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Gold Embroidery

A five-story housing complex designed by Stepan Liphart in Kazan, responds to the stylistically diverse context with its form, both integral and agile, and as for the vicinity of the “Ekiyat” movie theater, the complex responds to it with a semblance of theater curtain folds, and active plastique of its balconies, that bear some resemblance to theater boxes. Even if excessively pompous a little bit, the complex does look fresh and modern. One will have a hard time finding Art Deco elements in it, even though the spirit of the 1930s, run through the filter of neo-modernism, is still clearly felt, just as a twist of the Occident.

17 October 2023
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The house was designed for a plot situated in the historic Sukonnaya Sloboda district, which is located on the periphery of the central part of the city: one side of it approaches the Nizhny Kaban Lake, the other side – Universiade Avenue leading to the airport. These parts have quite a rich history: the cloth factory was founded by Peter the Great himself for the needs of the army, then later Emelyan Pugachev hid from the authorities here, Alexander Pushkin came here to collect factual material for his writing, Fyodor Chaliapin went to primary school here, and Alexey Peshkov (more known as Maxim Gorky) lived here for some time.

However, there is little left that reminds of the cozy spirit of wooden dacha houses here with their narrow streets and lush vegetation: thorough preparations for the 1000th anniversary of Kazan and the program of liquidation of dilapidated housing erased all the features of Sukonnaya Sloboda’s individuality. The vacated territories were occupied by a motley assemblage: a modern IT-cluster, a crude-imitation St. Petersburg Street, a palace-like puppet theater “Ekiyat”, a residential complex Barcelona designed by Jose Acebillo and other outlandish combinations.

The housing complex on Kalinina Street. Panoramic view from the west
Copyright: © Liphart Architects


The site where Stepan Liphart worked overlooks Tikhomirov Street. Now it is a four-lane highway, as it continues the Universiade Avenue, but ten years ago it was a dirt road. The neighborhood is filled with a variety of buildings: the Suleiman Palace hotel, a hangar-type shopping mall, the 18th century Osokin house, and a house built in Khrushchev times. However, the architects took the building from the neighboring Volkova Street – a red-brick lyceum of the early XX century, which was originally the city’s elementary school for girls – as a “point of reference”, a kind of tuning fork for adjusting the proportions.

Opposite, across Tikhomirov Street, the upland part begins, built up with high-end housing. Actually on the site the relief difference is small – towards Peterburgskaya Street there is a decrease of about one meter. The height limit is 20 meters.

The housing complex on Kalinina Street. Panoramic view from the east
Copyright: © Liphart Architects


The housing complex on Kalinina Street. Development drawing
Copyright: © Liphart Architects


Yard, Tree, Street Light

Taking advantage of the size and orientation of the plot, the architects positioned the houses in such a way as to follow the red lines of Tikhomirov Street and complete the contour of the block: two “brackets” hold the corners, leaving space in the center for a third, approaching the street transversely from the end. In this way, a similar scale with the surroundings is achieved and two courtyards are formed. The first, on the side of Volkova Street, remains at the natural level of the urban surface; in it the author preserves a few existing trees. The second courtyard, the southern one, is elevated on a stylobate; from the street side, it is accessed by a wide staircase with cascading landscaping and a ramp, both under a lattice glass canopy resembling the wing of a dragonfly. A glass dome of a skylight is designed to illuminate the space inside the stylobate.

The housing complex on Kalinina Street. Panoramic view from the southwest
Copyright: © Liphart Architects


The housing complex on Kalinina Street. View towards the east courtyard from the stairs and ramp
Copyright: © Liphart Architects


The housing complex on Kalinina Street. Master plan
Copyright: © Liphart Architects


Inside under the dome, according to the original version of the project, there was to be a food court and retail – a covered public square surrounded by stores. In the end, the food court was replaced by a parking lot, which, of course, is a pity. Meanwhile, the rental spaces for cafes and stores in the project occupy, along with the entrance lobbies, all the first floors. Three wide perspective sockets of the entrances, attracting attention and inviting to enter inside, increase the sidewalk by micro-areas – and fold into an elegant line, reminiscent simultaneously of the Ghibelline teeth of the Kazan Kremlin and arabesque-floral ornament of cranes with smooth rounded entrances and slightly pointed petals. The cylindrical volume of one of the three entrances is also woven into the pattern. All of this is a curious feature, as it is not often that one sees beautiful plan graphics in modern residential architecture, which will certainly be reflected in the plastique of the facades at the pedestrian level.

