The New Dawn

The international competition for renovating the Tyumen’s Home-Building Factory took place in the summer of 2022. Out of the ten finalist proposals, the judging panel selected a project submitted by a relatively young architectural company named HADAA led by George Tyugaev and Mikhail Schwarzmann. Currently, the project is about to be built. The concept will be implemented in a few stages; the client has launched a procedure for choosing the general contractor, one of the requirements being to have the victorious architectural company do the on-site supervision.

In fall, the HADAA concept was awarded the “Silver Sign” at the Zodchestvo festival.

In a word, this is a high-profile project.

zooming — Home Building Factory 500 in Tyumen. The central lobby of the block of the main production facilities

Copyright: © HADAA ARCHITECTS

Also, the project is very large: the building’s construction blueprint is 600 x 200 meters, 12-hectares, the area of the adjacent territory being 28.3 hectares (the architects often compare it to the three pyramids of Cheops) – and it is also very special in many respects, both in terms of the “givens” and the very essence of the proposal, formulated in the victorious project.

Late 1980s: wooden house kit factory

Home-Building Factory 500 was constructed in the late 1980s in accordance with Finnish technology. It produced standardized houses – “house kits” made from wood. The factory did not work to full capacity for long: the giant production center did not fit in with the post-Soviet reality. It is located at the eastern outskirts of Tyumen, beyond the belt of private cottages, and not far away from the Ring Road, in the district commonly known as “Leskhoz”, which in recent years has gained an unsavory reputation.

Today, however, there are plans for developing this area – not in the format that is habitual for capital cities, when former factories are replaced by housing complexes, but in a hybrid format: to the west, the industrial parks are preserved, and to the east, residential houses will be built in accordance with the Integrated Land Development Program. From the south, the territory borders on the Pesyanoe Lake; it is also very large, 2 km in length, but after rehabilitation it could become a wonderful part of the natural environment.

The early 2020s: the biggest technology park

Currently, it is planned that the buildings and the territory of the factory will be turned into Russia’s largest technology park, designed for 50 companies, and, in addition, it must become the biggest driver of the development of the Leskhoz territory – and turning it into something that is sometimes described as “poly-center”: implementing new functions, developing new industries, additions of future housing with offices in the neighborhood and the emergence of new public spaces. All the things people expect from it.

The features of the solution, proposed by the HADAA consortium, include: flexibility of structure, smooth and “gradient” mutual penetration of spaces with different function and typology, different degree of openness and closeness, and not just random penetration, but the kind that was built in accordance with Huff’s model – a “commercial model of gravity”, as the architects explain.

The model helps to assess the level of demand of the commercial enterprise with consideration to its area and location. And, yes, the consortium also includes economists – the consulting company S.A. Ricchi, as well as St. Petersburg’s Eggert Engineering that specializes on technology-based solutions.

The main role, however, was played by the architects.

I studied at the Moscow Institute of Architecture at the Department of Industrial Architecture. I am interested in working with industrial facilities and I would like to emphasize that the role of an architect in working with such tasks is not at all limited to “drawing beautiful pictures”, as is often assumed. Many breakthrough industrial projects in Germany and Sweden of the 1960s and 1980s appeared specifically thanks to architects. Take, for example, the Volvo plant in Kalmar, where the Ford conveyor was redesigned according to a more efficient pattern; this was done thanks to efficient collaboration between architects and technologists, but the architects still prevail. So the DSK-500 competition seemed very interesting to us from the point of view of the architectural task itself.

We really liked the brief, which was designed in the form of a book, with information about the city and about likely residents – quite detailed, but at the same time given in “large strokes”, not overly detailed. It defined the boundaries, but did not interfere with our work, giving us enough creative freedom.

There is yet another feature that the concept owes to the architects’ initiative: it treats the already existing industrial building of the 1980s extremely tactfully.

