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​Stars for the Moscow Region

In this issue, we examine the six most interesting “star” projects prepared for the Moscow Region and showcased at Zodchestvo festival. Educational institutions prevail.

05 October 2022
Overview
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It is common knowledge that at Zodchestvo festival the booths of the regions of the Russian Federation perform several functions, one of them, the most interesting for the architectural market, being to showcase the projects. The actual purposes of these showcases may vary, but, as a rule, the information is priceless. It’s a pity the festival even ended so fast.

The Mosoblarkhitektura booth at Zodchestvo festival
Copyright: Photograph: provided by Mosoblarkhitektura


The Mosoblarkhitektura booth at Zodchestvo festival
Copyright: Photograph: provided by Mosoblarkhitektura


This year, the Moscow region’s booth was dominated not by the strings pulled through its map, not by a glowing frame, and not even by the lowercase “o” that you could sit upon – but by prismatic displays that demonstrated 42 projects in a mirror setting. The judging panel awarded the Moscow Region the “gold” diploma, and this became for us a suitable occasion for reviewing projects built or currently in construction. We decided to start with the brightest ones – some of them are really spot-on now, some not so much, and some did not get enough press coverage. However, all the projects can be considered to be “star” ones – or at least attention-worthy.
E.M. Primakov Gymnasium, 2nd stage. The lobby
Copyright: © Studio 44

Primakov Gymnasium, Stage 2

Studio
Where
Russia, Odintsovo
Date
2019 — 2020 / 2020 — 2023
Function
Education / School
Stage 2 of the Gymnasium was designed by Studio 44 – the architects of several very high-profile buildings with an educational function, and, as a consequence, the experts in this field. We have already covered this project.

In the gymnasium, instruction is given in two languages, Russian and English, and new teaching methods are developed. The building is quite a match for that: thematic blocks are accommodated in designated volumes, grouped together around a spacious atrium/amphitheater, some of the buildings being more open and some less open to this space that can serve as a place for the students communication, or, if needed, be turned into an event hall.

The complex is being built not far away from Moscow, next to the famous settlement of Razdory, and the architects are interpreting their project as a “transition” one in terms of the scale: it stands between private residences on the one side and the building of the first stage of the gymnasium on the other. The design process was far from simple: as it turned out, the land site had an incredible number of restrictions and underground communications.
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    Primakov School, 2nd phase
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / Studio 44
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    Primakov School, 2nd phase
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / Studio 44
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    Primakov School, 2nd phase
    Copyright: Photograph © Aleksey Naroditsky / Studio 44
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    The master plan. Primakov School, 2nd phase
    Copyright © Studio 44

Senezh Management LAB

Where
Russia, Solnechnogorsk
Date
2020 /
Function
Education / Campus
Currently, the most “stellar” (not counting the Zaha Hadid private housing construction) project of the Moscow region. This is quite an ambitious grand-scale project: about 40 buildings on an 85.3-hectare territory, which used to be a resort area on the bank of the Senezh Lake in Solnechnogorsk. As we already shared, the autonomous nonprofit organization “Russia, the Country of Opportunities” was created at Vladimir Putin’s decree in 2018; the Senezh Management LAB, which has existed since 2019, is its educational center. Senezh serves as the venue of the all-Russia educational forum “Territory of Meanings”. 

The project of land development, proposed by Mecanoo, won in the 2019 competition; it is developed by PI Arena. According to the project, the territory is divided into three parts: instructional, parkland, and lakeside. Currently, a project of the academic zone has been developed with its main building – a six-petal “Agora” in its central part. Its main features include open “flowing” space without partitions, tall seamless stained glass windows, and a wooden lattice roof. The “petal” plan, it must be said, became the signature feature of the entire complex: the building of the hotels adjoining “Agora” have three-blade plans – in both cases the “starry” shape makes it possible to provide the interiors with a maximum amount of natural light. But then again, the ice arena is circular. Yet another priority is the attention to natural materials, first of all to wood and bricks, and integrating the future buildings with the landscape.
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Ссылки

Wunderpark School

Studio
Firma KIRILL
Where
Russia
Date
2017 — 2018 / 2018 — 2020
Function
Education / School
Resonant with the above-mentioned Senezh, Mecanoo – on the one side, typologically, because this is an expensive, and, partially because of this, progressive and high-quality private school that utilizes new trends – is also an educational facility project. On the other hand, one can easily see the similarity of shape: the building also does have a “petal” plan – but we will emphasize that it was designed 3 years before the Senezh project won in the competition. The thing is that a “stellar” plan is arguably considered to be one of the perfect possible options for a school building – it ensures a maximum amount of ambient light for the classrooms.

One should hardly say that the building is by no means multicolored – everything is “grown-up-style” here: dark brick, high-quality stained glass windows from floor to ceiling, imposing, yet still graceful, concrete supports. The half–disk of the amphitheater in the central atrium – a necessary accessory of progressive schools – in this case looks like a sculpture, something like a “UFO” that landed on the main school square.

