По-русски

Honing the Principles

A new experiment in the field of panel construction: master plan and architecture by the recognized architects plus facades developed by the young contest-winners.

Written by:
Anna Gorodinskaya
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov

28 November 2014
Object
mainImg
Проект многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © SPEECH + «Евгений Герасимов и партнеры»
Project of a multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue, Saint Petersburg © SPEECH + "Eugene Gerasimov and Partners" открыть большое изображение

In Saint Petersburg's "Petrograd Side", the construction of "Europe-City" is in progress - a new panel multi-apartment business class residential complex from "Eugene Gerasimov and Partners", 'nps tchoban voss', and SPEECH. It consists of seven multi-section nine-story buildings lined up along the "red line" of the street, and ten fourteen-story towers, arranged in two five-building rows in the yard. And it is "panel" that is the key word here - because the houses that are being built in the place of the former "Electric" Plant in the triangle between the Lopukhinsky Garden, the verdure of the sport complex "Zenith" and the Botanical Garden are nothing other than a vivid example of modern industrial construction. Vivid - but not typical, at least for Russia. 

Проект многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © SPEECH + «Евгений Герасимов и партнеры»
Project of a multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue, Saint Petersburg © SPEECH + "Eugene Gerasimov and Partners" открыть большое изображение

The architects based themselves on Series 137 of Saint Petersburg's "Block", whose nomenclature was widened with regard to the specifications of this particular project. The foundation is monolith, with the panel bearing structures resting upon it. As for the facades, they will be executed according to the hybrid technology that combines a panel and a hang-on structure coated with a few kinds of ceramic tiles: glazed, opaque, and natural coatless. As a result, when viewed from the outside, nothing reminds you of the typical "panel" houses. For each of the buildings, the architects developed an original facade pattern, although this variety is gracefully set off - all the variations fall in with a single proportion grid. 

Проект многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © SPEECH + «Евгений Герасимов и партнеры»
Project of a multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue, Saint Petersburg © SPEECH + "Eugene Gerasimov and Partners" открыть большое изображение

Dressing the houses in varying ceramic facades, the authors were able not only to hide away the panel joints but also to achieve the effect as if it was not a string of multi-panel slabs that is stretched along the avenue but several different buildings looking something like tenement houses, only lined up under the single image of the cornice. What they ultimately got was a Saint Petersburg quarter in a new style - one will have a great time passing by going down the street, and it will be quite easy to find one's way around: "Y'know, I've already passed the blue building, and now I am walking past the white one with bright yellow inserts!" As for the "slashed" at a 45° angle building at the crossing of the Medikov and Pavlova Streets, this building, although out of tradition, opens up, at the entrance over the Bolshaya Nevka river, a fine view of the complex from the Kantemirovsky bridge. 

Проект многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © SPEECH + «Евгений Герасимов и партнеры». Предоставлено компанией Группа ЛСР
Project of a multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue, Saint Petersburg © SPEECH + "Eugene Gerasimov and Partners" . Photo provided by LSR Group открыть большое изображение

Проект многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © SPEECH + «Евгений Герасимов и партнеры». Предоставлено компанией Группа ЛСР
Project of a multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue, Saint Petersburg © SPEECH + "Eugene Gerasimov and Partners" . Photo provided by LSR Group открыть большое изображение

We should mention at this point that the project has changed significantly since 2007 when it was first announced by its authors: back then, the land plot was divided into several rigorous square blocks. Today, the facades of the houses built along the plot's red-line perimeter, are recognizable; they develop the principles that we are already familiar with from the works by both Sergey Tchoban and Eugene Gerasimov: first of all, the ostentatious variety of the facades of each section (in fact, each entrance door) is visibly reminiscent of "Micro-City "In the Forest", whose first stage was completed early this fall. In this case, though, the bright sunshine of the Moscow area town is a bit softened by the Saint Petersburg environment: here it is more about texture than color, and the geometry is more predictable; according to the apt saying of the authors, "rustication, pulls, cornices, and bas-reliefs" - motifs that are quite classical - make these houses more in the vein of Saint Petersburg, classical by nature. Eugene Grrasimov's portfolio also includes a project that fits this comparison - a proposal that he developed over a year ago for "Tsarev Sahd" ("Tsar's Garden - translator's note), a premium-class residential complex right across from Moscow's Kremlin - but then again, just as "Micro-city" is brighter, Eugene Gerasimov's "Tsarev Sahd" is more classical and allusion-evoking. On the facades of "Europe-City", we get the sum total, the result of the development of the plastic lexicon and the approach stated by both of the architects some five-seven years ago. 

