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​Waves of Sound

The conceptual design of a music school: proximity to an Alvar Aalto building, expressive organics, and an attempt to draw public attention to a “low-profile” competition.

Alyona Kuznetsova

Written by:
Alyona Kuznetsova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

23 April 2020
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In January of this year, the city administration of Vyborg conducted a competition for the conceptual design of a music school with a concert hall for 500 people, located at Keppa Street 4, directly across from the famous library built by an Alvar Aalto project. The competition was an open one, yet it got very little press coverage, ultimately racking up only five competitors. By sheer coincidence – a friend sent them a link to the competition – their list included A-Len. According to Sergey Oreshkin, “the competition passed in such a closed-door atmosphere that one had a hard time figuring out why it was organized in the first place.” The victory was won by the project, whose authors “were able to express their idea in the most cost-efficient way”.

To evoke more interest to the location that deserves public hearings and an international competition, A-Len decided to show its proposal.

In addition to the obvious reasons why A-Len decided to take part in the competition – the center of the city boasting a status of a historical heritage site, proximity to the work of the legendary architect, and a rare typology – there was still another one: the leader of the company, Sergey Oreshkin, was born here in Vyborg, and here he graduated from the local art school, where he was “supercharged as a young pre-architect”. He describes Vyborg as a place with unique town planning, “just like from textbook”, which manifests itself particularly vividly next to the location in question.



The Lenina Avenue, one of the main arteries of the city, links the Rynochnaya and the Paradnaya Squares; one side of the avenue is presented by dense “Saint Petersburg” construction, while the other side consists of several parks, including the “esplanade” park where the library is located. Across from the library, at the corner of the Suvorovsky Avenue and the Kepp Street, in the residential block with a few Stalin buildings, the school will be built. It will be added to the “recreational” strip along the Lenina Avenue, and it will further strengthen the front of the Suvorova Avenue, filling the lacuna.



The members of the competition were to decide how to construct, on a comparatively small land site, a building that is filled with functions, and do that without compromising the processes that will go on inside of it. In the A-Len concept, the school consists of a few blocks of different height. The academic block accounts for almost half of the total volume, has an individual entrance, and is placed in the part that is the farthest from the Suvorovsky Avenue: this way, the classroom windows will overlook quiet green little yards. In the center, there is a concert hall, and the closest to the Aalto library is a lobby with a sophisticated system of tiers and staircases.





The arrangement of spaces is governed by the functional logic: the streams of children and the adults coming to the concerts are separated; the loading of the stage props takes place behind the scenes. The lobby space is adjusted to host micro events – in some of its corners, it will be possible to organize exhibitions, readings, or film runs. There are also two amphitheaters for open air sessions: one on the roof, and one on the little place that like an echo continues the building in the depth of the city block.



The architects deliberately opposed the expressive “shell” of the new building to the ascetic Aalto library. Sergey Oreshkin shares that the image was suggested by the building’s function: the lamellae of different width are meant to symbolize the piano keyboard. The stylistic device turned out to be as simple as capacious.



The 3D renders, in which the library and the school, separated by the road, are “looking” at each other, make one thinking that, should the new building be executed in the appropriate manner, the dialogue between the Aalto masterpiece and the music school would indeed be possible. In the A-Len project concept, the school makes a “female” pair to the minimalist building of the library, accentuating the beauty of the work by the Finnish architect by showing it in a new and different light.



The “femininity” of the school building is also felt at the material level: the lamellas look like the folds of a dress, or ruffle, or a veil – and on the subtler subliminal level: the curves and the backlighting make one feel the warmth and the vibrations of life. “Femininity” is probably one of the most vivid signs of organic architecture, and on this specific project the “organic architecture” that this architectural company loves to make but cannot fully explore, for example, in the housing projects that it designs, finally sounds in full effect.

The two buildings are not only opposed to each other but also have a connection between them. In his works, Alvar Aalto oftentimes course combined organic architecture and functionalism; in addition, the architect’s surname translates as nothing less than “wave”, the most famous part of the Vyborg library is the wave-shaped ceiling. From this standpoint, the school can be viewed as the “insides” of the library presented to the observer. And if we are to continue the discourse about the paired relationship between the two buildings, then the wave-shaped facade of the school and the “corrugated pattern” superimposed upon it look like a seashell, while the library is the pearl, perfect in its purity.



Another important strong point of this project is that it is easily implementable. According to Sergey Oreshkin, the lamellae are essentially an inexpensive and aesthetically appealing material. The architects are proposing to make them from milky glass and install backlighting that will create an “aurora borealis” effect like the iridescent pearls that will change depending on the weather, ambient light, or concert program. Light is also a wave.



The 500-seat concert hall obliged to think about its technical contexts as well. According to Sergey Oreshkin, if you want such hall to host a variety of events, you need a full-fledged stage box: with housing machinery and turntables, orchestra stalls, dressing rooms, etc. The company has a formidable experience in designing concert halls, to name but the project of the Alla Pugacheva Song Theater, for which A-Len collaborated with the acoustic experts of the Mariinsky Theater.



