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​The Yard Aesthetics

Organizing the yard of a premium-class housing complex, GAFA architects took care not just about the image that matches the project’s high status, but also about simple human joys, masterfully overcoming the construction regulations.

11 May 2021
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The housing complex Spires is being built not far away from the Kutuzovsky Avenue, which is popularly associated with the high-end Stalin-architecture houses. Although this area is generally considered to be a prestigious one, this “prestige”, when viewed against the background of soaring steel-and-glass high-rises, which are popping up all over the city, has taken on a slightly outdated flavor. Despite this, the Spires complex stays within the mainstream of the popular notion of a prosperous life “a-la Kutuzovsky”: this is Soviet Art Deco in the interpretation of the architect Kim En Gir (Russia) with Tiffany stained-glass windows in lancet windows, gargoyles next to spikelets and flowerpots, free-standing “villas” and uncommonly high ceilings, which, according to the advertising pamphlet, will finally allow you to hang bohemian glass chandeliers and put in tropical plants.

Spires Residences
Copyright: © Tekta Group


The classic kind of land improvement could have turned Spires into the ultimate example of “heavy deluxe” – but, luckily, the client turned to GAFA, which was able to offset all the seriousness of the “premium-class” positioning with usual human joys, even though presented in an ostentatiously aesthetically highlighted form.

Spires Residences
Copyright: © Tekta Group


The Spires residences consist of three high-rise houses and five city villas. Curiously, almost in the very center of the complex, stands the “Dom Veteranov Kino” hotel – Jane Jacobs would have surely been pleased with such social differentiation within one city block. Also, the land site is adjoined by the “Volynsky” housing complex standing right next to it, but shutting itself off from the world by a rather high stylobate. Meanwhile, the Nezhinskaya Street separates Spires from the natural reserve “Valley of the Setun’ River”.

The master plan. Spires Residences
Copyright: © GAFA Architects


The proximity to the natural reserve both inspired the GAFA architects and allowed them to make the most out of the context, i.e. design not so much “wild” as urban nature, which has its own laws and purposes.

The first task that the architects needed to solve was the planning one. Two extensive, separated by Dom Veteranov Kino, are connected by two promenades: one is located on the side of the Nezhinskaya Street, turning it into an active city space with cafes and shops, while the other runs along the stylobate wall of the Volynsky housing complex and includes a few facilities of the special children’s route, more of which later. The urban villas and two-level apartments on the bottom floors have private little gardens of their own, which are delicately fenced off from the rest of the yard with strips of greenery.

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    The privacy levels. Spires Residences
    Copyright: © GAFA Architects
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    The functional zoning. Spires Residences
    Copyright: © GAFA Architects
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    The greenery. Spires Residences
    Copyright: © GAFA Architects
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    The game strategy. Spires Residences
    Copyright: © GAFA Architects
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    The traffci and the pedestrian flows. Spires Residences
    Copyright: © GAFA Architects
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    The decorative lighting. Spires Residences
    Copyright: © GAFA Architects


Another challenge was the regulation driveways. The high-rise buildings of the complex are serviced by the city’s biggest fire truck, for the maneuvers of which about a third of the entire yard space had to be allocated. However, when you take a look at the layouts and 3D renders of the yard, emergency vehicles are the last thing that comes to mind – the driveways are masked by a smooth paving pattern, which looks more like a winding path, and by geo webs, in which the architects are planning to plant clover, known for its ability to mitigate the effect of prevalence of hard surfaces. In addition, the emergency drive runs through the central plaza, but, due to the masterful “drapery” of the pavement, you would never guess about it.

Spires Residences
Copyright: © Tekta Group


The coverages. Spires Residences
Copyright: © GAFA Architects
 

A plaza is quite an unconventional solution for a yard space. It serves to achieve one of the super-tasks that GAFA set for themselves – to help form the residents’ community by using architectural solutions. Towards this end, Spires gets yet another element – an exquisite pergola, custom designed specifically for this project. The pergola has two important features. First of all, it is aesthetically pleasing in itself and looks like an art object meant to give identity to this project, at the same time making the residents feel as if the are part of it, as well as to evoke the desire to take a photo – this quality of being photogenic has recently become more and more in demand. Second, and more importantly, the pergola is a place where neighbors can meet and communicate. The two main categories of residents who lack communication most of all are young moms and remote workers. For both of them, a large common table presents an opportunity to start a conversation. Furthermore, on the next level, you can get involved in many joint activities: picnics, table games, drawing or public readings.  

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    The garden and the pergola. Spires Residences
    Copyright: © GAFA Architects
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    Spires Residences
    Copyright: © GAFA Architects
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    Spires Residences
    Copyright: © Tekta Group
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    Spires Residences
    Copyright: © Tekta Group


The pergola means, of course, an opportunity to spend more time outdoors – with a laptop or with a view of the playground. This same purpose – to lure people outdoors and bring them back to an “analogue” feel – is served by other objects as well. For example, a sensory garden, where fragrant perennials are planted, blooming at different times of the year. Totally, it is expected that there will be as many as 100 types of plants planted on the territory of Spires, including grownup spruce trees, for which artificial hills are made.

