По-русски

The Fluffy Space

Designing the passenger terminal of the Orenburg airport, ASADOV architects continue to explore the space theme that they first introduced in Saratov and Kemerovo airports. At the same time, the architects again combine the global and the local, reflecting topics inspired by the local conceptual context. In this case, the building is “covered” by an Orenburg downy shawl – an analogy that is recognizable enough, yet not literal; some will see the reference and some won’t.

Alyona Kuznetsova

Written by:
Alyona Kuznetsova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

10 February 2023
Object
mainImg
Last year, the Orenburg airport was bought by a company jointly created by two major players at the Russian airport construction market: AO Aeroporty Regionov (“Regional Airports”) and Novaport Holding. One of the conditions was to develop three options for reconstructing the old terminal and agree the winner’s project with the regional government. The airport is situated amidst steppes, about twenty kilometers away from Orenburg, and about a hundred kilometers away from the Kazakhstan border, and the clients justly think that it may become a transfer hub on the way to Moscow and St. Petersburg from Central Asia. The building was constructed in the 1970s.

This is what the existing terminal of the Orenburg airport looks like:


The clients conducted a closed-door architectural competition, in which the finalists were ASADOV architects and KOSMOS. The architects presented their works at the city conference in the presence of the governor, city administration, and general public. There were questions to each of the two projects, and there was a second round, which was won by the KOSMOS concept – and which we are hoping to cover a little bit later.

The Yuri Gagarin airport in Orenburg
Copyright: © KOSMOS


The Yuri Gagarin Gagarin in Orenburg. The first stage of construction
Copyright: © ASADOV architects


Andrey Asadov is quite alright with the competition that allowed his rivals to win, being only wary about possible problems during the project’s implementation.

author photo

Andrey Asadov

I must give credit to the courage of the Orenburg architects, who chose the project of our colleagues by a majority of votes, and the commitment of the authors themselves to the traditions of the avant-garde. 

I like both our project and the project developed KOSMOS architects. Let’s hope that it will be possible to implement it as it was intended – building such an openwork cantilevered structure with such a large overhang will take a lot of work and the skills of design engineers. I am intrigued; it will be interesting to see the end result, so we wish our colleagues a beautiful implementation.


We will note here that both teams used in their work one and the same image – the Orenburg downy shawl – yet they did it in different ways.

The downy shawl is clearly one of the most obvious, and, more importantly, best-recognizable symbols of Orenburg in Russia. It even surpasses many other symbols connected with the city and its region: gas, oil, and salt, which are mined here, the history of Pugachev’s uprising, and the idea of reviving the population of the Przhevalsky horses, which is successfully implemented here. But no – it is only the downy shawl that sticks in your memory.

On the other hand, in 2011, the airport was named after Yuri Gagarin: the first man in space studied here in the aviation school and met his future wife here. Curiously, the Saratov airport, built in 2013-2019 in accordance with the project by ASADOV Architects, was also named after Gagarin, but the name of the first cosmonaut was bestowed on it later on, in 2018, during the design and construction process. Nevertheless, it turned out that the architects worked with a “Gagarin” airport for a second time already. There was yet another experience of exploring the space theme in airport design – the terminal of the Leonov airport in Kemerovo, completed in 2020.

In a word, designing the Orenburg airport, ASADOV Architects decided to explore the two key themes and placed their bets on contrast, directly combining seemingly opposite things: Gagarin and the downy shawl.

zooming


In reality, they did not combine them 100% directly. Gagarin wrapped in a downy shawl is rather the architects’ bravado.

The architects opposed the nearly weightless downy shawl as something light and warm to the open space as something endless, dark, and bristling with cold stars. It looks as if they “cut out” a fragment of the Universe and wrapped it in a warm Orenburg shawl, yet raised one of the shawl’s corners, letting us take a sneak peak at the stars glittering inside the terminal.

zooming


Here is what the architects say:

How do you combine a downy shawl and Gagarin? Easy! On the outside, there is a warm and cozy image of a Russian soul. Then we raise one of the corners of the shawl just a little, and see the dark abyss, very much like the cosmic depths.