The housing complex on Kalinina Street. Plan of the 1 floor
Copyright: © Liphart Architects


But then again, both of the things that I mentioned, even if they were intended in the plan, were integrated in a very unobtrusive manner, not to say encoded. There are no direct analogies here. What is more important is the fact that this fold-like feature of the first floor becomes one of the main techniques for designing the facades on the whole, due to which they turn into a semblance of a theater curtain, stretched in the middle and folded on the sides. Isn’t it because there is a theater nearby? And the golden edges of the bottom are so reminiscent of a fringe.... Even the balconies on the side facades and on the sides of the stairs to the courtyard, with their alternating plastique, sometimes triangular, and sometimes rounded, look like theater boxes.

The housing complex on Kalinina Street. General view from Tikhomirova Street, northeast side
Copyright: © Liphart Architects


But then again, like I already said, these analogies are very tacitly manifested, but the resulting shape of the building is characterized by obvious diversity and reserved flexibility, as well as sturdy inner logic.

Кара һәм ак (Black and White)

We will remind you that there are three buildings in total, and from the street side they are separated by a contrasting color. Initially, it was planned that the southern two would be black and the northern one white, then black was replaced by a contextual shade of dark chocolate, preserving the texture of the continuous, corduroy-like (curtain again!) thin relief ribs, echoed by the “ciliated” cornice above the glass ribbon of the upper floor.

The housing complex on Kalinina Street. View of the western building from the northeastern side, from Tikhomirova Street
Copyright: © Liphart Architects


Dark brown, indeed, “falls” into the color of the neighboring buildings, although in the whole volume looks somewhat nobler.

The housing complex on Kalinina Street. View of the project site from the south-eastern side from the intersection of Tikhomirova and Tufan Minullin Streets
Copyright: © Liphart Architects


The courtyard facades are both similar and dissimilar to the street facades. They are entirely of light golden wood color, although the striped texture is preserved, as well as the format of lattice balconies of different shapes. But there are much more balconies, hollows and protrusions, and some of the facades are folded into an “bellows” pattern of triangular bay windows. One can imagine that if this is the “underside” of the curtain, it has gathered in folds much tighter. Or is it not the underside at all, but an auditorium with a view of the city?

The housing complex on Kalinina Street. View of the east courtyard on the stylobate
Copyright: © Liphart Architects


The very shade of moderately light wood seems to be justified both by the internal character of the courtyard as such, and by the memory of the wooden Kazan that once existed here. The theme is further supported by the preserved trees and the wooden lattice of the dome. It is fresh and unexpected. However, wood is becoming more and more popular in the city and is beginning to be associated with elite housing: for example, the facades of the most expensive house at the moment are finished with larch. Nevertheless, it is worth emphasizing that the architects see the courtyard facade in metal: it is supposed to use painted aluminum or aluminum composite with the texture of artificial craquelure.

Waves and Ledges

The houses are low-rise, 4 residential floors, one, the first, public – this is one of the advantages of the height restriction; their scale is very comfortable and moderate. On a relatively small scale, the active plastique is well read: the houses are “molded”, their sculpture is varied, and the corners are sometimes rounded and sometimes sharp.

Since the author of the project, Stepan Liphart, is known for his adherence to the interpretation of Art Deco of varying degrees of classicism, the very authorship provokes a search for analogies from the thirties of the last century, and something indeed can be found: for example, the gravitation of wide windows towards the horizontal, or the three-part structure of the volume with a recessed plinth and attic, but a bold cornice.