Preservation

The building is a hangar with thin, high and spaciously spaced metal supports and yellow cross–shaped extensions between them; it has simple but thin trusses of wide-span ceilings and with roof height differences, reminiscent of the "naves" so beloved in industrial architecture, but now – without additional light strips in the height difference.

However, there are a lot of skylights in the roof of profiled sheeting, both sawtooth skylights and round openings of a very small diameter. The walls and partitions, on the other hand, are made deliberately sloppy out of exposed concrete, but they also feature stained glass verticals and ribbon bands on top. In other words, what you see on the inside, even in this dilapidated state, is something that’s spacious, tall, and light, and, generally speaking, the atmosphere of an industrial hangar is brutally romantic.

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Home Building Factory 500 in Tyumen. The current state

Copyright: Photograph: provided by HADAA ARCHITECTS, 2022
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Home Building Factory 500 in Tyumen. The current state

Copyright: Photograph: provided by HADAA ARCHITECTS, 2022
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Home Building Factory 500 in Tyumen. The current state

Copyright: Photograph: provided by HADAA ARCHITECTS, 2022
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Home Building Factory 500 in Tyumen. The current state

Copyright: Photograph: provided by HADAA ARCHITECTS, 2022

The HADAA project provides for preserving 90% of the existing structures.

On the other hand, the architects treat the original configuration of the building very carefully, and do not make any radical invasions. The existing overpasses give way to new ones, just as useful in the Tyumen climate. There is more glass now, but it does not dominate, staying within the borders of the stained glass windows and the “ribbons”.

The metallic surface of profiled sheeting looks as though it “descends” from the roof, replacing the concrete walls: the facades are lightweight, and, more importantly, cost-effective. According to the architects, if you make the right choice and efficiently “arrange” such simple material, toggling between the formats of its striped surface, the resulting volume will look both modern and adequate to the “technology park” function – the silvery metal in combination with glass is quite capable of refreshing the building’s image without being exceedingly pompous.

The architects preserve some parts of the old structures as useful ones, staying in the background but effective in their own way – for example, the trusses that bear the roof. Some of the walls are turned into glass – not only on the outside facades but also on the roof ledge: this is how yet another source of natural light appears, which, as it seems to me, was originally designed but was not implemented.

Some elements of the old structures of the hangar are treated by the architects as recognizable artifacts that are responsible for the genius loci (in the project, we see that they have been deliberately aged, so as to emphasize the idea) – for example, these are the metallic supports or yellow stretching fasteners. They neighbor on ultra-new inclusions, such as a silvery spiral staircase – its presence, among other things, emphasizes the peaceful coexistence of spaces of different scales: spacious double-height atriums and “loft” floors.

The topic of “genius loci” is continued by yet another inclusion. On the territory of the hangar, there is a railway that was formerly used for delivering wood and shopping the ready house building kits. The railroad tracks are owned by the Russian Railways, and getting permission for their dismantling would have been quite a chore.

HADAA architects use most of the tracks for landscaping purposes inside the technology park, covering it with green casings.

Some of the railroad, however – the part lying on the south side where it comes very close to a large industrial lot – will be used for its direct purpose, i.e. for loading and unloading: to revive its original function. For example, to unload “oversized technological equipment” – but probably seldom, “once in every few years”. For this reason, the project provides for a collapsible mechanism for the “meeting” the train: the removable facade panels and floor slabs can later be put in place. To unload the train, a crane beam is provided – a mechanism sliding along a reinforced beam under the ceiling; several more crane beams are provided for other production facilities.

The gradient of the technology park

Let’s get back, however, to the structure of the technology park and distribution of the functions and facilities. On the west side, there is a future residential block, where a public boulevard running along the main building appears, with bicycle tracks, maximum glass, and open doors. On the east side, the industrial park is preserved; along this wall, production facilities are grouped, sometimes hazardous, or at least with special operating conditions. Between these two, there is a mix of atriums, coworking spaces, laboratories, and other facilities. It is expected that anyone can enter from the west, but as you move eastward, restrictions gradually set in. This way – which is interesting enough – the architects use the economic theory to arrange the space, not really changing the building but only “modeling” it, sometimes removing the supports, sometimes adding a cantilever and winning extra square meters, sometimes covering, and sometimes revealing things.