Проект многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © SPEECH + «Евгений Герасимов и партнеры»
Project of a multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue, Saint Petersburg © SPEECH + "Eugene Gerasimov and Partners" . открыть большое изображение

Проект многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © SPEECH + «Евгений Герасимов и партнеры»
Project of a multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue, Saint Petersburg © SPEECH + "Eugene Gerasimov and Partners" . открыть большое изображение

Узел крепления навесного фасада. Проект многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © SPEECH + «Евгений Герасимов и партнеры»
Hang-on facade fastening unit. Project of a multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue, Saint Petersburg © SPEECH + "Eugene Gerasimov and Partners" . открыть большое изображение

Узел крепления навесного фасада. Проект многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © SPEECH + «Евгений Герасимов и партнеры»
Hang-on facade fastening unit. Project of a multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue, Saint Petersburg © SPEECH + "Eugene Gerasimov and Partners" . открыть большое изображение

Фрагмент плана. Крепление навесного фасада на углу здания. Проект многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © SPEECH + «Евгений Герасимов и партнеры»
Plan fragment. Hang-on facade fastening unit on the corner of the building. Project of a multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue, Saint Petersburg © SPEECH + "Eugene Gerasimov and Partners" . открыть большое изображение

Besides the new approach to the use of panel technologies and harmonious variety of the facades, "Europe-City" has yet another interesting detail about it. Behind the front of the line-up of the seven "slab" nine-story buildings, designed by the recognized architects Eugene Gerasimov and Sergey Tchoban, the yard has in it ten fourteen-story "dot" towers with five different facades, the conceptual solution of which was developed back in 2010 via a contest of young architects organized on the initiative of the authors of the project. The contest was supported by the customer of the project - LSR Group - as well as by the committee for urban planning and architecture of Saint Petersburg, and Saint Petersburg architects union. 

The creative competition was designed for the Russian professionals under thirty-five years of age, the designing period being from October 14 to November 10 2010 - the contestants were to come up with the project of the facade, as well as show what a separate building, as well as a group of ten buildings, would look like. Having considered the projects submitted, the judging panel selected one absolute winner and four more prize winners, between whom the two hundred thousand rubles of the prize fund were divided. Meanwhile, the main prize for the laureates was their inclusion in the team of the project and the actual implementation of their design proposals and concepts into the further construction work. The five prize-winning projects were refined by the young designers to the status of working drawings and distributed among the ten towers: each project will be doubled. Presently, in the implementation of the residential complex "Europe-City" five towers in the yard are leading: their facades have already been coated and one can see how exactly the young designers' projects have been implemented. 

Схема застройки комплекса. Проект многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © SPEECH + «Евгений Герасимов и партнеры»
Building plan of the complex. Project of a multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue, Saint Petersburg © SPEECH + "Eugene Gerasimov and Partners" . открыть большое изображение

Back in 2010, the winner of the young architects contest was Roman Pak with a project in which the facades were turned into an equilateral grid of wide inter-window and inter-wall spaces. Here and there, the white grid is interrupted by colored dents - as if behind the white "skin" there were hidden some sort of more intriguing matter. This effect was achieved by using colored ceramic tiles: the ultimate color came out more reserved, and, at the same time, reminiscent of maiolica of the early XX century. 

Башня многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков по проекту Романа Пака. Фото  предоставлено архитектурной мастерской SPEECH
Tower of the multiapartment residential complex on the Medikov Avenue upon the project by Roman Pak. Photo provided by SPEECH. открыть большое изображение

Конкурсный проект фасадов башен жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © Роман Пак. Изображение предоставлено архитектурной мастерской SPEECH
Contest project of the facades of the towers of the residential complex on the Medikov © Roman Pak. Image provided by SPEECH открыть большое изображение

In his project entitled "Celling", Eugene Kitselev proposed a solution a little bit more brutal but still bearing a distant resemblance to the shapes so much loved by SPEECH: the buildings are covered with large-cell network where the enlarged horizontal openings that unite two windows each, are placed in accordance with strict diagonal logic forming on the facades the verticals of a barbaric meander pattern. 

