Archi.ru:
Your company was founded in 2006. Tell us about the history of its appearance
Vladimir Kovalev:
- In 2006, being an employee of the N. M. Gersevanov, I defended my Ph. D. thesis in the field of foundations, foundations and soil mechanics and at the same time I was thinking about creating my own bureau. Young and ambitious, I believed that all roads were open to me. And most importantly, I had a desire to work hard and efficiently. We started with a technical survey, geotechnical design and monitoring. Gradually, the company gained authority in its field. Today I can name Olimproekt as one of the leading companies in Moscow in the field of geotechnical surveys.
How did the name "Olympproject" come about?
- The moment the company was founded coincided with the period of the competition for the choice of the capital of the Winter Olympics. In 2007 the city of Sochi was named the winner. I was inspired by this victory and the name came to my mind by itself. For me, it symbolizes the desire for success through hard work and self-realization.
How did you come to the need to create an architectural bureau within a company specializing in geotechnics and engineering?
- When in 2010 I took an active part in updating the SNiP "Foundations of buildings and structures", it became clear that this is a certain milestone, after which it is necessary to move on. In 2011, I started to expand Olimproekt with the aim of creating an architectural and design division. First, I was already thinking about the benefits of an integrated approach that allows me to go through all the stages of technical research and design within one organization. Secondly, architecture has always been interesting to me. And at a certain moment I felt that I was ready to take responsibility not only for the technical part of the project, but also for the architectural one. The moment of responsibility is important in architecture, because it forms the human environment.
What is the importance of architectural design in the overall structure of the company? Who is currently in charge of the design department?
- In the role of the author of the architectural concept and general designer, our company for the first time acted in the project of the LoftGarden complex at the TTK. We were faced with a difficult task of redevelopment, which, as it seems to me, we have coped with. At the same time, together with the English bureau JohnMcAslan + Partners, we managed to work on a project for the reconstruction of the Bolshevik complex (note, Olympproekt acted as the general designer). It was a valuable experience for the team and for me personally.
At the end of 2013, I was asked to develop an architectural concept for the reconstruction of the bodywork on the territory of ZIL. A huge industrial building with a long history on such an important site, next to the largest ice arena - I knew it would be difficult. It was a great school that took the team to the next level. However, the architectural direction took a truly important place in our company after the arrival of the wonderful and talented architect Ekaterina Gren, who now heads the architectural and design department.
How does the company work now, what is its structure? As a CEO, how involved are you in the design process?
- The company is built vertically. A lot depends on the management team. From the very beginning, I tried to gather around me like-minded people who share my principles and views. Most executives have been working with me for over 8-10 years. They know my business development strategy and help to implement it successfully.
As for the rank-and-file employees, we are just as interested in them. Our main value is our team. It is important for us to retain specialists by creating comfortable working conditions for them. Huge efforts are being invested in new employees, in raising their qualifications, in their growth. It is much more valuable to raise a line manager within the team than to attract him from the outside.
I myself am actively involved in the work of the company. I have to constantly interact with clients who expect professionalism from me in everything - from economics and geology to engineering and architectural solutions. I am not an architect by education, but I am so immersed in the profession that I am engaged in, among other things, architectural design. I delve into every project, regardless of its scale and significance. It seems to me that this is also necessary in order to be sure of the quality of the product being produced. Quality, efficiency, desire to provide a high level of service - this is the spirit of our organization. And although the idea of providing quality service is not very popular in Russia, I am convinced that this is an important aspect of our work.
Areas of activity of "Olympproekt" are very diverse: architecture, engineering, geotechnics. What do you prioritize?
- The company offers almost a full cycle of design and survey work. This is a rather rare combination for Russia. And creating such a model of work, I was inspired by the experience of one well-known design institute in China, where I went to exchange experience. Of course, architecture was the mainstream there. But at the same time, it could not exist without other components - such as engineering, geotechnics and the structural part. An integrated approach is our main advantage, which allows the company to develop steadily. In addition, it can significantly reduce the project implementation time. Our clients are sometimes amazed at the speed of issuing project documentation while maintaining a high level of quality.