The housing complex on Kalinina Street. Architectural and artistic illumination
Copyright: © Liphart Architects


Other typically “Stepan Liphart-esque” features that you can see here are the architect’s commitment to bay windows, “folded” facades, and the aforementioned meaningfulness of the plan’s graphics – if in the first floor you can see the fluidity of arabesques, in the residential floors on the courtyard side, round and triangular balconies alternate very rhythmically.

The housing complex on Kalinina Street. Plan of the 2 floor
Copyright: © Liphart Architects


Still another thing that comes from the 1930s are the relief Art Deco stone patterns of the first floor, whose texture at first glance resembles acoustic panels, but upon closer examination turns out to be a deconstruction of cannelure, where sharp grooves and triangular contours neighbor with arcs. The golden color of the natural stone seems to date back to the pastel-golden backgrounds of Gustav Klimt.

The housing complex on Kalinina Street. View of the fragment of the eastern facade and the entrance to the underground parking lot
Copyright: © Liphart Architects

 
However, this “corrugation” of the bay window “piano keys” can remind one, for example, of the brutalist Taganka Theater in Moscow.

The housing complex on Kalinina Street. View from Tikhomirov Street of the fragment of the northern facade, stairs and ramp to the eastern courtyard
Copyright: © Liphart Architects


Another interesting thing is that it is almost impossible to find any direct quotations here or even immersion in a certain style that is popular in modern high-end residential developments, which Stepan Ligpart sometimes so willingly and skillfully immerses himself in. The house feels very modern thanks to a high degree of generalization, as well as energetic work with form and color. The complexity of the form is exactly at the level of modern searches on this “medium” scale.

The solid vertical-striped surface is smoothed out as if it had been smoothed out by human hands; it is assembled by verticals, then by ruffles, then by undulations – then suddenly a breakdown, an asymmetrical protrusion, appears in this predictable rhythm. This is a new interpretation of the theme of the “working town” with elements of non-linearity – or at least the architect’s unpredictability – which, however, has gone far in the direction of expensive textures and shades, as well as layouts: rooms with several windows, a view on two sides, and a dining area in the bay window. From the balconies and terraces of the upper floors will be visible Lake Kaban and the central part of the city. Entrances to the building are pass-through; all staircases are lit by natural light.

In short, if there is an echo of the search for the aesthetics of the thirties here, it is very indirect, actualized. One can also sense a response to the “Bulgar” context: in the golden “braid” of the slopes, in the “ingots” of the first floor, in the “swarthiness” of the cladding, and in the terraces that are ready to receive the generous sunlight.

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    The housing complex on Kalinina Street. Plan of the 3 floor
    Copyright: © Liphart Architects
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    The housing complex on Kalinina Street. Plan of the 4 floor
    Copyright: © Liphart Architects
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    The housing complex on Kalinina Street. Plan of the 5 floor
    Copyright: © Liphart Architects
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    The housing complex on Kalinina Street. Plan of the -1 floor
    Copyright: © Liphart Architects
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    The housing complex on Kalinina Street. Section view
    Copyright: © Liphart Architects
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    The housing complex on Kalinina Street. Facades
    Copyright: © Liphart Architects
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    The housing complex on Kalinina Street. Facades
    Copyright: © Liphart Architects


17 October 2023

Headlines now
Champions’ Cup
At first glance, the Bell skyscraper on 1st Yamskogo Polya Street, 12, appears strict and laconic – though by no means modest. Its economical stereometry is built on a form close to an oval, one of UNK architects’ favorite themes. The streamlined surface of the main volume, clad in metal louvers, is sliced twice with glass incisions that graphically reveal the essence of the original shape: both its simplicity and its complexity. At the same time, dozens of highly complex engineering puzzles have been solved here.
History never ends
The old railway station in Kapan, a city in southern Armenia, has been given new life by the Paris-based design firm Normal Studio. Today, it serves as a TUMO center.
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
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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
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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.