По-русски

​Parallel Universe

In the “Parallel House” residence that he designed in the Moscow metropolitan area, the architect Roman Leonidov created a dramatic sculptural composition from totally basic shapes – parallelepipeds, whose collision turned into an exciting show.

19 May 2020
Object
mainImg
It was not by chance that Roman Leonidov named his creation Parallel House. Armed with a minimum range of techniques, by using only parallels and perpendiculars, squares and rectangles, cubes and parallelepipeds, without any diagonals or curves, the architect was able to create an extremely powerful “rock-n-roll” image. “My houses make aggressive and modern statements – Roman Leonidov proudly explains – In addition, in this particular instance, this laconic house is a portrait of its owner, a self-sufficient person who stands firmly on his two feet, who knows what he wants, and, most importantly, knows what he can or cannot do.”

The house is a large one – its total area is over 800 square meters plus a basement floor with a billiard room and a wine cellar. The position of the house on the land site was conditioned by the client’s desire to shut off from the highway, at the same time leaving enough space for a beautiful landscape. The plan of the house remotely resembles the U letter; it is turned to the meadow and tall trees, the side wings embracing the grand yard and forming a natural shelter for the privacy of its residents.

  • zooming
    Parallel House private residence. The yard facade
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev
  • zooming
    Parallel House private residence
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev


From the side of the road, the house and garage entrances are situated, the grand facades being the side one and the one overlooking the park. The house is conditionally divided into the central unit with a triple-height public area and the master’s block, the left wing with a swimming pool and a spa in the first floor, the staff apartment on the second floor, and the right wing with four children’s rooms on the second floor, along with the master’s study and the guest room on the first.

  • zooming
    Parallel House
    Copyright: © Studio of Roman Leonidov
  • zooming
    Parallel House
    Copyright: © Studio of Roman Leonidov


As for the bearing structures of the building, Roman Leonidov opted for the time-tested and easily implementable ones: the foundation is a concrete slab; the walls are brick with reinforced-concrete intermediate floors. The solid brick is finished off with natural materials: slate, larch, and travertine.

The composition is based on the idea that the parallelepipeds are bumping into one another, some of them even hanging above the ground as cantilevered structures. Hence the feeling of power and motion, curiously combined with an impression of balance. There are a total of six parallelepipeds: two black slate ones, two red larch ones, and two white travertine ones. The black parallelepipeds are the main ones; they are higher than the rest. One of them contains half of the public area and the master’s section: the bedroom, the wall-in closet, and the bathroom. This “slate” parallelepiped looks at the park with two symmetrical stained glass windows, while from the side of the road its top part is slit with ribbon windows that create dramatic lighting in the interior (more of which later).

  • zooming
    Parallel House private residence
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev
  • zooming
    Parallel House private residence
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev


The other black parallelepiped contains two – double-height! – children’s rooms, forming the side facade, the most representative one, if we are to speak about the image of the house. Its wall, just like the first one’s is pierced by symmetrical stained glass windows, yet with a horizontal divided glazing (the principle of parallels is observed even in the transom pattern). This heavy slate volume “levitates” a few meters above the ground, resting on the ethereal glass wall of the study, at the same time bumping, like an ice breaker, into the lower larch parallelepiped. Which, in turn, hangs in an imposing heavyweight cantilever, even if lightened up a bit by avant-garde glass corners. And, finally, the white travertine vertical looks as if it “presses” the entire composition to the ground. 

  • zooming
    Parallel House private residence
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev
  • zooming
    Parallel House private residence
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev


The larch red parallelepipeds are more horizontal and more elongated. The left one (plan-wise) includes a swimming pool that is turned with its glass wall to the grand yard.  

As was already said, the first floor of the right-hand parallelepiped is occupied by the study and the guest room, while the part that is nearest to the garden is essentially an open air hearth. The barbecue kitchen utensils look quite flashy: it is also a system suspended cubes – the artistic principles of the building are repeated even on a miniature scale. 

  • zooming
    Parallel House private residence
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev
  • zooming
    Parallel House private residence
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev
 

The low-rise travertine parallelepiped, visible from the yard, marks the “fireplace” part of the public area. Yet another travertine vertical adds stability to the levitating forms, tying them to the ground. The connection between the house and the nature is achieved not only thanks to the glazing but also thanks to other decoration materials: the travertine finish literally continues into the interior design. 

