Ice Palace "Crystal" on Luzhniki Street
The Ice Palace is planned to be built on the territory of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex between the Malaya Sports Arena and the Sports Palace. Currently, the site houses an old ice rink, built in the early 1960s. Previously, it also bore the name "Crystal", but, as one of the authors of the project, Dmitry Bush (PI "Arena"), said, the building, which has not been used for many years, was recognized as emergency and designated for demolition.
In the design of the new building, the authors first of all started from the environment and clearly followed the principle of continuity. The building ensemble of the sports complex with pronounced features of the conservative architecture of the middle of the last century determined the style of the new project. That is why the ice rink received a strictly rectangular shape, occupying only 70% of the allocated area, but retaining the "landing" of the building to be demolished.
Facades are also responsive to their surroundings. Despite the fact that in most cases skating rinks do not require natural light, here, following the general style, the authors made the facades glass. And in order to protect the ice from direct sunlight, we provided vertical slats, with the help of which you can make the wall completely deaf. The designers retreated from the idea of austerity and laconicism of the facades only in the design of the entrance groups. They are decorated with volumetric glass stained-glass windows, referring to the shape of the crystal. Thus, the authors emphasize the preservation of the name and image of the former ice rink.
24,500 m² are located on three floors of the building, not counting the underground. Two ice arenas with independent entrances are planned on the ground floor. Each has 250 seats. In addition to skating rinks, a 25-meter pool with a SPA-center area and a sauna is planned. Gyms, cafes and administrative offices are located on the second and third floors. In the underground level there is a parking lot for 130 cars. It is planned that the Ice Palace will be completed by the World Cup-18.
Most of the questions from the council members were caused by the location of the entrances to the building and their design. Eugene Ass drew attention to their "unresolved in the general plan." He also did not like the symmetrical arrangement of the entrance groups. Andrei Gnezdilov agreed with his colleague - according to him, the general plan of the Ice Palace is not built into the context of the park, does not take into account its existing planning axes. The architecture of the building seemed quite appropriate to Gnezdilov: “The feeling of being overwhelmed occurs only in the design of the entrances. Such “pathos” does not quite fit such a laconic and strict volume,”Gnezdilov is sure. Vladimir Plotkin was also embarrassed by the "crystal" entries, but he expressed the hope that they could be fully refined and justified by the name of the ice rink. He recommended that the authors focus on the general plan - this, according to Plotkin, is a much more serious problem, but solvable.
Alexander Kudryavtsev recalled that Luzhniki is not only a significant urban development ensemble, but also a new developing center of Moscow. In view of such active development, more and more new objects appear and are being designed in the southern part of the park. According to Kudryavtsev, it is like an "architecture parade" - akin to VDNKh. Whether such a scenario is possible for the restrained Luzhniki is a big question. Andrey Bokov also picked up the idea of his colleague. He recalled that the former Kristall was a very modest and secondary building in the Luzhniki ensemble, located on the periphery and did not attract too much attention. The new building with a secondary role clearly disagrees. However, according to Bokov, today, due to the emerging new buildings, the hierarchy that originally existed is disrupted. The Ice Palace, in fact, no longer affects anything, therefore it has a right to exist. Bokov's real concerns were only caused by the height of the building. It should be lower in order to preserve the beloved panorama of Moscow, he is sure.
Evgeny Ass agreed that the project as a whole should be supported. However, he pointed out a number of problems that must be paid attention to. In addition to the already noted planning errors, he once again pointed out the inappropriateness of the style of the entrances, doubted the need for their isolation and symmetry and suggested reducing their size - after all, we are talking about simple training rinks, and such a bright and large-scale solution will mislead visitors. In addition, one of the entrances is declared as secondary, but in no way inferior to the main one. Of the trifles - too wide staircases, inappropriate inscription above the entrance and excessive pile-up of diagonal structures on the facades under a layer of strict vertical slats. According to Ass, this introduces some "constructive confusion."
