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.

Written by:
Alyona Kuznetsova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

14 October 2022

Object

The “New Peter” area is a grand-scale project by the development company “Stroitelny Trest “ (“Construction Trust”) located in the settlement of Novoselie: in total, it is expected to contain about 40 houses standing on 87 hectares of former farmland, about a third of which has already been developed. The residential blocks will stretch the whole length of the local Krasnoselskoe Highway, east of which new roads are currently being built – names have already been assigned to Pitersky Avenue and Nevskaya Street. From the north, New Peter is pushed by the St. Petersburg Ring Road, whose junction partially makes up for the remote location of Novoselye, hinted at by the very name of this place (literally “New Settlement”) – behind it, the multistory buildings stop short, giving way to forestland interspersed with country homes.

zooming — The master plan of New Peter residential area

Copyright: © Photo courtesy by Construction Trust

The project has been developing since 2014, and, for its time and location, and even for St. Petersburg, it has a whole number of innovative solutions. For example, all the houses have brick external walls, and there are no studios in them – the area of the apartments starts from 35 square meters, the height of the buildings does not exceed 12 floors, and the master plan, developed by the architectural studio M4, in addition to schools and kindergartens, has public life facilities in it – a linear park several kilometers long, a business center, and a sports and fitness complex. The first houses were also built by M4 projects, and in the more recent stages the developer went even further – they divided the land sites into lots and began inviting different architects to design them.

The commission to design Lot 12 was scored by Futura Architects, which was preceded by a rather lengthy story. The architects began working with New Peter still in 2014 from the White Nights Boulevard – a linear park that will run through all the segments of the complex. A part of the boulevard has already been built, and its beginning is marked by an abstract figure of an abstract sign – the already recognized “signature” of Futura Architects. In 2017, the boulevard received the Silver Sign award at Zodchestvo festival, after which the architects received an order for a fitness center and a business center – both are at different stages of completion.

1 / 4

The entrance sign at the White Nights boulevard

Copyright: © FUTURA-Architects
2 / 4

The White Nights Boulevard

Copyright: © FUTURA-Architects
3 / 4

The business center. New Peter residential area

Copyright: © FUTURA-Architects
4 / 4

The fitness center. New Peter residential area

Copyright: © FUTURA-Architects

In 2019, Futura Architects made for the “Manifesto” exhibition, which took place within the framework of the St. Petersburg Architectural Biennale, an installation that impressed the developer and became the basis of the future house.

Lot 12 occupies an important place in the structure of this area – it is situated at the crossing of Nevskaya Street and White Nights Boulevard; it is clearly viewable from the main square and remote vantage points of the boulevard park. This inspired the architects to design this house as a landmark. However, since the input parameters and the measurements of all the houses were identical, this task had to be solved by color and plastique means.

Oleg manov, creative leader of Futura-Architects

The idea to make “the most brick” building on the block was something that the client liked at once. The terra cotta color, clear-cut and simple shapes of the bay windows, clad in brick, and the random pattern of white bricks on the façade that look like falling snowflakes – all of this let us tear the project from the context and make it even more colorful and daring.

The plastique solutions were based on that same installation from the Manifesto exhibition. Yes, one must recognize that the similarity between this installation and the house is not really obvious, yet upon a closer look everything is readable quite clearly. The combination of a slender tower and a cantilever, which looks like a horizontal skyscraper, transformed into a contrast between the squatting brick masonry and the soaring white cascades of bay windows and recessed balconies. The cells of the apartments, so diverse in the installation, became more uniformed to a certain degree but they still show through in the cascades that stand out from the volume at different depths.

Comparing the installation and the actual house tempts one to make jokes in the spirit of “expectation vs reality”, like, this is what happens to the architect’s dreams when they hit the heartless market. This joke, however, will be pretty shallow because the project and its subsequent implementation were not done by chance, naivety or lack of experience. When faced with the task of designing comfort class housing in Novoselie, the architect made a reality something that they had been inwardly longing for. In architecture, just as in theater, there must not be “small” roles – you have to put a piece of your soul in every project.

