По-русски

Invited to the Ice Are…

Seven ice arenas with a capacity from 500 to 14,000 spectators and with a geography spreading from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Tashkent – all designed by ARENA Project Institute. In this article, we show how a complex function is combined with an expressive architectural image.

09 June 2023
Object
mainImg
In Russia, sports are a “normal way of life”, and hockey and figure skating are hardly any less popular than soccer is. ARENA’s portfolio includes more than ten ice arenas and indoor skating rinks; we selected seven most flashy ones, in which designing an already sophisticated project was made even more difficult by having to solve some location-specific task. In Sochi, for example, the architects had to calculate the “post-Olympics” use of the complex; in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, they had to inscribe the project into the already existing downtown scenery, and in Nizhny Novgorod they had to augment the architectural ensemble of the Spit of Nizhny Novgorod, at the same time preserving the dominant role of the cathedral.

An ice arena is a complex object that has to meet a multitude of requirements that are posed by federations of various sports, television that broadcasts live, as well by the regular fire safety agencies and other institutions. On top of it all, there is a specific task of ensuring high-quality ice in any season, which adds to the project a cooling plate with refrigerators, a whole complex of ventilation measures, units for water treatment and premises for ice filling machines. 

Since ice arenas are designed for practice sessions and competitions in hockey, sledge hockey, short track, figure skating, and curling, you need to include team locker rooms, rooms for drying tracksuits and sharpening skates, doping control facilities, rooms for the judging panels, as well as press and support teams. You also need to provide the spectators with sound and lighting systems that will ensure excellent performance regardless of the sector the ticket was bought for.

(No, we’re not finished yet!) Further on, such a grand-scale building cannot be single-functional – it must become a public center that includes sports clubs for children, fitness centers, cafes, exhibition spaces, and even offices. This makes the logistics component even more complicated because you need to separate not just the fan sectors, but also the athletes, spectators, press, service personnel, and, ultimately, boys and girls. Not the least issue is the profitability of a sports facility, which is often ensured by its ability to quickly transform into a concert venue.

We suggest checking out how the architects managed to link all these points in one object, while giving it a memorable look.

Designing large sports facilities is a traditional specialization of the Arena Design Institute, which dates back to Mosproject-4, from which we are descendants. The selection presented today reflects an individual approach to the design of such facilities, because, as a rule, they become the “visiting card” of the region. Also, arranged in chronological order, the constructions and current projects clearly show the trend of the last decades of transformation of ice arenas from exclusively professional mono-objects to publicly accessible multifunctional complexes.

Megasport Ice Palace

Architect
Studio
Mosproekt-4
Author collective
architects: Bokov A., Bush D., Chuklov S., Valuiskih V., Romanova L., Gak O., Burchuladze Z., Zolotova A., Timohov A.; architect-technologist: Shabaidash A.; engineers: Livshin M., Kelman M., Eremeev P., Bekmuhamedov E., Starikov O., Naumocheva A., Subbotina E., Starikova N.
Where
Russia, Moscow
Date
2004 — / — 2006
Function
Sport / Sports complex
The arena has a capacity for 14,000 spectators; it was built for the World Hockey Championship 2006, when the territory around the Khodynskoe Field started taking the mottled and pretty sci-fi look the way we know it today. Even today, “Megasport” successfully holds its own against a whole galaxy of high-profile projects: towers, shopping malls, grand-scale housing complexes, and cathedrals. The arena is shaped somewhat like a spinning propeller – as Grigory Revzin notes, this is homage to the former airfield, upon which this ice arena has been built. In the center of the composition, there is a white cylindrical volume with a diameter of 120 meters and a height of almost 50 meters, with a purposefully sagging membrane of the roof. The cylinder belts the spirals of the ramps with awnings: the red ramp leads to the spectator seats of the red sector; the blue one predictably to the blue. As you go higher up, the width of the ramp shrinks from 30 meters to five, making the flow of spectators thinner. Thanks to the heating system, ice does not form on the ramps in the wintertime. The arena hosts more than 100 events a year: both sports ones, including boxing matches and gymnastics competitions, and concerts. Also, a few movie scenes were shot inside the arena.
  • zooming
    1 / 7
  • zooming
    2 / 7
  • zooming
    3 / 7
  • zooming
    4 / 7
  • zooming
    5 / 7
  • zooming
    6 / 7
  • zooming
    7 / 7

