In this issue, we are covering the results of the competition for the architectural and town planning concept of “Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe”, which was once supposed to be turned into a “city of millionaires”. The competition took place in the fall of 2018, with three teams winning: Archea Associatii, Nikken Sekkei, and Zaha Hadid Architects, each one in collaboration with their respective Russian partner – ABD architects, UNK project, and TPO Pride Architects.
Written by: Julia Tarabarina Translated by: Anton Mizonov
12 September 2019
Contest Results
Last year in October, an international competition took place for the concept of developing one of the largest territories of Moscow’s west: a 460-hectare chunk of land, 4 million square meters of housing, and some 66 500 residents – Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe in the Zakharkovskaya Poima. The competition was held from May 22 till October 3; the results were announced on the 22nd of October.
Historical Background
This piece of land has been in the developers’ focus of attention for quite a long time: since 2004, word went round about the “city of millionaires” that was designed for 20 thousand people, and designed in the spirit of historicism by John Thompson. In 2007, the project was included in the “Accessible Housing” program, its population increasing up to 40 thousand; many reputed Russian architectural companies were invited: Pavel Andreev, Aleksey Vorontsov, Sergey Kiselev, “Ostozhenka”, and others (read the whole story at ec-a.ru).
In 2011, the development project of the Zakharkovskaya Poima was transferred into sole ownership of Sberbank; right about that time plans were announced for building here the International Financial Center. In 2012, Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe was officially proclaimed a part of New Moscow. In 2013-2014, they conducted a competition for the project of IFC, which was won by Team Moscow – Astoc / HPP, headed by the German company Astoc GmbH & Co. KG, and a contract was drawn up about the modification of the project together with Genplan Institute of Moscow.
In 2015, the expected technical and economic performance of the project was adopted, and public hearings conducted; in 2016, they adopted the site plan that was developed by Genplan Institute of Moscow. Compared to the period of 2004-2009, the area of the project expanded from 430 up to 460 hectares. In the end of 2017, they presented the “Smart City” concept, which “for certain reasons” came to replace the idea of IFC. The Smart City project is led by AO “Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe”, which is part of PAO Sberbank.
The territory of Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe on Google Maps:
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Smart City and its parameters
The “Smart City” concept presupposes high-technology solutions, in which an important part is played by a single technological platform that serves to unite the city people; environmental concerns are also taken into account. It’s easy to see that this concept is very resonant with the idea of “city of innovation”, Skolkovo, situated ten kilometers south of Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe.
The company’s website describes this city as one that is meant to ensure efficient work, comfortable life, as well as active and meditative recreation. There are plans for building some 800 square meters of offices (possibly, a lot of them will be the headquarters of Sberbank), and three times as much (2.6 million square meters) of housing stock, most of it, more than 90% of the total amount, situated in multi-apartment buildings, prevalent being the elite business class, 53%, followed by comfort class, 37%, and finally, a little less than 10%, the low-rise housing – the latter will occupy the area closer to the border with the Arkhangelskoe Estate, where height restrictions apply. In accordance with the standards, there are plans for building 8 schools, 15 kindergartens, 2 health care centers, one fire station, and one police station; 64 890 square meters of hotels, 196 840 square meters of retail, as well as a 132 000-square-meter shopping mall.
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The borders of the zones of capital construction facilities
Copyright: Site Plan of the “Roblevo-Arkhangelskoe” territory
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The functional plan of the territory
Copyright: Site Plan of the “Roblevo-Arkhangelskoe” territory
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The borders of the zones of engineering lines
Copyright: Site Plan of the “Roblevo-Arkhangelskoe” territory
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Area demarcation
Copyright: Site Plan of the “Roblevo-Arkhangelskoe” territory
The parklands must occupy about a third of the entire area, plus 7 kilometers of the green waterfront of the Moskva River, and a 30-hectare lake. Vehicle-free yards, and 30 kilometers of bicycle roads. The Arkhangelskoe Estate heritage site is 2 kilometers away from here on a straight line; 4 kilometers away on a straight line are the buildings of the government of the Moscow Region, designed by Mikhail Khazanov. These are quite likely to be seen from at least half of the windows.