Here you have both countermove and paradox. However, you cannot say that the opposition of the two worlds is pushed to the limit: looking at the shawl pattern, you can see icy crystals of “solar signs” – just any folk ornament, it has the idea of the universe encoded in it, while the little sparks of the “stars” in the dark-blue space reflect the modern notion about the endlessness of the universe. This is how the rhyme of “two cosmoses” appears, one of them being the one that Gagarin saw during his orbital flight, the other being the code of an ancient culture that survived into the present in the well-known decor (I think it will be appropriate to mention the fact that in the Ancient Greek the word “cosmos” stood for everything that was orderly, decorated, or beautiful). Thus, the architects combined two notions of cosmos or space – the ancient and the modern ones.

We will note that at the first city conference ASADOV Architects showed two versions. In one of them, the shawl theme was explored more vividly: there was a ring standing in front of the façade – a ring, through which, as is known, a really good shawl is supposed to be able to pass.

zooming
The first version of the concept. The Yuri Gagarin airport in Orenburg
Copyright: © ASADOV architects


The city council of Orenburg opted for the second version – and the architects themselves like it better: the simple glass volume of the terminal is covered by an ornamental “shawl”; one of its edges arches slightly, resembling not just a curve of a fabric but also the trajectory of a plane taking off – and then the “down” of the shawl can be interpreted as a vapor trail.

The Yuri Gagarin Gagarin in Orenburg. The first stage of construction
Copyright: © ASADOV architects


The project by ASADOV Architects provided for three stages of the airport development. During the first stage, the new terminal would be built next to the old one which would make it possible for the airport to continue operating.

The Yuri Gagarin Gagarin in Orenburg. The first stage of construction
Copyright: © ASADOV architects


The second stage included dismantling of the old terminal and creating a park area in its place – it could be useful not only for the passengers and those who came to meet them or see them off, but also for the visitors of the nearby civil aviation, as well as the guests at the airport hotel.

The Yuri Gagarin Gagarin in Orenburg. The second stage of construction
Copyright: © ASADOV architects


Should the airport become overloaded and should a necessity arise to expand it, the third stage is engaged: a second terminal is constructed, which mirrors the first one. The concept is preserved, only instead of the corner of the “shawl”, a symmetrical canopy appears on the main facade.

  • zooming
    1 / 6
    The Yuri Gagarin Gagarin in Orenburg. The third stage of construction
    Copyright: © ASADOV architects
  • zooming
    2 / 6
    The Yuri Gagarin airport in Orenburg. The third stage of construction
    Copyright: © ASADOV architects
  • zooming
    3 / 6
    The Yuri Gagarin airport in Orenburg. The third stage of construction
    Copyright: © ASADOV architects
  • zooming
    4 / 6
    The Yuri Gagarin airport in Orenburg. The first stage of construction
    Copyright: © ASADOV architects
  • zooming
    5 / 6
    The Yuri Gagarin airport in Orenburg. The second stage of construction
    Copyright: © ASADOV architects
  • zooming
    6 / 6
    The Yuri Gagarin airport in Orenburg. The third stage of construction
    Copyright: © ASADOV architects


However, even if the second part will never appear, the statement remains clear, and the image remains bright. The terminal is essentially a multilayered “crystal” volume. Its first layer is a transparent parallelepiped, consisting almost solely of stained glass constructions. A part of it is covered by a weightless “cobweb” of a decorative grille, streaming down in waves. Above it, there is a denser, yet still openwork, volumetric structure: let’s imagine that the shawl was folded in two, and then in two again, and the pattern became less prominent, but still discernible. The elevated corner of the upper layer forms a marquee with a more corporeal rigid structure, yet still transparent. Its volumetric construction spills over to the roof and the facade from the side of the airfield, “stretching up”.

  • zooming
    1 / 4
    The Yuri Gagarin Gagarin in Orenburg
    Copyright: © ASADOV architects
  • zooming
    2 / 4
    The Yuri Gagarin airport in Orenburg. The second stage of construction
    Copyright: © ASADOV architects
  • zooming
    3 / 4
    The Yuri Gagarin airport in Orenburg. The first stage of construction
    Copyright: © ASADOV architects
  • zooming
    4 / 4
    The Yuri Gagarin airport in Orenburg. The second stage of construction
    Copyright: © ASADOV architects


In the nighttime, a “star scatter” appears underneath this corner: spotlights of various colors are installed in the nodes of openwork structures, which are reflected in the stained glass windows, being superimposed on the cobweb of the decorative grille.

