Archi.ru:
- Your company was established relatively recently, in 2006. Tell us how and by whom was it created?
Julia Podolskaya:
- We created the company together with Roman Sorkin, together we worked on the first projects, attracting related specialists. Initially it was thought that it would be an architectural bureau. When there were more orders, cooperation with freelancers and subcontractors, who did not always fulfill the terms of the contract with high quality and on time, ceased to satisfy us, and we decided that we needed to complete our own team, educate people professionally within the team. So, gradually our bureau turned into a large company with many specialized departments, a clear structure of functioning, a large staff of highly professional specialists and a modern management system.
Tell us about yourself. Where did you study?
- I was born in Crimea, and at school age I left for Israel and to this day I am a citizen of this country. There I also received my degree in Architecture and town planning at the Technion University, one of the best technical universities not only in Israel, but also in the world.
I have never lived in Moscow or in Russia, so everything here was new and unusual for me, including the basics of Russian architectural education, which is very different from Israeli. I had excellent teachers, the best specialists in Israel. The best architects of the world - Santiago Calatrava, Frank Gehry and others - regularly visited us with lectures. Each Faculty of the Technion occupies its own huge building with a unique material and technical base, laboratories and libraries. The architecture itself at this university stands somewhat apart, since it is the technical disciplines that are the main ones. In general, Technion students are amazing people. Each of them is a potential Nobel laureate. They hardly speak, but they think a lot. This, as it seems to me, is the main difference between Russian and Israeli education: in Israel they teach to think, calculate their actions several steps ahead, perceive the world, receive information and use it effectively, while in Russia architects are taught, first of all, to “draw . All the graduates of the Moscow Architectural Institute are excellent artists, which is great, of course, but mastery of drawing technique is just an architectural tool. An architect can choose any tool, the main thing is to convey information to the builder and the client (Antonio Gaudi, for example, sculpted his projects from clay).
Did your professional practice start in Israel too?
– Yes, there I worked in a large architectural bureau Ammar Curiel Architects, which has existed for more than 30 years and during this period managed to implement a lot of various and different-scale projects in the country and the world. Working with this bureau, I took part in such serious infrastructure projects as urban transport hubs and hubs, as well as in the construction of a large number of public buildings, residential complexes and schools. In addition, it was an interesting experience of designing on terrain with a large difference in elevation. At that time, building was carried out mainly in the northern part of the country, in the mountainous area. A typical Israeli building is a volume of 10-15 floors with two entrances, with the entrance on one side at the ground floor level, and on the other at the 8th level. The construction of terraced houses in Russia is extremely rare. In the middle lane, the relief is very calm. At first I was amazed that the cut gives an absolutely straight line.
After working in this bureau for several years, I decided to change both the scale and the direction and joined the OCD team of designers and decorators, developing projects for interiors and decoration of studios for filming television programs, commercials, exhibitions and venues for various shows. It was a useful practice and a unique opportunity to very quickly realize your most daring ideas, as well as work with light and new materials. It was an incredible time when the project was created from idea to launch in just a couple of weeks. In principle, everyone in Israel works very quickly.
And, of course, while collaborating with various bureaus, I did not neglect independent projects either. In particular, I had a lot of realized items of industrial design and interior design - this direction is very developed in Israel.
- Was it difficult to adapt to Russian conditions after the Israeli school?
- It was not easy at all - a different climate, completely different construction requirements, a very strict regulatory framework and incredible restrictions on all sides. For example, in Israel, due to the hot climate, the average width of the building wall is only 20 cm and is usually made of concrete or foam blocks. There we were unfamiliar with concepts such as insulation, wall “cake” or central gas supply. Our main problem was protection from the sun, creating shade using various louver systems or a second facade. Everywhere we did patios, terraces and other open spaces. In Moscow, however, it is necessary to solve directly opposite tasks - to fight the snow and cold.
In addition, there are significant differences between the architectural and urban ideals of Israel and Russia. Israel was built during the time of the Bauhaus. In Tel Aviv alone, more than a hundred buildings have been preserved, built according to the projects of this school, which are under the protection of UNESCO. The city had to be built quickly, and the leading directions then were post-constructivism and functionalism, which largely determines the aesthetics of the design of today.
There are many differences, but when you have another good experience, you can always transfer it to new soil, adapt to a new culture and develop, taking all the best from the past.
How did you meet Roman? Already in Moscow?
