Totan Kuzembaev, Head of LLC "Architectural Workshop of Totan Kuzembaev"
Totan Kuzembaev is widely known, first of all, as one of the best Russian architects who design and build wooden buildings. His portfolio includes dozens, if not hundreds of country houses, public buildings and art objects. He is a member of the expert councils of all "wooden" awards, with the exception of those that he himself receives. Such unconditional authority and recognition would have been impossible without a deep understanding and special attitude of the architect to the features of the material that determine the tectonics of buildings. It allows you to achieve a special quality in projects, when structures and materials begin not so much to fulfill a function as to express a certain philosophy and worldview of the architect who created them. Simple or complex, unusual in form or elusively traditional, projects of Totan Kuzembaev always speak to the viewer about something more than it might seem at the beginning. And it depends only on us whether we understand the message of the master or whether it will elude us. And as a small tip, we offer you the answers of Totan Kuzembaev to the questions of the "Standard of Quality" project, in which he partly reveals his value system and method of creating amazing architecture.
Video filming and editing: Sergey Kuzmin.
Totan Kuzembaev
Head of Totan Kuzembaev Architectural Workshop LLC:
“I appreciate the quality of the ideas laid down, only this is important. I don't care what material it is made of. Naturally, if the object is made from the material from which it was conceived, then the idea manifests itself better. The next slogan is execution; then material. I would arrange the hierarchy like that. The materials may be simple, but the idea, the organization of the space is more for me. To create a place where it would be good not only for the body, but also for the soul. It worries me, I strive for it more. We know all the standards, we will measure them up to the finger: how it should be, at what height the chairs, tables, bed, everything is comfortable for the body. But man is not a cow, not a horse, his brains are still working, he wants something for his brains. Some decorations appear here, but I don’t like it - I want it to be some kind of exciting space.
When I look at architecture, I always pay attention to this: what was the idea, what idea was laid down, captures me or does not touch me. There are things that are super-quality made, but they lack an idea; I remain indifferent to them. And I can see a shed or something else, in which such an idea is laid! You look how beautifully done, how you feel good now.
Cool, brilliant things are so different, everyone finds something of their own in them. Here is a palace with columns and that's it; shows your wealth. And there is a little thing like a chapel in Switzerland in the mountains. A modest thing stands, you go in - the light is on top inside and, as it were, your soul flies up. And you understand - it's simple, but how it's done. Around the mountain, as it is planted there, the material is selected, everything is in place.
You can come up with an idea, there are many people with ideas. As Zhvanetsky said: there are a lot of ideas - help financially. The talent of an architect lies in the ability to correctly explain his idea, to bring it to the customer, to the builder, to everyone, so that everyone understands correctly, so that they get fired up with this idea and implement it. This is a very difficult thing. I always tell mine: we act as translators. Many ideas do not come out because we could not explain it correctly, could not draw it correctly, we simply could not convey it, explain it to people correctly. Here are the customers - they are not architects, they do not understand at all what you wanted to do. It seems to me that this moment of explanation is the most important thing. I tell mine: either draw, or make a layout, or dance, sing, but the person must understand what you want to do. And after that it will work out. One great man said that architecture has three components: author, customer and performer. If they all converge, if they all look at one point, then it will work out.
Previously, it was such a business, when people bought houses, money fell from the sky, and no one thought - buy, finish. Or someone bought to resell later. Nobody was going to live in this house. The crisis helped us, people began to think; now the customer does not have that much money, he wants to buy something worthy. He began to look at these houses, magazines, consult with architects and understand what is better to buy, for example, this house, because it is of better quality. Immediately, the architect realized that if he does it well, his house will be bought and the customer will come to him. The builder also realized that if he does a good job, the customer will turn to him. And the customer also understood that if he makes a high-quality house, he will sell it easier. This is the positive side of the crisis. People have finally wondered where they will live, how they will live, how they will live. This helped us.
Most of our projects I like red houses. A very simple solution - there is a large window, nothing else. Everyone comes and says: we are building two thousand, three thousand each, but it turns out that nothing else is needed, but only this view.
I made a house for myself, it stands on a hillock and overlooks a beautiful landscape: the Oka is visible, the neighboring city, and so on. And when you enter the house, you go up - half a floor, another half a floor, then onto the roof. I like it so much. You come home alone or with friends, everyone takes a glass or just goes to the roof, sits down and looks at the opening landscape. The idea was a success. For this they built a house, for this we suffered. Now you can sit, watch, admire."
