinskaya Poima. The master plan. A competition project 2018
    Copyright: A.Ginzburg – Chief Architect of the Project; A.Orlov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Dudin – Chief Architect of the Project, A.Puchkov – Chief Architect of the Project; M.Aleksandrova – the leading architect; V.Galimov – Architect


05 December 2019

Natalia Koriakovskaia

Written by:

Natalia Koriakovskaia
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov
Headlines now
​The Eastern Frontier
“The Eastern Arc” is one of the main land resources of Kazan’s development, concentrated in the hands of a single owner. The Genplan Institute of Moscow has developed a concept for the integrated development of this territory based on an analytical transport model that will create a comfortable living environment, new centers of attraction, and new workplaces as well.
A School of Our Time
On the eve of the presentation of the new book by ATRIUM, dedicated to the design of schools and other educational facilities, based on the architects’ considerable experience, as well as expert judgments, we are examining the Quantum STEM school building, constructed according to their project in Astana. Furthermore, this building is planned to be the first one to start a new chain. The architects designed it in full accordance with modern standards but sometimes they did break away from them – only to confirm the general development rules. For example, there are two amphitheaters in the atrium, and there is an artificial hill in the yard that is meant to make the flat terrain of the Kazakhstan steppe more eventful.
The Fluffy Space
Designing the passenger terminal of the Orenburg airport, ASADOV architects continue to explore the space theme that they first introduced in Saratov and Kemerovo airports. At the same time, the architects again combine the global and the local, reflecting topics inspired by the local conceptual context. In this case, the building is “covered” by an Orenburg downy shawl – an analogy that is recognizable enough, yet not literal; some will see the reference and some won’t.
The White Fitness Center
The white health and fitness center, designed by Futura Architects at the entrance to St. Petersburg’s New Piter residential complex, provides the developing area not only with functional but also with sculptural diversity, livening up the rows of the brick city blocks with the whiteness of its seamless facades, cantilevered structures, and dynamic inclined lines.
The New Dawn
In their project of a technology park to be built on the grounds of “Integrated Home-Building Factory 500” in Tyumen Oblast – the biggest in Russia – the HADAA architects preserve not just the industrial function of the giant hangar built in the late 1980s and 90% of its structures, but also respond to its imagery. They also propose a “gradient” approach to developing the available areas: from open public ones to staff-only professional spaces. The goal of this approach is to turn the technology park into the driver for developing the business function between the industrial zones and the future residential area in accordance with the Integrated Land Development program.
​Tame Hills for New Residents
T+T Architects have reported that they have completed the landscaping project for the yard of the first stage of Alexandrovsky Garden housing complex in Ekaterinburg – the landscape complements the contextual architecture, tailored for the buyers’ preferences and downtown standards, with bold neo modernist master strokes and lush and diverse vegetation.
The Crystal of the City Block
The typology and plastique of large housing complexes move with the times, and you can sometimes find new subtleties in the scope of seemingly familiar solutions. The Sky Garden complex combines two well-known themes, forming a giant residential area consisting of tall slender towers, placed at the perimeter of a large yard, in which a crossroads of two pedestrian promenades is “dissolved”.
Sunshine, Air, and Water
The construction of the “Solnechny” (“Sunny”) summer camp, designed by ARENA project institute, has been completed, the largest summer camp within the legendary Artek seaside resort for children. It was conceived still in Soviet time, but it was not implemented. The modern version surprises you with sophisticated engineering solutions that are combined with a clear-cut structure: together, they generate Asher-esque spaces.
​Art Deco at the Edge of Space
The competition project by Stepan Liphart – a high-end residential complex executed in a reserved classicist style in close proximity to the Kaluga Space Museum – responds equally well to the context and to the client’s brief. It is moderately respectable, moderately mobile and transparent, and it even digs a little into the ground to comply with strict height restrictions, without losing proportions and scale.
Going, Going, Gone!
The housing complex “Composers’ Residences” has been built in accordance with the project by Sergey Skuratov, who won the international competition back in 2011. It all began from the image search and “cutting off all spare”, and then implementing the recognizable Skuratov architecture. It all ended, however, in tearing down the buildings of the Schlichterman factory, whose conservation was stipulated by all the appropriate agencies prior to approving Skuratov’s project. This story seems to be educational and important for understanding the history of all the eleven years, during which the complex was designed and built.
The Life of Iron
The building of the Vyksa Metallurgy Museum, designed by Nikita Yavein and Sergey Padalko, provides for the natural aging of metal – it is planned that the iron will gradually rust – at the same time utilizing the advanced type of construction, based on metal’s ability to stretch. The building will be constructed from pipes and rolled steel supplied by OMK company, as well as from recycled bricks.
​And the Brook is Flowing
ASADOV Architects have designed a master plan for developing a residential area at the outskirts of Kaliningrad: a regular grid of housing blocks is enriched by large-scale public facilities, the main “artery” of the new area being the fortification channel that regains its original function.
