Sergey Tchoban: “We place our bets on a polyphonic city”

Sergey Tchoban, the curator and the chairman of the jury of the Second Russian Biennale for Young Architects speaks about the rationale of the jury’s decisions, and about two scenarios of developing former industrial parks.

Interviewed by:
Lara Kopylova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

08 November 2019

Interview

October 24-26, took place the Second Russian Biennale for Young Architects. The winning projects can be seen here.

Archi.ru
Could you please compare the level of projects submitted for the first and second biennale?

Sergey Tchoban:
The level remained just as high. However, considering the fact that the task that was set for the finalists this year was more challenging, I think one could say that the overall performance of the contestants 2019 is even higher than it was during the first biennale. This year, we got not just interesting projects but a few fully-fledged strategies for developing two specific land sites.

If we are to think of derelict industrial parks as a hidden resource for the development of the Russian cities, can we name any models of developing these zones by the results of the biennale?

We singled out two such models. The first one is the framework master plan of the territory development that presupposes that various architects will be involved in this process as the industrial park is renovated. This is why these projects were predominantly focused not on the extraordinary architecture but rather on the revitalization strategy, its main phases, its main planning, and, let’s say, genre principles. The way I see it, such an approach is completely valid: industrial parks, as a rule, are vast chunks of land, and the city inevitably wins because one and the same project brings together architects with different creative visions and different artistic methods. Our first places in both nominations were scored by Alexander Alyaev in the “Santekhpribor” nomination and TO “Leto” in “Port Elevator” nomination – these are exactly such pragmatic scenarios of territory development presenting a clear strategy and making it possible to place your bets on the polyphony of architectural languages.

zooming — Alexander Alyaev. The project of revitalizing the territory of the former Santekhpribor factory in Kazan

Copyright: © provided by the press service of the Second Russian Biennale for Young Architects

And our second prize winners, the architectural companies KB11 and Megabudka, proposed a strategy of passive development – and this is the second model of revitalizing an industrial park. When I say “passive development” I mean that it is not the entire territory that gets transformed – for example, some of its parts turn into recreational facilities but this does not mean that they will stay that way forever. For example, in the case of the project that KB 11 proposed for the Santekhpribor factory, we raised a few questions about the fact that one park space appears in the immediate vicinity of another. However, we ultimately read it not as a “park forever” – and Philip Yuan made a very convincing presentation at the jury session in that subject – but as a passing phase for further development.

A lot of people noticed the bright project submitted by Khvoya, yet it was only awarded a “special mention” from the jury. How would you comment on the decision to award the first prize to the “Santekhpribor” project?

In my opinion, the approach demonstrated by Khvoya did not quite meet the jury’s expectations connected to the contextual and resource-efficient philosophy of construction. Khvoya came up with a very poetic project, having a strong spiritual background and a prominent Piranesian mood. However, this approach to revitalizing industrial parks is rather one-sided. Our goal is not to make a monument of what is already there on the land site but breathe a new life into the old buildings. This approach, when everything that’s historical is by default kept as a beautiful ruin, with everything that’s new built outside of this ruin, does not quite meet, according to the opinion of the international judging panel, the principles of sustainable development. If you leave a ruin as a ruin, it starts requiring a lot of tender care, and becomes pretty high-maintenance, too. On the other hand, forming all the yards with just one module is a technique that is a sure sign of a one-time development scenario. The Khvoya project is very beautiful and unique, yet it is an author’s statement that is not quite feasible.

As I already said, we were looking for flexible scenarios, which would make it possible to implement the revitalization strategy by degrees, changing, if necessary, the parameters of some individual elements, as well as their functional purposes. The project submitted by the winner, Alexander Alyaev, answered the set task in a more down-to-earth manner – perhaps, not so poetic but looking into the future. The way I see it, such architecture is the kind that has a future. Not a baroque monument replacing another monument, but healthy pragmatism with a taste bar raised high, and the perfect sense of measure. This is what our future is about – sparing treatment of our resources, and not creating a work of architecture for the sake of architecture.

What were the highlights, in the opinion of the jury, in the project submitted by “Leto” that scored gold in the nomination “Port Elevator”?

This was the only project in this nomination that thoroughly addressed the issue of the ratio between the scale of the elevator and its surroundings. An elevator is a powerful monumental thing, yet this doesn’t mean that it must be surrounded by a windswept field. It must be surrounded by an environment that is not trying to outshout the elevator but is creating interesting spaces all around it. What “Leto” essentially came up with was a low-rise European town with a beautiful potential for developing the outlying territory. In addition, they were able to convince us in the idea of creating a public space on top of the elevator.

We even recommended our contestants to refrain from changing the elevator itself, only using its structure as a podium for the building that develops the public spaces still higher. In fact, this is the only one out of the 15 projects submitted in this nomination, in which the grain elevator did not change its appearance beyond recognition, but was used as a given, serving as the basis for creating something totally new. This was a town-planning scenario that convinced absolutely everyone.

