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​Sergey Trukhanov: “The main thing is to find a solution to a challenge that originally seems insurmountable”

How will our workspaces change? Can you prepare your companies for similar situations in the future? What factors are generally important for modern offices? What are the subtleties of working with international companies, and what kind of architectural typology are we yet to discover?

19 October 2020
Interview
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We met with the leader of T+T Architects and talked to him about the most relevant questions of the last months, as well as about the things that are generally important for the profession.
 
This office at “Red October” – you moved into it quite recently, but why here? It’s understood that you were looking for an office in some renovated industrial park but why specifically this one?
 
Sergey Trukhanov:
We were looking for a suitable place both location-wise, and in terms of transportation accessibility. At the same time, of course, this place had to be interesting in itself. We considered premises at “Rassvet” (another business park – editorial note) – but all of them required serious capital investments in repairs and engineering. We would have to stay there no less than 10 or 12 years to get a return in investment. In the long run, we settled on this place at “Red October” – by the way, Strelka was headquartered here back in the day. However, what ultimately influenced our decision was a different thing: the old lady that ran the elevator said that this place used to be ladies’ showers. We at once understood that this was our place.
 
Did you have to change a lot around here?
 
Mainly, what we did was get rid of the stuff that we didn’t need – old drywall, which was sheathed with brick walls, and other partitions. The cast iron columns, however, were a different matter. The thing is that they are part of the old steam heating system: “Red October” had one of the first such systems in this country. Inside the hollow cast iron column runs a pipe that gives off heat.

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Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
Copyright: © Ilia Ivanov

 
The windows here are also original: at first, we didn’t even realize that, and, squinting at our neighbors and their plastic frames, we immediately wanted to replace these windswept wooden things with stained glass windows in aluminum frames. However, as it turned out, nothing was to be changed here – the entire building had a protected status. Then we started clearing them off, got down to the original frames, and invited a restoration company to have them restored.

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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects

 
How is your zoning organized? What I see is clearly visible meeting areas, but I don’t seem to see the director’s office...
 
Left of the entrance, we have an architectural department, right of the entrance – the interior design one. In the middle, there is a main communication zone – the bar table. This is both the place for formal meetings with watching presentations on the big screen, and a place for informal communication and making parties. I didn't really want a personal office for myself, so I opted for a remote and secluded corner, yet still in an open area, so as not to lose visual contact with my colleagues. Everything is as democratic as possible, and I can always reach anyone I want, while the others can approach me at any moment if they have a question to ask.

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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”. Photograph
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov
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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: © Ilia Ivanov
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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects

 
A standard question: how did you survive the lockdown? As it turned out, even within our small branch of architectural design it worked out totally different for different companies: some were quite happy with working remotely, and are now thinking about moving to a smaller office, and some, on the other hand, complain of low efficiency of remote work...
 
The way it turned out, we were fully prepared for such a situation operation-wise, management-wise, and technically as well. We had long since been organizing our business as a standardized and sometimes automated process that did not require any excessive manual control. The big-scale infrastructural software, which was written specifically for our company, and which has been developing with us since 2014, ticks a whole range of boxes for us – from financial management and accounting to goal setting for the projects and tracking their fulfillment. If this or that issue is within our set workflow, it is solved automatically. All of our communication goes through this program, and, since we managed pretty much everything through web services, we continued doing the usual thing.
 
However, we experienced a terrible lack of live communication and exchange of ideas. When you work with a great number of concepts, each of which requires an individual approach, it is very important that the whole team be in contact with each other, everyone must be on the same page, and everyone has the same vision of your end goal. Calling up a zoom conference, trying to get your point across, and making sure that everyone is on the same page as you – all of this slowed down the workflow and complicated the quality control. In order to achieve the KPI on a par with that of the “peaceful times”, our average employee had to be at their desk from 8 in the morning till 10 in the evening. It’s a lot easier when you can get together live and discuss things together. We soon realized that we missed this a lot, so, after the restrictions were lifted, it took us less than a week to get back into the office groove. It turned out that most of us were pretty social. At the same time, the teams and the employees who were doing long-term but purely technical assignments, felt great about working remotely, and they were the last to come back.
 