The absence of accidental solutions is clearly seen if you compare the 3D render and the ready house. One can see that the things that are gone are the “dancing” shift of the bay windows and the “cell-like” quality of the bay windows; one can also see the struggle for the cascades that could have easily been arrayed in one plane – but on the whole the pictures are similar.

On the plan, the building is essentially a courtyard that opens up southward – in the direction of the future kindergarten. The volumes of the bay windows and recessed balconies, as well as the recessions and the increase of one of the sections from eight to nine floors make all the three street facades “working” and slightly different in their structure. The side wall from the side of the White Nights Boulevard could have been interpreted as a firewall in other circumstances, but here it turned into a textured “fracture” that makes one remember the concept of metabolism – its openness to the outside world will inevitably start a dialogue with the neighboring building.

1 / 4

New Peter residential area

Copyright: Photograph © Dmitry Tsyrenshchikov / provided FUTURA-ARCHITECTS
2 / 4

New Peter residential area

Copyright: Photograph © Dmitry Tsyrenshchikov / provided FUTURA-ARCHITECTS
3 / 4

New Peter residential area

Copyright: Photograph © Dmitry Tsyrenshchikov / provided FUTURA-ARCHITECTS
4 / 4

New Peter residential area

Copyright: Photograph © Dmitry Tsyrenshchikov / provided FUTURA-ARCHITECTS

When you examine the viewing angles created and the materials used, you see the architects’ adherence to the “old school” fundamentals: the building must look attractive from 200, 20, and 2 meters away. From the remote perspectives, the house attracts the observer with its colors, a cascades silhouette, and a mass that was able to avoid being fractured by horizontal details – and this is what makes it different from the surroundings. From the square next to Nevskaya street, the house opens up with its entire length and intrigues the observer with its bay windows and recessed balconies; inclusions of white brick become visible that echo the paving pattern.

Crossing the street, the observer will see an intricate pattern of terra cotta brick: it has a curious logic of its own, not Bavarian, not bonder, and not all-stretcher.

Oleg manov, creative leader of Futura-Architects

The masons were given detailed technological maps for laying red bricks, yet at the same time we allowed a possibility of moving away from these charts now and then. Thus, each new floor and each new section took on a unique character of their own. In the masonry, you can notice a horizontal stretching of the pattern, or, conversely, a very frequent change of color – sometimes, it is even an ancient Celtic pattern with rhombuses and crosses. Someone may see symbols in these drawings, someone may see a reflection of wildlife, but one thing is for sure – it is impossible to build another such building. The pattern is as diverse as our society is. Thus, the builders took a full part in the formation of a truly authentic project.

The “laying bare” of the white color in the body of the building gives it a second layer – not material but rather of a conceptual nature. While the brick is perceived as the “skin” or the “shell” of the building, the white stucco is perceived in different ways depending on the viewing angle: from the outside – as from the outside – as the exit of ancient geological rocks to the surface or as living tissues ready to grow further, from the inside – as pulp or as a lining.

The yards in “New Peter” are closed-door and they differ from one another – according to the developer’s plan, this must encourage the residents to meet and then visit one another more often. A special feature of Lot 12 is a small Zen garden with sun loungers, a gazebo, and a communal table under a canopy. The ground floor apartments facing the courtyard have quite spacious terraces. Outside, the outline of the building is occupied by commercial premises. From the second to the ninth floors there are 1-3 room apartments ranging from 35 to 82 square meters.

14 October 2022

Headlines now

The Big Twelve

Yesterday, the winners of the Moscow Mayor’s Architecture Award were announced and honored. Let’s take a look at what was awarded and, in some cases, even critique this esteemed award. After all, there is always room for improvement, right?

Object

Above the Golden Horn

The residential complex “Philosophy” designed by T+T architects in Vladivostok, is one of the new projects in the “Golubinaya Pad” area, changing its development philosophy (pun intended) from single houses to a comprehensive approach. The buildings are organized along public streets, varying in height and format, with one house even executed in gallery typology, featuring a cantilever leaning on an art object.

Report

Nuanced Alternative

How can you rhyme a square and space? Easily! But to do so, you need to rhyme everything you can possibly think of: weave everything together, like in a tensegrity structure, and find your own optics too. The new exhibition at GES-2 does just that, offering its visitor a new perspective on the history of art spanning 150 years, infused with the hope for endless multiplicity of worlds and art histories. Read on to see how this is achieved and how the exhibition design by Evgeny Ace contributes to it.

