Vladimir Bindeman: "The architecture that we have here is quite up to the western standards - what we are still missing is the respect for the architects"

On Thursday, Museum of Architecture opens the exhibition called "Gorod Architecturium" dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the architectural studio of the same name. What has the studio been able to achieve over these years - about this we are talking to its founder Vladimir Bindeman.

Interviewed by:
Anna Martovitskaya
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

23 June 2014

Interview

Senior managemant of "Architecturium" Studio. Vladimir Bindeman is in the center © "Architecturium"

Archi.ru: Vladimir, let us start from the start: who founded "Architecturium"? How did you come up with this name and which was the first project that your studio did?

Vladimir Bindeman: "Architecturium" was founded in May of 2004. By that day, it had almost been ten years since I quit working with official and municipal structures and was mainly doing private commissions with a group of like-minded colleagues of mine. In the spring of 2004, our team won the contest organized by "Modern House" magazine for the townhouse settlement of "Novo-Arkhangelskoe", and it was this victory that stirred us to found a fully-fledged studio of our own. As for the name, this was a "set piece" that I had up my sleeve - it rings of "impressive" Latin terms that end in "ium". Besides, back in those days I was a great fan of the Russian rock-band called "Aquarium"... So, now we have a way of telling out customers and colleagues that "Architecturium" is the place where architects and architecture live at peace with one another.

Novo-Arkhangelskoe Settlement © "Architecturium"

Novo-Arkhangelskoe Settlement © "Architecturium"

- In other words, "Novo-Arkhangelskoe" became for your studio the "kick-off" project that predestined your specialization in townhouse settlements?

- This project did not bring us any revenue but it did bring us recognition, thanks to which we later on got a lot of customers with orders for designing townhouse settlements. And even our today's "multisession" project - the Olympian Village Novogorsk - came to us thanks to "Novo-Arkhangelskoe". As for the subject of townhouses, I was into it ever since I embarked on my freelance career in the early 90's, and one can safely say that I am still exploring this idea - "from a cottage to a townhouse block". Back in the 1998-99 I was literally "burning" with this theme, offering it to every investor and trying to convince them that a townhouse is a lot more dependable than a villa and is a lot better suited for the Moscow suburbs. This resulted in the first three houses for "MIEL" company in Romashkovo, designed and built in 1999-2000.

Townhouses in Romashkovo © "Architecturium"

Townhouses in Romashkovo © "Architecturium"

After that, there was a contest with the same investor, only this time for "Barvikha-Club" and the already-mentioned "Novo-Arkhangelskoe". In the latter we did some serious work with the block planning options and came up with give different combinations. Then we did the settlements - "quarters" - for "METRA-Development" - "Ilinsky" and "Rizhsky" where we perfected our expertise and architectural style. And, as for the projects of "Olympic Village", they incorporated all the experience that we accumulated.

"Ilinsky Quarter" © "Architecturium"

"Rizhsky Quarter" © "Architecturium"

Kuzminskoe Settlement © "Architecturium"

- What was it about the idea of townhouse that attracted you so much?

- First of all, its planning possibilities. The variability of its planning solutions that provided an opportunity to create a cozy little city. This type of opportunity is not provided by the cottage settlement. Townhouse planning is something that you can describe with the term "community" - which you cannot say about the heavily fenced villas. You can arrange townhouses to make streets, courtyards, and even squares. It was a truly exciting thing for me to do.

- You seem to be speaking about it in the past tense. However, "Architecturium" still does townhouses, it would be enough to mention the third stage of the "Olympic Village Novogorsk" or the settlement of "Andersen" that, along with the multi-story buildings, includes townhouses as well.

