The project of a residential complex at 12 Dalnevostochny Avenue is the third work of Evgeny Gerasimov for the LEGENDA company. The house, located in a residential area of St. Petersburg near the metro and shopping centers, contains many innovations that enrich the usual spectrum of features of residential architecture in the mass market. The galleries of the first tier will allow you to hide from the rain or snow while walking around shops and cafes. The courtyard is private and thought out for a variety of leisure activities. Future residents are offered an unprecedented variety in the planning solutions of apartments. On the one hand, architecture is not alien to allusions to the Eastern theme, due to the name of the avenue. On the other hand, it focuses on humane examples of post-war Leningrad development: there are fewer floors than it is customary to build in modern residential areas - eleven. Not so long ago, the listed were signs of elite housing, but here they were used for a residential complex designed for a wide audience of the mass market. So, Evgeny Gerasimov talks about his new project "LEGENDA at 12 Far East".
- After
"Victory, 5" and smart- quarter on Komendantskiy - completely different in style, mood, concept, but made for the same developer, LEGENDA - is it worth expecting another "story" in the Far East?
“It’s no coincidence that‘ legenda ’is literally translated in Latin as“what needs to be read”. Yes, we make a compelling and informative story out of every joint project. History for the people, for the city. For us with the LEGENDA company, this project has in many ways become a new interpretation of modern architecture in the segment of mass comfortable housing.
Professionals say that a project starts from a location …
- The location is very good: not far from the metro, there are two large hypermarkets across the road, the center is just a stone's throw away. A land plot in an established residential area with clear building parameters and its own points of attraction is always good. Here - at the intersection of two major transport arteries - it would seem that you can build anything, the main thing is that it should be worthy, ceremonial, and spectacular. Of course, there can be no premium housing on this site, but it's ridiculous to talk about an ordinary mass market in such a wonderful location - here even the height restrictions set a certain level: a new project in the current environment is simply obliged to seriously stand out against the background of the rest of the development of the area not in height, but the quality of architecture, multiplied by the uncompromising quality of performance.
What image did you choose for the new project and what are its features?
- The name of the avenue refers us to the Far East, with the aesthetics of which the architectural concept of the new complex is, of course, connected - not directly, but with quotes, accents, strokes. For everyone, China, Japan is a traditional association with rock gardens, with a special aesthetics of using wood in the interior and exterior of buildings. The facades of "LEGENDA on Dalnevostochny, 12" will convey a sense of environmental friendliness and an almost tactile sense of warmth: a material has been chosen that repeats the texture of stone and wood of different species and shades.
It is atypical for new buildings that we deliberately “cut down” our residential complex for the maximum number of buildings. Their ends are "stone", longitudinal facades are "wooden". Due to the different orientation of the buildings, the whole complex from different sides, from different points will always be perceived in a new way and you will never get tired of looking at it: neither passing or driving by, nor, even more so, getting into its internal space.
Considering that all buildings are only 11 residential floors high, a person on the inner territory of the complex will not feel like a grain of sand in an anthill. The space of the complex is cozy, warm in a home-like way, there is a lot of light in it - this is a rare phenomenon of "sleeping" areas.
Eleven residential floors - very unusual for new buildings. Are there still opportunities and prerequisites for mid-rise construction in St. Petersburg?
- In our city they have not forgotten how to design mid-rise residential buildings, but the situation on the land market and economic conditions are pushing developers to “go up”. In the Far East, the height is determined by the original urban planning restrictions. The result is a project that demonstrates the nature and trends of modern European development - such a house would look organically today in any of the European capitals.
But there is another association: the new project of the LEGENDA company, as it were, refers us to the traditional and beloved by many Leningrad buildings, which can be found, for example, in the area of Maurice Torez Avenue. This is our history, these are the best examples of "sleeping" architecture, which we owe to Soviet urban planning. Then there were cranes, new elevators, technologies made it possible to build 9-12 floors, but this did not prevent the balance between solving social problems and creating a good environment in new buildings. These quarters are still comfortable in terms of environmental parameters: there are not crowded yards here, there is enough space between buildings, houses and mature trees next to them look proportionally. It is the co-scale of buildings and nature that is the tool that makes the project space humane. We brought all this to LEGENDA at 12 Dalnevostochny.