Generally speaking, I must admit that the elevator was quite a serious challenge for the finalists. Somehow, 90% of the contestants understood the task precisely the other way around, i.e. that they wanted to change the elevator. But here is the thing – revitalization of this territory is not about doing something outstanding with this concrete colossus, but about creating a convincing scenario for developing the space around it, like a medieval city around the cathedral. I kept asking myself a question all the time: why didn’t anybody come to the idea not to do anything with the elevator? To leave the whole thing alone? To use it as a given monument, and not cut away these gigantic rings? Because cutting away is just as difficult as building from scratch. All these radical changes eventually led to constructing brand new buildings in the shape of the elevator. Triple effort and triple costs, which do not have anything to do with the principles of sustainable development.

What are the prospects for the development of industrial parks in Russia?

In my opinion, it is very important that investors and architects understand the possibilities and chances that such territories are giving to our cities. They have a historical memory, and it’s very important not to try to build on them simultaneously, but proceed from the context, paying attention to the signs of time that are there. We don’t have skills and resources to create, within a short period of time, an environment that would be just as complex and healthily controversial in order to keep us happy and at the same time intrigued for a long time in the future. This is why careful preservation of the historical legacy is a chance for us. I think that today even the investors realize that constructing simultaneously many look-alike “box” buildings in such territories (and these building do look like one another, even if they have different patterns, such examples are quite numerous in Moscow) is not a valid method. The valid method is about creating a contrasting environment that is respectful of all of the historical layers. And – I can’t stress this enough – this must be done gradually, using the languages of different architects. Then you will get a polyphonic city that has a future.

08 November 2019

Headlines now

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

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.

Object

Gold in the Sands

A new office for a transcontinental company specializing in resource extraction and processing has opened in Dubai. Designed by T+T Architects, masters of creating spaces that are contemporary, diverse, flexible, and original, this project exemplifies their expertise. On the executive floor, a massive brass-clad partition dominates, while layered textures of compressed earth create a contextually resonant backdrop.

Object

Layers and Levels of Flight

This project goes way back – Reserve Union won this architectural competition at the end of 2011, and the building was completed in 2018, so it’s practically “archival”. However, despite being relatively unknown, the building can hardly be considered “dated” and remains a prime example of architectural expression, particularly in the headquarters genre. And it’s especially fitting for an aviation company office. In some ways, it resembles the Aeroflot headquarters at Sheremetyevo but with its own unique identity, following the signature style of Vladimir Plotkin. In this article, we take an in-depth look at the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) headquarters in the Moscow agglomeration town of Zhukovsky, supplemented by recent photographs from Alexey Naroditsky – a shoot that became only recently possible due to the fact that improvements were finally made in the surrounding area.

Object

Light and Shadow

In this article, we delve into the architectural design of the “Chaika” house by DNK ag architects, which was recently completed in 2023 as part of the collection of signature designs at ZILArt. As is well-known, all the buildings in this complex follow a design code, yet each one is distinct. This particular building stands out not only for its whiteness and minimalism but also for the refined use of a limited number of techniques that, together, create what can confidently be called synergy.

View

Casus Novae

A master plan was developed for a large residential area with a name of “DNS City”, but now that its implementation began, the plan has been arbitrarily reformatted and replaced with something that, while similar on the surface, is actually quite different. This is not the first time such a thing happens, but it’s always frustrating. With permission from the author, we are sharing Maria Elkina’s post.

Report

Treasure Hunting

The GAFA bureau, in collaboration with Tegola and Arkhitail, organized an expedition to the island of Kilpola in Karelia as part of Moskomarkhitektura’s “Open City” festival. There, amidst moss and rocks, the students sought answers to questions like: what is the sacred, where does it dwell, and what sustains it? Assisting the participants in this quest were landscape engineer Evgeny Levin, artist Nicholas Roerich, a moose, and the lack of cellular connection. Here’s how the story unfolded.

Object

Depths of the Earth, Streams of Water

In the Malaya Okhta district, the Akzent building, designed by Stepan Liphart, was constructed. It follows a classic tripartite structure, yet it’s what you might call “hand-drawn”: each façade is unique in its form and details, some of which aren’t immediately noticeable. In this article, we explore the context and, together with the architect, delve into how the form was developed.

Object

Fir Tree Dynamics

The “Airports of Region” holding is planning to build an airport in Karachay-Cherkessia, aiming to make the Arkhyz and Dombay resorts more accessible to travelers. The project that won in an invitation-only competition, submitted by Sergey Nikeshkin’s KPLN, blends natural imagery inspired by the shape of a conifer seed, open-air waiting spaces, majestic large trees, and a green roof elevated on needle-like columns. The result is both nature-inspired and WOW.

Object

A Brick Shell

In the process of designing a clubhouse situated among pine trees in a prestigious suburban area near Moscow, the architectural firm “A.Len” did the façade design part. The combination of different types of brick and masonry correlates with the volumetric and plastique solutions, further enhanced by the inclusion of wood-painted fragments and metal “glazing”.