- I hope that these two projects will be out last statement on the subject of this particular typology. Now I am really sceptic about this subject because I think that the townhouse is just not meant for Russia. At least, at the present stage of development. Objectively, the townhouse is mean for tolerant communities, open-minded and friendly. Also, meaning-well and law-abiding people, simply because living in a block house presupposes respect of the neighbors to one another, as well as to the house itself. Living "wall-to-wall" at a plot that is on an average nine meters wide makes you learn how to say hello to your neighbor and learn how to be cool about his children playing noisy games. Respect means that you will not build a gazebo the size of the whole plot and getting in the way of everybody's light, that you will not uglify the house with "outlaw" annexes and all.

"Andersen" © "Architecturium"

"Andersen" © "Architecturium"

The thing is that the buyers of townhouses are a very specific segment of the country real estate market. For many people, a townhouse is "more than a flat, yet less that a villa" - but, because they still want to live in a villa, they treat this house that they've purchased as their own one. The percentage of the rebuilt and reprinted townhouses beats any power of imagination: neither us, nor our colleagues that build townhouses can be sure that they will see them in the original state half a year after the purchase. And it is not because the planning solutions leave much to be desired - it is about the buyers and the real estate agents. I once asked one of such customers a question: "If you want to remodel so much and build extra stuff worth half of the plot, why did you not go and buy an individual villa?" The answer could have knocked me down with a feather: "Actually, I did build a villa! And now I want a townhouse!" No comments.

So, generally, as the pioneer of the "townhouse" movement, I can safely say that over these years I've come to a complete denial of it. Simply because of the fact that your work on the project of blocked houses boils down to trying to figure out what the future owners might want to rebuild - and eliminate such a possibility. I cannot even afford a flat roof: take Romashkovo, for example - all the flat roofs were overbuilt...

- Perhaps, the expansion of Moscow could somehow improve the situation? As far as I understand, after the expansion of Moscow the proverbial "Andersen" turned into a Moscow project and it is common knowledge that Moscow is a lot more attentive to the process of implementation of the approved projects than its region is.

- I cannot help but admit: things became a bit more organized after the southeast area was annexed by Moscow. And the same client of "Andersen", for example, really hopes that his buildings will be kept in the original shape and form, while we, in turn, hope that we have a right to expect that the territory planning that we designed will be implemented in full measure - which will give our project the desired integrity and the comfort of the environment that is great to live in.

- If you are through with the townhouse then what typology is the most interesting to you today?

- This is still the idea of integrated development of the territories, only now it's low-rise and medium-rise housing. In particular, I would really like to overcome today's poverty of planning solutions offered by the developers. It's pathetic that now it is only studio and double-room apartments that are designed - just because they are easier of all to sell. The developer's reasoning is really on a grassroots level: "If somebody needs more, they are going to buy two apartmnents". But we do realize that the house is not elastic! A great three-room apartment is not equal to a studio and a double welded together: in the bearing walls the owners will be at best allowed to make a standard doorway. This is why, by the way, I always ask my designers to foresee these things in advance and design more columns and fewer pylons. In Novogorsk, for example, we had to move the reinforced-concrete pylons.

Apartment house in the settlement of "Olympic Village Novogorsk" © "Architecturium"

Residential and sports complex "Olympic Village Novogorsk" © "Architecturium"

- In one of your interviews you said that now architecture could be bought and sold - the way I see it, this is a very accurate description of what you seem to be describing...

- It is enough to hear the modern developers speak about architecture. The things that we put out souls into - they just call them "product", no more, no less. And this "product" is only considered successful if it sells quickly. Generally, I have to mention at this point that the average project is influenced by the sales departments and their leaders all but totally, and the final decisions is made not by this or that person but by a "board if directors". Besides the obvious fact that it is very inconvenient and the fact that it takes them forever, it speaks about the level of trust to the professionals: today it's simply non-existent. And, while the main purpose of the designer is quality architecture, the purpose of the developer is selling the product as quickly as possible. Probably, it is always the case with the forming capitalism. I am reading right now "Delirious New York" by Rem Koolhaas - in the 1930's, in the USA, it was the same, even the Rockefeller Center was many times rebuilt to satisfy the leaseholders. I think that fighting it is only possible by personal connections and convictions.

