The new residential area is part of a large multifunctional cluster built according to the project of the Architecturium workshop under the leadership of Vladimir Bindeman in the southwestern part of Khimki, in the Novogorsk microdistrict. It all started with the "Olympic Village Novogorsk", where a large social and sports center is adjacent to residential cottages and townhouses. This part, which fully implements the main idea of the entire cluster, which consists in combining the residential function with the cultural and educational function, has long been mastered and populated. Upstream of the Skhodnya River, the construction of the second part of the cluster - “Olympic Village Novogorsk. Resort". “Olympic village Novogorosk. Apartments ", commissioned a year ago, are located a little to the side, on the slope between the Kurkinskoye highway and the Skhodnya channel, which turns into a loop at this place. Due to the natural bend of the river, the site is surrounded on three sides by water and greenery of a national park of about 250 hectares. Only from the south-west the border is fixed by the highway.
The territory resembles an elongated green peninsula washed by a river. Despite the fact that the complex is included in the urban area of Khimki, it is surrounded by nature, picturesque hills and slopes. No wonder this place is called the Moscow region Switzerland. The idyll is disturbed only by the cottage settlement and the existing highways. One of them - Yurovskaya Street - crossed the site across, from north to south, dividing it into two parts of 4.4 and 1.8 hectares. The smaller part is distinguished by a rather sharp relief drop: it goes down from the highway to the river by about 10 meters. B about The largest part is quieter: here the drop does not exceed 4 m. The longitudinal inner boulevard appeared on the territory according to the authors' intention. He divided it longitudinally into two parallel building lines. One has occupied an enviable coastal strip overlooking the river. The second looks at the highway and park.
Based on the location, the names for these groups of houses were invented: "river" and "forest". In the northern part, along the river, there is a long "Golf House" overlooking the nearby golf course. On the opposite side there are three "terraced" houses on a common stylobate of complex shape. A large sports, cultural and educational center is located in the stylobate, which includes the Sambo-70 martial arts school and the Alexey Kortnev's studio of theatrical skills, which has recently begun recruiting its first students. This center, despite its modest size, is the dominant feature of the area thanks to its expressive and dynamic architectural solution.
The main task of the project was to make the most efficient use of the natural environment, relief and features of the site in order to create comfortable living conditions, - says Vladimir Bindeman. For all the architect's love for the quarterly layout, in this case, he proposed infill development. However, the customer insisted on such a decision. But the main thing is that it turned out to be optimal for this place, because thanks to the displacement of the compact eight-story towers of the first and second lines relative to each other, it was possible to provide views of the river from most of the apartments. “The line closer to the river is initially more advantageous,” explains Vladimir Bindeman. “But in the second line, too, we tried to put the houses in such a way that the river could be seen from each in the gap. Thanks to the displacement, the "river" houses also received an additional view - of the forest."
The volumetric-spatial solution was determined not only by the context, but also by the insolation norms. It is the desire to “catch” the maximum amount of sunlight and the most picturesque views that explains the turns of buildings and bay windows on their facades. Achieving a variety of environment while maintaining a holistic perception of the building, Vladimir Bindeman deliberately divided the design areas between two different architects of his studio - Oleg Borodin and Fyodor Buinov. Borodin took over the "forest" and "terraced" houses, Buinov was responsible for the "river" line and the "golf house". As a result, there was a personal relationship to each type of building.
"Forest" houses, devoid of a clear orientation and almost square in plan, with a single entrance, received facades equally worked out from all sides. Volumetric overhangs and panoramic corner glazing serve as accents. These towers, which turned out to be more than others on the site, housed the most demanded one- and two-room apartments on the market.
The ends of the "river" houses are emphatically laconic and echo the towers of the second line. Houses with a direct orientation to the river acquired the most active, terraced facades from the water side. The central semicircular core is facing here - a partially glazed bay window with a large open terrace at its top. On the left and right sides of it are lush cascades of two more glazed bay windows. The plastic solution is based on the desire to provide all residents with the best view from the windows. In addition, the outer shell responds to interior layouts. On the lower floors there are more apartments of a smaller area, on the top - on the contrary, there are fewer apartments, but they are already designed for large families. Hence the narrowing of the bay windows at the top of the buildings.