Report

Word Forms

ATRIUM architects love ambitious challenges, and for the firm’s thirtieth anniversary, they boldly play a game of words with an exhibition that dives deep into a self-created vocabulary. They immerse their projects – especially art installations – into this glossary, as if plunging into a current of their own. You feel as if you’re flowing through the veins of pure art, immersed in a universe of vertical cities, educational spaces – of which the architects are true masters – and the cultural codes of various locations. But what truly captivates is the bold statement that Vera Butko and Anton Nadtochy make, both through their work and this exhibition: architecture, above all, is art – the art of working with form and space.

Object

Flexibility and Acuteness of Modernity

Luxurious, fluid, large “kokoshniks” and spiral barrel columns, as if made from colorful chewing gum: there seem to be no other mansion like this in Moscow, designed in the “Neo-Russian-Modern” style. And the “Teremok” on Malaya Kaluzhskaya, previously somewhat obscure, has “come alive with new colors” and gained visibility after its restoration for the office of the “architectural ecosystem” as the architects love to call themselves. It’s evident that Julius Borisov and the architects at UNK put their hearts into finding this new office and bringing it up to date. Let’s delve into the paradoxes of this mansion’s history and its plasticity. Spoiler: two versions of modernity meet here, both balancing on the razor’s edge of “what’s current”.

Interview

Yuri Vissarionov: “A modular house does not belong to the land”

It belongs to space, or to the air... It turns out that 3D printing is more effective when combined with a modular approach: the house is built in a workshop and then adapted to the site, including on uneven terrain. Yuri Vissarionov shares his latest experience in designing tourist complexes, both in central Russia and in the south. These include houseboats, homes printed from lightweight concrete using a 3D printer, and, of course, frame houses.

Object

Moscow’s First

“The quality of education largely depends on the quality of the educational environment”. This principle of the last decade has been realized by Sergey Skuratov in the project for the First Moscow Gymnasium on Rostovskaya Embankment in the Khamovniki district. The building seamlessly integrates into the complex urban landscape, responding both to the pedestrian flow of the city and the quiet alleyways. It skillfully takes advantage of the height differences and aligns with modern trends in educational space design. Let’s take a closer look.

Object

Looking at the Water

The site of Villa Sonata stretches from the road to the water’s edge, offering its own shoreline, pier, and a picturesque river panorama. To reveal these sweeping views, Roman Leonidov “cut” the façade diagonally parallel to the river, thus getting two main axes for the house and, consequently, “two heads”. The internal core – two double-height spaces, a living room and a conservatory, with a “bridge” above them – makes the house both “transparent” and filled with light.

Object

The White Wing

Well, it’s not exactly white. It’s more of a beige, white-stone structure that plays with the color of limestone – smoother surfaces are lighter, while rougher ones are darker. This wing unites various elements: it absorbs and interprets the surrounding themes. It responds to everything, yet maintains a cohesive expression – a challenging task! – while also incorporating recognizable features of its own, such as the dynamic cuts at the bottom, top, and middle.

Object

Urban Dunes

The XSA Ramps team designed and built a three-part sports hub for a park in Rostov-on-Don, welcoming people of all ages and fitness levels. The skate plaza, pump track, and playground are all meticulously crafted with details that attract a diverse range of visitors. The technical execution of the shapes and slopes transforms this space into a kind of sculptural composition.

Object

Proportional Growth

The project for the fourth phase of the ÁLIA residential area has been announced. The buildings are situated on an elongated plot – almost a “ray” that shoots out from the center of the area towards the river. Their layout reflects both a response to Moscow’s architectural preferences over the past 15 years, shifting “from blocks to towers”, and an interpretation of the neighboring business park designed by SOM. Additionally, the best apartments here are not located at the very top but closer to the middle, forming a glowing “waistline”.

Object

The “Staircase” Building

In designing the “Details” residential complex in New Moscow, Rais Baishev spiced up the now-popular Moscow theme of a “courtyard” building with an idea drawn from the surrealist drawings by Maurits Escher. He envisioned the stepped silhouettes and descending slopes as a metaphysical mega-staircase, creating a key void within the courtyard that gave the project an internal “spine”. This concept is felt both in the building’s silhouette and on its façades.

Object

Projection of the Quarter

No one doubted that the building that Vladimir Plotkin designed as part of the “Garden Quarters” would be the most modernist of all. And it turned out just that way: while adhering to the common design code, the building successfully combines brick and white stone, rhythmically responding to the neighboring building designed by Ostozhenka, yet tactfully and persistently making a few statements of its own. This includes the projection of the ideal urban development composition “14–9–6”, which can be found right next door, mathematical calculations, including those for various types of terraces (and perhaps the only reminder of the Soviet past of the Kauchuk rubber factory!), and the white “cross-stitch” pattern of the façade grid.

​Sergey Tchoban: “We place our bets on a polyphonic city”

Sergey Tchoban, the curator and the chairman of the jury of the Second Russian Biennale for Young Architects speaks about the rationale of the jury’s decisions, and about two scenarios of developing former industrial parks.

Sergey Tchoban: “We place our bets on a polyphonic city”