Also, the architect believes that the building also needs an underground parking garage – if there is a full house, there can be too many cars for such a quiet city area – as well as a cafe to cater for the visitors of the library.

Sergey Oreshkin calls on to organize an open international competition, the first stage of which would be public hearings.
Location plan. The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
Copyright: © A-Len Architectural Bureau
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
Copyright: © A-Len Architectural Bureau
The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
Copyright: © A-Len Architectural Bureau
The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
Copyright: © A-Len Architectural Bureau
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    Concept. Project of the art school in Vyborg.
    Copyright: © A-Len Architectural Bureau
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    The concept. The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The concept. The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The concept. The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The concept. The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
    Copyright: © A-Len Architectural Bureau
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    Alvaro Aalto library in Vyborg
    Copyright: © A-Len Architectural Bureau
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    Alvaro Aalto library in Vyborg
    Copyright: © Denis Esakov
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    Alvaro Aalto library in Vyborg
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    Alvaro Aalto library in Vyborg
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    Alvaro Aalto library in Vyborg
    Copyright: © Denis Esakov
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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    The music school with a concert hall in Vyborg
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23 April 2020

Alyona Kuznetsova

Written by:

Alyona Kuznetsova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov
Headlines now
In Plumage Colors
Working on the facades of a mid-rise residential area in Odintsovsky district, GENPRO architects “adjusted” a number of features of the volumetric composition, which they received without the right to make any changes to, by purely “decorative” means, such as ornamental brickwork, including glazed bricks and the rhythm of the windows. Interestingly, the starting point in the search for the color code was the plumage of birds that are found in the Moscow region.
Julius Borisov: “The “Island” housing complex is a unique project – we took it on with...
One of the largest housing projects of today’s Moscow – the “Ostrov” (“Island”) housing complex built by Donstroy – is now being actively built in the Mnevniky Floodplain. They are planning to build about 1.5M square meters of housing on an area of almost 40 hectares. We are beginning to examine this project– first of all, we are talking to Julius Borisov, the head of the architectural company UNK, which works with most of the residential blocks in this grand-scale project, as well as with the landscaping part; the company even proposed a single design code for the entire territory.
A Balanced Solution
The residential complex “Balance” on Moscow’s Ryazansky Prospekt is one of the large-scale, and relatively economical (again, by Moscow standards) housing projects. Its first phase has already been built and landscaped; the work on the others is in progress. Nevertheless, it has an integral internal logic, which is based on the balance of functions, height, and even image and space composition. The proposed solutions are recognizable and laconic, so that each of them was reduced by the authors to a graphic “logo”. To see everything, you have to flip through the pages and look through to the end.
Horror Vacui
In the city of Omsk, ASADOV architects took on a very challenging task: they are developing a concept of a public and residential complex, which involves reconstructing the city’s first thermal power station standing right next to Omsk’s first fortress. This territory has already seen a lot of projects designed for it, and the residential function of this land site has been the subject of heated debate. In this article, we are examining the project in question, aimed at developing a mid-scale city fabric suited for the historical center. We also examine the above-mentioned debate. Seriously, will this project save this place or will it bring it to ruin?
A Multi-Faced Grotto
This building, seemingly small, unremarkable, semi-ruined, and not even very ancient – the Grotto in the Bauman Garden – was restored by the “People’s Architect” architectural company with all the care applicable to a heritage monument. They preserved the romantic appeal of the ruins, added multimedia content, and explored the cascading fountain, which, as it turned out, was completely preserved. Brace yourself for a long story!
First among Equals
The building of a kindergarten in the town of Beloyarsky is more than just another example of a modern educational space. Its design began a long time ago; it is located in Russia’s Far North; it is also a state-owned facility that is subject to regulations, and had to cut costs during construction (as usual). However, the design is contemporary, the layout is modern, and the building feels very fresh. The project is planned to be replicated.
Gustave Falconnier
In the “ruin” wing of Moscow’s Museum of Architecture, an exhibition of “glass bricks” by Gustave Falconnier is open. These “bricks” are essentially the predecessors of glass blocks, but more complex and beautiful. The exhibition shows genuine “bricks”, buildings composed of them, the history of the destruction of Falconnier windows in the building of the State Archives, and it also became one of the reasons to revive this unique production technology.
​Streamline for City Canyons
Stepan Liphart has designed two houses for two small land sites situated in the area surrounding the Varshavsky Railway Station, which is being intensively developed now. The sites are situated close but not next to each other, and they are different, yet similar: the theme is the same but it is interpreted in different ways. In this issue, we are examining and comparing both projects.
​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.
​A Hill behind the Wall
The master plan of a new residential area in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, developed by the Genplan Institute of Moscow with the participation of Kengo Kuma & Associates, is based on the complexities and advantages of the relief of the foothills: the houses are arranged in cascades, and multi-level improvement penetrates all the blocks, continuing in forest trails.
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.