Did you change anything in your office due to the COVID-19 situation?
 
Nothing at all, for the exception of the general rules on daily temperature taking and regular testing! Although I am not COVID-dissident, and I stayed at home for almost three months, I think that the basic system of habits that has formed for years, as well as elementary hygiene, will help us overcome this panic. I think that, barring a few adjustments here and there, we will get “back to normal” by the beginning of next year. On the other hand, co-working spaces will be in much more demand because essentially they are a rather flexible service. They will be easier able to react to the stiffening of cleaning and social distancing protocols. Currently, by the way, they are just finishing the construction of one of the coworking spaces in the BusinessClub network in the OKO II business center built by our project.

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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    Т+Т Architects office at “Red October”
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects

 
This is a large space for projects of such a format, more than 6,000 square meters. It offers both individual workspaces and meeting rooms for project groups. The thing is that when it comes to co-working spaces, particularly large ones, it is hard to find a happy medium between the working “business” mindset and an informal environment. Usually, this balance is maintained by a smart combination of different zones and technical equipment. We installed soft furniture with noise-cancelling properties, and complemented the finish with window walls. The interior decoration is not overburdened by color highlights or excessively bright elements. All of this allowed us to create a flexible product that can be easily fine-tuned depending on the changing situation or requirements.

Generally speaking, the concepts of flexible offices are getting increasingly popular. An office where the resident can choose not just the workspace but also the format and the content of this workspace both for themselves and for their working group, will be gaining more and more momentum. What matters here is the possibility for joint work, zones for individual or concentrated activity, as well as different formats of meeting rooms and booked offices. Special attention is given to service areas that tackle both utility and working issues. These are the locker rooms, showers, gyms, and even classrooms, which can be transformed into meeting rooms or large presentation areas.

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    Business Club office in OKO II business center
    Copyright: © Т+Т Architects
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    Business Club office in OKO II business center
    Copyright: © Т+Т Architects
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    Business Club office in OKO II business center
    Copyright: © Т+Т Architects
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    Business Club office in OKO II business center
    Copyright: © Т+Т Architects
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    Business Club office in OKO II business center
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov

 
And, if we are to get back to the subject of “post-COVID” adjustment of regular offices, once were we approached by our other client, Gaspromneft, on this subject. For one of their projects, they asked us to develop a scenario of adapting the office in case of an epidemic. We developed extra planning solutions, describing which zones in such a situation turn into workspaces from public or structural ones. First of all, the distance between the workgroups must increase dramatically. This is how we came up with the options for composing the workspaces and maximum allowed limits for meetings (meeting rooms for three people max, workgroups no more than four people, etc.) Second of all, some potential gathering zones must be readjusted to yield more square footage – for example, the cafeteria, which can be compensated by an increase in the number of coffee points scattered here and there. Gyms can also be turned into large studies that have partitions splitting them into a few sections. And the directors’ offices, which also have to move, become meeting rooms.

We also paid special attention to calculating the operation modes of the utility systems. Plus, we worked out the operational schedules. For example, if we see that there is still not enough room for some of the people in the department as in the “pre-crisis” time, we switch them over to “2 days in, 2 days out” shifts, vacating extra workspace. And, we have to do Gaspromneft justice – they have already brought all these recommendations to the attention of all their divisions.
 
How did you nail such a big client?
 
We met them at the competition for the “New Holland” in Saint Petersburg, where Gaspromneft is organizing the center for innovation in the new renovated “Dom 12”. We did not win the competition, but the same department – the directorate for digital transformation – invited us to design their back office in the “Nevskaya Ratusha” business center in Saint Petersburg.