- Roman is also an Israeli, although he lived and studied in Chisinau, where he graduated from the Polytechnic Institute. He also received his education in Israel, where, like me, he left in the 1990s. There he graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Bar Ilan University. The professional community in Israel is a rather narrow circle of people where everyone knows each other very well. Actually, that's how life brought us together.
Roman began his architectural career with the creation of a large network of private clubs and restaurants Dinitz in Tel Aviv and Prague. Later in Prague, he worked on the reconstruction of historic buildings in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles, with the restoration of all the original motives. It was a fairly well-known project, at one time noted as the best reconstructed building in 2001. Roman arrived in Russia a little earlier than me. At that time, it seemed to me that the market in Israel was too small, and I decided to do a relocation, Moscow was a random direction that turned up.
How are roles within the company distributed today?
- Today Roman is more concerned with political issues, while I - with architectural and organizational issues. Each project has its own leader, but I oversee all the company's projects, especially those that are the most significant, let's say, image-building.
Areas of activity of your company are very diverse: urban planning, architecture, engineering, road design, etc. How does this affect the structure of the company?
- We have formed a complex, but fully justifying structure. The key areas or, as we call them, the departments of the company are urban planning, architectural and construction, engineering, which deals with the integrated development of territories and internal systems of buildings, as well as the transport department. There is also a development department and a technical customer. The technical customer is our internal function that allows us to accompany projects at all stages of preparation of permits and approvals. We do not particularly put this function on the market, but knowing the specifics of Russian design and construction, we understand how necessary it is. Very often, the customer's service is not able to independently lead the project through all the thorns of the approval authorities. And, in fact, we help the customer on this difficult path.
In 2012, a transport and road design department was established. This direction in Russia is especially important, since every project needs new roads here, at least a minimal transport connection with the main highway. Today, our company is quite successfully carrying out about ten projects of roads, overpasses and bridges in the Moscow region and regions of the country - the road to Kemerovo, a rather complex project in North Ossetia, etc.
Each department includes additional substructures. For example, in the architectural and construction department there are groups of architects, designers, master plan and POS (construction organization project), a group of architectural supervision, a team of visualizers, a creative group that generates all the ideas.
In addition to the main directions, there is also a block called "Project Office", which is based on the most progressive management principles, which we borrow from the world practice of project management. This subdivision brings together the leading specialists of the company, formerly GUIs or GAPs, who are appointed to the position of project manager. Each of them oversees its own specially created working group. That is, when a project comes to us, it does not fall into any specific department, but a team is formed specifically for it, specialists of the right profile are selected - not only urbanists, architects, engineers, but also transport workers, firefighters, consultants from other industries. We also have quite rare specialists on our staff, for example, ecologists, technologists, economists, gas engineers, etc. By the way, our company conducts gasification of several cities and villages in the Kaliningrad region.
The specificity of our company lies in solving the most complex, intricate and multi-level tasks that we unleash at all stages that are possible.
It turns out that you offer almost the entire project cycle: from the development of the initial concept, technical support and to implementation. What are the advantages of this method of work?
- Agree, it is always better and safer to rely on yourself. When the entire technological process runs inside your company, you can fully control it and be confidently responsible for the result. It seems to me that such interaction of various areas of construction within one company is very important. It is often difficult for architects to carry out a complex development project, in which one should take into account a lot of additional factors and interests, know urban planning regulations, and master the topic of transport. Conversely, there are wonderful city planners who routinely work with stamped volumes, standard buildings and panel series without going into the details of architecture. As a result, despite the good planning of the territory, a not very aesthetic and effective environment is created.
You have to understand, especially when it comes to housing, that a building is not just an architect's stroke, but a space for people, of high quality and thought out. Do not forget about the commercial component of the object, without which it will not be realized at all. In short, all these many factors cannot be calculated in advance, specializing in only one industry.
In addition, such a structure allows you to lead the project from start to finish. We have such experience when we do absolutely everything - starting with a request from a customer who has a free piece of land in his hands and still does not fully understand what he will do with it, to the complete delivery of the object. In such cases, we carry out urban planning analysis for the potential opportunities of the site, conduct marketing research, and calculate the business plan. Based on the data obtained, we develop a concept for the development of the territory, then - a planning project, we carry out approval, we do a land survey, we get a GPZU, and then we start designing architectural objects.