Spires Residences
Copyright: © Tekta Group


GAFA also has a special approach to children – for them, they created a possibility of a spontaneous game without any “scenario” from the adults. The playgrounds form objects, which, due to their abstract design, can be interpreted in many ways, depending on where your imagination takes you, and this is why you never get tired of them: this is how a gadget-free person can come up with countless uses for a stick or a cardboard box. In addition, children’s objects are hidden throughout the entire yard space and become the reward for the curious: in the thicket, you can find a snag, stones, a labyrinth or even a musical instrument. The game elements are integrated into one common travel route that connects the two courtyards.

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    Spires Residences
    Copyright: © Tekta Group
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    Spires Residences
    Copyright: © Tekta Group
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    Spires Residences
    Copyright: © GAFA Architects


The project pays special attention to lighting, with which GAFA was assisted by ERCO and Vlad Obasov. According to the GAFA’s leading architect Victoria Barkalova, an average housing complex uses painfully little of all the possibilities that modern lighting technologies offer, and, when working on Spires, the company discovered a lot of new things: not all objects must be necessarily lit; tactical lighting leaves dark islets and creates accents – using it, you can highlight both architecture and landscape elements. Thanks to the lighting design, in the evening the complex looks strikingly different and creates a very special mood. 

Spires Residences
Copyright: © Tekta Group


Spires Residences
Copyright: © Tekta Group


The yards, designed by GAFA, look like modern parks: they do not just have a lot of greenery and landscape objects in them, but also facilities for people aged from 0 to 80, while the space becomes recognizable and ties people strongly to their homes. In the case of Spires, the landscaping project adds value to the architecture, tying the buildings of the complex into a single whole and turning the space between them into a beautiful place to live in.


11 May 2021

Headlines now
Centipede Town
The new school campus designed by ATRIUM Architects, located on the shores of a protected lake in the Imeretian Lowland Ornithological Reserve, represents an important and ambitious undertaking for the team: this is not just a school, but a Presidential Lyceum for the comprehensive development of gifted children – 2,500 students from age 3 through high school. At the same time, it is also envisioned as a new civic hub for the entire Sirius territory. In this article, we unpack the structure and architecture of this “lyceum town”.
Warm Black and White
The second phase of “Quarter 31”, designed by KPLN and built in the Moscow suburb town of Pushkino, reveals a multifaceted character. At first glance, the complex appears to be defined by geometry and a monochrome palette. But a closer look reveals a number of “irregular” details: a gradient of glazing and flared window frames, a hierarchy of façades, volumetric brickwork, and even architectural references to natural phenomena. We explore all the rules – and exceptions – that we were able to discover here.
​Skylights and Staircase
Photos from March show the nearly completed headquarters of FSK Group on Shenogina Street. The building’s exterior is calm and minimalist; the interior is engaging and multi-layered. The conical skylights of the executive office, cast in raw concrete, and the sweeping spiral staircase leading to it, are particularly striking. In fact, there’s more than one spiral staircase here, and the first two floors effectively form a small shopping center. More below.
The Whale of Future Identity
Or is it a veil? Or a snow-covered plain? Vera Butko, Anton Nadtochy, and the architects of ATRIUM faced a complex and momentous task: to propose a design for the “Russia” National Center. It had to be contemporary, yet firmly rooted in cultural codes. Unique, and yet subtly reminiscent of many things at once. It must be said – the task found the right authors. Let’s explore in detail the image they envisioned.
Greater Altai: A Systemic Development Plan
The master plan for tourism development in Greater Altai encompasses three regions: Kuzbass, the Altai Republic, and Altai Krai. It is one of twelve projects developed as part of the large-scale state program bearing the simple name of “Tourism Development”. The project’s slogan reads: “Greater Altai – a place of strength, health, and spirit in the very heart of Siberia”. What are the proposed growth points, and how will the plan help increase the flow of both domestic and international tourists? Read on to find out.
The Colorful City
While working on a large-scale project in Moscow’s Kuntsevo district – one that has yet to be given a name – Kleinewelt Architekten proposed not only a diverse array of tower silhouettes in “Empire-style” hues and a thoughtful mix of building heights, creating a six-story “neo-urbanist” city with a block-based layout at ground level, but also rooted their design in historical and contextual reasoning. The project includes the reconstruction of several Stalin-era residential buildings that remain from the postwar town of Kuntsevo, as well as the reconstruction of a 1953 railway station that was demolished in 2017.
In Orbit of Moscow City
The Orbital business center is both simple and complex. Simple in its minimalist form and optimal office layout solution: a central core, a light-filled façade, plenty of glass; and from the unusual side – a technical floor cleverly placed at the building’s side ends. Complex – well, if only because it resembles a celestial body hovering on metallic legs near Magistralnaya Street. Why this specific shape, what it consists of, and what makes this “boutique” office building (purchased immediately after its completion) so unique – all of this and more is covered in our story.
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.