Project of a hotel and shopping complex on Leninsky Prospekt
The project was developed by the architectural studio ADM. The site is located in the Southwestern District of Moscow, along Leninsky Prospekt, dominated by mid-rise Stalinist buildings. Of the high-rise buildings there are only a not very expressive residential building adjacent to the design site, and the building of the Sputnik hotel, which is supposed to be reconstructed and included in the complex. "Sputnik" significantly deviates from the red line of the avenue, forming in front of itself something like a cour d'honneur. On this empty territory, the authors proposed to build a 3-storey extended shopping center, and in the depths of the site, next to the existing square, another hotel in the form of a high tower. This tower, faced with natural stone, has smooth outlines that respond to the same rounded plan of the square. The volume of the existing hotel will remain austere and rectangular. For it, only modern decoration is provided with the help of glazing and embossed terracotta panels. Andrey Romanov, who presented the project, explained that such a 3-part composition is dictated by numerous altitude and insolation restrictions.
The site has a relief difference of about 3 meters. Because of this, the existing sidewalk along the avenue is cut off from the hotel complex, located on an elevation. Therefore, it was decided to make an additional sidewalk along the shopping center: its wavy facade made it possible to significantly widen the passage - in some places up to 25 m. The floors of the center in the form of large waves displaced relative to each other visually conceal its considerable length. The first floor, completely glass, will be occupied by various boutiques, each with its own separate entrance from the street. Inside the courtyard, it is planned to lay out a square with active geoplastics.
Sergei Kuznetsov was immediately embarrassed by the height of the new hotel, despite the fact that it corresponds to the GPZU. Following the chief architect, this remark was expressed in turn by almost all members of the council. Andrei Gnezdilov noted that the hotel tower in its height is trying to compete with an extremely unsuccessfully built residential building nearby: “Three volumes of one complex have taken on an extremely bright form and compete not only with each other, but also with neighboring houses”. Hans Stimmann also recommended that the authors abandon 2 or 3 floors, but he supported the architecture of the complex as a whole, calling it "the fashionable architecture of 2014". Vladimir Plotkin was alarmed not only by the height, but also by the very different principles of shaping the three buildings.
Taking the architecture and stylistics of buildings, Evgeniy Ass asked the question: is it possible to build up the voids deliberately left by our predecessors, city planners, in the urban fabric? “Hotel“Sputnik”was moved into the depths of the site with a meaning - a courdoner and a green square were formed in front of it. Now a strange compositional situation arises, when the site in front of the building is being built up, and an object significant for the city is taken out of the street front. There is a serious strategic mistake in this,”Ass concluded. Vladimir Plotkin did not agree with him: in his opinion, the space in front of the hotel is too large and may well be built up.
One more serious remark related to the transport scheme. Andrei Gnezdilov recommended thinking about the turning point to the garage, and Sergei Kuznetsov criticized the traffic pattern in the inner territory - too long and dead-end.
Summing up the long discussion, Kuznetsov noted three main issues that the authors should work on: the height and shape of the hotel being built should be linked to other volumes of the complex, the same applies to the decoration of the facades of the two hotels, which are in strong contrast to each other, and, finally,the transport scheme should become more logical and convenient. After revision, the project will be reviewed again in working order.
Multifunctional residential complex in the Sviblovo area
A large residential complex is supposed to be built in the North-Eastern District of Moscow, in the Sviblovo area, according to the project of Swanke Hayden Connell Architects. The project was developed back in 2005 as part of the government's New Ring of Moscow program, which implies the appearance of high-rise buildings in the city. They even started to build the complex in Sviblovo, but then it was frozen. Today the customer returned to this project, which has undergone some changes over the past five years.
The composition is a complex of three towers with a height of 52 floors - narrow at the ends, but wide enough from the side of the main facade. All three skyscrapers, conventionally named "east", "west", "south", are located on a common 2-storey stylobate, which contains all the main infrastructure facilities (supermarket, shops, cafes and a fitness center with a swimming pool). A detached garage is designed next to the residential complex.
According to the GPZU, the maximum height of the towers of 82.5 m was exceeded by the designers by more than 2 m. But the council members and representatives of local residents were not at all embarrassed by the height of the complex, but, first of all, by the lack of any infrastructure and landscaping. The complex accommodates more than 1600 apartments, which is about 3.5 thousand residents. At the same time, the project does not imply the construction of a school and a kindergarten, there is not even a playground there. Andrei Gnezdilov called this development “extremely selfish. This is housing, which is absolutely unencumbered. The authors of the project propose simply to land a troop of 4,000 people in the Sviblovo area, and no one thinks about how they will live there. The client's representative objected to this comment by showing the council members the calculations that the district has sufficient potential to provide all new residents with schools, kindergartens and clinics.