Башня многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков по проекту Евгения Кицелева. Фотография предоставлена архитектурной мастерской SPEECH
The tower of the multi-apartment residential complex on the Medikov Avenue upon the project of Eugene Kitselev. Image provided by SPEECH открыть большое изображение

Конкурсный проект фасадов башен жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © Евгений Кицелев. Изображение предоставлено архитектурной мастерской SPEECH
Contest project of the facades of the towers on the Medikov Avenue upon the project of Eugene Kitselev. Image provided by SPEECH открыть большое изображение

The abstract and beautiful concept proposed by Yana Tsebruk and Oleg Tkachuk: dividing the buildings vertically into the dark and light halves yielded towers of a very simple kind (the glass vertical was the indispensable element in every project but in this particular case the authors augmented it with an orange niche below, softening the excessive laconism of their solution to a certain extent). But then again, the authors of this idea had in nine out of ten of their buildings the upper half painted black, and the project was called "playing weightlessness", so the light was supposed to support the dark; in the tower that has already built, it is the other way around - meaning, the bottom is black. 

Конкурсный проект фасадов башен жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © Яна Цебрук и Олег Ткачук. Изображение предоставлено архитектурной мастерской SPEECH
Contest project of the facades of the towers in the residential complex at the Medikov Avenue © Yana Tsebruk and Oleg Tkachuk. Image provided by SPEECH открыть большое изображение

Башня многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков. Авторы проекта: Яна Цебрук и Олег Ткачук. Фотография  предоставлена SPEECH
Tower of the multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue. Authors of the project: Yana Tsebruk and Oleg Tkachuk. Image provided by SPEECH открыть большое изображение

Ilia and Irene Filimonovs, on the other hand, made their facades particularly mottled, placing before the windows grilles of a moderately lilac hue - looking like an attempt at imitating lamellae moving parallel to the surface of the facade along the guiding rails. Was this solution an imitation or not, in reality it became a string of decorative terra-cotta inserts and black horizontal stripes - but still subjected to a single rhythm set by the authors. 

Башня многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков по проекту Ильи Филимонова и Ирины Филимоновой. Фотография предоставлена SPEECH
Tower of the multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue. Authors of the project: Ilia Filimonov and Irene Filimonova. Image provided by SPEECH открыть большое изображение

Конкурсный проект фасадов башен жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © Илья Филимонов и Ирина Филимонова. Изображение предоставлено архитектурной мастерской SPEECH
Contest project of the facades residential complex at the Medikov Avenue. Authors of the project: Ilia Filimonov and Irene Filimonova. Image provided by SPEECH открыть большое изображение

Vladimir Peshkov and Konstantin Podvyazkin proposed to make about a third of the tower light-colored, and the rest - terra-cotta. 

Конкурсный проект фасадов башен жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © Владимир Пешков и Константин Подвязкин. Изображение предоставлено SPEECH
Contest project of the facades residential complex at the Medikov Avenue. © Authors of the project: Vladimir Peshkov and Konstantin Podvyazkin. Image provided by SPEECH открыть большое изображение

The winner of the contest got 100 000 rubles, and the other three prize-winners - 30 000 each, after which the towers got "mixed" which resulted (just as outside) in different facades, only designed by the young architects. 