“Iceberg” Palace of Winter Sports

Studio
Mosproekt-4
Andrey Bokov Studio
Where
Russia, Adler
Date
2009 — / — 2013
Function
Sport / Sports complex
The arena’s capacity is 12,000 spectators; it was built for the Olympics 2014. This is Sochi’s only indoor skating rink that allows you to conduct practice sessions, mass skating events, and figure skating / short track competitions all year round. Ice is another aggregate state of water, so in a southern city it seemed appropriate to interpret a wave on the facade, referring to the proximity of the Black Sea and echoing the silhouettes of the mountains. In the lower part of the building, the volumetric facade is raised, revealing the stained glass windows of the foyer and main entrances. The cladding uses transparent and colored glass of several shades of blue, which overlap each other like tiles, creating visions of ripples, sun glares on the water, or foam on the waves. In total, more than 600 tons of double-glazed windows are used on the facades of the Iceberg. Inside, the color helps spectators navigate between tiers and sectors. The problem of post-Olympic use was solved in a revolutionary way: the prefabricated type of construction allows the building to be dismantled and then moved to another city. This, however, was never required.
  • zooming
    1 / 7
  • zooming
    2 / 7
  • zooming
    3 / 7
  • zooming
    4 / 7
  • zooming
    5 / 7
  • zooming
    6 / 7
  • zooming
    7 / 7
Ссылки

The multifunctional ice complex “Humo Arena”

Studio
Heerim Architects & Planners
Arena Projwect Institute
Where
Uzbekistan, Tashkent
Date
2017 — / — 2019
Function
Sport / Ice Arena
The arena’s capacity is 12,500 people. It is situated in the central part of Tashkent, and is the biggest ice palace in Central Asia, and a home of four hockey clubs. The concept was developed by the Korean company Heerim Architects. The arena is named in honor of the mythical bird Humo, the harbinger of happiness. The main volume of the building resembles the folded wing of the bird, while the fan of the buildings, ramps and paths of the adjacent park resembles the flapping and spreading feathers of the bird. The halls lined with dark marble are decorated with round panels created by artists Bobur Ismailov based on the poem “The Language of Birds” by Turkic poet Alisher Navoi. The central piece is a golden composition with a stone that was laid when the complex was built. The arena can host more than a dozen sports, but its “specialty” is still hockey. The cooled slab allows to place a hockey court of three different sizes depending on the requirements of different hockey federations, and the main arena is supplemented by a training arena. 
  • zooming
    1 / 7
  • zooming
    2 / 7
  • zooming
    3 / 7
  • zooming
    4 / 7
  • zooming
    5 / 7
  • zooming
    6 / 7
  • zooming
    7 / 7

The multifunctional ice arena in Novosibirsk

Studio
Arena Projwect Institute
Where
Russia, Novosibirsk
Date
2018 — 2019 / 2021 —
Function
Sport / Ice Arena
The arena’s capacity is 12,500 people. It is situated in the central part of Tashkent, and is the biggest ice palace in Central Asia, and a home of four hockey clubs. The concept was developed by the Korean company Heerim Architects. The arena is named in honor of the mythical bird Humo, the harbinger of happiness. The main volume of the building resembles the folded wing of the bird, while the fan of the buildings, ramps and paths of the adjacent park resembles the flapping and spreading feathers of the bird. The halls lined with dark marble are decorated with round panels created by artists Bobur Ismailov based on the poem “The Language of Birds” by Turkic poet Alisher Navoi. The central piece is a golden composition with a stone that was laid when the complex was built. The arena can host more than a dozen sports, but its “specialty” is still hockey. The cooled slab allows to place a hockey court of three different sizes depending on the requirements of different hockey federations, and the main arena is supplemented by a training arena. 
  • zooming
    1 / 7
  • zooming
    2 / 7
  • zooming
    3 / 7
  • zooming
    4 / 7
  • zooming
    5 / 7
  • zooming
    6 / 7
  • zooming
    7 / 7