All our decisions are thought out many steps forward. If we are working on development, then at the same time we are working on the architecture of buildings, we go out to real sales areas that are always of interest to the end consumer and customer. If we design a building, we immediately come up with a constructive solution and engineering in order to avoid mistakes later. This is very important, because in this way, after each stage, a certain product is created, which can be further developed, and not redone. And this is the scourge of modern Russian projects, when there is only a beautiful picture and no real justification. Customers often come to us with a request to analyze a project. In most cases, you have to write comments that stretch on many, many pages, and they do not affect the aesthetic aspects, exclusively technical aspects. As a result, the project is either very seriously corrected or done anew.
What direction did you start with?
- One of the first projects was the urban planning concept for the integrated development of the Tsaritsa River floodplain in Volgograd for AFI Development Russia. This was followed by other large urban projects, for example, the integrated development of Bataysk in the Rostov region, commissioned by Rostovgorstroy.
Of course, there were also architectural objects. But with the onset of the 2008 crisis, when the entire commercial segment fell sharply, we turned to government contracts, began to actively participate in urban planning tenders and succeeded even more in this sector. When the market began to revive a little, we again returned to volumetric design, simultaneously developing other areas.
- That is, one of the main divisions of the company is urban planning?
- We really got carried away with urban planning and did projects all over Russia - in the far north, in Altai, Kaliningrad, in central Russia, we even worked in places where planes do not fly and trains do not go to the site by helicopter.
We have a very comprehensive approach to design. Today, in the field of urban planning, a large staff of professional people allows us to cover all stages of the development of urban planning documentation - territorial planning schemes, integrated development of territories, master plans, PZZ, planning projects, concepts of development of territories, etc.
What urban projects carried out by Homeland Group would you call your favorite or the most interesting?
- It is difficult to single out one thing. Was interesting
the draft concept of the Skolkovo master plan, which we did together with the French bureaus AREP and Setec. Personally, I had a lot of experience working with foreigners, but this was the first time for our company. And here the teamwork was especially interesting. We quickly found a common language. It was easy, because I also experienced a switch from one mentality to another and had a good idea of where problems could most likely arise.
In fact, I really like the design decision of the French side. The cluster structure and the transport system are perfectly linked in it, the scale of development is well captured. The only thing that was not taken into account at all in this concept was external transport links and interaction with the surrounding buildings. The development project was developed locally. When we got involved in the work, all this came to the surface and, of course, required a significant adjustment to the project. At the same time, we tried very hard to preserve the original idea, the isolation and self-sufficiency of the clusters and functional zoning. I believe that we have succeeded in all this. What will happen with this project next is unknown. Personally, it seems to me that in the absence of Projects supervision, such projects should not be done at all. And so the architects were given a piece of land and each made his own show. All developed projects are wonderful in themselves when put separately. But as a whole, they did not become a single organism.
The experience of working on the concept of developing a large territory in the village of Sukko in the Krasnodar Territory was also very valuable. Previously, vineyards grew on this site, occupying two steep mountain slopes, between which there was something like a gorge with a total area of more than 200 hectares. The developer's company planned to locate Disneyland, a huge amusement park, and build housing on this territory. The park was developed by an American company specializing in this area. The rest of the buildings were designed by us. According to our project, all residential buildings are concentrated on the hills of former vineyards, separated by canals, mainly low-rise apartment buildings, townhouses and cottages. Buildings are formed in the form of quarters, each occupying its own separate hill. Between them, in the lowlands, are public areas and kindergartens. All houses have a view towards the sea. To date, we have completed our part of the work. We were engaged in this project in 2012, and after the American side finalized the play park zone, I think that we will proceed to the detailed design.
What is the significance of architectural design itself in the overall structure of the company? Who is in charge of "architecture"?
- Architecture is of great importance to us. I have already mentioned that we have a creative group, which brings together people with special creative abilities. I work with them continuously. And all architecture is born there. Urban planning projects are also developed jointly with a creative team. There is a whole list of people in charge of "architecture". Any of our projects is a collective product. You just need to direct all ideas in the right direction, so almost everything that relates directly to architecture and urban planning passes through me.
What architectural projects are especially important for you? Which ones are close to being implemented?
- Now we are building two residential complexes in Moscow, developed as part of the reconstruction of industrial buildings. In the first case, we are talking about the factory named after Peter Alekseev on Mikhalkovskaya street near Golovinsky ponds.
The LOFT Park project is one of those that I especially love - confusing and complex, because there is an incredible challenge to unravel and organize everything, offering the most adequate solution. The buildings of the factory are chaotically scattered throughout the territory, so we started with the development of a general general plan, prepared the logistics of the complex. Also solved the navigation issues - also my favorite topic. All construction is conditionally divided into three stages, and each stage is solved in its own given theme.