  • zooming
    Parallel House private residence
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev
  • zooming
    Parallel House private residence
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev


One cannot help mentioning a very flashy design solution of the public zone. This is a complex, multilevel, almost Piranesian space, traversed by bridges and staircases, where the streams of light coming from all sides intertwine. It consists of a kitchen, a dining room, and a room with a fireplace, the dining room being the highest part, the other two rooms single-level. From the garden side, the living room is adorned by an incredibly tall stained glass window, while on the opposite side, in the anteroom and staircases area, there is yet another stained glass window, and the space works peek-a-boo.

  • zooming
    Parallel House private residence
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev
  • zooming
    Parallel House private residence
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev


On the second-floor level, the public space is surrounded by a gallery with a glass barrier. The gallery bleeds into a “bridge” that leads to the children’s rooms on the second floor. In addition, directly underneath the ceiling the space is belted by the ribbon windows of gallery light. Being in the living room, one can cast his eye over the space as a whole, with all of its intersections, its second and third levels, bridges and overpasses, as well as canyons and caves. Curiously, the spacious double-height master’s bedroom overlooks the main park facade with its taller stained glass window – it is situated not in a secluded but in the representative part of the house, being, as was already said, a part of the central parallelepiped. All of this really gives a grand look to it. 

  • zooming
    1 / 3
    Parallel House private residence
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev
  • zooming
    2 / 3
    Parallel House private residence
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev
  • zooming
    3 / 3
    Parallel House private residence
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev


Up in the air, behind the double-height stained glass window, there is a terrace handing on the level of the second floor – from the living-room side, people who stand on it, as if hovering between earth and sky, will look like actors in a constructivist theater setting or like stuffage figures in a Piranesi print, understood in a whole new way.

Parallel House private residence
Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Knyazev



