The territory in question is large, about 64 hectares, it stretches from south to north between the smoothly curved bank of the Moskva River and the remains of the Simonov Monastery, next to the reconstructed "ZIL Peninsula". This wild semi-industrial place preserves curious monuments of different times: from the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Stary Simonov dating back to the 14th century and the 17th century monastery towers, of which the most famous is, of course, the favorite of guides, the Dulo tower - to the Vesnin brothers' DK ZIL (yes - yes, once built on the site of a destroyed monastery, now it is also an important monument) and Shukhov's oil tanks, which are closer to the river. In the late fifties, a little further north, in the neighborhood, a football stadium for 15,000 spectators named after E. Streltsov was built. Now here, preserving the stadium and architectural monuments, it is planned to build a residential complex, on the concept of which the architects of the Ostozhenka bureau have worked for several years, backing up their proposal with a thorough study. Later, a competition was held for the project, and according to its results, the bureau "Tsimailo, Lyashenko and Partners" is now working on the project. Meanwhile, the research carried out by the architects of Ostozhenka is of interest in itself; that's what we're talking about here.
Initially, the architects proposed the classic, relevant in our time quarters, containing all the three hundred thousand square meters recorded in the terms of reference. But experts of the city authorities, based on the data of the landscape-visual analysis (LVA), demanded to reduce the height of the complex from 33 to 18 meters so that the houses would not obstruct the monastery, primarily the Dulo tower and the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. The buildings, reduced in height, did not fit the required areas at all. Then the architects conducted their own landscape-visual analysis, having studied a dozen panoramas of the Simonov Monastery from Derbenevskaya embankment and Novospassky bridge, and not only from the position of a pedestrian (horizon height 150 cm), but also a person driving a car, whose gaze is located below (horizon 124, 6 cm), and offered an alternative option: they increased the hulls even more, to more than forty meters, but tore apart the quarter squares, placing the hulls with rays radiating from the tower in an elegant geometric order, and not evenly, but flexibly changing the direction so as to open the maximum views of the monuments.
Indeed, the neighborhoods obscured the tower from almost everywhere. But when lowering to 18 meters, even if we take into account the losses of the customer in the areas, the complex spread over the ground in a solid volume, resembling from a distance a blank fence, above which the tent of the tower towered somewhat awkwardly. By proposing to collect the volume with compact modernist beams, the authors achieved, on the one hand, the fact that the buildings obstruct no more than 15% of the views of the monuments. On the other hand, when perceived at speed from the window of a passing car, the "picket effect" will be triggered: the tower will be visible all the time - say the architects, for whom the research and the formulated bold proposal have become a separate part of the project, not devoid of independent value. Experts of the LVA recognized the reception as successful.
In this case, the fan of plates is a key idea, an invention. All "lines of force" converge to the tower, and the residential complex, read: the city bows to the monuments of architecture, shows respect. Previously, he turned away for a long, long time, destroyed, blocked, but now he pulled himself into one point and expresses his respect. The very idea of arranging houses along beams or across a street is not new; it is one of the favorite techniques of classic modernism, convenient for both insolation and ventilation. But what is interesting is that in this case the modernist plan is used in order to accentuate the monuments of antiquity. It would be interesting to develop such an idea in other Moscow projects, especially large ones, to “pick up” the folds of the city around historical values, you see, the city would become different, as if more intelligent. In general, this amazing property of "Ostozhenka" is to endow gigantic volumes with subtle feelings, the architects in this way seem to "teach elephants to dance." And what to do if the city is offered mainly elephants.
However, the authors did not leave the actual topic of the quarters either - after all, a modern house should have a private, semi-closed courtyard for residents - the houses-rays united into large brackets, opening to the river with their favorite "Ostozhenka" large-scale arches, and towards the tower - "wings" figurative plans. Eight residential quarters from four to twelve floors built along the river have such a layout. They will accommodate 2,650 business, business + and premium apartments. The total area of the residential part of the project is 251,500 m2, according to approximate calculations, a little less than 6,000 people will be able to settle here. All block buildings are raised on stylobates, where shopping areas, social infrastructure, and parking lots are located. On the roof of the stylobates, courtyards are arranged, private, but also not completely closed: they offer a wide view towards the tower and a narrower perspective, through the arch, towards the river.
Most of the apartments in the buildings are double-sided, with a large glazing area, which again enhances the connection with the surrounding panoramas. The turn of the beams-buildings, in addition to the above-mentioned views from outside to inside, provides residents with both views of the river and the monument - Simonov Monastery.
The architects of Ostozhenka also proposed their own version of the transport scheme, which is more convenient than originally planned for the territory. Now, in front of the territory of the Simonov Monastery, movement along the embankment ends, turning sharply from the river to the left towards Velozavodskaya Street; meanwhile, according to the city development plans, the Simonovskaya embankment route will have to continue, cutting the new area longitudinally into two parts. This is the right solution for Moscow, choking from traffic jams. However, the architects showed that, by slightly straightening its line, it would be possible to place all residential buildings by the river, without separating them by a busy highway. In this case, there will be a monastery and a stadium behind the road, and the entire residential complex with a significant part of its infrastructure will adjoin the pedestrian embankment - the quality of life and the value of apartments in it, of course, should increase.
Ostozhenka's partner is a British company specializing in landscape design
Gillespies conducted a survey of the area and developed a detailed landscaping plan for all levels, from gated courtyards to the promenade. Above the aforementioned highway, Gillespies proposed to throw green bridges with bicycle paths. And we have developed three main walking routes: from the stadium to the pier on the river, a "sports esplanade" descends; from the monastery - a historical route (the surviving cisterns of Shukhov are planned to be reconstructed into art objects). And between them winding paths of the municipal park, pedestrian routes unite the entire microdistrict. They even offered to arrange a swimming pool.
Quite naturally, the question arises: what about the facades, why not a word was said about them ?! The architects deliberately focused on space-planning and compositional solutions in order to most accurately show the principle of working with such territories that they found.“The facade is a very important category, but lately it is gaining more and more independence, and, like the nose of Major Kovalev, it may already exist on its own. We ended up with a very complex shape of buildings, with beveled edges, protruding volumes, changes in heights, and we, of course, offered our own version of the external design, but it is just not the only possible one. Maybe in twenty or thirty years the facades will generally be replaceable, like clothes,”says Alexander Skokan, head of Ostozhenka.
The core of this project is not plastic at all, but a chain of carefully developed ideas for transforming a complex territory that requires both transformation and conservation. As is often the case when authors are placed in a rigid framework between the output of squares and urban restrictions, a redistribution of meanings took place here: landscape-visual analysis - a seemingly auxiliary and secondary subject, came to the fore and became the essence, entailed not only additional work, but ultimately a tangible change in the whole. It is all the more remarkable that the outlines of the buildings did not acquire a chaotic "medieval" jaggedness, but turned out to be quite solid and clear, led not to endless carving, but formed into a harmonious idea.
A fan of rays - angles of view, resembles the sun, as Mayakovsky painted it on posters. Well, what can I say, the avant-garde masters also threw a lot of ideas on the air, some of which are beginning to be appreciated only now, and some, perhaps, will be appreciated by descendants. Research is important, someday it will work; sooner or later, one way or another.