Проект многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков © SPEECH + «Евгений Герасимов и партнеры»
Project of a multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue, Saint Petersburg © SPEECH + "Eugene Gerasimov and Partners" . открыть большое изображение

Проект многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков. SPEECH + «Евгений Герасимов и партнеры». Фотография © Юрий Славцов / предоставлена компанией Группа ЛСР
Project of a multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue, Saint Petersburg © SPEECH + "Eugene Gerasimov and Partners" . Photo by Yuri Slavtsov and LSR Group открыть большое изображение

Проект многоквартирного жилого комплекса на проспекте Медиков. SPEECH + «Евгений Герасимов и партнеры». Фотография © Юрий Славцов / предоставлена компанией Группа ЛСР
Project of a multi-apartment residential complex at the Medikov Avenue, Saint Petersburg © SPEECH + "Eugene Gerasimov and Partners" . Photo by Yuri Slavtsov and LSR Group открыть большое изображение
 
***
We asked the leaders of the two large architectural companies engaged in this project, Eugene Gerasimov and Sergey Tchoban, about what is important to them about this project. 



Eugene Gerasimov

"To me, the most interesting thing about this project is, of course, the contest itself. It was organized with the support of the customer ("Vozrozhdenie Saint Petersburg"), Committee on State Control Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Landmarks, the city's then- main architect Yuri Miturev, Union of Architects, presided by Vladimir Popov, as well as with the participation of me and Sergey Tchoban as the main designers of the whole complex. Our goal was to select five best project by young architects, for the inside "dots". Around thirty projects were submitted for the contest, the judging panel chose the five winners, and I think that these five winners did a great job. The five young architects got the opportunity to implement their projects big time for the first time in their lives. We will be sure to implement this into practice in our further work". 



Sergey Tchoban

"The town-planning concept was developed in cooperation with Eugene Gerasimov. As is often the case with us, one building was designed by Eugene's bureau, and another by our company so ultimately we came up with a parceled structure of the elongated buildings that form the outside facade, behind which there are ten more separately-standing towers. By using such combination, we were able to increase the number of floors inside the complex, as well as achieved more variety in the planning of the apartments. 

The main reason of organizing this contest and involving its winners in the work of this project was mine and Eugene Gerasimov's urge to give the young architects a chance to make a statement and distinguish themselves. To me, Saint Petersburg suffers from a gap between the generation of recognized practicing architects and the young architects. This is one of the differences of Saint Petersburg architectural environment from the situation in Moscow where over the last years significant changes took place and an effective professional "lift" was created that brought recognition to many young companies and startups. In Saint Petersburg, however, this process is not as active, that's why we have a desire to give a helping hand to our young architects".
Multiapartment residential complex "Europe City" at the Medikov Avenue. Project, 2015 © Evgeny Gerasimov and Partners, SPEECH, nps tchoban voss
Multiapartment residential complex "Europe City" at the Medikov Avenue. Project, 2015 © Evgeny Gerasimov and Partners, SPEECH, nps tchoban voss
zooming
zooming
zooming


28 November 2014

Written by:

Anna Gorodinskaya
Translated by:
Anton Mizonov
Headlines now
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.
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.
Architecture and Leisure Park
For the suburban hotel complex, which envisages various formats of leisure, the architectural company T+T Architects proposed several types of accommodation, ranging from the classic “standard” in a common building to a “cave in the hill” and a “house in a tree”. An additional challenge consisted in integrating a few classic-style residences already existing on this territory into the “architectural forest park”.
The U-House
The Jois complex combines height with terraces, bringing the most expensive apartments from penthouses down to the bottom floors. The powerful iconic image of the U-shaped building is the result of the creative search for a new standard of living in high-rise buildings by the architects of “Genpro”.
Black and White
In this article, we specifically discuss the interiors of the ATOM Pavilion at VDNKh. Interior design is a crucial component of the overall concept in this case, and precision and meticulous execution were highly important for the architects. Julia Tryaskina, head of UNK interiors, shares some of the developments.
The “Snake” Mountain
The competition project for the seaside resort complex “Serpentine” combines several typologies: apartments of different classes, villas, and hotel rooms. For each of these typologies, the KPLN architects employ one of the images that are drawn from the natural environment – a serpentine road, a mountain stream, and rolling waves.
Opal from Anna Mons’ Ring
The project of a small business center located near Tupolev Plaza and Radio Street proclaims the necessity of modern architecture in a specific area of Moscow commonly known as “Nemetskaya Sloboda” or “German settlement”. It substantiates its thesis with the thoroughness of details, a multitude of proposed and rejected form variants, and even a detailed description of the surrounding area. The project is interesting indeed, and it is even more interesting to see what will come of it.
Feed ’Em All
A “House of Russian Cuisine” was designed and built by KROST Group at VDNKh for the “Rossiya” exhibition in record-breaking time. The pavilion is masterfully constructed in terms of the standards of modern public catering industry multiplied by the bustling cultural program of the exhibition, and it interprets the stylistically diverse character of VDNKh just as successfully. At the same time, much of its interior design can be traced back to the prototypes of the 1960s – so much so that even scenes from iconic Soviet movies of those years persistently come to mind.
The Ensemble at the Mosque
OSA prepared a master plan for a district in the southern part of Derbent. The main task of the master plan is to initiate the formation of a modern comfortable environment in this city. The organization of residential areas is subordinated to the city’s spiritual center: depending on the location relative to the cathedral mosque, the houses are distinguished by façade and plastique solutions. The program also includes a “hospitality center”, administrative buildings, an educational cluster, and even an air bridge.
Pargolovo Protestantism
A Protestant church is being built in St. Petersburg by the project of SLOI architects. One of the main features of the building is a wooden roof with 25-meter spans, which, among other things, forms the interior of the prayer hall. Also, there are other interesting details – we are telling you more about them.
The Shape of the Inconceivable
The ATOM Pavilion at VDNKh brings to mind a famous maxim of all architects and critics: “You’ve come up with it? Now build it!” You rarely see such a selfless immersion in implementation of the project, and the formidable structural and engineering tasks set by UNK architects to themselves are presented here as an integral and important part of the architectural idea. The challenge matches the obliging status of the place – after all, it is an “exhibition of achievements”, and the pavilion is dedicated to the nuclear energy industry. Let’s take a closer look: from the outside, from the inside, and from the underside too.
​Rays of the Desert
A school for 1750 students is going to be built in Dubai, designed by IND Architects. The architects took into account the local specifics, and proposed a radial layout and spaces, in which the children will be comfortable throughout the day.
The Dairy Theme
The concept of an office of a cheese-making company, designed for the enclosed area of a dairy factory, at least partially refers to industrial architecture. Perhaps that is why this concept is very simple, which seems the appropriate thing to do here. The building is enlivened by literally a couple of “master strokes”: the turning of the corner accentuates the entrance, and the shade of glass responds to the theme of “milk rivers” from Russian fairy tales.
The Road to the Temple
Under a grant from the Small Towns Competition, the main street and temple area of the village of Nikolo-Berezovka near Neftekamsk has been improved. A consortium of APRELarchitects and Novaya Zemlya is turning the village into an open-air museum and integrating ruined buildings into public life.
​Towers Leaning Towards the Sun
The three towers of the residential complex “Novodanilovskaya 8” are new and the tallest neighbors of the Danilovsky Manufactory, “Fort”, and “Plaza”, complementing a whole cluster of modern buildings designed by renowned masters. At the same time, the towers are unique for this setting – they are residential, they are the tallest ones here, and they are located on a challenging site. In this article, we explore how architects Andrey Romanov and Ekaterina Kuznetsova tackled this far-from-trivial task.
In the spirit of ROSTA posters
The new Rostselmash tractor factory, conceptualized by ASADOV Architects, is currently being completed in Rostov-on-Don. References to the Soviet architecture of the 1920’s and 1960’s resonate with the mission and strategic importance of the enterprise, and are also in line with the client’s wish: to pay homage to Rostov’s constructivism.
The Northern Thebaid