All of this not just effectively creates an effect of a “sky full of stars” – differently colored lights and openwork grilles create a festive mood, a feeling of anticipating the flight and changing your circumstances.

In the interior, the duality of the dark glittering cosmic space and the fluffy handmade shawl is felt even stronger. The white openwork structures meet the dark perforated ceiling that has pinpoint lights and large circular “crater” lights installed in it. The gray glittering metallic tones contrast with the trees and spots of lights, slightly blurred, like aurora borealis: these come from glass barriers, neon backlighting and video projections.

  • zooming
    1 / 4
    The Yuri Gagarin Gagarin in Orenburg
    Copyright: © ASADOV architects
  • zooming
    2 / 4
    The Yuri Gagarin airport in Orenburg
    Copyright: © ASADOV architects
  • zooming
    3 / 4
    The Yuri Gagarin airport in Orenburg
    Copyright: © ASADOV architects
  • zooming
    4 / 4
    The Yuri Gagarin airport in Orenburg
    Copyright: © ASADOV architects


And, finally, we will note that the image of outer space and even the contrast between the downy shawl and space are rather given as hints. Nothing is what it seems. We can speak about the image of the shawl, but it is by no means garish, and the openwork canopy looks rather like some fashionable architectural technique than a direct quotation; the same refers to the spotlight stars from the smart backlighting system. The architects’ tremendous experience with working with airports and the topic of space does bring its results.

10 February 2023

Alyona Kuznetsova

Written by:

