The building site is bounded by Savvinskaya embankment and three typical Moscow lanes - 1st and 2nd Truzhenikovy and 2nd Vrazhsky, - winding, narrow, one-way traffic and roadsides, always clogged with cars. The nature of the development of this area matches the lanes. Pre-revolutionary mansions here side by side with modern residential complexes, which proudly bear the title of elite and on this basis occupy every piece of free land. Objects of different eras were built so close to each other that, walking along any of the lanes, it is almost impossible to guess that behind the "street facade", in the depths of the block, on a steep slope to the embankment, there is a vacant lot. On this rectangular plot, the residential complex, designed by the ADM bureau, will be located.
The developer has already tried more than once to develop a site with such a favorable geography, and ADM is not the first architectural bureau entrusted with the development of this project. The predecessors of the workshop, in particular, inherited an already agreed pre-project proposal with an approved indicator of building density. The figure of 61 thousand square meters turned out to be, perhaps, the most serious creative challenge for architects, because they were to be placed on a site that was very limited in area, and, moreover, was located on a steep slope to the Moscow River. The total height difference here is 17 meters.
The idea of "ramming" all square meters into one volume seemed dubious to the architects from the very beginning, so the residential complex consists of several buildings. Two small volumes, rectangular and semicircular, are oriented towards 2nd Truzhenikov lane, and the third, main building has a U-shape and opens onto the embankment. The letter "P" is formed by many volumes, differing in height, color and texture of decoration, and the space of the courtyard is designed in the form of three terraces, cascading down to the Moscow River. The architecture of the complex is built on the contrast of dark and light facades, transparent and mirrored glass, composite and wooden panels, and its cascading position on a rather steep slope further enhances the feeling of living, shifting and heaving planes relative to each other.
The courtyard, divided into three wide terraces, is for pedestrians only. To free this area from cars, the architects placed underground not only a parking lot, but also a three-tiered track that allows cars to "emerge" to the surface of the courtyard only at the very entrance in order to pick up and drop off passengers. The exits from the underground interchange are decorated with rectangular boxes made of white frosted glass - they are the ones that complete the two upper terraces of the courtyard. From transport boxes, residents can get both into the house and into the courtyard using special stairs located at each entrance.
All this made it possible not only to generously plant trees on the territory of the courtyard, but also to provide the apartments located on the ground floors of the building with space for small individual gardens. It is also possible for the inhabitants of penthouses with impressive glazed terraces to create their own green oasis. Unfortunately, the location of the house in such a heavily built-up area deprived the penthouses of panoramic views of the Moskva River and its embankments, but the architects designed each apartment in such a way as to provide it with at least a few interesting views opening into the gaps between the buildings ahead.
As a result, the residential complex, although it turned out to be very impressive in its size and height, but the pursuit of building density did not affect the quality of its architectural and planning solutions at all. On the contrary, the developer's demand has become a reason for the ADM workshop to develop a very complex and interesting project, which, over time, may change our attitude towards multi-apartment housing in the center of Moscow.
