Skolkovo Residential Area / Arch Group
Skolkovo Innovation Center (‘Russian Silicon Valley’), a high-tech hub to be built at Skolkovo near Moscow, Russia, is intended to concentrate international intellectual capital, thereby stimulating the development of break-through projects and technologies. The modern approach to residential buildings often creates a feeling of isolation. A person has his or her own apartment and a little garden, while neighbors are perceived as competitors. The new residential area, including apartment houses and townhouses, designed by Arch Group, is designed for temporary accommodation of the scientific elite shown in the apartment houses while the townhouses feature a multi-layered environment. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Moscow office of Walt Disney Studios Sony Picture Releasing / UNK PROJECT architects
Architects: UNK PROJECT architects
Location: Moscow, Russia
Project team: Nikolay Milovidov, Nikolay Fedoseev, Oleg Burmistrov
Consultants for Cinema hall: Janson + Tsai Design Associates
Project area: 685 sqm
Project year: 2010
Photographs: Viktor Chernyshov
Russia Plans Ice City in Arctic Circle
In the latest bid to solidify territorial claims within the Arctic Circle, Russia has unveiled plans to build a city for 5,000 year round residents 1,000 miles from the North Pole on the remote island Kotelniy in the Novosibirsk archipelago. Part of a strategic plan to assert its claim over the vast reserves of natural resources underneath the polar ice cap, the planned development will cost several billion dollars.
Continue reading after the break.
Tsvetnoy Central Market / Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands
Architects: Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands
Location: Moscow, Russia
Client: RGI International
Photographs: Chris Gascoigne
BDP Architects Completes Russian Masterplan in Samara
BDP has completed a masterplan study in Samara, the sixth largest city in Russia, won against strong international competition earlier this year. BDP was masterplanner, architect, landscape architect and sustainability consultant supported by WSP highways and Davis Langdon cost consultant for client Samara-Center, reuniting the same core masterplan team as the Stirling Prize shortlisted Liverpool One Masterplan.
Nikolo-Uryupino House / PAPER | TOTEMENT
Architects: PAPER | TOTEMENT
Location: Moscow, Russia
Team: Levon Ayrapetov, Valeria Preobrazhenskaya, Diana Grekova, Egor Legkov
Designing: 2010
Building: 2010- 2011
Total Area: 820 sq.m
Children Section: 530 sq.m
Covered Terrace: 290 sq.m
Photographs: Courtesy of PAPER | TOTEMENT
Before summer 2010, when PAPER | TOTEMENT was invited to design some new constructions, the house territory had been already changed a few times with new additions that were not within the scope of the initial project – a summer kitchen with a sunshade ground and a guest house appeared. It was clear to them that further development of the initial architectural style meant a complete loss of at least some consistency of constructions on the site or it could be overwhelmed by a lot of buildings. Besides, it would continue an architectural idea which was absolutely alien to them. Therefore, they decided that something absolutely different in contrast to all that was around not only on the given site, but also along the territory which one can see at a glance, would allow the house to receive a new status, a new quality and a new scale. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Vershina Trade and Entertainment Center / Erick van Egeraat
Architects: Erick van Egeraat
Location: Surgut, Russia
Project Year: 2010
Project Area: 37,050 sqm
Photographs: Alexey Naroditskiy
Green River Brateevo / OKRA Landscape Architects
At the Second Exhibition Forum on Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Garden Art last week in Moscow, the project Green River Project Brateevo has been awarded with the Russian National Award on Landscape Architecture. The project, designed by OKRA landscape architects, is a joint cooperation between Russia and the Netherlands. Supported by the Dutch Government, the Department for Natural Resource Management and Environmental Protection of Moscow and the Dutch Government Service for Land and Water management (DLG), are working together with the Dutch consultancy OKRA landscape architects, the Russian consultancy Ampir landscape architects and the Research and Design Institute for the Master Plan of Moscow on the development and exchange of ideas for a sustainable cityscape. Objective is to develop a toolkit for sustainable green development as an integral part of urban redevelopment. More images and project description after the break.