19 May 2020

Headlines now
The Altai Ornament
The architectural company Empate has developed the concept for an eco-settlement located on a remote site in Altai. The master plan, which resembles a traditional ornament or even a utopian city, forms a clear system of public and private spaces. The architects also designed six types of houses for the settlement, drawing inspiration from the region’s culture, folklore, and vernacular building practices.
Pro Forma
Photos have emerged of the newly completed whisky distillery in Chernyakhovsk, designed by TOTEMENT / PAPER – a continuation of their earlier work on the nearby Cognac Museum. From what is, in essence, a merely technical and utilitarian volume and space, the architects have created a fully-fledged theatre of impressions. Let’s take a closer look. We highly recommend a visit to what may look like a factory, but is in fact an experiment in theatricalizing the process of strong spirit production – and not only that, but also of “pure art”, capable of evolving anywhere.
The Arch and the Triangle
The new Stone Mnevniki business center by Kleinewelt Architekten – designed for the same client as their projects in Khodynka – bears certain similarities to those earlier developments, but not entirely. In Mnevniki, there are more angular elements, and the architects themselves describe the project as being built on contrast. Indeed, while the first phase contains subtle references to classical architecture – light touches like arches, both upright and inverted, evoking the spirit of the 1980s – the second phase draws more distantly on the modernism of the 1970s. What unites them is a boldly expressive public space design, a kaleidoscope of rays and triangles.
Health Factory
While working on a wellness and tourist complex on the banks of the Yenisei River, the architects at Vissarionov Studio set out to create healing spaces that would amplify the benefits of nature and medical treatments for both body and soul. The spatial solutions are designed to encourage interaction between the guests and the landscape, as well as each other.
The Blooming Mechanics of a Glass Forest
The Savvinskaya 27 apartment complex built by Level Group, currently nearing completion on an elongated riverfront site next to the Novodevichy Convent, boasts a form that’s daring even by modern Moscow standards. Visually, it resembles the collaborative creation of a glassblower and a sculptor: a kind of glass-and-concrete jungle, rhythmically structured yet growing energetically and vividly. Bringing such an idea to life was by no means an easy task. In this article, we discuss the concept by ODA and the methods used by APEX architects to implement it, along with a look at the building’s main units and detailing.
Grace and Unity
Villa “Grace”, designed by Roman Leonidov’s studio and built in the Moscow suburbs, strikes a balance between elegant minimalism and the expansive gestures of the Russian soul. The main house is conceived as a sequence of four self-contained volumes – each could exist independently, yet it chooses to be part of a whole. Unity is achieved through color and a system of shared spaces, while the rich plasticity of the forms – refined throughout the construction process – compensates for the near-total absence of decorative elements.
Daring Brilliance
In this article, we are exploring “New Vision”, the first school built in the past 25 years in Moscow’s Khamovniki. The building has three main features: it is designed in accordance with the universal principles of modern education, fostering learning through interaction and more; second, the façades combine structural molded glass and metallic glazed ceramics – expensive and technologically advanced materials. Third, this is the school of Garden Quarters, the latest addition to Moscow’s iconic Khamovniki district. Both a costly and, in its way, audacious acquisition, it carries a youthful boldness in its statement. Let’s explore how the school is designed and where the contrasts lie.
A Twist of the Core
A clever and concise sculptural solution – rotating each floor by N degrees – has created an ensemble of “dancing” towers: similar yet different, simple yet complex. The designers meticulously refined a single structural node and spent considerable effort on the column construction – after that, “everything else was easy”. The architects also rotated the core walls on each floor to maximize the efficiency of the office spaces.
The Sculpting of Spring Forest Matter
We’ve been observing this building for a couple of years now: seemingly simple, perhaps even unassuming, it fits in remarkably well with the micro-district context shaped by the Moscow MCD road junctions. This building sticks in the memory of everyone who drives along the highway, even occasionally. In our opinion, Sergey Nikeshkin, by blending popular architectural techniques and approaches of the 2010s, managed to turn a seemingly simple structure into a statement “on the theme of a house as such”. Let’s figure out how this happened.
Water and Wind Whet the Stone
The Arisha Terraces residential complex, designed by Asadov Architects, will be built in a district of Dubai dedicated to film and television production. To create shaded spaces and an intriguing silhouette, the architects opted for a funnel-shaped composition and nature-inspired forms of erosion and weathering. The roofs, podium, and underground spaces extend leisure opportunities within the boundaries of a man-made “oasis”.
Elevation 5642
The Genplan Institute of Moscow has developed a comprehensive development project for three ski resorts in the Caucasus, which have been designated as special economic zones of the tourism and recreation type. The first of these zones is Elbrus. The project includes the construction of new ski runs, cable cars, and hotels, as well as the modernization of stations and improvements to the Azau tourist meadow. To expand the audience and enhance year-round appeal, a network of eco-trails is also being developed. In this article, we provide a detailed breakdown of each stage.
The IT Town
Taking the example of the first completed phase of the “U” district, we examine how the new neighborhood in Innopolis will be organized. T+T Architects and HADAA formed a well-balanced and ingenious master plan with different types of housing, a green artery, a system of squares, and a park in the town’s central part.
The Heart Lies Within