That is not to say that the project produces any kind of “blurred” impression: the plan clearly shows that the ratio of large / medium facilities, offices and coworking spaces is distributed in accordance with a very simple pattern. Yet, this pattern is indeed gradient-based.

The proposed solution means maximum flexibility of the development of the already-existing building. The city on the one side, and the industrial park on the other get “crossed” under the roof of the same mini-city, which is something that is likely to boost its role as a driver, at the same time leaving room for gradual change, and making real-time adjustments. This is something that’s critically important, especially for such a grand-scale task.

The new and renewed

The project, of course, is not limited to preservation and “uncovering” – it also provides for development, most of which is concentrated north and south of the main building. On the north side, where you approach the building down the Domostroitelei Street, you are welcomed by the “grand entrance” for people and the driving entrance for trucks (on the left). The two relatively small buildings that stand left and right of the entrance are turned into exposition centers, conference halls, and coworking spaces with a showroom underneath a glass roof on the central axis.

Most of the transformations are designed in the furthermost part of the building, on the lake shore. Here we can see the newest construction referring to the latest stages, and the nature around the pond, about which the architects warned very early on: you don’t need any “urban” embankment here, the place will get boardwalks in a relatively “wild-growing” setting. The closer to the lake, the “wilder” the experience becomes.

So! The architects use the trapeze-shaped territory between the lake and the hangar for the newest buildings: a “business incubator” and a hotel. The distinctive feature of the latter is not just an oval plan and a rather big height, but also the fact that it is designed as a multipurpose building – should this be necessary, the whole building (or some of its floors) can be turned into offices. This is as flexible as it can get.

A more important building is the already mentioned “business incubator”. It is expected that it will host startups, as well as lectures, conferences, and everything else that is important for sharing expertise and for professional growth. Sometimes there can be more people in some areas, sometimes less, and the space here is particularly flexible: the permanent premises are there only on the perimeter; in the middle, there are “islands” that can change its form and function.

Accordingly, the new building is covered with a wooden roof with large and deep caissons resting on fan-like supports: their bottom reinforced-concrete parts are of the same height, but they expand towards the top with metallic “branches” of different length. Accordingly, the roof also has varying height: it bends like a blanket or an ocean wave – something that, of course, would have been impossible in the old building. The interior, however, has plenty of air to it, and is quite flashy. The abundance of wood is also “homage” to the wooden past of this place.

The facades of the new building, in turn, are a little more expensive than in the old one. Probably, it will be possible to use fiber concrete of a very dark color, almost black. The style, however, is pretty much the same, i.e. extended – the glass bands echo the leitmotif of the main building. The skylights are also “inherited” here, but they are larger, and all circular.

The roofs are a separate topic. HADAA architects propose to equip the main building’s roof with “fields” of photovoltaic elements, which would be capable of satisfying at least some of the energy needs of the park and its data center. After all, the area of the roof is 13 hectares.

The skylights, both new and renovated ones, are also an important part of the imagery of the “fifth facade”. Its panorama is both reserved and at the same time cosmically expressive, and is both reminiscent of Tashkent bathhouses and modernist classics. The skylights accumulate light for the inner spaces during the day, and they glow at night. This is particularly important because the architects also did not forget about the operated roofs with gardens.

***

In all this, there is both lyricism and practicality, which rarely go well together. The project is thought out in detail, there are 140 pages in the album alone, but there are no bright “wow” gestures in it, except for those that the authors extract from the context, emphasizing the length, spaciousness, and luminosity of the original building and responding to it in the innovations that they propose. So the approach is good not only for the tactfulness of looking at the industrial architecture of recent times as a value, but also, of course, because of its implementability. We sometimes forget that conservation is essentially about saving up; this rule, which was relevant until the middle of the XX century, has been questioned many times in recent decades. In this case – on the edge of industrial Tyumen, in a project of considerable ambitions, but hardly of an unlimited budget – the proposed “gradient” approach, based on saving resources (constructive, natural and others) seems to be beautiful and optimal at the same time.

