The site on which it is planned to build a new complex is located in the very center of the old Belarusian city. Among its closest neighbors are historical buildings, consisting of two- and three-storey residential buildings of the 19th - early 20th centuries, as well as the famous Holy Protection Cathedral. The very same future construction site for the last thirty years was nothing more than a wasteland. Visually, this place was perceived as a hole, an annoying gap in the historical fabric of the city and has long been asking for urban planning and filling.
Valery Lukomsky admits that the location of the future business complex next to the Intercession Cathedral served as the starting point for the development of the architectural and planning composition. The architects managed to subtly and tactfully intervene in the cultural layer of the urban environment and express the idea of a connection between the past, present and future. The authors of the project sought, and not without success, to remove the contradictions between the image of a business center, which gravitates towards a dry formality, and the spirituality naturally inherent in a church building. The role of the cultural and architectural dominant in the ordinary building of the street was left behind the temple, and it was decided to interpret the new building as a transition from the high-rise buildings of the 90s to the cathedral. “It was necessary to hear the correct tonality and add a new voice to the overall sound of the free chorus of the development of the historical part of the city. Find the melody of the main theme of “eternal materials” as a means of expressing the architectural individuality of the building,”says Valery Lukomsky.
The conflict between the need for a large number of office space (about 8000 sq.m.) and the construction restrictions in the security zone demanded a special ingenuity from the architects. It was decided to divide the business complex into two volumes - a 3-storey one, commensurate with the surroundings and facing the red building line of Lenin Street, and a 5-storey one, located in the depths of the site. To maximize the view of the Intercession Cathedral, the larger side facing it is beveled and turned into the interior of the site. True, Valery Lukomsky makes a reservation, there is a possibility that the new customer will reduce the volume of office buildings, and then the height of the deepened part of the complex will automatically decrease.
The three- and five-storey volumes are opposed to each other not only in height and dimensions, but also stylistically. The high part has solid glazing, allowing it to partially dissolve into the urban environment. And the three-storey building, in turn, is a modern interpretation of the surrounding historical architecture: a pitched roof, a plastered facade, bay windows, an arch through passage to the courtyard - all these are signs of old Vitebsk. But, paying tribute to traditions, the authors bring features of modern architecture to the look of the building facing the old city. So, the granite basement is visually lightened by large stained-glass windows, which "tear" the building off the ground. The entire right side of the building, facing towards the Intercession Cathedral, is made entirely in glass. Thus, a view of the ancient city opens up through it, spectacular foreshortenings appear with the reflection of the church building. Comparison of modern life, impetuous and unstable, and unshakable eternity is read in all constructions.
The color palette of the complex is based on the usual for Vitebsk combination of a dark brown bottom (granite base), a pale yellow facade (textured plaster) and a gray-turquoise top (roof, canopies and cornices made of patinated copper). But in this ordinary style, "sharp", active details were introduced - glass bay windows that rise above the roof and clasp the building from above with glass brackets. It looks as if the glass volume standing in the background “grows” through the fragile retro fabric and is ready to absorb it. By the way, there are the same bay windows on the recessed part of the building, which makes it possible to stylistically connect two volumes of different character. But, most importantly, their relief protrusions are designed to set a rhythm and become a kind of visual transition to the higher Church of the Intercession, whose architecture is dominated by vertical elements (corner towers, elongated windows, etc.). At the same time, the glass pylons of the bay windows echo the classic half-columns of the city council building.
The projected building is positioned as a class "B" office, and its internal layout has been appropriately resolved: from the 1st to the 5th floors of the complex are occupied by offices, the ground floor is reserved for parking. Due to the significant difference in the relief, the main entrance is also organized at the basement level, and at a higher level the architects have provided a small cafe - in the daytime it will be open for office workers, and in the evening for everyone. In order to orient the cafe towards the city and visually emphasize its connection with public life, the authors slightly turned its walls and porch in relation to the main axes of the building.
Valery Lukomsky has been designing for Vitebsk for over 30 years, trying to preserve and support the fragments of the historical heritage with new architecture. Several years ago, together with architects from Belarus, he managed to defend the Intercession Cathedral, which they wanted to slowly demolish. Therefore, it is not surprising that the project of the City-Arch workshop passed the architectural council of the Department for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage and Restoration of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus from the first time - the administrative and business center on Lenin Street perfectly fit into the context of Vitebsk.