- So this means that there are customers out there that can be persuaded into doing the right thing?

- Very few and far between. There are too many heartless manages out there that will listen politely to everything you have to say but then will fall in with the decision of their board. Today, regretfully, there are no bright personalities in the developer business. The "authoritative" leaders have their weak and strong points - but one thing us certain: creative people form a trend, and passive people follow suit in its wake without caring too much about things.

Residential complex "Olympic Village Novogorsk. Apartments" © "Architecturium"

- How is the working process organized in "Architecturium"? Is this all about the team work or is it a team that only works under your supervision?

- Initially, of course, it was only one team. Speaking, again, of "Novo-Arkhangelskoe", we did it as a team of five people. Right now we have a few teams - but they do not a fixed lineup because they are formed for each specific project. Right now, there are 30 people on our studio, 4 of them being designers, 4 office managers, and the others are architects, including five chief architects of the project.

- How actively are you personally involved in the development of the projects by your studio?

- I, as always, am responsible for the general architectural and planning solution, going through the options and choosing the best one. And, since I am the "playing coach", I do the sketches myself. This applies to the town-planning, as well as the architectural projects. At the same time the chiefs, as well as all the architects of our studio that want to propose an idea of their own, are entirely welcome to do so, furthermore, I always encourage them to do that - the way I see it, this is about the only way to come up with a worthy solution. Generally, the more I live, the more I am convinced that the modern architecture simply cannot be based on the architect's taste alone. Especially when it comes to town-planning! I will give you a simple example here. There was a time when I thought that all the roofs of low-rise housing must be blue. "Novo-Arkhangelskoe" is done in this way, as well as the Sochi health center, and I always insisted on that point, making the customers comply with my taste and overpay for the building materials. Now, looking back, I think that that it was voluntarism in its pure form! So, generally, it is a better thing to do trying to find rational, and not emotional, justification for your architectural solutions.

Residential complex "Olympic Village Novogorsk. Apartments" © "Architecturium"

- Are there orders that "Architecturium" chooses to turn down?

- Actually, we all but never get to do stand-alone projects. So it turned out that we mainly work with territories doing integrated housing projects. Now I would probably feel strange getting down to work on some separate project. Well, I might do so in Moscow, maybe. Even in this case, however, we would have started our work from the inevitable survey of the town-planning context and would have ended with the landscaping. Oh, yes, by the way, if the customer is not ready to commission us with the landscaping job - this is when we turn the project down. We firmly believe that landscaping is the fifth facade of architecture, even more important than the roof, and it needs to be the direct continuation of the ideas and visions that are there in the very soul of the building.

- What qualities must an architect possess to be admitted to work in your company?

- Our main requirement is that this person should love and understand modern architecture. And we do not like the "I've-seen-it-all" type.

- And, speaking of the modern western architecture, which examples of it would you like to bring over to the Russian soil?

- I think that the architecture that we have here is quite up to the western standards. The quote-unquote classicism has long since stopped being a mass trend and this seems to me almost the most important achievement of the last two years. Remembering back to the time when we exhibited with "Romashkovo" at "Under the Roof" show back in 2002, our stands were all surrounded by castles and chalets - and now they are very few and far between. So, if we are to borrow something from the West, this must be the respect to the architect's work - both from the customers and the society.