Moscow’s Polytechnic Museum Proposal / Leeser Architecture
Leeser Architecture was recently awarded the second prize in international design competition for the reconstruction and renovation of Moscow’s Polytechnic Museum. The 430,000 sq ft Museum was built in three stages from 1887 to 1907 and has since become an architectural and cultural landmark in Moscow. Their design included covering the courtyards of the existing building with an additional 22,000 sq ft of exhibition space identified as ‘the Cloud.’ The Cloud, comprised of all glass, floats above the proposed active courtyard spaces, allowing for visitors to experience the feeling of walking on air. When occupying the Cloud visitors are granted unprecedented views over the city of Moscow establishing the Museum as a cultural destination. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The First Active House in Russia / POLYGON
Architect: POLYGON (Alexander Leonov, Svetlana Vasileva)
Location: Moscow, Russia
Project Team: Andrey Vasiliev, Mick Rammusen, Vera Leonova, Oleg Panitkov, Alexander Elokhov, Alexander Elchugin, Aleksey Knyazev
Launched by: Zagorodny Proekt, VELUX Group
Construction: NLK “Domostroyenie”
Partners: Saint-Gobain, Danfoss, Schiedel AG, ICOPAL, Gaulhofer, Somfy, Dörken, Tremco Illbruck
Project Area: 229 sqm
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Alexander Leonov, Torben Eskerod
Multi-Level Apartment / Peter Kostelov
Architects: Peter Kostelov
Location: Moscow, Russia
Project Year: 2011
Project Area: 348 sqm
Photographs: Alexey Knyazev
The Arbor / Kerimov + Prishin Architects
The arbor, designed by Kerimov + Prishin Architects, is a living space project meant to accommodate a family of about 15 people. The design’s floor plan consists of a semantic differentiation on three zones which they conditionally named “kitchen-furnace”, “dining room-drawing room” and “terrace-scene”. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Gazebo for TV Show / za bor Architects
Architects: za bor Architects / Arseniy Borisenko, Peter Zaytsev
Location: Moscow Region, Russia
Engineering: za bor architects
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Peter Zaytsev
AD Classics: Royal Hotel / Arkady Mordvinov
Originally completed in 1953 as the Hotel Ukraina, the Royal Hotel was designed by Arkady Mordvinov and Vyacheslav Oltarzhevsky and stands as one of the “Seven Sisters” of Moscow (Mordvinov was acting as the Chairman of the Committee of Construction and Architecture at the time). This five-star hotel complex was the tallest hotel in the world at its completion at 34 stories (650ft) and is sited on the banks of the Moskva River. This unique site required considerable structural innovation during early construction, which will be discussed later in the feature.
AD Classics: Moscow Metro / Robert Pogrebnoi and Yuriy Zenkivich
The city of Moscow experienced a huge size and population boom following the industrial development and railway construction of the late 19th century. At this time, horse-drawn cars and trams were the main form of transportation, but soon the horses were not enough to fuel the city’s rapid expansion. As a result, plans were made for development of a new peripheral ring railway that would carry freight throughout the city. Many years later, underground lines for passengers were linked to the original railway. These lines quickly turned the railway into a booming metropolitan transit center, eventually becoming what is today known as the Moscow Metro. More on the development of the Moscow Metro after the break.
AD Classics: Rusakov Workers’ Club / Konstantin Melnikov
The collapse of the old regime in Russia that took place with the Revolution of 1917 was followed by an artistic period of powerful activity in formal experimentation directed at the establishment of a creative language capable of expressing the new ideals and aspirations of Soviet Society. Konstantin Melnikov’sRusakov Workers’ Club in Moscow shows an intense fascination with dramatic structure, in this case through bold cantilevered seating constructed of reinforced concrete. More on Rusakov Workers’ Club after the break.
Video: New Holland Island by WORKac
As we reported last week, WORKac provided the winning entry for the invitation-only competition New Ideas for New Holland. The proposed city within a city concept is an exciting redevelopment and design of New Holland Island in St. Petersburg, Russia which takes shape in this video by Eric Lane with music by Darkstar.
WORKac to Redesign St. Petersburg’s New Holland Island
Within St. Petersburg lies a triangle shaped island that has been home to a naval prison, lumberyard, a radio station, and military barracks. Off limits to the public for 300 years New Holland Island, with its unique identity of canals and existing warehouse structures, will be part of a $12 billion dollar redevelopment project. Identifying the island as one of St. Petersburg’s most significant historical sites The Architecture Foundation held an international invitation-only competition New Ideas for New Holland, which included entires from David Chipperfield Architects, MVRDV, Russia’s Studio 44, and winning proposal from WORK Architecture Company (WORKac).
Amale Andraos and Dan Wood, principals of WORKac shared, “We are very excited at the opportunity to work with the Iris Foundation and NHD on this critically important project for one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Our master plan balances preservation with innovation, respecting St Petersburg’s past while paving the way for its continued artistic development and future.”
A few years ago we had a chance to visit WORKac at their studio in New York and spoke with principals Amale Andraos and Dan Wood (be sure to take a look at our interview with them!) More on this winning proposal by WORKac along with renderings and drawings following the break.
Yandex / Atrium
Over the last 5 years Atrium designed 4 headquarters for “Yandex” (the one of the biggest Russian internet companies). Two of them were constructed, the concept from the third project, which wasn’t realized, partly repeated in recently finished 4th one. There are also some other examples of succession as the yellow entrance reception desk, which was taken from the first headquarters. The low partitions with V-plan in open-space zone were used in preceding offices too.
Architect: Atrium
Location: L’va Tolstovo st, Moscow, Russia
Project team: Anton Nadtochiy, Vera Butko, Svetlana Haritonova, Alexander Malygin, Anna Pustovoitova, Julia Ranneva
Contractor: Vitek
Project Area: 12,100 sqm
Project Year: 2009-2010
Photographs: Ilia Ivanov, Yuri Palmin, Anton Nadtochiy