The ice palace on the territory of the Spit of Nizhny Novgorod

Studio
Where
Russia, Nizhny Novgorod
Date
2018 — /
Function
Sport / Ice Arena
The arena’s capacity is 12,500 spectators. It will complement the architectural ensemble of the Spit of Nizhny Novgorod, which already includes a soccer stadium, restored warehouses, and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. In order to minimize its contrastive influence on the latter, the arena was moved as much as possible towards the Samarkandskaya Street, its height from the city towards the water lowering from 38 to 14.5 meters. The streamlined “pebble” shape and the very position of the building allowed the architects to avoid obscuring the views of the cathedral from the water. The arena faces the city with a media façade and an entrance gallery with an amphitheater on the upper level. The arena is separated from the cathedral by a multi-level landscape composition, in which a cascade of stairs to the second tier is hidden. The area on the shore side will be landscaped and filled with outdoor sports fields. With the help of the stairs, landscaping, gallery and other elements, the “sprawl” of a rather large-scale building is overcome and its integration into the context is achieved. The arena will be the home arena for the Torpedo club, while the lower part of the arena will house a training arena, a four-lane curling hall and two more multipurpose halls. The construction is planned to be completed in 2025.
  • zooming
    1 / 7
  • zooming
    2 / 7
  • zooming
    3 / 7
  • zooming
    4 / 7
  • zooming
    5 / 7
  • zooming
    6 / 7
  • zooming
    7 / 7

The Crystal Ice Palace

Studio
Where
Russia, Moscow
Date
2015 / 2020 —
Function
Sport / Ice Arena
Capacity: 500 people. The arena will be situated on the territory of Luzhniki complex, instead of the skating rink, built back in the 1960s and now recognized to be in an emergency state. The building maintains not just the “posture” of its predecessor, but also the style characteristic for sports facilities of the mid-20th century. It is rather unusual for its typology: it has a rectangular plan, and the glass facades fill the halls with natural light. The ice is protected from direct sunlight by vertical metal lamellae, which like blinds can completely cover the stained glass windows. The main entrance is accented with a stained glass crystal structure. Inside there are two ice arenas with separate entrances for 250 seats each; a 25-meter swimming pool with a view of the park; office premises with windows overlooking the Moskva River; gyms and cafes. A parking lot for 130 cars is located in the underground level.
  • zooming
    1 / 7
  • zooming
    2 / 7
  • zooming
    3 / 7
  • zooming
    4 / 7
  • zooming
    5 / 7
  • zooming
    6 / 7
  • zooming
    7 / 7

Gasprom Arena

Studio
Where
Russia, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
Date
— 2022 /
Function
Sport / Ice Arena
The arena in fact includes two ice arenas: one is designed for competitions and has a capacity of 5,500 people, while the second is a training arena with a game and gymnasium and a shooting range. This will allow training and competitions of international level in hockey and other sports, including sport shooting. But the main purpose of the arena is to provide the city’s children with affordable sports clubs. The unified surface of the folded metal roof, passing into the facade, “envelops” the internal structure of the sports facility, manifesting its multifunctionality in the silhouette and opening up with a colonnade at the main entrance. The arena is planned to be built in the center of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, on the site of the bus park, which will be relocated to another place. The adjacent territory will be landscaped: landscaping, pedestrian and bicycle paths will be laid and parking for 183 cars will be organized. The construction is planned to be completed by 2025.
  • zooming
    1 / 7
  • zooming
    2 / 7
  • zooming
    3 / 7
  • zooming
    4 / 7
  • zooming
    5 / 7
  • zooming
    6 / 7
  • zooming
    7 / 7