03 February 2023

Written by:
Julia Tarabarina
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

Headlines now

The Mirror of Your Soul

We continue to publish projects from the competition for the design of the Russian Pavilion at EXPO in Osaka 2025. We are reminding you that the results of the competition have not been announced, and hardly will ever be. The pavilion designed by ASADOV Architects combines a forest log cabin, the image of a hyper transition, and sculptures made of glowing threads – it focuses primarily on the scenography of the exhibition, which the pavilion builds sequentially like a string of impressions, dedicating it to the paradoxes of the Russian soul.

Part of the Ideal

In 2025, another World Expo will take place in Osaka, Japan, in which Russia will not participate. However, a competition for the Russian pavilion was indeed held, with six projects participating. The results were never announced as Russia’s participation was canceled; the competition has no winners. Nevertheless, Expo pavilion projects are typically designed for a bold and interesting architectural statement, so we’ve gathered all the six projects and will be publishing articles about them in random order. The first one is the project by Vladimir Plotkin and Reserve Union, which is distinguished by the clarity of its stereometric shape, the boldness of its structure, and the multiplicity of possible interpretations.

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The Fortress by the River

ASADOV Architects have developed a concept for a new residential district in the center of Kemerovo. To combat the harsh climate and monotonous everyday life, the architects proposed a block type of development with dominant towers, good insolation, facades detailed at eye level, and event programming.

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In the Rhombus Grid

Construction has begun on the building of the OMK (United Metallurgical Company) Corporate University in Nizhny Novgorod’s town of Vyksa, designed by Ostozhenka Architects. The most interesting aspect of the project is how the architects immersed it in the context: “extracting” a diagonal motif from the planning grid of Vyksa, they aligned the building, the square, and the park to match it. A truly masterful work with urban planning context on several different levels of perception has long since become the signature technique of Ostozhenka.

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Generational Connection

Another modern estate, designed by Roman Leonidov, is located in the Moscow region and brings together three generations of one family under one roof. To fit on a narrow plot without depriving anyone of personal space, the architects opted for a zigzag plan. The main volume in the house structure is accentuated by mezzanines with a reverse-sloped roof and ceilings featuring exposed beams.

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Three Dimensions of the City

We began to delve into the project by Sergey Skuratov, the residential complex “Depo” in Minsk, located at Victory Square, and it fascinated us completely. The project has at least several dimensions to it: historical – at some point, the developer decided to discontinue further collaboration with Sergey Skuratov Architects, but the concept was approved, and its implementation continues, mostly in accordance with the proposed ideas. The spatial and urban planning dimension – the architects both argue with the city and play along with it, deciphering nuances, and finding axes. And, finally, the tactile dimension – the constructed buildings also have their own intriguing features. Thus, this article also has two parts: it dwells on what has been built and what was conceived

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New “Flight”

Architects from “Mezonproject” have developed a project for the reconstruction of the regional youth center “Polyot”(“Flight”) in the city of Oryol. The summer youth center, built back in the late 1970s, will now become year-round and acquire many additional functions.

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The Yauza Towers

In Moscow, there aren’t that many buildings or projects designed by Nikita Yavein and Studio 44. In this article, we present to you the concept of a large multifunctional complex on the Yauza River, located between two parks, featuring a promenade, a crossroads of two pedestrian streets, a highly developed public space, and an original architectural solution. This solution combines a sophisticated, asymmetric façade grid, reminiscent of a game of fifteen puzzle, and bold protrusions of the upper parts of the buildings, completely masking the technical floors and sculpting the complex’s silhouette.

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Architecture and Leisure Park

For the suburban hotel complex, which envisages various formats of leisure, the architectural company T+T Architects proposed several types of accommodation, ranging from the classic “standard” in a common building to a “cave in the hill” and a “house in a tree”. An additional challenge consisted in integrating a few classic-style residences already existing on this territory into the “architectural forest park”.