The central part of Ferapontovo village, adjacent to the famous monastery with frescoes by Dionisy, has been improved according to the project by APRELarchitects. Now the place offers basic services for tourists, as well as a place for the villagers’ leisure.
Brilliant Production
The architects from London-based MOST Architecture have designed the space for the high-tech production of Charge Cars, a high-performance production facility for high-speed electric cars that are assembled in the shell of legendary Ford Mustangs. The founders of both the company and the car assembly startup are Russians who were educated in their home country.
Three-Part Task: St. Petersburg’s Mytny Dvor
The so-called “Mytny Dvor” area lying just behind Moscow Railway Station – the market rows with a complex history – will be transformed into a premium residential complex by Studio 44. The project consists of three parts: the restoration of historical buildings, the reconstruction of the lost part of the historical contour, and new houses. All of them are harmonized with each other and with the city; axes and “beams of light” were found, cozy corners and scenic viewpoints were carefully thought out. We had a chat with the authors of the historical buildings’ restoration project, and we are telling you about all the different tasks that have been solved here.
The Color of the City, or Reflections on the Slope of an Urban Settlement
In 2022, Ostozhenka Architects won a competition, and in 2023, they developed and received all the necessary approvals for a master plan for the development of Chernigovskaya Street for the developer GloraX. The project takes into account a 10-year history of previous developments; it was done in collaboration with architects from Nizhny Novgorod, and it continues to evolve now. We carefully examined it, talked to everyone, and learned a lot of interesting things.
A Single-Industry Town
Kola MMC and Nornickel are building a residential neighborhood in Monchegorsk for their future employees. It is based on a project by an international team that won the 2021 competition. The project offers a number of solutions meant to combat the main “demons” of any northern city: wind, grayness and boredom.
A New Age Portico
At the beginning of the year, Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport opened Terminal C. The large-scale and transparent entrance hall with luminous columns inside successfully combines laconism with a bright and photogenic WOW-effect. The terminal is both the new façade of the whole complex and the starting point of the planned reconstruction, upon completion of which Tolmachevo will become the largest regional airport in Russia. In this article, we are examining the building in the context of modernist prototypes of both Novosibirsk and Leningrad: like puzzle pieces, they come together to form their individual history, not devoid of curious nuances and details.
A New Starting Point
We’ve been wanting to examine the RuArts Foundation space, designed by ATRIUM for quite a long time, and we finally got round to it. This building looks appropriate and impressive; it amazingly combines tradition – represented in our case by galleries – and innovation. In this article, we delve into details and study the building’s historical background as well.
Molding Perspectives
Stepan Liphart introduces “schematic Art Deco” on the outskirts of Kazan – his houses are executed in green color, with a glassy “iced” finish on the facades. The main merits of the project lie in his meticulous arrangement of viewing angles – the architect is striving to create in a challenging environment the embryo of a city not only in terms of pedestrian accessibility but also in a sculptural sense. He works with silhouettes, proposing intriguing triangular terraces. The entire project is structured like a crystal, following two grids, orthogonal and diagonal. In this article, we are examining what worked, and what eventually didn’t.
An Educational Experiment for the North
City-Arch continues to work on the projects that can be termed as “experimental public preschools”: private kindergartens and schools can envy such facilities in many respects. This time around, the project is done for the city of Gubkinsky, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. A diverse educational and play environment, including a winter garden, awaits future students, while the teachers will have abundant opportunities to implement new practices.
Alexandra Kuzmina: “Working is easy when the rules are the same for everyone”
The subject matter of Moscow Region’s booth and presentations at Zodchestvo Festival was the concept of “Integrated Land Development”, and for a good reason: this task is very challenging, very relevant, and Moscow Region has already accumulated quite a formidable experience in this regard. In this article, we are speaking to the main architect of the region: about master plans and who makes them, about where you obtain resources for creating a comfortable environment, about her favorite projects, about why there are so few good architects, and what we should do with the bad ones.
The Cemetery: Inside and Outside
The workshop organized by the Genplan Institute of Moscow scored one of the two first places at the “Open City” festival. Its subject is reorganization of municipal cemeteries. Two action plans were proposed, diametrically opposite: one for the downtown and one for the suburbs.
Our Everything
Who is Alexey Shchusev? In the last couple of weeks, since the architect’s 150th birthday, different individuals have answered this question differently. The most detailed, illustrated, and elegantly presented response is an exhibition held in two buildings of the Museum of Architecture on Vozdvizhenka. Four curators, a year and a half of work performed by the entire museum, and exhibition design by Sergey Tchoban and Alexandra Sheiner – in this article, we take you on a tour of the exhibition and show what’s what in it.
For Mental Reboot
At the architectural competition held in 2023 in Novosibirsk, the project by GORA Architects – a pedestrian bridge leading to the town of Bor – was awarded the “Golden Capital” prize. In this country, more than a hundred pedestrian bridges are constructed each year. What makes the Bor bridge different?
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.