Alyona Kuznetsova
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov
Headlines now
Julius Borisov: “The “Island” housing complex is a unique project – we took it on with...
One of the largest housing projects of today’s Moscow – the “Ostrov” (“Island”) housing complex built by Donstroy – is now being actively built in the Mnevniky Floodplain. They are planning to build about 1.5M square meters of housing on an area of almost 40 hectares. We are beginning to examine this project– first of all, we are talking to Julius Borisov, the head of the architectural company UNK, which works with most of the residential blocks in this grand-scale project, as well as with the landscaping part; the company even proposed a single design code for the entire territory.
A Balanced Solution
The residential complex “Balance” on Moscow’s Ryazansky Prospekt is one of the large-scale, and relatively economical (again, by Moscow standards) housing projects. Its first phase has already been built and landscaped; the work on the others is in progress. Nevertheless, it has an integral internal logic, which is based on the balance of functions, height, and even image and space composition. The proposed solutions are recognizable and laconic, so that each of them was reduced by the authors to a graphic “logo”. To see everything, you have to flip through the pages and look through to the end.
Horror Vacui
In the city of Omsk, ASADOV architects took on a very challenging task: they are developing a concept of a public and residential complex, which involves reconstructing the city’s first thermal power station standing right next to Omsk’s first fortress. This territory has already seen a lot of projects designed for it, and the residential function of this land site has been the subject of heated debate. In this article, we are examining the project in question, aimed at developing a mid-scale city fabric suited for the historical center. We also examine the above-mentioned debate. Seriously, will this project save this place or will it bring it to ruin?
A Multi-Faced Grotto
This building, seemingly small, unremarkable, semi-ruined, and not even very ancient – the Grotto in the Bauman Garden – was restored by the “People’s Architect” architectural company with all the care applicable to a heritage monument. They preserved the romantic appeal of the ruins, added multimedia content, and explored the cascading fountain, which, as it turned out, was completely preserved. Brace yourself for a long story!
First among Equals
The building of a kindergarten in the town of Beloyarsky is more than just another example of a modern educational space. Its design began a long time ago; it is located in Russia’s Far North; it is also a state-owned facility that is subject to regulations, and had to cut costs during construction (as usual). However, the design is contemporary, the layout is modern, and the building feels very fresh. The project is planned to be replicated.
Gustave Falconnier
In the “ruin” wing of Moscow’s Museum of Architecture, an exhibition of “glass bricks” by Gustave Falconnier is open. These “bricks” are essentially the predecessors of glass blocks, but more complex and beautiful. The exhibition shows genuine “bricks”, buildings composed of them, the history of the destruction of Falconnier windows in the building of the State Archives, and it also became one of the reasons to revive this unique production technology.
​Streamline for City Canyons
Stepan Liphart has designed two houses for two small land sites situated in the area surrounding the Varshavsky Railway Station, which is being intensively developed now. The sites are situated close but not next to each other, and they are different, yet similar: the theme is the same but it is interpreted in different ways. In this issue, we are examining and comparing both projects.
​The Eastern Frontier
“The Eastern Arc” is one of the main land resources of Kazan’s development, concentrated in the hands of a single owner. The Genplan Institute of Moscow has developed a concept for the integrated development of this territory based on an analytical transport model that will create a comfortable living environment, new centers of attraction, and new workplaces as well.
A School of Our Time
On the eve of the presentation of the new book by ATRIUM, dedicated to the design of schools and other educational facilities, based on the architects’ considerable experience, as well as expert judgments, we are examining the Quantum STEM school building, constructed according to their project in Astana. Furthermore, this building is planned to be the first one to start a new chain. The architects designed it in full accordance with modern standards but sometimes they did break away from them – only to confirm the general development rules. For example, there are two amphitheaters in the atrium, and there is an artificial hill in the yard that is meant to make the flat terrain of the Kazakhstan steppe more eventful.
The Fluffy Space
Designing the passenger terminal of the Orenburg airport, ASADOV architects continue to explore the space theme that they first introduced in Saratov and Kemerovo airports. At the same time, the architects again combine the global and the local, reflecting topics inspired by the local conceptual context. In this case, the building is “covered” by an Orenburg downy shawl – an analogy that is recognizable enough, yet not literal; some will see the reference and some won’t.
The White Fitness Center
The white health and fitness center, designed by Futura Architects at the entrance to St. Petersburg’s New Piter residential complex, provides the developing area not only with functional but also with sculptural diversity, livening up the rows of the brick city blocks with the whiteness of its seamless facades, cantilevered structures, and dynamic inclined lines.
The New Dawn
In their project of a technology park to be built on the grounds of “Integrated Home-Building Factory 500” in Tyumen Oblast – the biggest in Russia – the HADAA architects preserve not just the industrial function of the giant hangar built in the late 1980s and 90% of its structures, but also respond to its imagery. They also propose a “gradient” approach to developing the available areas: from open public ones to staff-only professional spaces. The goal of this approach is to turn the technology park into the driver for developing the business function between the industrial zones and the future residential area in accordance with the Integrated Land Development program.
​Tame Hills for New Residents
T+T Architects have reported that they have completed the landscaping project for the yard of the first stage of Alexandrovsky Garden housing complex in Ekaterinburg – the landscape complements the contextual architecture, tailored for the buyers’ preferences and downtown standards, with bold neo modernist master strokes and lush and diverse vegetation.