The school has a museum of archaeological finds that were discovered in the process of construction.
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“Five Planets” multifunctional shopping complex

Architect
Totan Kuzembaev
Studio
Yukon Engineering
Totan
Where
Russia
Date
2014 — / — 2019
Function
Commercial and Retail / Shopping and leisure center
This is the oldest project on the list, designed in 2014 and completed in2019. It was authored by Totan Kuzembaev, the architect of numerous wooden buildings, cottages, and other facilities in the nearby Pirogovo Resort (the much-acclaimed master of wooden – as well as “paper” architecture recently even designed there a standardized wooden individual house). We will say outright that designing shopping malls is not exactly Totan’s specialty – we can make much more sense of his participation in exhibitions or designing the “Dream Mausoleum” at the Arkhstoyanie festival in Nikola-Lenivets. However, it seems that the architect could not help but make an exception for the Klyazma part.

The shopping mall uses the entire potential of its typology – a shopping mall doesn’t really need that many windows, and in turns, particularly on its main facade – into a sculpture of jagged triangular facets with a similar “dragon’s hide” composed of similar metallic triangles. It looks very flashy and very fashionable. We have pretty few such shopping malls around here. We do have some, but they are few and far between.
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“Zoya” Museum

Architect
Dana Matkovskaya
Andrey Adamovitch
Studio
A2M
Where
Russia, Petrishhevo
Date
/ — 2020
Function
Culture / Museum
This, on the other hand, is a very fresh narrative. It seems like Zoya is the “loudest” project of all that were implemented in the Moscow region – one that every publication made a point to cover. This military museum is situated on Minsk Highway in the company of many related complexes – that is, related theme-wise, but not in terms of style.

Its thematic function puts the museum in the same row with the numerous Soviet museums of the Second World War, most of which are laconic works of individual modernism. This was the style that was reinterpreted by the authors of Zoya Kosmodemianskaya museum: the building – a light-colored elongated parallelepiped with an array of slender columns and volumetric facade plastique – embodies the ideals rather of the 1980’s than of the 1970’s, yet in the materials characteristic for the 2010’s. Once inside, however, we discover quite a modern approach to organizing the exposition: it is designed rather for emotion than for rational perception and gradual learning.
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The main theater and concert complex of the Moscow Region “Tchaikovsky′s Universe”.
Copyright: © 4izmerenie

The main theater and concert complex of the Moscow region “Tchaikovsky′s Universe”

Where
Russia, Klin
Date
5.2019 — 9.2019 /
Function
Culture / Concert hall
The project of the theater and concert complex of “Tchaikovsky's Universe” won the architectural competition 2019, and since then it has been one of the brightest and largest public projects of the Moscow Region. 

The complex will be built in the town of Klin, across the road from the existing Chaikovsky Museum, on the park on the bank of the Sestra River. We covered it in detail.

The main building is a giant ring with two concert halls (major and minor), embracing a “plaza” yard. One gets to the plaza by padding underneath wide arches with golden inner surfaces; the silver “flutes” of the outside facade were inspired by the shape of the tuning fork. The arches not just open the entrance to the square; they also shape up the route that leads from the museum towards the park and the river. The project also provides for significant landscaping of the park and the educational function.
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    The main theater and concert complex of the Moscow Region “Tchaikovsky′s Universe”.
    Copyright: © 4izmerenie
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    The main theater and concert complex of the Moscow Region “Tchaikovsky′s Universe”.
    Copyright: © 4izmerenie
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    The main theater and concert complex of the Moscow Region “Tchaikovsky′s Universe”.
    Copyright: © 4izmerenie
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    The main theater and concert complex of the Moscow Region “Tchaikovsky′s Universe”.
    Copyright: © 4izmerenie
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    The main theater and concert complex of the Moscow Region “Tchaikovsky′s Universe”.
    Copyright: © 4izmerenie
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    The main theater and concert complex of the Moscow Region “Tchaikovsky′s Universe”.
    Copyright: © 4izmerenie
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    The main theater and concert complex of the Moscow Region “Tchaikovsky′s Universe”.
    Copyright: © 4izmerenie


05 October 2022

Headlines now
Peaceful Integration on Mira Avenue
The MIRA residential complex (the word mir means “peace” in Russian), perched above the steep banks of the Yauza River and Mira Avenue, lives up to its name not only technically, but also visually and conceptually. Sleek, high-rise, and glass-clad, it responds both to Zholtovsky’s classicism and to the modernism of the nearby “House on Stilts”. Drawing on features from its neighbors, it reconciles them within a shared architectural language rooted in contemporary façade design. Let’s take a closer look at how this is done.
An Interior for a New Format of Education
The design of the new building for Tyumen State University (TyumSU) was initially developed before the pandemic but later revised to meet new educational requirements. The university has adopted a “2+2+2” system, which eliminates traditional divisions into groups and academic streams in favor of individualized study programs. These changes were implemented swiftly – right at the start of construction. Now that the building is complete, we are taking a closer look.
Penthouses and Kokoshniks
A new residential complex designed by ASADOV Architects for the Krasnaya Roza business district responds to its proximity to 17th-century landmarks – the chambers of the Hamovny Dvor and St. Nicholas Church – as well as to the need to preserve valuable façades of a historic rental house built in the Russian Revival style. The architects proposed a set of buildings of varying heights, whose façades reference ecclesiastical architecture. But we were also able to detect other associations.
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.