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    The interiors of the “Directorate for Digital Transformation” office
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    The interiors of the “Directorate for Digital Transformation” office
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided T+T Architects
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    The interiors of the “Directorate for Digital Transformation” office
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    The interiors of the “Directorate for Digital Transformation” office
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects
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    The interiors of the “Directorate for Digital Transformation” office
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided T+T Architects
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    The interiors of the “Directorate for Digital Transformation” office
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov / provided by T+T Architects

 
That task was interesting, on the one hand, because this was the office for a cutting-edge company that digitalizes everything you can think of. For example, before traveling to drill wells, the employees undergo training in VR rooms, where they work with digital twins of the complex equipment. On the other hand, due to the fact that the center in “New Holland” will open up sooner or later, a new division will come here, and this means that the office will be ready to get rebuilt. This is why, in addition to open spaces, designed for constant communication, we got a number of closed and clearly localized working areas that can be transformed into laboratories, studies, meeting rooms, and whatnot. As for the style, at first we wanted to do something in the vein of “Running on the Razor’s Edge” – some kind of cyberpunk, a techno drama with Chinese neon signs running the length of the corridor. And even in spite of the fact that eventually we softened the original design, we still ended up with a very emotional interior. For us, it was like an experiment of sorts: color coding of different chunks, and a crazy mix of different solutions in terms of materials and textures. The result looks “almost like CrosbyStudios”, as somebody commented on Instagram. At the same time, in some places we were able to create a really cozy environment, created with state-of-the-art technologies – “smart” light, “smart” climate, etc.
 
In addition to Gaspromneft, we have another “big fish” in our client portfolio – Sberbank. How did you make friends with EvolutionDesign, and what part of your project do you think brought you the victory in the competition for the HQ at Kutuzovsky Avenue? The famous hanging meeting room, perhaps?
 
For us, taking part in that competition was sheer luck. It was a miracle we found out at all where it was being conducted at that time. Then we got in touch with our Swiss colleagues, and we were like “you are handsome, we are awfully handsome, so why waste our time ©, you will need an adapting local company in any event”. It was them who came up with this meeting room, and Sberbank hopped on that wow-effect. And then we, together with the team of the client and the contractors, implemented the whole thing.

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    The interior of the Gazprom innovation center in “New Holland”. A competition project
    Copyright: © Т+Т Architects
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    The interior of the Gazprom innovation center in “New Holland”. A competition project
    Copyright: © Т+Т Architects
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    The interior of the Gazprom innovation center in “New Holland”. A competition project
    Copyright: © Т+Т Architects
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    The interior of the Gazprom innovation center in “New Holland”. A competition project
    Copyright: © Т+Т Architects
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    The interior of the Gazprom innovation center in “New Holland”. A competition project
    Copyright: © Т+Т Architects
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    The interior of the Gazprom innovation center in “New Holland”. A competition project
    Copyright: © Т+Т Architects
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    The interior of the Gazprom innovation center in “New Holland”. A competition project
    Copyright: © Т+Т Architects

 
What was ultimately your area of responsibility in this project?
 
After the victory of EvolutionDesign was announced, it soon became clear that there was more to our task than just interior design. Concurrently, another company was doing the project of reconstructing the whole office-and-shopping complex on the Kutuzovsky Avenue (it used to be built by the project of Sergey Kiselev and Partners for MIRAX GROUP, and since 2016, it has belonged to PAO Sberbank, and is turning into “Sberbank City – editorial note). We always had to bother that company with questions: do you have this? Do you have that? When are you doing these things? And they eventually proposed that we design the entire volume – since we were so active and business-minded. Ultimately, we did the whole reconstruction project with all the ensuing consequences, such as expertise and working papers on various sections. At that moment it turned out that we were dealing with a unique project – because its basement part was more than 15 meters deep. Then all hell broke loose: scientific support of the construction, alternative calculations and, in general, the increased attention of the Expertise to us and our project. And as for the hanging meeting room, it was a battleground in itself! First, we hanged it on British-made wire ropes, then on French-made ones, but all the time something was missing – the Russian safety certificates, test protocols, etc. Ultimately, we found a Russian manufacturer that made wire ropes looking exactly like the French DETAN. A shouting thank you to SK “Struktura” because the results of the tests showed that their product was even stronger than the project required.

