The quarter in which the house is being built is part of one of the historical industrial zones that have survived on the Petrogradskaya side. In the 1920s, according to the design of Erich Mendelssohn, a knitwear factory "Red Banner" was built here, which many know from the expressive silhouette of a power station: the architect compared it to "a ship pulling all production along with it." The building influenced the development of the Leningrad avant-garde, for some time it was also a symbol of Soviet industrialization, and even a symbol of the city (in the 1930s, its image was placed on the cover of a guidebook).
Until this year, the station building, the factory, and the area around them were in a "suspended" state: the land moved from one owner to another, the place was either predicted the fate of the Tate Modern, or seriously feared for its safety. In 2016, a "window into a window" with a power station began to build a residential complex "Mendelssohn" according to the project of Yevgeny Podgornov, and this caused a serious resonance: the public demanded to demolish the new building, ICOMOS took up the issue, Smolny finally set in motion restoration work.
The power station is the unconditional dominant and "star" of this outskirts of the Petrograd side. Now, together with it, the whole environment is changing: something is being restored and adjusted, gaps are being built up with offices and housing, even the historical buildings of the nearby Military Space Academy. Mozhaisky is covered with forests.
The site inherited by Anatoly Stolyarchuk's workshop is located across the road and diagonally from the power station. Now it is a wasteland with a rather variegated environment: factory buildings and background buildings are interspersed with unauthorized construction and brand new business centers. The architects set themselves the task, first of all, not to disturb the existing urban fabric, not to discord. But it was equally important not to completely adapt to the environment, not to copy and keep your own voice.
The site plan suggested dividing the building into two main volumes. The result is a rectangular "white" case and a slightly recessed "red" one, which turns into the depths of the block. If you look at the facade from Pionerskaya Street, it turns out that these two volumes are split horizontally by the color and arrangement of the windows in such a way as to pick up the height of the neighboring buildings. The resulting cascade drawing creates an unusual effect: as if the house had already "lived" and had time to build on new floors. In this story, even the attic, which was a special request of the customer, becomes very appropriate. In fact, the facade projects onto the street that architectural “motley grass” that is hidden in the courtyard, but in a somewhat combed, stylized form. He is both spontaneous and sketchy at the same time, like a guest dressing for the evening with elaborate casualness.
A rather long facade (almost 40 meters) is also split vertically: wide strips of loggias refer to the stained glass windows of factories and alternate with “perforation” of square windows and narrow strips of solid glazing. Smooth rows of balconies in the upper part of the building move to the lower floors into a chess "mess". The balconies are designed for air conditioners, the chaotic installation of which, according to Anatoly Stolyarchuk, is always painful for architects.
Color and material (the finish is completely made of bricks) also make the surrounding buildings a knyxen: the conditionally red building is “dressed” in the same color scheme with the neighboring factory buildings, and the white one picks up the palette of the other neighbors of different styles.
As a result, the building, although somewhat higher in height than the power station of the "Red Banner" (its height to the cornice is 28 m, and the total is 33 m), but does not flaunt it at all and does not seek to dominate. On the contrary, it expresses respect by all means, but at the same time maintains its own dignity. Anatoly Stolyarchuk hopes that there will be no antagonism: “the substation has a strong plastic tongue, and we have a background, calm home”. This is confirmed by the visualization of the point of interaction between the power station and the future house developed for KGIOP.
The first floor is reserved for shops and cafes. Due to the small detachment of the "red" building, the edge turned out to be alive, making this part of the street interesting for a passer-by. The architects enhanced the effect by making a gallery in the "white" building, which opens onto a wide sidewalk with large showcases of the "red" building. A through entrance to the building is hidden between them, the other two entrances are located in the courtyard, where the facade becomes even quieter, but not at all monotonous.
From the second to the tenth floor there are apartments - their layouts were given to the architects "ready-made" from marketers, which undoubtedly complicated the work.
There is a parking lot in the basement, the entrance to which is located on Pionerskaya Street from the side of the "white" building.
Anatoly Stolyarchuk emphasizes that the architects strived for simplicity and brevity. This is seen not only respect for the city and its predecessors, but also a certain self-confidence - to be able to do it simply but effectively. In this sense, the relationship with the customer was also successful, whose ideas about beauty coincided with the author's proposal (here it is appropriate to recall
the project of another workshop house, built in a similar context on Mira Street, but with aboutmore difficulties).
The building does not just patch a hole in the street, it “takes root” in a new place, intertwining with everything that came before it. Such examples are capable of changing the attitude towards new construction in historical districts, which Petersburgers still, and not without reason, perceive very tensely.
