A remarkable commercial streak was felt, however, not only in the projects presented to the public during the master class, but also in the way it was organized. The presented monograph and the architects' speeches had several sponsors, and each of them was not just given the floor (which would have been traditionally and just as traditionally overlooked by the public), but given the opportunity to present their products, including on the example of ABD Architects objects. And against this randomly given background, Levyant's company certainly looks very Western - with its transparency of the business model, democratic organization of work and memorable end product.
Boris Levyant himself explains the special position of his company on the market simply: “We always honestly say that we are engaged exclusively in commercial design. We do not create palaces or museums, but we are engaged in everyday life and business. " At the same time, the architect emphasizes that the phrase "commercial design" should in no way be interpreted as fulfilling all the whims of the customer. "Our main principle is to create high-quality projects, and we never agree to unreasonable customer requirements, preferring a constructive dialogue and search for a joint reasonable solution." Actually, the master class became a story about how ABD Architects built their relationship with the client while working on a particular project. In a number of cases, architects managed to enter into a creative dialogue with their clients, while in other projects, the stubbornness of the latter and the desire to save money, unfortunately, led to a result that was far from ideal. The projects were presented to the audience by Boris Levyant himself and his colleagues - Sergey Kryuchkov, Deputy General Director of ABD Architects for Project Development and Chief Project Architect, and Denis Kuvshinnikov, Head of the Interior Department. In his opening remarks, Boris Levyant specifically emphasized that the activities of the bureau should not be associated exclusively with his name, despite the fact that he is the founder, CEO and main partner. ABD Architects is, first of all, a team that values the contribution to the achievement of the result of each of its members. Therefore, each project was presented with the obligatory mention of the authors - GAPs and leading architects.
The bureau's objects gallery was opened by the multifunctional complex Mercedes Benz Plaza. When a picture of this object appeared on the screen, Boris Levyant drew the attention of those present to the fact that in the background, right behind the streamlined glass volume of the high-rise part of the building, the silhouette of the Triumph-Palace residential complex can be seen. “I studied in the same group with the author of this object,” said Boris Levyant. - And every time I see this photo, firstly, I am sincerely surprised that these buildings were built with a difference of several years, and secondly, I am very happy about the happy time we live in, having the opportunity to build and so, so . This remark caused a friendly laugh in the hall, under which Sergey Kryuchkov continued his story about Mercedes Benz Plaza, telling about what unexpected factors sometimes determine the final appearance of the building: for example, ABD Architects did not manage to convince the general contractor, Hochtief, to spend extra funds for special glass for facing curved facades. The reason was that the general contractor was the customer's creditor, and the latter did not have enough influence on the decision-making.
Unfortunately, the fate of the multifunctional complex on 60-letiya Oktyabrya Avenue, now better known as the Principal Plaza, has developed even less well. At first, ABD Architects developed this project not only as general designers, but also as developers and, acting as customers for themselves, came up with a very effective (and effective!) Building in the form of two volumes embedded into each other. In parallel, the bureau solved a lot of problems of the site - non-capital buildings were demolished, the soil was strengthened, underground communications were relocated. At the “Project” stage, a key investor was attracted, but later views on the implementation of the project diverged: the new majority partner was determined to reduce the cost of construction. As a result, the project was sold at the pre-construction stage. The new owner, a large financial corporation, planned to use the building as its own headquarters. At first, this inspired inspiration: after all, for themselves, new construction investors should have been generous. Unfortunately, hopes were not justified: the new owner did not calculate his capabilities, and the construction budget was not only cut down, but also uselessly spent, and the project additionally suffered from functional changes made for the sake of the never-implemented program.
Perhaps the most discussed of all ABD Architects' projects today is the White Square commercial business center, the construction of which is being completed in the northern part of Belorusskaya Square. This project was developed by Boris Levyant and his colleagues together with the Polish architectural bureau APA Wojciechowski Architekci. “In a situation where we were not allowed to do what we wanted, we did the best we could,” - this is how Sergey Kryuchkov described the final result of the work after all the agreements with the customer and the city. In particular, the architects were convinced of the need for a new high-rise dominant to appear in this place, capable of setting the area on a scale corresponding to the city that has grown over the past decade. However, the tower that was present in the ABD Architects project was never built. But everything that has been implemented within the framework of the White Square project has been erected with a really high quality, Boris Levyant emphasized. In his opinion, this is entirely due to the effective construction management on the part of the customer - AIG / LINCOLN.
Among other objects presented at the master class by ABD Architects were both very famous buildings (for example, the Metropolis multifunctional complex, the Krylatskie Hills business park, the Europark shopping center), and projects whose implementation is still in question. Among the latter are the frankly futuristic entertainment complex Freestyle Park, House in the Lattice, a multifunctional retail and office complex on Nakhimovsky Prospekt, the headquarters of Sportmaster in the Big City and an office building with a built-in automatic telephone exchange on Rogozhsky Val … According to the architects, a project becomes a favorite not after its implementation, but at the moment of the birth of a creative idea, and presenting to the general public a collection of not yet approved concepts is no less pleasant and exciting. “There are many creative ideas and fantasies behind each project, the joy of inventing something new,” says Boris Levyant. “And behind each built building - many years of hard work and inevitable disappointments, but, most importantly, the consciousness of our own responsibility for the impact on space, city and society”.
The final part of the lecture was devoted to the design of corporate interiors, which has long stood out as an independent activity of ABD architects. Denis Kuvshinnikov, Head of the Interiors Department, spoke in detail about what is understood today as a corporate interior and which offices are most in demand on the market. Each of the genres, whether it is the design of a workspace itself, a public area of a company, a cafe or a trading floor, was illustrated with specific examples. Among the clients of the Interior Department of ABD architects are such companies as Autodesk, Johnson & Johnson, Bacardi, Jones Lang LaSalle, Morgan Stanley, KPMG, SABMiller Rus and many others. Talking about the interior of their offices, Denis Kuvshinnikov demonstrated how the type of activity of an organization determines the appearance of its representative office. For example, the interiors of law firms imply color concepts that instill peace and confidence in future clients, while companies working in the field of consumer goods or information technology, on the contrary, imply bright, memorable offices. Of course, the profile of the company also affects the composition of the premises of the future office. Thus, Estee Lauder needed showcases to showcase cosmetic innovations, and ABD architects developed a project for unique built-in wardrobes in the meeting area. And Bacardi quite predictably needed a bar, and it was included in the public area of the office, however, according to Denis Kuvshinnikov, the company's employees themselves are not always allowed there. Experience in interior design, understanding the needs of the future tenant allows the company to improve the projects of office buildings developed by the architectural department.