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The interiors of Sberbank headquarters at Kutuzovsky Avenue, 32
Copyright: Photograph © Sergey Melnikov / provided by PAO Sberbank

 
It seems that in that project you broke a uniqueness record...
 
We sure did – because this place also has a unique conference hall added to it! In order to design that, we had to stop the whole atrium on the level of the second floor without using a single column. We had to come up with a very complex girder project with large-span constructions. And, most importantly, the hall had to meet the highest acoustic standards, compared to those that are expected from symphonic halls. Thus, we needed to marry this system of girders to the engineering and multimedia systems, and concert lighting and sound systems as well – it was an absolutely incredible mix of constructions! If you miss by 10 centimeters in your model, everyone is panicked and everyone is getting gray hairs: those who design metal structures, those who install sound and light, those who prepare cladding from 1380 (!) types of triangular acoustic panels that hide behind them all the utility lines. If just one component “slips”, everything else will follow suit. And it was such a challenge for every member of our team that when we assembled the model of this hall in its entirety in REVIT, and double-checked it for possible collisions, we literally burst into tears. At some point in time, our chief architect of the project realized that he was also the chief designer of the project.

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    The interiors of Sberbank headquarters at Kutuzovsky Avenue, 32
    Copyright: Photograph © Sergey Melnikov / provided by PAO Sberbank
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    The interiors of Sberbank headquarters at Kutuzovsky Avenue, 32
    Copyright: Photograph © Sergey Melnikov / provided by PAO Sberbank
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    The interiors of Sberbank headquarters at Kutuzovsky Avenue, 32
    Copyright: Photograph © Sergey Melnikov / provided by PAO Sberbank
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    The interiors of Sberbank headquarters at Kutuzovsky Avenue, 32
    Copyright: Photograph © Sergey Melnikov / provided by PAO Sberbank
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    The interiors of Sberbank headquarters at Kutuzovsky Avenue, 32
    Copyright: Photograph © Sergey Melnikov / provided by PAO Sberbank


And, although we are not the authors of the concept of the interiors or the facades, it was us who made this whole thing possible. We brought all of the solutions to one common denominator, made all the necessary elaboration, and issued the working documents, delving as deep as possible. Technically, it was a very complex and very interesting product. We realized that this was what the designer’s kick was all about – finding a solution to a problem that originally seems to be insurmountable.

And what about the Swiss? What are your impressions from working with them?
 
From the very start of the project, we had a good understanding, and they saw in us not just technical adapters, but full-fledged coauthors, in many respects trusted, and they tried not to slow us down in any way. And now this is how they write in all the applications for awards: “the Russian partner: T+T Architects”. And this is the main sign of success for us in collaborating with this international company.
 
We have an experience of working with the British, Italians, and Germans. As for the latter, for example, we are consulting a German company on the project of restoring the “Ambassador’s House” on the Povarskaya Street as a monument of architecture.
 
We have also released quite a number of projects of our own recently. We have finished the concepts of two high-end residential complexes and a housing project in Ekaterinburg, finished the decoration work in the public interiors in the Kutuzovsky XII housing complex for Capital Group, and a few office projects in Moscow and Saint Petersburg are neatly complete. We also finished the adaptation of the project of the winery, and we are supervising this project in the Crimea. We also completed the loft quarter Studio #12, which we started back in 2015 as a conceptual continuation of Studio #8. This format turned out to be very popular.