Terraced houses provide a beautiful view in the opposite direction - to the park. Their character is determined by the surrounding landscape. At first, open terraces were planned on the site of the inclined stained-glass windows, but realizing that sooner or later the tenants would glaze them to their liking, the architects decided to do this in advance and in the same style. So, in the glazing of end apartments, sloped glass windows, unique in their technology, with a well-thought-out drain and a special window opening system appeared. In the frame of such peculiar bay windows, the forest looks like a gigantic picture in a thin frame, moreover, alive, changing color depending on the weather and season.
"Golf House" implements a difficult task: to create living conditions in a multi-storey building close to a townhouse. For this, open terraces with a view of the Skhodnya River valley are provided on all floors. The upper floors have patios - small isolated courtyards covered with a pergola. The authors of the project explain that in this way they tried to achieve the feeling of being in a country cottage located on the top of a high mountain. Unlike "forest" and "river" houses, this house has a sectional structure due to its length. Avoiding the monotony of perception of the long facade facing the golf course, the authors divided it visually into several volumes. Each is turned to the neighboring one at a slight angle and is separated from it by a glass vertical flight of stairs. From the side of the courtyard, the scale of the building is knocked down by acute-angled bay windows.
All seventeen buildings that form the residential area are endowed with common and characteristic features for the works of "Architecturium": there is a recognizable tectonics, and a favorite color palette of natural earthy shades, and a familiar set of finishing materials used in different combinations and ratios. Somewhere, light porcelain stoneware prevails, and somewhere - dark clinker tiles. On some facades, glass clearly dominates, and nearby there are much more blank surfaces. At the same time, almost everywhere you can find wooden inserts - perhaps the most favorite material of "Architecturium". Although here instead of natural wood, Hpl panels are used, imitating its texture. But the feeling of warmth of a cozy country house does not disappear. Wood is also present in the form of separate linear finishing elements, as well as in the improvement of courtyards and river embankments.
The attention to detail and meticulous, thoughtful work of the architect is visible everywhere - both in the architecture of buildings and in the arrangement of the surrounding areas. The designers tried to compensate for the lack of closed courtyards by means of comprehensive improvement with the organization of secluded green corners, gazebos, flower beds, sports and playgrounds for each house. Moreover, typical playgrounds were repainted in the colors of the complex. Considering the significant remoteness of the new residential area from the city infrastructure, the architects proposed to place small shops, pharmacies and cafes on the ground floors of the towers.
The main public space of the complex is a comfortable multi-level embankment.
However, the location on the river bank, in addition to the landscape and species advantages, created a lot of construction difficulties. We had to work in a landslide zone with a very close location of groundwater, - says Vladimir Bindeman. - The stage of implementation was preceded by a serious engineering preparation of the territory, providing for the device for dewatering and strengthening the banks with the help of gabions located in two, or even three levels. It was extremely important for the designers to maintain open access to water for residents. That is why, despite the investor's fears, there are no fences on the lower tier of the embankment, but safe slopes to the water are equipped. In case of flooding when the river spills, a special coating without glue fasteners is provided. It is held by its own gravity between concrete slabs and does not lose its properties even after a long stay under water. Today, the embankment is equipped with playgrounds, walking and cycling paths, summer sheds and benches surrounded by shrubs and trees carefully preserved during the construction process.
At the last moment, at the request of the customer, an outdoor pool with its own beach area appeared next to the river, where in sunny weather you can swim and sunbathe on sun loungers. The pool unexpectedly harmoniously integrated into the ensemble of the recreational space and immediately after the opening was inhabited by residents - it turned out to be more than in demand.
A special integrated urban planning approach allowed the architects to design not just a new residential area, but the lifestyle of the people inhabiting it. And it's not just a matter of combining residential, sports and educational functions within the boundaries of one site. It is about the attitude towards the person who was thought of in this project in the first place: accented entrance lobbies, convenient underground parking, green and infrastructure-rich territory, open-plan apartments - all with panoramic windows … compared with Switzerland only for similar landscapes, now the comparison seems appropriate from an urban planning point of view. At least, together with the epithet "Moscow region" - for sure.