The discussion was summed up by Sergey Kuznetsov. He noted that the project should definitely be supported and the issue of landscaping and linking the facility to the park's infrastructure should be resolved separately in a working order. ***
Residential building on Barvikhinskaya street
The project of a residential complex, which is planned to be built at the intersection of the Moscow Ring Road with Mozhayskoye Highway, was considered by the Architectural Council for the third time. The project was first presented in November 2015, but received a number of serious comments regarding the compositional and planning solution. It was watched again in January and again rejected. The council was not satisfied with the layout of the site, the layout of the house, its configuration and architecture.
This time, the designers from the Aimex-Group company prepared fourteen variants of planning solutions for the council. As the main one, they chose the option with a 22-storey tower, which has an arc shape in plan, partially repeating the contour of Barvikhinskaya Street. The tower is placed on a high stylobate designed to accommodate a hypermarket and other stores that are being demolished for construction. Also, on the stylobate in the depths of the site, the volume of the school and kindergarten is located. The area in front of the stylobate from the side of the street is proposed to be made pedestrian, landscaped, saturate with commercial and public functions.
As for the architectural solution, three main options were shown here. One of them, noted by the authors as the main one, is designed in the form of a horizontal "accordion" of the glass facade with the expansion of the top of the building. In the second version, the tower received plastic due to long bay windows. The last proposal is based on the concept of a building presented in the previous examination, expanding upward due to overhanging floors. Here the same technique is repeated, but not on the house-plate, but on a 75-meter semicircular tower.
After listening to the report of the representative of the company "Aimex-Group", Evgenia Murinets drew the attention of the council members to some inconsistencies in the project of the GPZU. In particular, it was revealed that the permissible altitude parameters and indicators of the total area were exceeded. Transport problems also remained unresolved - the scheme is not linked to the existing situation, entry into the complex is carried out from neighboring areas, there are no public transport stops.
Andrey Gnezdilov was frankly disappointed with the presented concept. “This is not the first time we have seen this project, but it still leaves me feeling dissatisfied and bewildered,” he said. - The wishes and recommendations expressed earlier, unfortunately, were not heard. All fourteen landing options of the complex are not tied to a place. The tower, like the kindergarten, just hangs in the air. The designers tried to defend themselves, explaining that the final version turned out to be the most optimal - they say, it repeats the contours of the street and does not shade the neighboring houses. They also recalled that neither the house-plate nor the corner section satisfied the council, and the tower was made precisely on the recommendation of the council members.
Vladimir Plotkin agreed that the authors tried to respond to the council's comments, and landing at home this time raises significantly fewer questions. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for its architecture. Located in such an important place, at the entrance to the capital, where a certain architectural ensemble has already formed, this house must either completely hide in order to slip unnoticed, or become a bright and high-quality part of the environment. In this case, alas, neither one nor the other happens - Plotkin is sure. None of the options, in his opinion, can be realized. Even the one named as the main one looks inappropriate on the site, requires a much more attentive attitude to details and design in general. The desire of the authors to combine several design techniques at once, according to Plotkin, only spoils the impression, greatly overloads the house. Besides, if the designers decided to use the effect of the "crumpled" facade, then this should be reflected in the stylobate part as well. Otherwise, the stylobate and the tower are completely disconnected from each other.
A similar opinion was expressed by Andrey Bokov, who did not like the lack of interconnection between all the components of the complex - the tower, the stylobate and the preschool educational institution, as well as the foreignness of the complex itself in the existing environment. Evgeny Assa was greatly embarrassed by the planning of the kindergarten, according to which most of the playrooms are not insulated. They "feel a dislike for children," said Ass. He was also disappointed by the appearance of the preschool educational institution, which has nothing to do with the complex.
In addition to the council members, residents of the house adjacent to the construction site wished to express their opinion on the presented project. They strongly opposed the planning and architectural solutions of the complex. Its height is more than 70 m and the very close location of the kindergarten to neighboring houses, in their opinion, is unacceptable. They also doubted the professionalism of the designers, who presented 14 variants of the general plan to the council. Residents are convinced that a compromise solution could be a professional architectural competition.
Sergey Kuznetsov agreed with the statements of colleagues and residents. He assured the latter that he would recommend the customer to hold a tender, which, however, does not guarantee his consent. According to Kuznetsov, the competition could contribute to the search for an optimal solution for such a complex site. Designers from "Aimex-Group", according to the chief architect, have not yet been able to cope with this task.