Object

Blinds for Ice

An ice arena has been constructed in Domodedovo based on a project by Yuri Vissarionov Architects. To prevent the long façade, a technical requirement for winter sports facilities, from appearing monotonous, the architects proposed the use of suspended structures with multidirectional slats. This design protects the ice from direct sunlight while giving the wall texture and detail.

Report

Campus within a Day

In this article, we talk about what the participants of Genplan Institute of Moscow’s hackathon were doing at the MosComArchitecture booth at the “ArchMoscow” exhibition. We also discuss who won the prize and why, and what can be done with the territory of a small university on the outskirts of Moscow.

Overview

Vertical Civilization

Genpro considered the development of the vertical city concept and made it the theme of their pavilion at the “ArchMoscow” exhibition.

Interview

Marina Yegorova: “We think in terms of hectares, not square meters”

The career path of architect Marina Yegorova is quite impressive: MARHI, SPEECH, MosComArchitectura, the Genplan Institute of Moscow, and then her own architectural company. Its name Empate, which refers to the words “to draw” in Portuguese and “to empathize” in English, should not be misleading with its softness, as the firm freely works on different scales, including Integrated Territorial Development projects. We talked with Marina about various topics: urban planning experience, female leadership style, and even the love of architects for yachting.

Interview

Andrey Chuikov: “Optimum balance is achieved through economics”

The Yekaterinburg-based architectural company CNTR is in its mature stage: crystallization of principles, systematization, and standardization helped it make a qualitative leap, enhance competencies, and secure large contracts without sacrificing the aesthetic component. The head of the company, Andrey Chuikov, told us about building a business model and the bonuses that additional education in financial management provides for an architect.

Object

The Fulcrum

Ostozhenka Architects have designed two astonishing towers practically on the edge of a slope above the Oka River in Nizhny Novgorod. These towers stand on 10-meter-tall weathered steel “legs”, with each floor offering panoramic views of the river and the city; all public spaces, including corridors, receive plenty of natural light. Here, we see a multitude of solutions that are unconventional for the residential routine of our day and age. Meanwhile, although these towers hark back to the typological explorations of the seventies, they are completely reinvented in a contemporary key. We admire Veren Group as the client – this is exactly how a “unique product” should be made – and we tell you exactly how our towers are arranged.

Object

Crystal is Watching You

Right now, Museum Night has kicked off at the Museum of Architecture, featuring a fresh new addition – the “Crystal of Perception”, an installation by Sergey Kuznetsov, Ivan Grekov, and the KROST company, set up in the courtyard. It shimmers with light, it sings, it reacts to the approach of people, and who knows what else it can do.

Object

The Secret Briton

The house is called “Little France”. Its composition follows the classical St. Petersburg style, with a palace-like courtyard. The decor is on the brink of Egyptian lotuses, neo-Greek acroteria, and classic 1930s “gears”; the recessed piers are Gothic, while the silhouette of the central part of the house is British. It’s quite interesting to examine all these details, attempting to understand which architectural direction they belong to. At the same time, however, the house fits like a glove in the context of the 20th line of St. Petersburg’s Vasilievsky Island; its elongated wings hold up the façade quite well.

The Wrap-Up

The competition project proposed by Treivas for the first 2021 competition for the Russian pavilion at EXPO 2025 concludes our series of publications on pavilion projects that will not be implemented. This particular proposal stands out for its detailed explanations and the idea of ecological responsibility: both the facades and the exhibition inside were intended to utilize recycled materials.

Birds and Streams

For the competition to design the Omsk airport, DNK ag formed a consortium, inviting VOX architects and Sila Sveta. Their project focuses on intersections, journeys, and flights – both of people and birds – as Omsk is known as a “transfer point” for bird migrations. The educational component is also carefully considered, and the building itself is filled with light, which seems to deconstruct the copper circle of the central entrance portal, spreading it into fantastic hyper-spatial “slices”.