The main part of the living space is located in several large and long industrial buildings with very high ceilings, making it possible to create duplex apartments. The consumer receives a very diverse housing, differing in size, orientation and views from the windows. These large buildings separate point, individual houses from Mikhalkovskaya Street. Brick cottages closer to the coastal area are similar to English mansions. In general, the whole project is a bit like the London area with its compact and slightly narrow streets, tasteful and comfortable for people. Inhabitants of the first floors have their own front gardens, where you can put a bicycle and an umbrella. All lobbies have small art objects. The high brick pipe left from the boiler room has been preserved. According to our idea, it is sandwiched between the volumes of buildings, and a glass volume is suspended from it, designed to accommodate a public space there - a cafe or a library. Now there is an active construction of this complex, already
sales are open.
The second project of this kind is also underway - a residential complex on Nizhnyaya Krasnoselskaya street TRIBECA APARTMENTS. This is also the reconstruction of industrial facilities, only the volumes are slightly less. Working on this project, we got along very well and immediately with the customer, understood each other, and the customer willingly supported all our proposals.
We were inspired by New York, Manhattan, where the urban environment is shaped by an urban “block” that is a symbiosis of quality habitat and great architecture. In our "block" we tried to combine all those qualities when the space of the courtyard, apartments and public areas work together, when public and private complement each other, creating at the same time a unique atmosphere of a dynamic metropolis and private space.
The buildings here are located in the form of an almost closed block, in the center of which there is an inner courtyard, where not a single car drives in except for a fire engine on compacted soil. These are fairly tall buildings, reaching nine floors, with each factory floor equal to two standard residential floors. With this in mind, there was again a proposal to make duplexes. The location of the buildings was reminiscent of New York Manhattan, and we decided to play with this theme. The project is executed in a style close to art deco in its modern interpretation. Behind the wall of high volumes is a row of lower houses. Their roofs are designed as a fifth facade, which provides a good view of the courtyard from the windows of high-rise buildings.
There is a five-level ground parking on the territory. We also prepared a yard improvement project, which, despite its compact size, is full of very different sites. The entire yard is divided into zones for adults and zones for children, decorated with fake trees made of colored plastic, which will be green all year round. There is even a small pond with the Statue of Liberty. In general, it turned out to be a very elegant complex, I would even say that it looks luxurious, although it is not elite.
As far as I know, for Skolkovo, in addition to the general plan, did you also develop a project for a multidisciplinary scientific and technical center?
– Yes, but the implementation, unfortunately, most likely will not follow. Although the project itself was unusually interesting.
The Skolkovo complex was supposed to be completely energy efficient. It was proposed to make it up from several modules - self-sufficient units equipped with water collection, power supply and heat supply systems. From these modules, it would be possible to endlessly form a variety of structures. For facades, we proposed using an innovative material - membrane glazing, which is actively used in Europe for large-span structures due to its light weight.
- You said that your company is capable of carrying out a project, as they say, inside and out. Are there examples where you managed to go through the whole cycle?
- Yes of course. For example, a residential neighborhood in the city of Zheleznodorozhny. It is currently under construction. I like the architectural part of this project less because it is an economy class housing. However, this is one of the largest projects in the Moscow region. And here we really did it from beginning to end, and we are still doing it.
The customer initially came to us with an already approved planning project and a permitted area of 100 thousand square meters. However, he wanted to compact the building, while the site in the form of a narrow triangle, on which, in principle, it was quite difficult to place anything, was not at all inclined towards this. And we found a solution by increasing the area by another 30 thousand square meters. m. In general, all our houses are very highly efficient, we can always optimize any project by 15, or even 50%. But having increased the building density, we had to re-approve the entire planning project, which we did. Then, public hearings were held and a phased design of residential buildings, internal and external networks began. Despite the limited budget, the project aims to create a quality environment. So, a dead-end section of old railway tracks, which were supposed to be dismantled in 2015, passes through the site. We offered to keep it as an art object, arrange a boulevard zone along it, and put a beautiful old steam locomotive on the way. Our company has been carrying out this project for more than three years, this is our baby.
What architects of the present or the past would you call your “heroes” or teachers?
– My heroes are those who build with concrete. There are a lot of wonderful architects, and I don't even see the point in listing them all. But the closest thing to me, probably, is the work of Tadao Ando, as a child I loved constructivists and postmodernists.
