The site is bounded by the red lines of Ostozhenka proper, as well as Pozharsky and 1st Zachatyevsky lanes. It changed several owners-investors until it was acquired by the Moscow Center State Unitary Enterprise, together with the already partially agreed development project. The project involved the demolition of three historic buildings and their subsequent reconstruction in their previous forms. However, the customer found such an architectural task too trivial, so he invited the architectural company Sergey Kiselev as the general designer and asked the architects to make a modern house.
However, modernism on the red line of the historical Ostozhenka will by no means look like an "extrahistorical" outsider. According to the chief architect of the project, Alexei Medvedev, the authors strove for "modern, but deeply contextual architecture." The new building fully retains the original scale of the street. In fact, this is an integral volume, but from the outside it is divided into different parts and looks as if it consists of three different houses - thus imitating the historical parceling of the plots that were on this site. A string of facades elegantly curves along Ostozhenka, which exactly reproduces the old building line.
The part of the complex that overlooks the 1st Zachatyevsky Lane has only 4 floors (versus 5-6 in all other buildings) and thus significantly softens the transition to the volume of the neighboring historical building. The architectural solution of this facade is also aimed at the embodiment of the idea of "transition". The window openings here have proportions close to historical proportions, and vertical stone ribs have been introduced into the plastic of the wall, making it possible to achieve a clearly readable rhythmic similarity with the surrounding context.
The lane intersects with Ostozhenka at an oblique angle, which, in fact, gave the building line a smooth, exciting bend. Moreover, in terms of urban planning, this corner turns out to be a very important landmark, perceived both from the street itself and from distant points (for example, from Lopukhinsky Lane). Therefore, a large, memorable rhythm of windows was needed here. Probably, it would be possible to draw very large openings and even dashingly move them along the plane of the facade, but the architects acted differently: next to each window of traditional width, they cut another glass slot in the facade, and a little further away made a narrow niche for vertical lamps. As a result of such a combination of openings, residents will receive very bright rooms (living rooms overlook Ostozhenka), and townspeople will get a memorable facade that effectively "holds" the corner of the street.
But the intersection of Ostozhenka with Pozharsky is a completely different architectural theme. The facing material is changing, large openings glazed with transparent and frosted glasses prevail, there is a deliberate "churning" of the window marks. Here the corner is the most acute, and I wanted to emphasize it accordingly. The alternation of the transparent edges of the windows that fall on it and the pointed stone joints, as well as the open gallery on the ground floor level, create a very dynamic composition that brings a distinct modern flavor to the fabric of the street.
For facing the courtyard facades, an African garapa, rare for our latitudes, was used - a type of iron wood, resistant to moisture - although it was decided not to open it to meet the Moscow climate anyway. Recesses faced with wood are separated by thin ledges and covered with transparent glass, and matt glass on the balconies. All this makes the courtyard cozy, almost "interior" - especially in contrast to the stone street facades.
The architects tried to emphasize and consolidate this effect in every possible way: to make the courtyard a chamber space for the residents of the house. Since the house is a club house, there are few apartments in it, only 2 per floor in each of the five sections, and most of them have an area of 180-200 sq. meters. The upper tier is occupied by luxurious penthouses, which are arranged according to all the rules: a glass wall, a wide terrace, wonderful views of the Moscow suburbs. Each apartment faces both the street and the courtyard at the same time, so a fire entrance from the courtyard side is not required - this made it possible to improve the interior space and not make unnecessary asphalt passages for cars in it.
But for the residents' own cars, a luxurious two-level underground parking is provided, which can accommodate 2-3 parking spaces per apartment. Its device allows you to adjust the car to the elevator inside the house - thus, the inhabitants of the house are provided with the opportunity to transfer from the elevator to the car in the "impenetrable space".
Luxurious interiors of public areas, which occupy a significant area here - about 1,500 square meters, are also obligatory for such a house. meters. To design them, the customer invited various designers (including the famous Ingo Maurer), but in the end it was decided to entrust the interiors of the lobbies to SKiP. Interiors have become a completely independent object of work for Sergei Kiselev's studio. The authors wanted to go as far as possible from the riot of stone textures, as well as from the monolithic wood, therefore, in the snow-white interiors of the entrance lobby and elevator halls, in fact, there is nothing that would remind of the cream-terracotta palette of facades.
In addition, it was originally envisaged that an art gallery would be opened in the ground floor lobby. Subsequently, this idea was transformed - preference was given to the format of the art salon.