Another fear of the residents of the district - the possibility of destruction of nearby residential buildings in connection with such a large-scale construction - was also dispelled. The customer assured that there is no threat of destruction, and the cracks that have arisen on the existing buildings have nothing to do with construction, since work on the site has not been carried out for about 5 years.
Sergei Kuznetsov drew attention to the space between the street and the complex, which, according to him, has not been resolved in any way. The garage that forms the front of the street has no face, no landscaping. The first floor of the garage, according to Kuznetsov, should be given for public functions, the overall architectural solution of this building should be completely revised, and the area around should be improved. The authors of the project agreed with this recommendation and even assured that they had an agreement with the city to withdraw all garage buildings from Serebryakov Avenue and to arrange a green park on the vacated territory. However, the authors did not mention that the city expressway will run along this section, the construction of which is scheduled for 2016–2017.
Vladimir Plotkin doubted the correctness of the planning decision of the complex, when a large number of apartments overlook the stylobate, and there is no way to ensure fire safety. Plotkin had no complaints about the height solution and the orientation of the towers, the only thing he recommended was to differentiate the towers.
Eugene Ass, leaving aside stylistic questions, pointed out that “the choice of a place for such a powerful vertical seems to be accidental. And, in addition, the gap between the existing and under construction garages is embarrassing. This gap is so narrow that it turns into a truly criminal place. You cannot create a luxurious complex and leave such chaos nearby."
Hans Stimmann did not at all begin to disassemble the project, announcing that “everything is wrong in it”. This complex, according to Stimmann, suits an ugly, unattractive Moscow. The environment in the Sviblovo area is already awful: a huge shopping center, the largest in Europe, has been built nearby, and now it is also proposed to build a giant “car for living” with parking.
Sergei Kuznetsov tried to reassure his colleagues, reminding that this high-rise complex is part of the city program, and the city may well take on the problem of providing social infrastructure. As a result, the authors were recommended to finalize the project, taking into account the main comments made, as well as to link their proposal with the plans of the city authorities, such as the construction of chords and the Botanical Garden transport hub.
Project of an administrative, educational and residential complex on Kotelnicheskaya embankment
The complex, located in the very center of Moscow, on Kotelnicheskaya embankment, has a 2-part structure. A U-shaped 7-storey volume facing the embankment is reserved for housing. It is adjoined by 3-storey administrative buildings of the Moscow State University of Design and Technology, located mainly in the depths of the site and along the 1st Kotelnichesky Lane.
Initially, the complex was designed in a modern style, but after a working review at the MCA, the project was reworked in the neoclassical style, which seemed more appropriate for this place. We also had to lower the number of storeys from 11 to 7 floors. Two options for the solution of the facades were presented to the council for judgment - a more detailed one, with various decorative elements, and a ceremonial one, with numerous arches. Both are proposed to be made of artificial stone.
Like the two previous projects, this one did not escape criticism and was sent back for revision. Evgeny Ass noted: “We, architects, have forgotten how to make such facades. If indeed it is necessary to solve the building in postmodernism with greetings to the Stalinist skyscraper, then this requires colossal efforts. This is a special aesthetics that distinguishes architecture from low-standard stylization. " Now, according to Ass, none of the proposed options looks convincing - neither in terms of proportions and rhythm, nor in terms of the materials chosen. Vladimir Plotkin, choosing between the two options, with a big stretch gave preference to "ceremonial", cautiously noting that he could try to work with him. At the same time, according to him, both solutions look like blanks: buildings are devoid of completion, an indistinct cornice on the main facade has no continuation at the ends, etc. Nikolai Shumakov proposed to simplify the architecture of the complex as much as possible, considering that there should be no competing objects next to the Stalinist skyscraper. Sergey Kuznetsov objected to this that there are no simple and minimalistic buildings around and agreed with the idea expressed by Evgeny Ass to hold a competition for the facades of this complex. True, the decision on the need for a competition remains with the customer of the project.
In addition to the facades, the council recommended that the authors pay attention to the part of the joining of a low building with a high one from the side of the embankment. According to the project, a very narrow passage was left between them, by the definition of Assa - "bashful" passage. This is wrong, and the authors should decide - either to make a firewall connection, or two separate buildings. At the same time, they need to be solved stylistically in different ways. This idea was supported by Hans Stimmann, who emphasized that two functionally different parts of the complex must acquire their identity.