The Crystal of the City Block
The typology and plastique of large housing complexes move with the times, and you can sometimes find new subtleties in the scope of seemingly familiar solutions. The Sky Garden complex combines two well-known themes, forming a giant residential area consisting of tall slender towers, placed at the perimeter of a large yard, in which a crossroads of two pedestrian promenades is “dissolved”.
Sunshine, Air, and Water
The construction of the “Solnechny” (“Sunny”) summer camp, designed by ARENA project institute, has been completed, the largest summer camp within the legendary Artek seaside resort for children. It was conceived still in Soviet time, but it was not implemented. The modern version surprises you with sophisticated engineering solutions that are combined with a clear-cut structure: together, they generate Asher-esque spaces.
​Art Deco at the Edge of Space
The competition project by Stepan Liphart – a high-end residential complex executed in a reserved classicist style in close proximity to the Kaluga Space Museum – responds equally well to the context and to the client’s brief. It is moderately respectable, moderately mobile and transparent, and it even digs a little into the ground to comply with strict height restrictions, without losing proportions and scale.
​A Hill behind the Wall
The master plan of a new residential area in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, developed by the Genplan Institute of Moscow with the participation of Kengo Kuma & Associates, is based on the complexities and advantages of the relief of the foothills: the houses are arranged in cascades, and multi-level improvement penetrates all the blocks, continuing in forest trails.
Going, Going, Gone!
The housing complex “Composers’ Residences” has been built in accordance with the project by Sergey Skuratov, who won the international competition back in 2011. It all began from the image search and “cutting off all spare”, and then implementing the recognizable Skuratov architecture. It all ended, however, in tearing down the buildings of the Schlichterman factory, whose conservation was stipulated by all the appropriate agencies prior to approving Skuratov’s project. This story seems to be educational and important for understanding the history of all the eleven years, during which the complex was designed and built.
The Life of Iron
The building of the Vyksa Metallurgy Museum, designed by Nikita Yavein and Sergey Padalko, provides for the natural aging of metal – it is planned that the iron will gradually rust – at the same time utilizing the advanced type of construction, based on metal’s ability to stretch. The building will be constructed from pipes and rolled steel supplied by OMK company, as well as from recycled bricks.
​And the Brook is Flowing
ASADOV Architects have designed a master plan for developing a residential area at the outskirts of Kaliningrad: a regular grid of housing blocks is enriched by large-scale public facilities, the main “artery” of the new area being the fortification channel that regains its original function.
Off We Go!
The new terminal of the Tomsk airport is being designed by ASADOV bureau. The architects keep on developing its identity, building the imagery upon the inventions of Nikolai Kamov, whose name the airport bears. The result is laconic, light, and, as always, levitating.
Maximum Flexibility
The Multispace Dinamo, which recently opened within the Arena business center, is an example of a project that is entirely based upon cutting-edge approaches and technologies. It is managed via a mobile application, special software was created for it, and the spaces are not just multifunctional but carefully mixed up, like some kind of jigsaw puzzle that allows the office workers to mix their working routine for better efficiency.
A Factory’s Path
Last week, the new center for constructivist studies “Zotov” hosted its first exhibition named “1922. Constructivism. The Inception”. The idea of creating this center belongs to Sergey Tchoban, while the project of the nearest houses and adjusting the building of the bread factory for the new museum function was done by the architect in collaboration with his colleagues from SPEECH. We decided that such a complex project should be examined in its entirety – and this is how we came up with this long-read about constructivism on Presnya, conservation, innovation, multilayered approach, and hope.
The Savelovsky Axis
The business center, situated right in the middle of a large city junction next to the Savelovsky Railway Station takes on the role of a spatial axis, upon which the entire place hinges: it spins like a spiral, alternating perfect glass of the tiers and deep recessions of inter-tier floors that conceal little windows invented by the architects. It is sculptural, and it claims the role of a new city landmark, in spite of its relatively small height of nine floors.
Parametric Waves
In the housing complex Sydney City, which FSK Group is building in the area of Shelepikhinskaya Embankment, Genpro designed the central city block, combining parametric facades and modular technology within its architecture.
The Multitone
The new interior of the Action Development headquarters can be regarded as an attempt to design the perfect “home” for the company – not just comfortable but broadcasting the values of modern development. It responds to the context, yet it is built on contrast, it is fresh but cozy, it is dynamic, yet it invites you to relax – everything of this coexists here quite harmoniously, probably because the architects found an appropriate place for each of the themes.
Refinement No Longer Relevant
A few days ago journalists were shown the building of Bread Factory #5, renovated upon the project by Sergey Tchoban. In this issue, we are publishing Grigory Revzin’s thoughts about this project.
The Comb of Strelna
In this issue, we are taking a close look at the project that won the “Crystal Daedalus” award – the “Veren Village” housing complex in Strelna, designed by Ostozhenka. Its low-rise format became a trigger for typological and morphological experiments – seemingly, we are seeing recognizable trends, yet at the same time there are a multitude of subtleties that are a pleasure to go into. Having studied this project in detail, we think that the award is well-deserved.
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.
Three “Green” Stories
In this issue, we are examining three environmental urban projects showcased by the Genplan Institute of Moscow at the Zodchestvo festival. The scale of the projects is really diverse: from gathering information and suggestions from the residents on a city scale to growing meadow grass between houses to paintings, which, as it turned out, possess power to cure trees, healing their wounded bark. + a list of kinds of plants natural for Moscow to help the developer.