09 June 2023

Headlines now
A Deep, Crystal Shine
A new luxury residential development by ADM architects is set to rise in the Patriarch’s Ponds district, not far from Novopushkinsky Square. It will replace three buildings erected in the early 1990s. The project authors, Andrey Romanov and Ekaterina Kuznetsova, have placed their bets on the variety among the three volumes, modern design solutions, and attention to detail: one of the buildings will feature smoothly curved balconies with a ceramic sheen on their undersides, while another will be accented by glass “sculpture” columns.
A Roadside Picnic of Urban Planning Theorists
Marina Egorova, head of Empate Architectural Bureau, brought together urban planning theorists – the successors of Alexey Gutnov and Vyacheslav Glazychev – to revive the substance and depth of professional discourse. At the first meeting, much ground was covered: the participants revisited the theoretical foundations, aligned their values, examined a cutting-edge case of the Kazan agglomeration, and concluded with the unfathomable intricacies of Russian land demarcation. Below, we present key takeaways from all the presentations.
Perspective View
CNTR Architects has designed a business center for a new district in Yekaterinburg, aiming to reduce the need for commuting and make the residential environment more diverse. The architectural solutions are equally focused on creating spatial flexibility, comfortable working conditions, and a memorable image that could allow the building to become a spatial landmark of the district.
Malevich and Bathhouses, Nature and High-Tech
The Malevich Bathhouse complex is scheduled to open in the fall of 2025 on the Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Highway. The project, designed by DBA-GROUP under the leadership of Vladislav Andreev, is an example of an unconventional approach to the image of a spa in general and of a bathhouse in particular. Deliberately avoiding any kind of allusion, the architects opted for streamlined forms with characteristic rounded corners, a combination of wood with bent glass, and restrained contemporary shapes – both inside and out. Let’s take a closer look at the project.
Rather, a Tablecloth and a Glass!
After many years, the long-abandoned Horse Guards Department building in St. Petersburg has finally received the attention it deserves: according to a design by Studio 44, the first restoration and adaptation works are scheduled to begin this year. Both the intended function and the general scope of works imply minimal alteration to the complex, which has preserved traces of its three-century history. All solutions are reversible and aimed, above all, at opening the monument to the city and immersing it in a lively social scene – hence the choice of a cultural center scenario with a strong gastronomic component.
​Materialization of Airflows
The Nikolai Kamov International Airport in Tomsk opened at the end of August last year. We have already written about the project – now we are taking a look at the completed building. Its functionality is reinforced by symbolic undertones: the architects at ASADOV sought to reflect local identity in the architecture as fully as possible.
The City as a Narrative
Sergey Skuratov’s approach to large urban plots could best be described as a “total design code”. The architect pays equal attention to the overall composition and the smallest of details, striving to ensure that every aspect is thoroughly thought out and subordinated to the original vision. It’s a Renaissance-like approach, really – a titanic effort demanding remarkable willpower and perseverance. The results are likewise grand – architecture that makes a statement. This article looks at the revived concept for the central section of the Seventh Heaven residential district in Kazan, a composition so thoroughly considered that even the “gradient of visual emphasis” (sic!) across the facades has been carefully worked out. It also touches on the narrative idea behind the project – and even the architect’s own doubts about it.
A Garden of Hope for Freedom
In October, at the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery in Suzdal, the Prison Yard Garden opened on the site that had served as a prison from the 18th century until the Khrushchev Thaw. The architectural concept was developed by NOῨD Short Film, and the landscape design by the MOX landscape bureau. In fact, there are two gardens here – very different ones. We try to understand whether they evoke the right emotions in visitors, while also showing the beauty of June’s ruderal plants in bloom.
A Laconic Image of Time
The Time Square residential complex, built on the northern edge of St. Petersburg, appears more concise and efficient than its neighbor and predecessor, the New Time complex. Nevertheless, the architect’s hand is clearly felt: themes of “black and white”, “inside and outside”, and most notably, the “lamellar” quality of the facades that seems to visibly “eat away” at the buildings’ mass – everything is played out like a well-written score. One is reminded of both classical modernism and the so-called “post-constructivism”.
The Flower of the Lake
The prototype for the building of the Kamal Theater in Kazan is an ice flower: a rare and fragile natural phenomenon of Lake Kaban “froze” in the large, soaring outlines of the glass screens enclosing the main volume, shaping its silhouette and shielding the stained-glass windows from the sun. The project, led by the Wowhaus consortium and including global architecture “star” Kengo Kuma, won the 2021/2022 competition and was realized close to the original concept in a short – very short – period of time. The theater opened in early 2025. It was Kengo Kuma who proposed the image of an ice flower and the contraposition of cold on the outside and warmth on the inside. Between 2022 and 2024, Wowhaus did everything possible to bring this vision to life, practically living on-site. Now we are taking a closer look at this landmark building and its captivating story.
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.