The building site is bounded by Serpukhovsky shaft, 1st and 4th Roshchinsky passages and Maly Orlov lane. Today it is the territory of the Moscow non-ferrous metal processing plant - a production of both harmful and large-scale, which, by and large, has no place on the border with the central district of the capital for a long time. The city government made the decision to relocate the plant back in 2004, and now it is gradually phasing out its activities. In parallel, the development of the liberated territory began. At first it was planned to create a residential complex here, however, having studied the general plan of Moscow more closely and having learned that in the coming years the 1st Roshchinsky passage, serving as a continuation of Shabolovka street, would be expanded and extended to the Third Transport Ring, the investor decided that at such a brisk future intersection it is more expedient to build an office center.
She began her work on the SK&P project with the calculations of the transport component, knowing perfectly well that the key to the success of an office complex in a megalopolis lies in its transport provision. All indicators were taken into account - the throughput of existing roads, the maximum number of cars that can simultaneously arrive at the business center and accommodate in the underground parking, the time it is filled, the optimal number of entrances, etc. Based on these indicators, the optimal areas of the future business center were calculated. In "SKiP" they are generally convinced that such a detailed "countdown", and not spectacular pictures, is the basis of complex urban planning complexes.
True, it was not without pictures. When the initial version of the concept was already ready, the customer announced that he wanted to implement another project on this site. The concept, developed by a foreign consultant, called for the perimeter site to be built up with buildings connected by intricate galleries and roof gardens. As an architectural fantasy, it was undoubtedly bright, but at the same time far from Russian climatic realities and, moreover, standards. After thoroughly analyzing this concept, SK&P architects came to the conclusion that there is a rational grain in it: a composition consisting of independent objects, each of which can be built and commissioned independently of the neighboring one. If you think about it, this idea fits well with the time of crisis, because today no investor can be one hundred percent sure that next year he will find funding to continue construction. Ultimately, it was the variant with an ensemble of separate buildings that was taken as a basis, and SKiP made every effort to ensure that the office buildings became commensurate with the surrounding buildings and did not discord with it with their architecture. The only place where the urban fabric can change its character is only at the corner of the Serpukhov shaft and 1st Roshchinsky passage: the multi-storey factory buildings here are not much larger than the faceless concrete fence, while the projected office complex to this edge of the site, on the contrary, will gain maximum height and become on the future denouement is a noticeable urban dominant.
The designers were constrained by a number of restrictions, including high-rise ones. To the right of the building site, across the narrow 4th Roshchinsky passage, there are residential buildings; their new complex was not supposed to shade. On the other hand, already across the 1st Roshchinsky passage, on the hill is the famous "Dacha-dovecote" - the country residence of Count A. G. Orlova. The answer to both restrictions was a decrease in the height of the buildings facing directly to the architectural monument and residential buildings, and in the second case, the designers gave the buildings the shape of ledges - volumes that are commensurate with the surrounding residential buildings appear on the red lines, and as they retreat deeper into the site, they gradually increase the number of storeys. A similar technique was used in buildings facing Serpukhovsky shaft, however, in this case, the indentation is not so significant. The resulting terraces will be landscaped and converted into landscaped ones. There was one more desire - based on the results of the landscape-visual analysis, to preserve the memory of the residential house of the plant's workers, which is now on the site, designed, possibly, in A. Vesnin's workshop. SKiP will recreate in new materials the main facade with all its characteristic features for pre-war architecture - a spectacular developed cornice, rare but massive balconies, rustic patterns. And so as not to push the techniques of different eras head on head, the main body volume will be separated from the “historical” vertical glass insert - extremely laconic, but clearly marking the border of styles.
As far as the architecture of the complex's facades is concerned, the authors had a difficult task to create a visually rich environment in conditions of, firstly, superdense, and secondly, budgetary buildings. A single unobtrusive theme was required, capable of painlessly surviving nine playbacks with minimal changes. And such a topic was found. According to the chief architect of the project, Viktor Barmin, it has become … a tartan fabric, offering an incredible variety of options for a checkered pattern. It was the cage - large and small, strict monotonous or, on the contrary, uneven, with a beaten rhythm - that formed the basis for the design of the facades of nine office buildings. The cage is reproduced in a variety of materials - porcelain stoneware, metal panels, stained glass structures.
Under all buildings, as is now customary, a three-level underground parking is provided for the entire development area. This made it possible to significantly increase the number of parking spaces, but created a number of additional difficulties for the authors. In particular, as already mentioned, each building must function autonomously. But how to bring the necessary communications to all nine buildings, bypassing the parking lot? The workshop had to design a special ring corridor at the basement level, in which transit communications will run.
The transport issues that started the creation of this project demanded increased attention of architects throughout the work. It is clear that such a large-scale office complex (almost 350 thousand sq. M.) Will be visited by a very large number of cars, and practically at the same time. In order to avoid traffic jams on Serpukhovsky Val and on all streets adjacent to the complex, the architects propose to expand Maly Orlov Lane and make it through. In addition, as many as three arrivals to the underground parking were designed, each of them leading only to its own level, which will contribute to the even distribution of cars.
Creating an entire office town on the site of the former factory, the architects design it as an integral part of the city-wide space. The business complex will not have its own territory enclosed by a high fence - everyone will be able to walk along the "checkered" facades and relax in the squares that are being laid out here. And not only! For even greater "socialization" of the new business district, the first floors of buildings are allocated for shops, public utilities within walking distance, restaurants and cafes. And in the corner dominant building facing Shabolovka and having a smoothly rounded facade, a bank branch will be located.