Overview

The U-House

The Jois complex combines height with terraces, bringing the most expensive apartments from penthouses down to the bottom floors. The powerful iconic image of the U-shaped building is the result of the creative search for a new standard of living in high-rise buildings by the architects of “Genpro”.

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Black and White

In this article, we specifically discuss the interiors of the ATOM Pavilion at VDNKh. Interior design is a crucial component of the overall concept in this case, and precision and meticulous execution were highly important for the architects. Julia Tryaskina, head of UNK interiors, shares some of the developments.

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The “Snake” Mountain

The competition project for the seaside resort complex “Serpentine” combines several typologies: apartments of different classes, villas, and hotel rooms. For each of these typologies, the KPLN architects employ one of the images that are drawn from the natural environment – a serpentine road, a mountain stream, and rolling waves.

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Opal from Anna Mons’ Ring

The project of a small business center located near Tupolev Plaza and Radio Street proclaims the necessity of modern architecture in a specific area of Moscow commonly known as “Nemetskaya Sloboda” or “German settlement”. It substantiates its thesis with the thoroughness of details, a multitude of proposed and rejected form variants, and even a detailed description of the surrounding area. The project is interesting indeed, and it is even more interesting to see what will come of it.

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Feed ’Em All

A “House of Russian Cuisine” was designed and built by KROST Group at VDNKh for the “Rossiya” exhibition in record-breaking time. The pavilion is masterfully constructed in terms of the standards of modern public catering industry multiplied by the bustling cultural program of the exhibition, and it interprets the stylistically diverse character of VDNKh just as successfully. At the same time, much of its interior design can be traced back to the prototypes of the 1960s – so much so that even scenes from iconic Soviet movies of those years persistently come to mind.

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The Ensemble at the Mosque

OSA prepared a master plan for a district in the southern part of Derbent. The main task of the master plan is to initiate the formation of a modern comfortable environment in this city. The organization of residential areas is subordinated to the city’s spiritual center: depending on the location relative to the cathedral mosque, the houses are distinguished by façade and plastique solutions. The program also includes a “hospitality center”, administrative buildings, an educational cluster, and even an air bridge.

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Pargolovo Protestantism

A Protestant church is being built in St. Petersburg by the project of SLOI architects. One of the main features of the building is a wooden roof with 25-meter spans, which, among other things, forms the interior of the prayer hall. Also, there are other interesting details – we are telling you more about them.

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The Shape of the Inconceivable

The ATOM Pavilion at VDNKh brings to mind a famous maxim of all architects and critics: “You’ve come up with it? Now build it!” You rarely see such a selfless immersion in implementation of the project, and the formidable structural and engineering tasks set by UNK architects to themselves are presented here as an integral and important part of the architectural idea. The challenge matches the obliging status of the place – after all, it is an “exhibition of achievements”, and the pavilion is dedicated to the nuclear energy industry. Let’s take a closer look: from the outside, from the inside, and from the underside too.

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Rays of the Desert

A school for 1750 students is going to be built in Dubai, designed by IND Architects. The architects took into account the local specifics, and proposed a radial layout and spaces, in which the children will be comfortable throughout the day.

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The Dairy Theme

The concept of an office of a cheese-making company, designed for the enclosed area of a dairy factory, at least partially refers to industrial architecture. Perhaps that is why this concept is very simple, which seems the appropriate thing to do here. The building is enlivened by literally a couple of “master strokes”: the turning of the corner accentuates the entrance, and the shade of glass responds to the theme of “milk rivers” from Russian fairy tales.

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The Road to the Temple

Under a grant from the Small Towns Competition, the main street and temple area of the village of Nikolo-Berezovka near Neftekamsk has been improved. A consortium of APRELarchitects and Novaya Zemlya is turning the village into an open-air museum and integrating ruined buildings into public life.

