The Mirax company, known primarily for the Federation Tower, is now carrying out a lot of projects around the City, including directly next to it. On the outside of the Third Ring, Norman Foster is designing an egg-shaped building, no longer the first in the lord's extensive portfolio; On the opposite bank of the Moskva River, the construction of the Mirax Plaza complex by Sergei Kiselev, which we wrote about recently, is in full swing. Frankly speaking, all two blocks on this side of the river, between the Third Ring, Kutuzovsky Prospekt, Filevskaya Metro Line and 1812 Street, are being reconstructed by Mirax: Kionori Kikutake's house will be located in the western part (which was discussed at a public council last November), in the center will be built an administrative and business complex "Gelion" by the project of Alexei Vorontsov. In the south, next to the avenue, with the participation of Sergei Kiselev, an entire "institute" quarter of Stalin's time will be rebuilt. The scale in itself and the names of the architects involved in its implementation leave no doubt that this part of Moscow will definitely be transformed in the near future.
Recently, a closed architectural competition was held for the arrangement of the embankment, which is adjacent to the named quarters. In fact, this is a part of the river bank between the Mirax Plaza under construction and the future Kikutake house, which was shown at the MIPIM exhibition in Cannes under the name Paradise living - paradise life. The Paradise Home needs an appropriate embankment - and I must say that the river bank is the last "undecided" project for this area. Four projects reached the final consideration: Dmitry Alexandrov, Alexander Asadov, the Irish architectural company Murray Ó Laoire and the own architectural studio of the Mirax company. As a result, the project of A. Asadov's workshop was chosen. We hope to tell about him later, and now we present to your attention the project of Dmitry Alexandrov's workshop.
First of all, it must be said that the site is complex, it has almost all the same problems as the site on which Mirax Plaza is being built. There is a pressure sewerage line, gas pipes and high-voltage wiring. Here, with some indentation from the coast, the Filevskaya metro line runs - in fact, it is planned to include it in the ensemble of the multifunctional complex, it will become its southern border separating the complex from the city. A motorway will pass over the metro, as well as a monorail or "light metro" - on this section, thus, three roads join at once. Further, the monorail will turn to the north and along the bridge over the Moskva River, following to the future Foster building. Parallel to the monorail, there will be another automobile bridge. Thus, here the architects were faced with a specific urban planning task - already proceeding from the most general conditions, it is clear that we are facing not a house or a street or even a quarter, but a junction - primarily a transport one, but also a public and natural one, if I may say so. Now this territory has the status of a "natural zone", but in reality the bank is filled with industrial barracks stretched along the river with several stunted trees between them. The territory is tightly fenced off - it is impossible for a mere mortal to get there. There is no embankment - opposite the most prestigious construction site in business Moscow, the river bank is dirty, but virgin.
The solution proposed by Dmitry Alexandrov can be called calm and laconic. The complex forms a layered space along the coastal strip, half-open towards the water. The bend of the river is slightly emphasized, reinforced by the contours of the buildings and divided by three buildings-piers. The "noses" of these piers turn to the west, against the river flow, and form bays. This turn is curious - probably, it was conceived so that the water in the bays does not stagnate.
Generally speaking, special attention is paid to the river in this project, the river is its main theme. This is unusual for Moscow, Moscow is such a city where there seem to be a lot of rivers, rivulets and various underground waters, but it is not felt. Moscow rivers are mostly seen as a dirty, industrial and uncomfortable place - not like in St. Petersburg, which is literally permeated with the cult of rivers and bridges.
In the project of Dmitry Alexandrov, the opposite is true, he does not close off the water, but includes it, and quite actively. This approach has its reasons - the river here is not yet very dirty, here it is still relatively close to Serebryany Bor. A yacht club is planned around the piers. Above the largest pier hangs, leaning on metal "legs" set at an angle, the building of the apart-hotel, combined with a business center, on the roof of which a helipad is conceived. Its glass façade (the project gives a hint of cheerful colored glass) becomes the river façade of the complex. Public cafes are located above the second and third piers. In winter - if the Moskva River ever freezes again - ice shows are planned.
After water, the second theme of the project is land. Strictly speaking, in modern architecture there are three approaches to the earth - it is either dug up and destroyed completely, or transferred to the roof, or vice versa, is not touched and carefully cultivated. Often all three approaches are combined in one project. Here it seems to have happened. On the one hand, in its justification it is written that the volume of "excavation work" is minimal, which means that they will dig only where it is very, very necessary. On the other hand, if you look at the complex in section, you can see that the entire coast has been turned into an extended multi-tiered burrow of concrete ceilings towering above the ground: the metro line, now open, is taken into the tunnel box, on the roof of which a road will pass and pillars will be installed supporting the monorail. Further to the river - shops, cafes and parking lots, on the roof of which a boulevard will be arranged. The green roof stretches along all the buildings and doubles the recreational area. It is planned to pour about a meter of soil in order to plant not only grass, but also unpretentious trees with shrubs. A full-fledged boulevard appears, raised above the "real" river bank to a height of two floors, but at the same time located at the ground level of the neighboring block. In fact, the entire complex is carefully inscribed on the slope of the river bend and uses the natural elevation difference.
The "third element" of the project is people, or rather, their movement. A special emphasis has been placed on the "diversion of streams": the fact is that not all spaces of the complex will be publicly available - some of them will become a "club zone", which can be accessed with some membership cards of our time (although from time to time club zones are planned open to the general public). Therefore, it was necessary to foresee how ordinary and unusual people would move and where cars would be located. There will be no cars inside the complex, except for the aforementioned road on the roof of the metro, which runs along its border. Two entrances are planned: from the east from the side of "Mirax Plaza" and from the west from the side of the Kikutake house; parking will be arranged in front of each entrance - further it is supposed to move by electric cars, bicycles or on foot. It will be necessary to move between the tiers vertically - by elevators.
Such "elementary" - from the word "element" - does not mean simplification, but rather the opposite: the project, on the one hand, is restrained in architectural forms - and on the other hand, the detailed work is read in it, which is exactly what is needed for the "nodal" place - with the ground, water, people. As if pondering over the complex, the architects pondered over each of its constituent "matters" in turn, which ultimately led to the birth of a discreet, but internally complex structure.