23 June 2014

Headlines now

The Big Twelve

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

Object

Above the Golden Horn

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

Report

Nuanced Alternative

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

Object

Blinds for Ice

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

Report

Campus within a Day

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

Overview

Vertical Civilization

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

Interview

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

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

Interview

Andrey Chuikov: “Optimum balance is achieved through economics”

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

Object

The Fulcrum

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

Object

Crystal is Watching You

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

Object

The Secret Briton

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

The Wrap-Up

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

Birds and Streams

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

Faraday Grid

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

Review

Midway upon the Journey of Our Life

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

Inverted Fortress

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

send.project

Transformation of Annenkirche

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

The Paradox of the Temporary

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

The Forum of Time

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

Mirrors Everywhere

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

Report

The Steppe Is Full of Beauty and Freedom

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

The Snowstorm Fish

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

The Mirror of Your Soul

We continue to publish projects from the competition for the design of the Russian Pavilion at EXPO in Osaka 2025. We are reminding you that the results of the competition have not been announced, and hardly will ever be. The pavilion designed by ASADOV Architects combines a forest log cabin, the image of a hyper transition, and sculptures made of glowing threads – it focuses primarily on the scenography of the exhibition, which the pavilion builds sequentially like a string of impressions, dedicating it to the paradoxes of the Russian soul.

Part of the Ideal

In 2025, another World Expo will take place in Osaka, Japan, in which Russia will not participate. However, a competition for the Russian pavilion was indeed held, with six projects participating. The results were never announced as Russia’s participation was canceled; the competition has no winners. Nevertheless, Expo pavilion projects are typically designed for a bold and interesting architectural statement, so we’ve gathered all the six projects and will be publishing articles about them in random order. The first one is the project by Vladimir Plotkin and Reserve Union, which is distinguished by the clarity of its stereometric shape, the boldness of its structure, and the multiplicity of possible interpretations.

Object

The Fortress by the River

ASADOV Architects have developed a concept for a new residential district in the center of Kemerovo. To combat the harsh climate and monotonous everyday life, the architects proposed a block type of development with dominant towers, good insolation, facades detailed at eye level, and event programming.

Object

In the Rhombus Grid

Construction has begun on the building of the OMK (United Metallurgical Company) Corporate University in Nizhny Novgorod’s town of Vyksa, designed by Ostozhenka Architects. The most interesting aspect of the project is how the architects immersed it in the context: “extracting” a diagonal motif from the planning grid of Vyksa, they aligned the building, the square, and the park to match it. A truly masterful work with urban planning context on several different levels of perception has long since become the signature technique of Ostozhenka.

Object

Generational Connection

Another modern estate, designed by Roman Leonidov, is located in the Moscow region and brings together three generations of one family under one roof. To fit on a narrow plot without depriving anyone of personal space, the architects opted for a zigzag plan. The main volume in the house structure is accentuated by mezzanines with a reverse-sloped roof and ceilings featuring exposed beams.

Object

Three Dimensions of the City

We began to delve into the project by Sergey Skuratov, the residential complex “Depo” in Minsk, located at Victory Square, and it fascinated us completely. The project has at least several dimensions to it: historical – at some point, the developer decided to discontinue further collaboration with Sergey Skuratov Architects, but the concept was approved, and its implementation continues, mostly in accordance with the proposed ideas. The spatial and urban planning dimension – the architects both argue with the city and play along with it, deciphering nuances, and finding axes. And, finally, the tactile dimension – the constructed buildings also have their own intriguing features. Thus, this article also has two parts: it dwells on what has been built and what was conceived

Object

New “Flight”

Architects from “Mezonproject” have developed a project for the reconstruction of the regional youth center “Polyot”(“Flight”) in the city of Oryol. The summer youth center, built back in the late 1970s, will now become year-round and acquire many additional functions.

Object

The Yauza Towers

In Moscow, there aren’t that many buildings or projects designed by Nikita Yavein and Studio 44. In this article, we present to you the concept of a large multifunctional complex on the Yauza River, located between two parks, featuring a promenade, a crossroads of two pedestrian streets, a highly developed public space, and an original architectural solution. This solution combines a sophisticated, asymmetric façade grid, reminiscent of a game of fifteen puzzle, and bold protrusions of the upper parts of the buildings, completely masking the technical floors and sculpting the complex’s silhouette.