In English “clever” means “smart”, but in colloquial use our Russian folk “clover” is obtained: whoever wants to, understands it.
The genre of an apartment building, by definition, sets a rather narrow framework for creativity. Modular cells almost inevitably fold into a high prism, the appearance of which is largely determined by the configuration of the site and many mandatory standards.
As a result, there is not much left for the architect: to open the corner a little, "play" with the plinth, and finally, try to disguise as much as possible the endless monotony of the modular facade. This is where graphics and color come in. In this case, the authors, according to their own annotation, used the motives of the Suprematists Malevich and Suetin, as well as the co-founder of neoplasticism, Piet Mondrian.
Mondrian's multi-colored cell, already widely replicated in the fashion and perfume industry, seems to be simply created for multi-storey facades. It is all the more surprising that the architects did not immediately pay attention to it. In St. Petersburg, a precedent happened in 2009: "under Mondrian" they faced the building of a Soviet kindergarten on Moika, 102. And now, high-rise new buildings of the A. Len design bureau began to be covered with a grid of multi-colored rectangles.
Its leader, Sergei Oreshkin, does not hide, but in every possible way emphasizes his creative orientation towards the avant-garde and related Western trends. Moreover, the leading positions belong to the domestic avant-garde here. If the rectangular Mondrian grid ideally fits the facade planes, then Suprematism and Constructivism are an inexhaustible source of ideas for organizing space, and not so much specific techniques as the principles themselves: dynamics, openness, geometric sharpness of gesture and consistent denial of the principles of classical composition, characteristic of projects " A. Len ".
In the case of "Clover", the narrow scope of the genre did not allow to expand all these qualities, as mentioned above, and even the declared rigid Mondrian grid in nature looks softened and "domesticated". Its color is lightened, muted and in some places really resembles the color of clover, which, combined with an airy haze, gives the 25-storey giant an unobtrusive and rather welcoming appearance.
In addition to the “summer” palette, the generously glazed ground floor with narrow “pilasters” between the high display windows contributes to the overall visual lightness of the building. There is a spacious entrance area with a concierge, as well as premises for service and trade.
If the facade with the main entrance and two ends are designed as more or less free combinations of rectangles, then the fourth facade has a distinct axis of symmetry. It is highlighted by a vertical row of balconies with unusual decorative lintels in the form of long and narrow stripes connecting different levels at arbitrary angles. These "wobbling" stripes from a distance seem to be matte-glass, but upon closer examination they turn out to be filled with a grid and, apparently, play a purely decorative role, shading the general rigid logic of a right angle. Such "flying sticks", freely intersecting in non-objective space, were loved by Malevich and Suetin, but here a regular "lane of movement" is allocated for their flowing stream.
In general, with all the tightness of the genre, the authors seem to have managed to find some interesting "trick", the essence of which is a game of inconsistency, where any logical series quickly comes across its refutation. Mondrian - but not quite; Malevich and Suetin - but strictly along the axis, a dedicated center - but irregular outlines and indefinite color; a distant hint of pilasters and natural stone in the plinth - and a motley modern "constructor" of the main part of the facades.
All this is surprisingly similar to a double reading of "Clover" and its mysterious connection with Mondrian, Malevich and Suetin. And together, it gives the building a light relativistic imprint of postmodernism.
The new skyscraper quite tactfully entered the existing fabric of the Moscow District, finding support in the blue silhouette of the Leader Tower business center and other modern buildings surrounding Constitution Square. The house can also be read well from Krasnoputilovskaya Street as another tower among the Soviet "ships" surrounding it.
Attention is drawn to the level of improvement of the adjacent area. Due to the underground parking, the house has a completely pedestrian, well-landscaped area with a playground. The mirror-glazed first floor with representative rhythmic "pilasters" visually expands the space, facilitates the multi-storey array growing above it and adds a pleasant shade of gloss to the new area of the environment.
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