A new “Rublevo-Arkhangelskaya” metro line will be also build here, 19 kilometers long; its construction will be financed jointly by Sberbank, and it will run from “Shelepikha” station, linking the “Smart City” to the “Moscow City” business cluster. The “Arkhangelskaya” station will be the last but one in it; it will be located between the lake and the river, next to the center of the area. There will be also an “Ilinskoe” station, the terminal one for the time being.
The Smart City project is due to be implemented in four stages, the construction beginning in 2021 and ending in 2030.
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According to the chairman of the judging panel of the competition, Stanislav Kuznetsov, the participants and the experts were to “grope for something that would stay unique not just for years, but for decades to come <...> We must use the world’s best practices and the most advanced ideas to make this city not only technology-based but shaping up the people’s lifestyle as well”.
Thus, the competing companies proceeded from the site plan, developed on the basis of the project that won in 2014 and was approved in 2016. They worked with pre-approved demarcation, redlines, borders of capital facilities construction, and the announced Smart City concept – the original “givens” defined quite a lot of things. In the central part, closer to the north, east of the lake shore, the site plan includes the office buildings with residential houses surrounding them, like they would around the “city” in its own right, very much like the old townships that were built around a Kremlin or a monastery. Therefore, the composition with a high-rise office center was pre-defined for all of the contestants. Meanwhile, one should assume that on an area of 461 hectares any preset parameters would still leave enough room for the architects’ creative freedom.
According to the task of the competition 2018, its participants were to “develop the vision of the project, activity scenarios, the functional content program, and the principles of forming the unique attractiveness of the urban environment and living in this area, as well as present their “smart” ideas”. The contestants themselves chose what was going to be the first stage of construction, and came up with the sketches for building on this territory with detailed elaboration of architectural and planning solutions for all the main types of buildings in the first stage.
Totally, the competition involved seven architectural teams, each with a foreign leader and a Russian local partner. Four collaborations did not reach the finals:
MADMA (Maxwan) / Netherlands
Mecanoo / Netherlands
AREP / France
Aecom / USA
The project was one by three consortiums:
The Italian Archea Associati in collaboration with the Russian ABD architects,
The Japanese Nikken Sekkei in collaboration with the Russian UNK project,
The British Zaha Hadid Architects in consortium with TPO Pride Architects
The three finalists are named in an alphabetical order, not in the order of priority. It is expected that they will be working together; possibly, the best ideas will be combined and improved. As AO “Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe” emphasizes, the end project will not be identical to any of the three winning proposals. In addition, the organizers say, there are also plans for inviting to work on this project “the top architectural companies from different countries for developing headquarters of the office residents, new housing standards, comfortable public spaces, and high-profile cultural projects”.
A brief review of the concepts has been posted on the company’s website, the project by Zaha Hadid Architects getting a slightly more detailed coverage at Archdaily. We asked the organizers for a little bit more detailed information.
Incidentally, we will note here that the Russian architectural market is witnessing the appearance of a few steady collaborations: Nikken Sekkei and UNK project, just as Zaha Hadid Architects and TPO Pride Architects, were involved in the competition for the best pilot venues for Moscow renovation.
“A City for Every Generation”
Archea Associati / ABD architects
Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe, architectural and town planning concept. The competition winning project
The central office part looks noticeably similar to the Moscow City: the arc-shaped glass façades are reminiscent of the Federation Tower, while the smooth chamfers of their tops look very much like Sergey Kiselev’s Mirax Plaza. The silhouette of the central towers is pyramid-like, while on the plan they are placed along the contour of the triangular plaza before the eastern lake shore.
Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe, architectural and town planning concept. The competition winning project
“In its concept of the new city, the team of Archea Associati, in consortium with ABD Architects, paid special attention to modern technologies, diversity of architectural forms, landscape design, and sophisticated automobile and pedestrian traffic schemes” – the press release says. The organizers also note the proposed by the authors “original multilevel solutions for all-season public spaces” – one of them, with an operated green roof and a “television” cantilevered structure that overlooks the lake, is situated on the plaza. The strong sides of the project also include “interesting locations for business residents” and full-fledged infrastructure in each district of the city, making the housing areas independent of the central part.
Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe, architectural and town planning concept. The competition winning project
The slogan of the project – Linked City – has many meanings: in addition to the Russian translation, proposed by the authors, which can be also interpreted as “interacting city”, the English name brings obvious associations with IT terminology, including the proverbial hyperlink. Meaning – it is linked in the sense of being interactive on different levels – a rather futuristic concept. In their proposal, the authors developed the two already mentioned key concepts of a “smart city” – environment and smart technologies. The large amount of public spaces must ensure the development of social interaction and foster a creative environment. The futuristic shapes of the office towers have been defined by the pattern of the prevailing winds and look as if they were “washed” by the steams of air. The flexible glass façades are dissected by thin ribs; the ledgy roof will have large operated terraces commanding the lake views.
Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe, architectural and town planning concept. The competition winning project
“The team of NikkenSekkei, in consortium with UNK project, has built its concept on the combination of advanced technologies applied for designing the engineering systems, creating a smart system of managing and developing the connections within communities, at the same time preserving the unique natural resource of this land and creating new green spaces” – the organizers explain.
Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe, architectural and town planning concept. The competition winning project
Zaha Hadid Architects traditionally placed their bets on nonlinear volumes. The glass façades are dissected by an “exoskeleton” of dense contours, in whose 3D outline one can see an arrested flight of the gymnast’s ribbon. On the other side, the houses, oval on the plan, bear a mark of retrofuturism with a nod to the 1960’s, which can be traced back to the multidimensional name of “Satellite City”, in which one can see the allusions to the romance of space exploration, and to the Soviet “science towns”, whose splendid galaxy is about to be augmented by the innovation town of Skolkovo and the currently designed Smart City.
Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe, architectural and town planning concept. The competition winning project
The Zaha Hadid project provides for a few “nuclei”, each of which features its own specialty of extra public spaces: “art residence” (the cultural nucleus), the laboratory of urban solutions (intellectual nucleus), all-year-round public spaces (space nucleus). According to the judging panel, this concept is different than the other projects by this “star” architectural firm because it is not about “pure architecture”, and proceeds from people’s needs.
Rublevo-Arkhangelskoe, architectural and town planning concept. The competition winning project
Marat Khusnullin, Deputy Mayor of Moscow in the Moscow Government on urban planning and construction issues;
Stanislav Kuznetsov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of PAO Sberbank;
Andrey Likhachev, General Director of “AO Rublevo-Arkhangelskoye”;
Sergey Kuznetsov, chief architect of Moscow, chairman of the architectural council of Moscow;
Kristin Feireiss, the founder of the independent Aedes Architecture Forum, member of the jury of the Pritzker Architecture Prize;
Ingo Kanehl, the managing director of ASTOC Architects and Planners;
Andreas Kipar, CEO and Founding Partner of LAND Milano SRL.
12 September 2019
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Written by:
Julia Tarabarina Translated by: Anton Mizonov
Headlines now
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
Arch, Pearl, Wing, Wind
In the social media of the governor of the Omsk region, voting was conducted for the best project for the city’s new airport. We asked the finalists to send over their projects and are now showcasing them. The projects are quite interesting: the client requested that the building be visually permeable throughout, and the images that the architects are working with include arches, wings, gusts of wind, and even the “Pearl” painting by Vrubel, who was actually born in Omsk.
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.
