Barkly Plaza / Sergey Skuratov Architects

Architects: Sergey Skuratov Architects
Location: Moscow, Russia
Project Team: S. Skuratov, N. Demidov, A. Medvedev, N. Ishutina, P. Shalimov
Client: ZAO «Uks – Vostok»
Project Area: 23,920 sqm
Project Year: 2005
Photographs: Yuri Palmin

The building continues to form a new front line of the embankment, the process which had been started by building the new office of Moscow International Bank (MIB) quite a few years ago. From the urbanistic point of view the intention was to enlarge the scale of structures here in order to make the quay more accomplished and city-like character. On the other hand there always is the necessity to preserve historic dominance of Kremlin towers, Christ-the-Savior temple and other local historic marks, so it led to disconnectedness of volumes in the front façade of the new complex.

Three units of the complex facing the embankment are 5 storey heigh at the very front and one more level is added further to the rear side of each unit, making an indention in the roof line. The four units lined along the Kursovoy pereulok have 4-7 levels. The main idea of the whole composition is based on this indention device – two units so to say step out of the embankment front line in the direction of the Kursovoy pereulok. These moved volumes are superimposed onto the 3-4-storey unit along the Kursovoy pereulok. Thus the emptied space between the multi-storey units forms the system of green yards with lawns on the roof of the single-storey “traces” of the shifted units.

External finishing (façade) is covered with light-shade Jurassic stones with surface treated in three different types, plus differently shaded and toned glass in dark-grey aluminum frames. The idea of the embankment façade was to make an impression of balconies, loggias, ventilation grids and other architectural details sprout through glass surfaces of different transparency. These details serve as a link to the more classic facades of the nearby buildings, especially on the other side of the complex (Kursovoy pereulok).