Are historical replicas in mass housing justified today?
- We are not talking so much about replicas as about specific parameters of the environment and buildings, which are time-tested and convenient, understandable, close to people. For example, in the Far East, another non-traditional technique for the modern market of new buildings appeared - a facade with galleries. On the one hand, this is a traditional architectural solution for the "old" St. Petersburg - remember, for example, Gostiny Dvor. For modern residential buildings, this is unusual, but very functional: you seem to be not entirely outside the house, but not yet inside it, you are not bothered by precipitation, you can take a leisurely stroll or wait for a meeting, look at the windows of numerous shops on the ground floor of the complex, go from one to the other.
Contemporary residential projects in Europe demonstrate a clear and logical separation of public and private spaces. What about your project?
- Here, a very clear zoning into "inside" and "outside" is applied, there is a complete delimitation of public and private spaces - their independence, but at the same time, their harmonious consistency. Outside, there are two floors of commercial premises with a very flexible area and versatile range of functions. There will be cafes, shops, salons that will be able to serve both residents of the complex itself and "external" customers.
But the courtyard - and this requirement is met in all LEGENDA projects - is closed to cars and outsiders: this is an area only for residents of the complex and their guests. The courtyard has its own zoning, its own logic: there is where to go in for sports, places for quiet rest are thought out, places for the pastime of children and adolescents are divided. This is planned in a different design, but in a single artistic concept of the entire complex.
Entrance groups, also located in the galleries, but already from the side of the courtyard, are subordinated to the general architectural idea. It is convenient to open or fold an umbrella here, take a child out of a stroller, wait for your family members or meet with neighbors. Of course, outside the doors of the ceremonial people will be greeted by spacious double-height halls, the concept and design of which are also subordinated to the general style of the new complex, but at its own level - even more "close" to the person.
It is believed that "aerobatics" - when architecture is useful to the inhabitant of a new house, not only from the point of view of aesthetic perception, but also functionally
- Here you can give a simple and understandable example: the different orientation of the buildings, which is combined with the traditional variety of layouts for LEGENDA, increases the choice of an apartment for the buyer by an order of magnitude. Both from the point of view of the view characteristics from the windows, and the illumination of the apartment. Some love the morning sun, others love the light of the afternoon; someone wants windows to the courtyard, give others the lights of the night streets …
The architecture also dictates and ensures the optimal balance between natural illumination of apartments and heat loss. Lots of light in the bedrooms, lots of windows in the family space - this is what people appreciate in LEGENDA's layouts. But at the same time, the house is not an aquarium and the glazing of the apartments does not violate their privacy.
You are talking about the possibility of choice for the end customer. But there is one more essential point - the durability of the house itself, its aesthetics and architecture
- Architecture, figuratively speaking, is not a one-season T-shirt with a print … I call it the stability of a new house in time. Stable is that which does not predispose to quick replacement. Something that should last a long time. In this sense, the aesthetic tolerance and "non-sharpness" of the elements is a guarantee that it will not quickly go out of fashion. The Far East will have just such a project. Residents will not be disappointed with the appearance of their home in 5, 20, or 50 years. In my understanding, 100 years is the period during which a house should not become obsolete. And it is very important that LEGENDA ensures such durability of the architecture of its houses through materials and technologies that few people in our city can afford to use. The clearest example is the facade of "Victory, 5".
For whom is the project in the Far East? How would you assess its market potential?
- The law of the market is simple: the one who better takes into account the needs of the buyer wins. Life is changing. Household appliances, furniture, plumbing - everything else. Human communities are becoming more and more diverse and people's needs are more and more different from each other. The project that offers a wider variety of solutions, including planning, will be successful.
The project in the Far East is for those who are used to living in high-quality "sleeping" areas, who understand such an environment and scale, who value a rich infrastructure environment. They waited because they did not want to change panel for panel, and the market did not provide an alternative. "LEGENDA at 12 Dalnevostochny" is a long-awaited project for them in this regard.