And speaking generally about my ideals, the most important thing for me is for the architect to remember who he is building for. This is especially true for residential buildings. In Russia, of course, there are certain difficulties in this respect. Mass housing construction practically killed architecture, it became even worse when the permissible height of buildings was increased, and then everyone went crazy and almost completely blocked the sky. But even mass development can and should take into account the interests of people. In the world, by the way, social housing has always been in the field of architectural thought. If you look at European countries - Holland or Spain - you can see that social housing there are often the most interesting projects. Architects are looking for ways to save money, build from recycled materials, etc., but create something original and enjoyable for residents. In Russia, the topic of infrastructure was pushed into the background. Over the years, dull gray towers of 25 stories have been built with courtyards entirely occupied by cars and a broken playground in the middle. It is clear that such an environment is not capable of awakening anything beautiful in a person, and it is not surprising that children who grow up in such an environment do not want to walk on the street, but prefer to play computer games and watch TV.
I believe that the environment should educate and develop people and I believe that the architect can defend such important aspects, it is in his competence. This is the most important principle for me.
At the beginning of our conversation, you mentioned that the company has a fairly large staff today. Is it easy to manage such a team?
- Interesting! Among other things, we are constantly improving and developing the company. Unlike other design organizations, we devote a lot of attention and time to management issues. For these purposes, a separate unit (KSUP) was created, which is engaged in working with personnel, setting work regulations, and improving the structure of interaction. There, various mechanisms are being worked out, aimed at making the company work like a Swiss watch. I do not believe that one person can have all the necessary skills, the best thing is a team in which an individual specialist is part of a single organism.
Today the Homeland Group employs about 200 people. And all of them enthusiastically go about their business. We have several offices and everywhere there is a very good atmosphere, a team spirit is felt, there is no rivalry, because we all do one common thing. In addition, each employee has the opportunity to prove himself. When time permits, we conduct internal competitions, create several working interdisciplinary groups that develop their proposal for a particular project. After that, all the options are presented to the customer, who chooses the work he likes. Recently, we had such an experience when developing a preliminary design for a development in the center of Ulyanovsk. This is good practice.
Are there any specific selection criteria that guide you when hiring new employees?
- I'll tell you more: we have a special service that deals with the search and selection of personnel. In fact, we are already desperate to find good specialists in Russia. The fact is that here, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the system of architectural education was also destroyed. Since the 1990s, there was no education in the country, there was an absolute vacuum, and as a result of such a serious gap, a real professional hunger arose. Finding a competent, qualified and reliable employee is incredibly difficult. Today, only three Muscovites work in the Homeland Group, we invited all the rest from the CIS countries, from the regions of Russia, Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, there are even several foreigners.
A large number of the company's specialists from Belarus - about 25 employees. The fact is that a good educational school has been preserved there, which correctly educates young cadres. In Moscow, yesterday's student, having just left the institute and having drawn at best 1-2 cottages, comes to get a job with incredible demands, believing that he can and can do everything. And in Belarus, students go through a full stage of development, and, starting their professional practice, they soberly assess their strengths and capabilities. Employees from Belarus have proven themselves very well in our company. And in this regard, we began to turn our eyes to Minsk, where not so long ago we opened a back office. Now it employs about 50 people, and in the near future it is planned to double their number. Together with a Belarusian company, we have also created a transport department.
- Tell us about your plans for the near future.
- In the future, we plan to develop, following the already outlined course. We hope to become the largest integrated services company in the Russian market. In fact, Homeland Group is already a unique product for Russia today, where there is hardly any other similar company capable of offering such an extensive range of services. Those design institutes that functioned well in Soviet times and had their own well-oiled methodology of work were either destroyed or moved to a commercial level. They simply could not adapt to the new conditions in the absence of constant volumes of orders. There are many different bureaus, teams and groups on the market today, but they all specialize in specific areas. There are almost no people who could take a large project and carry it out from start to finish. Apparently that is why our company immediately gained such momentum. We have a fairly large number of projects and orders throughout the country. Customers appreciate us for a constructive approach to work, discipline in the organization of work, a positive atmosphere and always predictably high-quality result. Homeland Group is a company that you can turn to with any, the most difficult task.
To date, we have already achieved a lot, maybe not on a global scale, but in Russia - for sure. We have plans to go out and beyond. I would like to build something in China or India. But for now, Russia is more interesting to us, because here, as they say, an unplowed field - a lot of land and a huge need for everything: housing, household facilities, infrastructure. Now there is practically a blank slate here, and there is a unique opportunity to participate in the formation of new design principles and the creation of a new external image of Moscow and Russia.