Faraday Grid

The project of the Omsk airport by ASADOV Architects is another concept among the 14 finalists of a recent competition. It is called “The Bridge” and is inspired by both the West Siberian Exhibition of 1911 and the Trans-Siberian Railway bridge over the Irtysh River, built in 1896. On one hand, it carries a steampunk vibe, while on the other, there’s almost a sense of nostalgia for the heyday of 1913. However, the concept offers two variants, the second one devoid of nostalgia but featuring a parabola.

Review

Midway upon the Journey of Our Life

Recently, Tatlin Publishing House released a book entitled “Architect Sergey Oreshkin. Selected Projects”. This book is not just a traditional book of the architectural company’s achievements, but rather a monograph of a more personal nature. The book includes 43 buildings as well as a section with architectural drawings. In this article, we reflect on the book as a way to take stock of an architect’s accomplishments.

Inverted Fortress

This year, there has been no shortage of intriguing architectural ideas around the Omsk airport. The project developed by the architectural company KPLN appeals to Omsk’s history as a wooden fortress that it was back in the day, but transforms the concept of a fortress beyond recognition: it “shaves off” the conical ends of “wooden logs”, then enlarges them, and then flips them over. The result is a hypostyle – a forest of conical columns on point supports, with skylights on top.

send.project

Transformation of Annenkirche

For Annenkirche (St. Anna Lutheran Church in St. Petersburg), Sergey Kuznetsov and the Kamen bureau have prepared a project that relies on the principles of the Venice Charter: the building is not restored to a specific date, historical layers are preserved, and modern elements do not mimic the authentic ones. Let’s delve into the details of these solutions.

The Paradox of the Temporary

The concept of the Russian pavilion for EXPO 2025 in Osaka, proposed by the Wowhaus architects, is the last of the six projects we gathered from the 2022 competition. It is again worth noting that the results of this competition were not finalized due to the cancellation of Russia’s participation in World Expo 2025. It should be mentioned that Wowhaus created three versions for this competition, but only one is being presented, and it can’t be said that this version is thoroughly developed – rather, it is done in the spirit of a “student assignment”. Nevertheless, the project is interesting in its paradoxical nature: the architects emphasized the temporary character of the pavilion, and in its bubble-like forms sought to reflect the paradoxes of space and time.

The Forum of Time

The competition project for the Russian Pavilion at EXPO 2025 in Osaka designed by Aleksey Orlov and Arena Project Institute consists of cones and conical funnels connected into a non-trivial composition, where one can feel the hand of architects who have worked extensively with stadiums and other sports facilities. It’s very interesting to delve into its logic, structurally built on the theme of clocks, hourglasses and even sundials. Additionally, the architects have turned the exhibition pavilion into a series of interconnected amphitheaters, which is also highly relevant for world exhibitions. We are reminding you that the competition results were never announced.

Mirrors Everywhere

The project by Sergey Nebotov, Anastasia Gritskova, and the architectural company “Novoe” was created for the Russian pavilion at EXPO 2025, but within the framework of another competition, which, as we learned, took place even earlier, in 2021. At that time, the competition theme was “digital twins”, and there was minimal time for work, so the project, according to the architect himself, was more of a “student assignment”. Nevertheless, this project is interesting for its plan bordering on similarity with Baroque projects and the emblem of the exhibition, as well as its diverse and comprehensive reflectiveness.

Report

The Steppe Is Full of Beauty and Freedom

The goal of the exhibition “Dikoe Pole” (“Wild Field”) at the State Historical Museum was to move away from the archaeological listing of valuable items and to create an image of the steppe and nomads that was multidirectional and emotional – in other words, artistic. To achieve this goal, it was important to include works of contemporary art. One such work is the scenography of the exhibition space developed by CHART studio.

The Snowstorm Fish

The next project from the unfinished competition for the Russian Pavilion at EXPO 2025, which will be held in Osaka, Japan, is by Dashi Namdakov and Parsec Architects. The pavilion describes itself as an “architectural/sculptural” one, with its shape clearly reminiscent of abstract sculpture of the 1970s. It complements its program with a meditative hall named “Mendeleev’s Dreams”, and offers its visitors to slide from its roof at the end of the tour.

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Object

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.

Object

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

Object

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.

Object

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.