How do you manage to reduce the design time?
- Architects, geologists, designers, engineers and other specialists work in the same office, have established contacts and friendly relations. This facilitates communication, coordination of actions, data exchange. People trust each other, do not waste time checking information. Therefore, all issues are resolved quickly. And this is exactly what the modern market demands: terms, quality and reasonable price.
Which of the implemented projects do you consider the most successful, which projects are important to you?
- The design bureau was created not so long ago, five years is a fairly short time for an architectural project. Therefore, there are not many implementations to date. Large ones are LoftGarden and Bolshevik.
A large number of projects are close to completion today. Multifunctional complex
The Park of Legends on the territory of ZIL was planned to be commissioned in 2016, but due to the crisis, the project was repeatedly frozen. The dates have shifted to 2018. The facades will be completed soon. The construction phase has already been completed. Next year, a residential complex on Ozernaya Street will be completed - a small, but very thoughtful and cozy complex. Construction of a residential complex on Mikhailova Street is underway. The fourth floor has been erected there. Therefore, I hope that in the near future people will see and appreciate our architecture.
Among your projects are mainly multi-storey residential complexes. Is this specialization?
- The volume of construction of public buildings is small compared to residential ones. Largely for this reason, we have chosen for ourselves the segment of multi-storey residential construction. Today it has really become our specialty. Serious experience has been accumulated, dozens of projects of residential buildings have undergone it. We are professionals in this field, we know how and love to design housing, efficiently and quickly make layouts that satisfy both the customer and the consumer. If we take the same residential building on Ozernaya, then only for it seven types of one-room apartments were developed, which had an extremely positive effect on sales. But, of course, all this does not mean that we will not be able to develop the project of a public building with the same quality.
Which of the current projects do you consider the most important?
- An interesting project of a residential complex at the intersection of the Varshavskoe highway and the Moscow Ring Road. The place is very picturesque in terms of its natural surroundings. We offered to lead the forest approaching the boundaries of the site directly into the yard. As a result, the courtyard spaces began to resemble park ones more, and the territory of the complex itself acquired a suburban, almost rustic flavor. And this is despite the high number of storeys, up to 75 m.
Another object is a small house on 11th Parkovaya Street, its total area is up to 30 thousand m2… The site is surrounded by greenery, next to a residential area and an abandoned kindergarten. Dense buildings and insolation restrictions did not prevent us from offering future residents a comfortable layout and a full-fledged public space in front of the house, accessible to all citizens. Unfortunately, this project has stopped so far, but we hope that the customer will return to it.
In addition, Olimproekt is involved in the development of working documentation a lot. This is a huge amount of work, given the scale of the facilities. One example is a residential complex on the territory of the Flour Mill. Its area reaches 150,000 m2, height - 53 floors.
But the most important and loved ones remain - "Park of Legends" on the territory of ZIL and the residential complex on Mikhailova Street. These are the most difficult projects, and therefore the most expensive. The IFC on the territory of ZIL was almost entirely invented by me. The project has changed a lot from the first uncertain concept to the final proposal - meaningful and multi-layered. As for the complex on Mikhailova Street, here I must note the colossal role of Ekaterina Gren. For her, as well as for the entire company, this project has become a symbol of the architect's struggle for architecture. And it was here that we realized that we have a right to exist as an architectural bureau and can successfully move in this direction.
How would you define the goal and mission of Olympproekt for the coming years?
- For me, Olympproekt is not just a company, it is a complex mechanism, a machine made up of talented and purposeful people. The quality of this machine must be constantly improved. This is the main goal, since along with the improvement of the quality of the company's functioning, the level of the manufactured product rises. The construction market has changed markedly, the economics of projects has changed. The brevity of our work is largely due to economics. Before the crisis, an investor was ready to invest any money in properties with a good location. Now he is forced to count money, and we are forced to learn to achieve high-quality results in any conditions.