Off We Go!
The new terminal of the Tomsk airport is being designed by ASADOV bureau. The architects keep on developing its identity, building the imagery upon the inventions of Nikolai Kamov, whose name the airport bears. The result is laconic, light, and, as always, levitating.
Maximum Flexibility
The Multispace Dinamo, which recently opened within the Arena business center, is an example of a project that is entirely based upon cutting-edge approaches and technologies. It is managed via a mobile application, special software was created for it, and the spaces are not just multifunctional but carefully mixed up, like some kind of jigsaw puzzle that allows the office workers to mix their working routine for better efficiency.
A Factory’s Path
Last week, the new center for constructivist studies “Zotov” hosted its first exhibition named “1922. Constructivism. The Inception”. The idea of creating this center belongs to Sergey Tchoban, while the project of the nearest houses and adjusting the building of the bread factory for the new museum function was done by the architect in collaboration with his colleagues from SPEECH. We decided that such a complex project should be examined in its entirety – and this is how we came up with this long-read about constructivism on Presnya, conservation, innovation, multilayered approach, and hope.
The Savelovsky Axis
The business center, situated right in the middle of a large city junction next to the Savelovsky Railway Station takes on the role of a spatial axis, upon which the entire place hinges: it spins like a spiral, alternating perfect glass of the tiers and deep recessions of inter-tier floors that conceal little windows invented by the architects. It is sculptural, and it claims the role of a new city landmark, in spite of its relatively small height of nine floors.
Parametric Waves
In the housing complex Sydney City, which FSK Group is building in the area of Shelepikhinskaya Embankment, Genpro designed the central city block, combining parametric facades and modular technology within its architecture.
The Multitone
The new interior of the Action Development headquarters can be regarded as an attempt to design the perfect “home” for the company – not just comfortable but broadcasting the values of modern development. It responds to the context, yet it is built on contrast, it is fresh but cozy, it is dynamic, yet it invites you to relax – everything of this coexists here quite harmoniously, probably because the architects found an appropriate place for each of the themes.
Refinement No Longer Relevant
A few days ago journalists were shown the building of Bread Factory #5, renovated upon the project by Sergey Tchoban. In this issue, we are publishing Grigory Revzin’s thoughts about this project.
The Comb of Strelna
In this issue, we are taking a close look at the project that won the “Crystal Daedalus” award – the “Veren Village” housing complex in Strelna, designed by Ostozhenka. Its low-rise format became a trigger for typological and morphological experiments – seemingly, we are seeing recognizable trends, yet at the same time there are a multitude of subtleties that are a pleasure to go into. Having studied this project in detail, we think that the award is well-deserved.
A Tectonic Shift
For several years now, Futura Architects have been working with the “New Peter” residential area in the south of St. Petersburg. In this article, we are covering their most recent project – a house, in which the architects’ architectural ideas peacefully coexist with the limitations of comfort-class housing, producing a “multilayered” effect that looks very attractive for this typology.
Three “Green” Stories
In this issue, we are examining three environmental urban projects showcased by the Genplan Institute of Moscow at the Zodchestvo festival. The scale of the projects is really diverse: from gathering information and suggestions from the residents on a city scale to growing meadow grass between houses to paintings, which, as it turned out, possess power to cure trees, healing their wounded bark. + a list of kinds of plants natural for Moscow to help the developer.
​The Slabs of Bagration
The construction of a new skyscraper designed by SPEECH within the complex of Moscow City has been announced. A keen observer may see in it: Moscow high-rises, Chicago architecture, Malevich architecton, and an attempt of deconstruction of the integral image of the Moscow skyscraper – a technique that has been actively employed by the architects in their recent works.
​Preserving the History of Clean Ponds
How do you make a comfortable high-end residential complex that meets the modern requirements for expensive downtown housing, and keep as much of the original 1915 building as possible? Ilia Utkin, together with Sminex, solved this charade for Potapovsky Lane, 5 – here is how.
​Living in a Forest
The apartment complex in Roshchino, designed by GAFA architects, looks very much like a glamping: the residents enjoy the untouched nature of the Karelian isthmus, while having urban amenities and opportunities for social life.
A Laboratory for Life
The building of the Laboratory of Oncomorphology and Molecular Genetics, designed by the author team headed by Ilya Mashkov (Mezonproject) uses the benefits of the natural context and offers space for cutting-edge research, both doctor- and patient-friendly.
The Logic of Life
The light installation, designed by Andrey Perlach in the atrium of Moscow's Federation Tower, balances on the edge between a mathematical order of construction and the diversity of perception when viewed from different angles.
An Architect in a Metaverse
In this interview, we talked to the participants of the festival of creative industries G8 about why metaverses are our tomorrow’s everyday routine, and how architects can already influence it today.
Three in One
The house on Telezhnaya Street, designed by Evgeny Gerasimov and Partners, located just a couple of steps away from the Nevsky Prospect, can be visually divided into three independent entities. By doing this, the architects keep up the scale of the historical street and overcome the challenges posed by a stretching land site.