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Towers Leaning Towards the Sun

The three towers of the residential complex “Novodanilovskaya 8” are new and the tallest neighbors of the Danilovsky Manufactory, “Fort”, and “Plaza”, complementing a whole cluster of modern buildings designed by renowned masters. At the same time, the towers are unique for this setting – they are residential, they are the tallest ones here, and they are located on a challenging site. In this article, we explore how architects Andrey Romanov and Ekaterina Kuznetsova tackled this far-from-trivial task.

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In the spirit of ROSTA posters

The new Rostselmash tractor factory, conceptualized by ASADOV Architects, is currently being completed in Rostov-on-Don. References to the Soviet architecture of the 1920’s and 1960’s resonate with the mission and strategic importance of the enterprise, and are also in line with the client’s wish: to pay homage to Rostov’s constructivism.

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The Northern Thebaid

The central part of Ferapontovo village, adjacent to the famous monastery with frescoes by Dionisy, has been improved according to the project by APRELarchitects. Now the place offers basic services for tourists, as well as a place for the villagers’ leisure.

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Brilliant Production

The architects from London-based MOST Architecture have designed the space for the high-tech production of Charge Cars, a high-performance production facility for high-speed electric cars that are assembled in the shell of legendary Ford Mustangs. The founders of both the company and the car assembly startup are Russians who were educated in their home country.

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Three-Part Task: St. Petersburg’s Mytny Dvor

The so-called “Mytny Dvor” area lying just behind Moscow Railway Station – the market rows with a complex history – will be transformed into a premium residential complex by Studio 44. The project consists of three parts: the restoration of historical buildings, the reconstruction of the lost part of the historical contour, and new houses. All of them are harmonized with each other and with the city; axes and “beams of light” were found, cozy corners and scenic viewpoints were carefully thought out. We had a chat with the authors of the historical buildings’ restoration project, and we are telling you about all the different tasks that have been solved here.

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The Color of the City, or Reflections on the Slope of an Urban Settlement

In 2022, Ostozhenka Architects won a competition, and in 2023, they developed and received all the necessary approvals for a master plan for the development of Chernigovskaya Street for the developer GloraX. The project takes into account a 10-year history of previous developments; it was done in collaboration with architects from Nizhny Novgorod, and it continues to evolve now. We carefully examined it, talked to everyone, and learned a lot of interesting things.

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A Single-Industry Town

Kola MMC and Nornickel are building a residential neighborhood in Monchegorsk for their future employees. It is based on a project by an international team that won the 2021 competition. The project offers a number of solutions meant to combat the main “demons” of any northern city: wind, grayness and boredom.

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A New Age Portico

At the beginning of the year, Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport opened Terminal C. The large-scale and transparent entrance hall with luminous columns inside successfully combines laconism with a bright and photogenic WOW-effect. The terminal is both the new façade of the whole complex and the starting point of the planned reconstruction, upon completion of which Tolmachevo will become the largest regional airport in Russia. In this article, we are examining the building in the context of modernist prototypes of both Novosibirsk and Leningrad: like puzzle pieces, they come together to form their individual history, not devoid of curious nuances and details.

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A New Starting Point

We’ve been wanting to examine the RuArts Foundation space, designed by ATRIUM for quite a long time, and we finally got round to it. This building looks appropriate and impressive; it amazingly combines tradition – represented in our case by galleries – and innovation. In this article, we delve into details and study the building’s historical background as well.

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Molding Perspectives

Stepan Liphart introduces “schematic Art Deco” on the outskirts of Kazan – his houses are executed in green color, with a glassy “iced” finish on the facades. The main merits of the project lie in his meticulous arrangement of viewing angles – the architect is striving to create in a challenging environment the embryo of a city not only in terms of pedestrian accessibility but also in a sculptural sense. He works with silhouettes, proposing intriguing triangular terraces. The entire project is structured like a crystal, following two grids, orthogonal and diagonal. In this article, we are examining what worked, and what eventually didn’t.