The fact that Sergey Skuratov's project won the competition for the concept of a multifunctional complex on Sofiyskaya Embankment was
announced last Friday. Commenting on the results of the competition at a press conference, the chief architect of Moscow, Sergei Kuznetsov, said that it was not easy for the jury to make a decision, as opinions were very different. “It was probably the most difficult competition,” Kuznetsov explained. - A very responsible platform and very different proposals from participants for its development. The jury did not manage to get a consensus opinion. Hence, such an insignificant gap in votes in the rating demonstrates the high level of all works and, accordingly, the competition.
The decision to develop an enviable land plot of more than 3 hectares, located between Sofiyskaya Embankment and Bolotnaya Square, directly opposite the Moscow Kremlin, was made in March 2015, after the development company Capital Group acquired the development rights. Before that, the territory in the very heart of the capital had been empty for almost fifteen years. In the late 1990s, several historic buildings were demolished here, including the house, from the top floor of which the artist of Peter's time, Pikart, is believed to have painted a panorama of the Kremlin and Zamoskvorechye; At that time, city defenders managed to stop the demolitions: the house and the outbuilding of the Durasovs' estate on the embankment survived, as well as several other small buildings.
Participants of the competition, organized by the Moscow General Planning Institute for Capital Group, were required to develop a project for the complex development of the territory with residential buildings no higher than 17 meters high. It was also necessary to provide for the construction of a boutique hotel, retail and office buildings, infrastructure facilities, fitness and spa centers, and improve the territory, including the embankment of the Moskva River. The preserved objects of cultural heritage are planned to be restored and restored.
A total of 68 teams from 14 countries took part in the competition. At the first stage, six finalists were selected based on the submitted portfolios. On October 22, a final jury meeting took place, before which each of the leaders of the six consortia personally presented his project proposal. Sergey Kuznetsov said that Stephen Hall, Benedetta Tagliabue and Chino Dzukki personally came to Moscow to defend their projects. Also, before summing up the final results, a serious technical examination was carried out. As a result of the vote, the final rating was compiled. The three finalists, in addition to Sergei Skuratov, included Stephen Hall's consortia and the EMBT bureau of Enrique Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue. Moreover, both of these teams scored an equal number of votes, sharing the second place.
The General Director of Capital Group Valentina Stanovova called the level of elaboration of all projects high: fulfilling the terms of reference, the participants of the competition, according to her, worked out in detail both the ground and underground parts, thought out the layouts of the apartments and came very close to the stage of completing the concept stage. At the same time, the representative of the customer stressed that she was absolutely sure of the correct choice of the winner, with whom a contract for further design would be concluded in the near future.
Summing up the discussion of the results of the competition, Sergey Kuznetsov recalled that when working with complex sites in the central historical part of the city (a similar situation was with Zaryadye) it is impossible to come to a common opinion. Therefore, there should always be a place for a variety of views and approaches, and "only in such a lively discussion real architecture is born" - Kuznetsov is sure. The most controversial and discussed, he called the concept of Stephen Hall - bright and "slightly crazy", characterized by an extraordinary play with shape and color. Apparently, this frightened some of the jury members. “In the historical environment, we try to work very delicately,” Kuznetsov explained, “and we choose projects in which we manage to find the finest balance between new and old architecture. This balance was found by Sergei Skuratov. "A special, careful attitude to historical buildings and great attention to the regimes and regulations of the protection legislation, as a result, according to Kuznetsov, became one of the decisive factors in choosing the winner.
The winning project of Sergey Skuratov is described in detail here; Below we publish the projects of the five finalists in the order of the jury's rating.
*** second place
Steven Holl Architects, USA Wowhaus, Russia
Transsolar
Boris Savin
The proposed concept is based on "spatial ribbons" that delimit public areas and more private courtyards for residents.
The architects envisioned three types of buildings. The first is a sectional structure that reduces the number of corridors and provides views of both sides from each apartment. The second type is blocked duplexes, the view from which also opens on at least two sides. The latter type is the building located next to the residence of the British ambassador: here on the eastern wall it was proposed to use frosted glazing to protect the embassy building from views.
second place
Miralles Tagliabue EMBT, Spain Burgos & Garrido arquitectos
TsNIIP of the Ministry of Construction of Russia
The authors proposed to improve the "pedestrian arteries and historical routes" of the neighboring quarters of the city to better adapt the new buildings, and paid great attention to reducing the scale on the eastern side, where the residence is located. Here, in low buildings, there will be mainly cafes and shops. The hotel is located in the Durasovs' estate.
The residential complex is planned to have 170 apartments, 40 of them are three-sided, but all have a good layout, according to the authors. Facades combine wooden gratings and concrete, but clinker of reddish shades prevails.
nps tchoban voss, Germany SPEECH, Russia
In order to reveal the views of all the surrounding Moscow sights for both walkers and apartment residents, the authors proposed to create three wide boulevards inside the complex with easy promising expansion. One looks at the Vodovzvodnaya Tower, the second at Bolotnaya Square, and the third at the park stretching along the Bolshoi Bridge along Serafimovich Street. Three private courtyards are surrounded by dense squares of buildings.
The architects proposed facades made of natural stone, the solution of the facade of each section is individual, but united by a style that gravitates to Art Deco. Flat roofs are conceived to be accessible to all occupants.
CZA Cino Zucchi Architect, Italy COPRATSoc. Coop.
CJSC "Promstroyproekt"
The facades of the public boulevard in the Chino Dzukki project are mostly white stone, and the authors call this material traditional for Moscow. The walls of the courtyards are covered with warm bricks combined with greenery, probably patinated copper; copper is also used for roofing and eaves. The authors paid special attention to the disclosure of views from the apartments to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed, as well as insolation. Therefore, the windows are wide, with deep, often promising slopes; their rhythm is subordinated to a step of 4.6 m. The facades and roof are folded-ribbed, which not only gives the roof and cornice a recognizable zigzag silhouette, but also allows for better illumination of the interiors. In the first floors of some of the buildings, street porticoes on thin pillars are conceived.
MLA +, Netherlands Rainer Schmidt Landschaftsarchitekten Knight Frank (Russia)
CarolaNeugebauer
The complex consists of two long buildings with a U-shaped plan, opened towards the Kremlin and set on the sides of a wide boulevard leading to the tower. The architects closed the square of the western building with a one-story building of a children's center with a sliding roof, at the eastern building, in the same place, there is a low volume of a greenhouse. Conservatories are also planned for the penthouses. The facades were supposed to consist of self-supporting limestone slabs, which the architects nevertheless proposed to fix on a concrete structure for strength.
Jury of the competition:
- Khusnullin Marat Shakirzyanovich, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Urban Development Policy and Construction
- Kibovsky Alexander Vladimirovich, Head of the Department of Culture of Moscow
- Cho Pavel, customer representative, member of the Board of Directors of Capital Group
- Stanovova Valentina, customer representative, CEO of Capital Group
- Khvesko Mikhail, Customer Representative, Head of the Architectural and Design Department, Capital Group
- Irina Rogacheva, Customer Representative, Head of the Elite Real Estate Department of the Capital Group
- Sergey Kuznetsov, Chief Architect of Moscow
- Brian Evans, architect - urban planner, landscape designer, professor at the School of Architecture of Aberdeen
- Christine Feireis, architecture critic and expert, founder of the independent architecture forum Aedes
- Martha Thorne, Executive Director of the Pritzker Prize, Dean of External Relations at IE University's School of Architecture and Design
- Alex Eli, architect, planner, founder of M объединения Architects
- Emelyanov Alexey Alexandrovich, acting Head of the Department of Cultural Heritage of Moscow