The second-phase building of the Evgeny Primakov School already won multiple awards while still in the design stage. Now that it’s completed, some unfinished nuances remain – most notably, the exposed ceiling structures, which ideally should have been concealed. However, given the priority placed on the building’s volumetric composition, this does not seem critical. What matters more is the “Wow!” effect created by the space itself.
Magnetic Forces
“Krylatskaya 33” is the first large-scale residential complex to appear amidst the 1980s “micro-districts” that harmoniously coexist with the forests, the river, the slopes, and the sports infrastructure. Despite its imposing scale, the architects of Ostozhenka managed to turn the complex into something that can be best described as a “graceful dominant”. First, they designed the complex with consideration for the style and height of the surrounding micro-districts. Second, by introducing a pause in its tallest section, they created compositional tension – right along the urban planning axis of the area.
Orion’s Belt
The Stone Khodynka 2 office complex, designed by Kleinewelt Architekten for the company Stone, is built with an ergonomic layout following “healthy building” principles: natural light, ventilation, and all the necessary features for an efficient office environment. On the outside, it resembles – like many contemporary buildings – an iPhone: sleek, glowing, glass-and-metal, edges elegantly rounded. Yet, it responds sensitively to the Khodynka context, where the main theme is the contrast between vertical and horizontal lines. The key intrigue lies in the design of the “stylobate” as a suspended passage, leaving the space beneath it open for free pedestrian movement.
Grigory Revzin: “It Was a Bold Statement Made on the Sly. Something Won”
In this article, we discuss the debates surrounding the circus competition and the demolition of the CMEA building with the most renowned architectural critic of our time. A paradox emerges in the process: while nostalgia for the Brezhnev era seems to be in vogue in Russia, a landmark building – the “axis” of the Warsaw Pact – has been sentenced to demolition. Isn’t that strange? We also find out that wow-architecture has made a comeback as a post-COVID trend. However, to make a truly powerful statement, professionals still remain indispensable.
Exposed Concrete
One of the stages of improving a small square in the town of Lermontov was the construction of a skatepark. Entrusting this part of the project to the XSA team, the city gained a 250-meter trick track whose features resemble those of land art objects – unparalleled in Russia in both scale and design. Here’s a look at how the experimental snake run in the foothills of the Caucasus was built.
One Step Closer To the Dream
The challenges of getting all the mandatory approvals, an insufficient budget, and construction site difficulties did not prevent ASADOV Bureau from achieving its main goal in the realization of the school project in the town of Troitsk – taking another step away from outdated notions of educational spaces toward creating a fundamentally new academic environment.
Chalet on the Rock
An Accor hotel in Arkhyz, designed by A.Len, will be situated at the gateway to the resort’s main tourist hubs. The architects reinterpreted the widely popular chalet style while adding an unexpected twist – an unfinished structure preserved on the site. The design team transformed this remnant into an exciting space featuring an open-air pool and a restaurant with panoramic views of the region’s highest mountain ridges.
Sergey Skuratov: “By and large, the project has been realized in line with the original ideas”
In this issue, we talk to the chief architect of Garden Quarters, looking back at the history and key moments of a project that took 18 years to develop and has now finally been completed. What interests us most are the transformations that the project underwent during construction, and the way the “necessary void” of public space was formed, which turned this remarkable complex into a fragment of a whole new type of urban fabric – not just at the horizontal “street” level but in its vertical structure as well.
A Unique Representative
The recently concluded year 2024 can be considered the year of completion for the “Garden Quarters” residential complex in Moscow’s Khamovniki. This project is well-known and, in many ways, iconic. Rarely does one manage to preserve such a number of original ideas, achieving in the end a kind of urban planning Gesamtkunstwerk. Here is a subjective view from an architecture journalist, with an interview with Sergey Skuratov soon to follow.
Field of Life
The new project by the architectural company PNKB (an acronym for “Design, Research, and Advisory Bureau”), led by Sergey Gnedovsky and Anton Lyubimkin, for the Kulikovo Field Museum is dedicated to the field as a concept in its own right. The field has long been a focus of the museum’s thorough and successful research. Accordingly, the exterior of the new museum building is gentler than that of its predecessor, which was also designed by PNKB and dedicated specifically to the historic battle. Inside, however, the building confidently guides the visitor from a luminous atrium along a spiral path to the field – interpreted here as a field of life.
A Paper Clip above the River
In this article, we talk with Vitaly Lutz from the Genplan Institute of Moscow about the design and unique features of the pedestrian bridge that now links the two banks of the Yauza River in the new cluster of Bauman Moscow State Technical University (MSTU). The bridge’s form and functionality – particularly the inclusion of an amphitheater suspended over the river – were conceived during the planning phase of the territory’s development. Typically, this approach is not standard practice, but the architects advocate for it, referring to this intermediate project phase as the “pre-AGR” stage (AGR stands for Architectural and Urban Planning Approval). Such a practice, they argue, helps define key parameters of future projects and bridge the gap between urban planning and architectural design.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Life Plans
The master plan for the residential district “Prityazheniye” (“Gravity”) in Naberezhnye Chelny was developed by the architectural company A.Len, taking into account the specific urban planning context and partially implemented solutions of the first phase. However, the master plan prioritized its own values: a green framework, a system of focal points, a hierarchy of spaces, and pedestrian priority. After this, the question of what residents will do in their neighborhood simply doesn’t arise.