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    The interiors of Sberbank headquarters at Kutuzovsky Avenue, 32
    Copyright: Photograph © Sergey Melnikov / provided by PAO Sberbank
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    The interiors of Sberbank headquarters at Kutuzovsky Avenue, 32
    Copyright: Photograph © Sergey Melnikov / provided by PAO Sberbank
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    The interiors of Sberbank headquarters at Kutuzovsky Avenue, 32
    Copyright: Photograph © Sergey Melnikov / provided by PAO Sberbank
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    The interiors of Sberbank headquarters at Kutuzovsky Avenue, 32
    Copyright: Photograph © Sergey Melnikov / provided by PAO Sberbank
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    The interiors of Sberbank headquarters at Kutuzovsky Avenue, 32
    Copyright: Photograph © Sergey Melnikov / provided by PAO Sberbank
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    The interiors of Sberbank headquarters at Kutuzovsky Avenue, 32
    Copyright: Photograph © Sergey Melnikov / provided by PAO Sberbank
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    The interiors of Sberbank headquarters at Kutuzovsky Avenue, 32
    Copyright: Photograph © Sergey Melnikov / provided by PAO Sberbank
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    The interiors of Sberbank headquarters at Kutuzovsky Avenue, 32
    Copyright: Photograph © Sergey Melnikov / provided by PAO Sberbank

 
However, while on Sokol we had references to the artist village and its narrow streets, in Maryina Roshcha we had a more modernist narrative of a Star Town. The typology of the buildings changed, and the square footage grew bigger, with the houses becoming higher and deeper. More importantly, however, we were able to keep the idea of technical zoning and dividing the complex into a public and a residential part. There is a welcome public zone of this city block with low-rise construction, main planting, small architectural forms, and, of course, room for retail. The other zone is cozier; it is more private, and it is separated from the driveway. It also has less open spaces and plazas. There is a landscaped backyard, designed special for the residents. At the same time, the quarter is ridden with such passages, which just add up to an intricate pedestrian network, along which you can make your evening promenade.
 
I wonder if you will be able to create an atmosphere like in Studio #8. The reason I’m saying this is because the people in Maryina Roshcha are quite different...
 
Yes, a lot will depend upon the correct choice of residents. In the case of Studio #8, the developer made such a selection himself, and the fact that the project “hit the jackpot” as the infrastructure of the surrounding sleeping belt area is to a large extent to the development. If they keep up this approach, this project is sure to be a success. Currently, there are virtually no alternatives around the “Capitoliy” shopping mall, which has been accumulating the whole traffic in that area.
 
I remember you saying in one of our earlier interviews that the important thing was to find your niche and then develop it. And, at the same time, like in your case, this niche may evolve from public area development to commercial interiors and redevelopment. What niche would you like to occupy in the future?
 
Moscow has a program for the development of industrial zones – these are several territories marked in the master plan where production is preserved and it is planned to create technology parks and industrial clusters. We are currently working on one of such zones – #42. This zone contains a plant of measuring equipment that we need to preserve, car repair shops, garages, etc. The task is to unite them all into a full-fledged industrial cluster! And this is a new and unconventional typology – we are to arrange everything and create a comfortable environment for working and placing production facilities there, without adding in the housing function.
 
In addition, there are many artifacts situated here. For example, an old trolleybus depot with domed hangars is located nearby. There are also interesting samples of Soviet industrial architecture, which can be preserved and made into, if not iconic, then at least recognizable landmarks that will highlight the history of this area. Our vector of development has always been pointed in the direction of renovating industrial parks and architecture, and it remains this way, which is something that we are proud of. Come to think of it, over the last 10 years most Russian architectural companies have not had any “profitable” typology other than housing. Nobody took the industrial architecture seriously, but it has potential not just on a municipal but on a national scale. And I hope that this will become a large part of our work in the coming years.
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    Loft quarter Studio #12
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov
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    Loft quarter Studio #12
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov
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    Loft quarter Studio #12
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov
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    Loft quarter Studio #12
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov
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    Loft quarter Studio #12
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov
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    Loft quarter Studio #12
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov
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    Loft quarter Studio #12
    Copyright: Photograph © Ilia Ivanov


19 October 2020

Headlines now
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.
Object
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”.
Overview
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”.
Object
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.
send.project
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.
send.project
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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​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.
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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.
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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.
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​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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.